If the trip went smoothly and there were no follow-up issues, Shad planned to use the rest of the day to travel around the local area, then temporarily give up exploring Coldwater Port City and concentrate on returning to Tobesk to find ways to increase his strength in a short period of time.
Although Miss Danister's divination suggested that Shad needed to travel far, divination was not necessarily correct, and he did not need to waste too much time in a strange city.
As for being able to handle the commission in a distant port city, it was because the friend to whom Mrs. Lemaire's deceased distant relative, Mr. Lemaire, entrusted his will lived locally.
This is certainly not a coincidence. The deceased Mr. Lemaire was a sailor traveling between the New World and the Old World, and Coldwater Port must have been his most frequent stop. His friend should have a close connection with the identity of the sailor, and his relationship was good enough to help preserve the will, so it was normal for him to be in Coldwater Port.
When he went out, Shade put on a hat to prevent anyone from recognizing him. Of course, no one in this city had ever seen Shade himself, and even if someone recognized him through the photo in the newspaper, as long as they didn't admit that they had been to Coldwater Port, it wouldn't cause any trouble.
As for the destination of this trip, although Xia De did not have a photographic memory, he had the habit of carrying a notebook with him, and the notebook contained the information that the client had said when he came to his house that day.
Mr. Lemaire's friend also lived in the dock area and seemed to be a minor civil servant of the local government. When I asked for the address when I left the hotel, I learned that it was only half an hour's walk away.
Xia De didn't know the gentleman's name, but Mrs. Lemaire knew that he lived at No. 5 Mermaid Lane in the dock area of Coldwater Harbor. Judging from the naming method, it should be a better lane in the neighborhood.
Even in the same country, different cities have different architectural styles. The architectural styles of the foggy city in the inland and the seaport on the west coast are quite different. Holding an umbrella, Xia De walked into the unfamiliar city. It took nearly an hour to walk the journey that should have taken half an hour.
He saw children running and laughing in the rain, laborers carrying things at the dock in heavy rain, old nobles riding in carriages on the road, and beggars huddled under the eaves of shops to avoid the rain.
This city is thriving, this city is decayed and dirty. This place is thousands of miles away from Tobysk, but Shade's evaluation of it is surprisingly consistent:
“Cities that play two roles in the era of change will eventually prosper or decline in a greater transformation.”
In order to facilitate cargo transportation, the dock area had good drainage on the main road, but once you got into the alleys, the mud and things that Shade didn't want to guess almost covered the uppers of his boots.
Mermaid Alley is on the side of the main road. The fifth door in the alley is the destination. This is a two-story building with peeling walls and moss growing on the edge of the wall facing the street. The window next to the door has no curtains, and you can see a pot of wilted flowers on the windowsill, which looks like it has been dead for a long time.
Out of politeness, Xia De did not peek into other people's homes from the window. Instead, he walked up the stairs under the eaves with an umbrella, knocked gently on the door, and waited patiently:
"I don't know how Mia is doing with Miss Louisa."
It was raining in Tobesk and Lengshui Port today, but relatively speaking, the rain in this port city was heavier. The wind blew through the city, bringing the unique smell of the ocean into the nose. People who have lived here for many years would probably be very accustomed to this smell.
After all, there is no perennial fog here like in Tobysk.
Soon someone came to open the door. After the door was opened, a tall, thin, middle-aged man with a beard appeared:
"Excuse me, is Mr. Jonathan Lemaire here?"
Shad made good use of his surprise, for he had thought that Mr. Flamel's friend was also a rude sailor.
"Flamaire?"
The person who opened the door frowned, looked up and down at the young man holding the umbrella, and answered with a slight accent:
"That's my friend, sir. What do you want from him?"
"We had some financial disputes, and I came to settle the bill with him."
"He owes you money?"
The middle-aged man suddenly became alert and looked the strange young man up and down.
"No, I owe him money."
Xia De said, taking out the Rhodes card from his pocket with the hand that was not holding the umbrella and shaking it:
"We met on the ship. I was on their ship from Coldwater Harbor to the New World. We played cards together on the ship. I lost some money to Jonathan Lemaire, but I couldn't pay it back at the time. He gave me this address and told me to send the money here... That was two months ago. I had just returned to Coldwater Harbor from the New World."
Xia De didn't know whether the crew member liked playing cards, but since he was a crew member who went to sea all year round, he would definitely not be able to avoid smoking, drinking and playing Rhodes. There were not many interesting things in this era, and if you wanted to have some fun at sea, these were the only things you could do.
"I am a man of integrity, and I don't owe much money."
Xia De also did not forget to explain why he was so "honest".
"How much do you owe him?"
But the middle-aged man who opened the door was still alert.
"Twelve shillings and seven pence."
The amount of money is neither too much nor too little. If it is too little, there is no point in wasting time to pay it back. If it is too much, it will arouse suspicion.
The middle-aged man relaxed a little, and seeing that it was still raining outside, he let Xia De in to talk:
"Thank you for coming to pay the money back, but... come in first."
The middle-aged man was named Jason Dral, and he was a dispatcher in charge of warehouse dispatch at the local dock area. Although it sounded like a humble position, it was still a civil servant in Lengshui Port City. Even though Xia De had never been exposed to similar jobs, he could understand that this was a lucrative job.
Mr. Delal entertained Shad in the living room and informed him of the sad news of Mr. Lemaire's death.
Xia De, who had been prepared, acted very well to show his "surprise". He first lamented the impermanence of life, and that the crew member was still healthy when they met a few months ago. After hearing that he died in a shipwreck, he pretended to pray for the soul of the innocent person who died - praying to Mr. Liming.
In order to make the conversation seem more natural, Shad also inquired about the relationship between Mr. De Lale and the deceased Mr. Lemaire.
His client, Mrs. Lemaire, didn't know much from the lawyer. She only knew that the gentleman who kept the will in Coldwater Harbor was a good friend of the crew member who died in the shipwreck. When Mr. Dellal introduced himself, he just said that he and Mr. Lemaire were friends who met in the tavern playing Rhodes cards. They gradually became familiar with each other and had been friends for decades.
This statement is very similar to what Shade said, and it seems a bit strange. But anyway, by now, Shade is basically sure that Mrs. Lemaire's acceptance of the inheritance is indeed true and not a scam.
After all, even if this was a scam, the scammers wouldn't be so bored as to prepare such a realistic trap in a faraway city.