Shad met Baron Lavender in the study of the detective agency. Shad handed the cards to the Baron. The middle-aged man with a beautiful mustache took the cards with a trembling voice:
"You are finally back in my hands."
The Baron is probably a senior Rhodes fanatic.
However, due to the request of Baron Rwanda, the other party in the Lakeview Manor gambling game, Baron Lavender could not hold the card for the sake of face. So he tested Shad's intention and confirmed that the "honest and kind" detective had no intention of possessing the card, so he signed a detective commission agreement with Shad.
The agreement lasts for six months, during which detective Shad Hamilton is responsible for keeping the Ancient Fairy Tale Match Girl and using it at will without lending, renting, damaging or losing it. During the agreement, if Baron Lavender requests it, the detective must temporarily hand over the cards to him for use, and promise to sell the cards to Baron Lavender for 5 pounds after six months.
The commission fee for this agreement is 5 pounds, which means that Shad can get a generous reward of 10 pounds from this matter.
Although the real price of the card was more than 50 pounds, winning the bet at Lakeview Manor was Shad's promise, so the ownership of the card should have belonged to Sir Lavender. Therefore, it was sold at an extremely cheap price half a year later instead of the real price of the card. Baron Lavender explained this many times, fearing that Shad would go back on his word.
Anyway, when the Baron paid the commission in one lump sum and happily came to the first floor with Shade, shook hands with him and left, Shade stood in front of the open door, looking at the flock of pigeons on Saint Teresa Square and thinking:
"So I not only got the temporary right to use the Rhodes card, but also got a profit of 10 pounds... ... Can I be considered to have cheated Baron Lavender... ... But this was his request, and I did nothing. It seems that having more noble friends is really good, and the Rhodes card is indeed a good way to make friends... ... I should go back and keep accounts."
He bent down and picked up the orange cat that was peeking out of the door, both afraid and curious about the world outside the house. When he stood up, he saw the middle-aged officer Captain Rades walking along the Ring Square Street with his head lowered, passing by Baron Lavender's carriage.
He wrapped himself in a black coat, with a wide brown leather belt around the hem of the coat, and the second button on the coat hanging on the string and dangling on his chest:
"Hello, Detective, are you waiting for me?"
Even though it was morning, he still felt like he was still sleepy. The captain didn't look well, and his expression was completely different from Baron Lavender who was so happy to be here.
But at least his beard and hair are well-groomed, and his clothes are neat, which shows that this middle-aged officer, who suffered a loss of reputation because of the relic, the Gun of Kindness, has not lost faith in life.
"... Yes, Captain, please come in."
The captain came here simply to apologize, but he had no intention of asking for the antique pistol. He felt extremely embarrassed about what happened in Lake View Manor, and he wanted to compensate Shade for the black suit.
But this depressed middle-aged man looked even poorer than Shade, and his mental state was not good either. Therefore, Shade, who had benefited from the Spear of Kindness, did not ask for compensation. Instead, he kindly gave him the business card of Schneider's Psychological Clinic and introduced him to Father Augustus of the Dawn Church:
"These two are friends of mine whom I met during the commission. Perhaps you can talk to them."
Shade said very kindly, and suddenly realized that the professions of psychiatrist and priest were such a perfect match for detectives.
At the same time, he was also very curious about how Captain Rades bought the relic, the Spear of Kindness, and wanted to see if there was any secret behind it.
But the captain told Shad very embarrassedly that he had won it by playing Rhodes cards from a drunk in a tavern on the front line of the Windy Trail in the south a few years ago.
Because he didn't want others to know that he was still a gambler, he told his friends that it was an antique. But after the disgraceful incident at Lakeview Manor, the captain no longer wanted to own the pistol:
"To be honest, after it left me, even my sleep became sweeter, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from me. Detective, I'll leave the gun with you and do with it as you please."
The middle-aged man said this, but Xia De knew that this was the feeling of ordinary people after being affected by the power of the relic for a long time.
He comforted the captain and encouraged him to live a good life. Captain Rades hadn't heard such words for a long time, and his favorability towards Shade doubled, and he thought of another thing:
"But I won more than just the revolver from that poor fellow. I remember there was also a small trinket."
Xia De raised his eyebrows, wondering if the ornament was also a relic:
"What kind of accessory is that? Can you let me see it? This gun is very nice, and I think that accessory might be valuable as well. I'm willing to buy it."
The five pounds I just got from Baron Lavender seemed to have found a use.
The captain thought for a moment, touched his hair with his broad hands, and said uncertainly:
"As you know, I just returned to this city as a released prisoner from Carsenrick. When I was looking for an apartment to rent, many of my belongings were lost. I didn't care much about those things before. After all, only women... ahem, after all, only girls like to wear small accessories. It's possible that they are still in my rental apartment now, but I have to look for them."
"It's okay. Do you mind if I come along? I happen to have nothing to do in the morning."
Shade asked, and the Captain readily agreed.
Captain Rades just brought Carsenrick back as a prisoner. He has been in a bad situation recently. Even with the help of his old friends, his current financial situation is not very good.
He now rented a house in Pigtail Alley in the north of the city. Although it was not a slum, it could be considered the lower part of Tobysk. It was far from St. Teresa's Square in the city center, but neither Shad nor the captain mentioned taking a carriage.
The two men, who had nothing to do, walked together in the city of Tobysk. They actually had a lot of common topics to talk about, because the captain was a person who didn't have too many thoughts.
As long as Shad mentioned the situation on the southern front, he could get a lot of military information from the captain. Captain Rades was really a brave and loyal officer. If it weren't for the kind gun, he might have successfully shot himself... So from this perspective, the gun should actually be considered to have saved the captain.