The Whispering Verses Chapter 4: The detective’s mission
"Now that we have a short-term goal, the current plan is to inspect the room in more detail, search for currency, find city maps, and search books. Learn about the world through words, investigate the background of the times and religious customs, and carefully adapt to this place. Do you want to stay for three months to help the detective complete the matter and make plans after knowing everything?"
Shade summarized the current situation and accepted the fact that the detective was dead. The worst situation at present is not that there is mystery in this world, but that there is no memory of the original owner, so there is no understanding of this world. Other than that, the current situation is pretty good.
Standing up, Shade walked towards the bathroom.
There is something wrong with the gas lamp in the bathroom. Even if it is adjusted to maximum power, it can only emit weak light.
Looking at the person in the mirror in this light, he has dull blond hair, brown and dark eyes, and a face that is obviously a male of Western race. He is about 20 years old, his expression seems a little nervous, and he is about 1.5 meters tall. Near Miba.
After all, he used to be a homeless man, so his appearance is not particularly outstanding, but in terms of Shade's own aesthetics, it can be regarded as pretty good.
"This is me, don't be scared by strangers in the mirror in the future."
He warned himself to be careful in his heart, but did not leave the mirror immediately. Instead, he carefully looked around and then whispered:
"Hi, hello, are you still there?"
He tried to communicate with the muttering female voice again to determine who the other party was. But there was no result for a long time, so I could only accept the reality and give up temporarily.
The next step is to look for currency. When I searched the kitchen just now, I didn't find any food. This body is obviously hungry, so I need to forget about other worries for a while and get money to eat.
But the accident happened again. About half an hour later, Shade sat back on the sofa in the warm yellow light, with an expression of indescribable panic on his face.
In his hand he held a note with the number 10 written on it. The note had many creases and stains and was smaller than the cards in the diary. The number side has a portrait of the character, and the reverse side has the coat of arms of the royal family of the Kingdom of Delarian where it currently resides.
After searching the entire house, rummaging through all the books and documents, and digging through all the pockets in the closet, Shade only found this note that seemed to have slipped in accidentally in the gap behind the bookshelf.
"Could it be said that because of the special prices in this world, this one banknote can keep me alive for three months?"
Even if I comfort myself with such a joke, I know it is impossible no matter how much I think about it.
"This is a terrible time."
He leaned back slightly, leaning against the back of the sofa, closing his eyes and looking up at the white ceiling:
"Mr. Hamilton, where did you hide the money? I promised to stay, so why don't you leave me a penny..."
Even though he felt horrified, he really wanted to catch up with the carriage pulling the coffin, shake the dead body in the coffin awake and question him.
If you don't understand the language, you can survive if you are more clever; if you are physically disabled, as long as you live bravely, survival is not a problem. But without money, it is completely impossible.
Mr. Spike Hamilton obviously didn't cook at home in the past. There wasn't a single vegetable leaf in the kitchen, so there weren't any dead mice. He didn't know when Shade's body last ate, but he obviously needed to eat now.
Considering the limits of human existence, Shade must immediately find a way to find money, or find a way to make money, otherwise he will most likely be forced to search for a restaurant from the map after the sun sets, and go to the alley outside the restaurant to find a trash can. luck.
"No, it won't."
He looked at the only banknote in his hand with a very scary expression, his gloomy expression was like the sky outside:
"Although I don’t know the face value, at least it is money. There are also [Sun 3] cards in the diary. These can keep me alive. However, since I can’t find money for the time being, I must consider making money in the long term. channel."
The knowledge of a traveler may be valuable, but realizing knowledge in a strange place is not only troublesome but also dangerous, not to mention that the world itself has mysterious powers.
He thought that this was a detective agency, and Mr. Hamilton seemed to have said before his death that he left some safer tasks so that Shade, who had a "brain problem", could maintain his identity as a detective and carry out detective work. maintained.
Since the dead detective’s coin has not been found for the time being, it is necessary to prepare for the worst and consider how to make a living in the future.
"Speaking of which, Mr. Hamilton knew that Shad, the original Shad, was not very intelligent, so he must have left simple tasks to maintain the operation of the detective agency. Therefore, maybe he Those cases have been solved, all I need is to come and collect the money! Although there are mysteries in this world, at least the lives of ordinary people are the mainstream."
Shad suddenly had an inspiration. He stood up and took out the diary in the shadow from the bedside table in the master bedroom. He also found the account books, memos and work logs that were the detective's relics from the study. Although no money was found just now, these things were found.
Detective Sparrow Hamilton is a very organized and rigorous person. Even though Shade has never studied accounting or business administration, he still thinks that his records of the firm's operations are very detailed and touching. Of course, it was mainly Xia De who was moved, because the cases currently unsolved by the firm are really very simple, and most of them have been completed.
"Looking for Miss White's runaway sister, stalking Mr. Lawrence's mistress, looking for the lost orange cat Mia, and getting news about a doctor who can treat eye diseases... It all seems simple, and It’s not very dangerous. Oh, Mr. Hamilton has already taken care of most of it. If I want to stay and run this place, two or three weeks will be enough to completely solve it.”
Shad concluded while looking through Mr. Hamilton's handwritten report. But what he needs now is not to run the detective agency for a long time, but just to get a sum of money to maintain his short-term livelihood.
After comparing the remaining difficulty of the four tasks, the payment method and the amount of the reward, Shade decided to solve the task of "tracking Mr. Lawrence's mistress" first.
Judging from the case report, Detective Hamilton has been following him for several months, but he stopped following his recent poor health. In fact, the current report can be handed over to the employer to settle the remaining balance. But Mr. Hamilton left a note in the report specifically to take care of Shade's limited literacy, which was all simple words.
The note said that if you intend to complete this commission, it is best to have recent records before submitting, so that the reward will probably be higher and the employer will avoid suspicion.
In other words, Shade only needs to follow him one more time to complete the commission. Although this is not a perfect completion, it at least meets the requirements of the employer, Mr. Lawrence's wife, and is enough to obtain the balance of the commission marked "1 pound 7 shillings", which is 1 pound 4 shillings. make.
Judging from the tone of the detective's notes, this is a considerable reward.
In addition to the remuneration reason, I chose this commission because Detective Hamilton has handled it too many times. It is the simplest commission and will not cause any problems in the final handover. Sparrow Hamilton is not a famous detective, but he is very good at handling extramarital affairs investigations.
Shad didn't want to stay in this horrible house where people had just died, drinking cold water and eating pages of paper to satisfy his hunger, so he prepared to set off to conduct an investigation and strive to submit the report to his employer before dusk.
"No problem, first pass this commission and get the first money, then slowly explore the secrets of the dead detective and figure out the source of the voice in your head, everything will be fine!"
He encouraged himself in his heart, and first found the city map. Based on Detective Hamilton's relic report and the calendar on the wall, he deduced where the mistress named "Mrs. Lasoya" might appear. These are all simple tasks, but the most difficult step is to find the current location on the "Tobesk City Map".
There are many annotations on the agency's map of Tobesk City, left by the former detective, and even marked the location of the tavern he often used to get information and the black market where "sensitive items" were traded.
But the original Mr. Detective did not have the habit of marking his own home on the map. Fortunately, when Shade was searching for information, he found a past tracking record that contained the route of that operation. Therefore, he determined that the location of this apartment was located in St. Teresa Square in the center of Tobesk City. number 6.
“Thanks to Detective Sparrow Hamilton for the detailed record...This is...a house on the square next to the city center, huh? How much does such a house cost? ?"
Xia De unexpectedly said that at the same time, he discovered a palace complex called "Yodele Palace" just two streets away from Saint Teresa Square.
Judging from the crumpled newspaper, there is a second page between the news on the front page "The third round of steam pipeline renovation in the city" and the third page "Investigation report on the collapse of the ancient tower on Karas Mountain" , mentioning that "Yordel Palace" is the residence of the royal family of the Kingdom of Delarion.
In Shade, who had no house in the original world, his heart beat suddenly accelerated, and the panic and tension were even washed away by a moment of surprise.
He looked at the document in his hand and muttered:
"That is to say, the location I am currently in is the capital city of one of the two suspected kingdoms in the world, the Kingdom of Delarian, and it is an apartment next to the central square...I You actually have a house like this and you still have to worry about starving to death?”
The depressed mood that had just started suddenly relaxed, but the house could not be realized immediately, and Mr. Hamilton's three-month commission, Shade had no intention of really giving up. At least stand firm and think about it again.
But at least a very sincere smile appeared on his face, replacing the nervous expression. With a house in this location, you don't have to worry about the future... The smile on his face gradually disappeared, and Xia De realized that he had even found the will just now, but he didn't find anything like the land deed.
"Isn't this apartment for rent?"
The more I think about it, the more likely it is that if I can afford a house in this location, there is no need to open a detective agency and just collect rent to support myself. Even if the detective's original business was not just for making money, judging from the interior decoration, this doesn't look like it belongs to Detective Hamilton's own house.
"In other words, I will most likely have to pay an unknown amount of rent every month?"
Shad came to this conclusion incredulously, and at the same time looked at the calendar hanging on the wall of the living room again.
It is the Sunshine Moon of 1853, which is the third Saturday of June. If you really have to pay rent, you will most likely pay it at the beginning of each month.
“This world also has a December system, and the dates of each month are very similar to the past... Otherwise, I’d better run, pack clothes, pull suitcases, and carry buckets, and run away with I started my journey into this mysterious world as a homeless man...Not only will I have no income, but Mr. Hamilton may also have left a debt that I don’t know about.”