Chapter 81: Chapter 85: Remuneration
Duncan steadied himself and walked toward the two police officers at the door.
He felt clear of conscience—after all, he hadn’t caused any destruction, nor had he had any conflicts with the authorities. Although Captain Duncan Strain’s reputation preceded him, what did the mobile natural disasters of the Endless Sea have to do with an honest and upright antique shop owner?
Upon reflection, the most suspicious thing he had done was attend a heretic gathering—after which he had enthusiastically reported it!
Wait… Reported?
Suddenly recalling this fact, Duncan faintly guessed the reason for the police officers’ visit. His steps toward the door became even more confident, but Nina clearly didn’t share his composure. She rushed to meet her uncle as he descended the stairs and spoke in an urgent, hushed voice at an angle the officers couldn’t see, “Uncle, you have to come clean to the officers when they ask you questions…”
Duncan’s stride faltered, and he gave his “niece” a strange look. “Is that the image you have of me?”
Nina looked somewhat aggrieved at her “uncle,” whose reputation was not the best, someone who frequently had people knocking on his door due to drunkenness or brawls in gambling dens. “What else would bring the officers here to look for you?”
Duncan: “…”
He sighed helplessly, approached the shop’s entrance, and greeted the two officers in dark blue uniforms with a brilliant smile, “Good morning, gentlemen. May I help you with anything?”
“Mr. Duncan Strain,” the elder of the two officers began in a polite yet formal tone, “We’ve located this address based on the registration—the clue you reported to the patrol officers yesterday has been verified, and on behalf of the city hall, we would like to thank you for your contribution to maintaining the City-State’s order. As a token of our appreciation, we’ve brought you a reward.”
As he finished speaking, the younger officer stepped forward and handed over a rather thick envelope.
Nina’s eyes widened at the scene.
Duncan had already guessed the officers’ intent; he figured it was a follow-up to his previous report about the heretics’ den, but he hadn’t expected them to actually deliver the reward to his door. He took the envelope, somewhat surprised, and saw the one-time wax seal at the opening marked with “435 Sola”—for residents of the Lower City District, this was a substantial amount of money.
“So, there’s money to be had…” Duncan squeezed the envelope, feeling the thickness of the cash, “I hadn’t thought that much about it at the time.”
“Of course, there’s a reward—the Governor places a high priority on cracking down on criminal activities within the City-State, especially lately. Any effective report will earn a substantial and tangible reward,” the younger officer explained with a smile. “Moreover, the clue you provided… was quite exceptional.”
Hearing this, Duncan’s interest peaked, and he asked casually, “By the way, when I heard the commotion over there, I didn’t dare to look closely… What exactly happened?”
The two officers exchanged glances, then took a couple of steps into the shop. Nina paused for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening and hurried to close the shop door.
“We were not present at the scene. The Guardians are handling the matter, but according to the information we received… the scene was quite grisly,” the younger officer said, not yet fully adept at the detached delivery of his senior. “You did the right thing by not approaching recklessly and immediately reporting to the patrol officers. Otherwise, you would surely have been in danger.”
After the young man finished speaking, the other officer also added, “The specific details need not concern ordinary citizens; we’re just here to remind you—recently, there’s a rise in heretic activities within the city. Do not mention your report and the reward you received to outsiders.”
Duncan paused, then quickly grasped the implication.
This was the Lower City District, where the filth and poisons converged, the darkest of Proland’s secrets hidden away in these decrepit, winding alleys. And when the heretical dangers stirred, they too would seek refuge in such places.
Although the antique shop’s street was considered one of the more respectable parts of the Lower City District, a fair distance from the poorest slums, from the perspective of harboring the unwanted, the whole Lower City District was much the same.
Moreover, regardless of the possibility of heretics lurking among the ordinary people of the Lower City District, “a person who reports to the authorities and collects a reward” here was also likely to be viewed with suspicion by others.
The local officers were aware of this and gave a routine warning out of goodwill.
Duncan thought about it and decided their warning was warranted.
This place was indeed prone to heretic activities—he still had the Sun Emblem in his pocket.
“Thank you for the reminder,” he sincerely thanked them. Although the average competence of most local officers was unknown to him, at least these two had made a good impression on him, “Would you like to rest here for a while?”
“That won’t be necessary,” the senior officer waved his hand and turned toward the shop door, “We still have a patrol to complete.”
The young sheriff turned back before leaving, “If you come across any leads in the future, you are welcome to report them in a timely manner—the safety of the City-State affects each and every one of us.”
“Of course,” Duncan pinched the paper bag in his hand, a sincere smile on his face, “I’ve always been a good citizen concerned about the order of the City-State.”
The two sheriffs left the “enthusiastic good citizen Mr. Duncan’s” antique shop, and it wasn’t until the two uniformed figures had disappeared into the street that Nina finally snapped back to reality and looked at her uncle—Uncle Duncan was opening the paper bag, counting the bills of blues and greens inside. The pleasing sound of the paper flipping gave her a sense of reality, “Uncle… is this really a reward from the City Hall? You actually… really…”
The girl opened her mouth for a long time but, in the end, she didn’t dare to ask, “You actually really did a good deed.”
But Duncan knew what Nina was thinking and what she was doubting. He laughed, “It’s just that I reported some illegal activities on the way home yesterday—Uncle has always been enthusiastic about public welfare.”
Nina: “…”
“Although I’m quite surprised by the high reward,” Duncan didn’t wait for Nina to speak and pondered again, looking at the banknotes in his hand, murmuring, “This makes money faster than doing business…”
He didn’t say it out loud: based on the intelligence obtained earlier, there were who knows how many heretics from various City-States hiding in the city.
That’s all money!
Nina was slow to react, “Uncle, what did you say?”
“Nothing,” Duncan waved his hand, while ruminating on this new money-making scheme and casually said, “Shouldn’t you go to school? Leave early so you’re not late—and by the way, when is Mr. Morris coming for a home visit?”
“This afternoon, I only have one class in the afternoon,” Nina said, seeming to recall something, “Uncle, are you going out today?”
Duncan nodded, “Hmm, I have to step out, but I’ll be back before your history teacher arrives.”
Upon hearing this, Nina cast a suspicious look, “Uncle, what are you going to do?”
Duncan’s smile was particularly bright, “Uncle is going out hunting.”
He already had an idea. Since the Sun Emblem was so effective, and the authorities were so generous with payouts, it was silly not to take advantage of the opportunity—after all, even without the “report and get paid” factor, he would have caused trouble for the heretics just to ensure the stability of his surroundings, so why not benefit once more by alerting others about them?
But Nina was a clever girl. Even if she didn’t know the other details about Duncan, she immediately guessed what her uncle meant by “hunting” and her delicate eyebrows immediately wrinkled with concern, “…Uncle, what you’re doing is wrong. Just yesterday you talked about running the shop honestly, about sorting things out in the shop, about hiring staff…”
“Caring about the City-State’s public order and running a shop honestly are not in conflict,” Duncan said with a broad gesture, “You go to school; Uncle knows what he’s doing.”
However, what he didn’t anticipate was Nina’s reaction—she simply found a chair and sat down.
“Nina?”
“Uncle, it’s dangerous,” Nina looked up, gazing intently at Duncan.
Duncan: “Well… actually…”
“I’m going to watch you,” Nina stubbornly sat there, “The sheriffs just said that it’s been unsafe in the City-State lately… It’s one thing to run into trouble accidentally, but how can you deliberately seek out that danger?”
Duncan looked at the seventeen-year-old girl somewhat dumbfounded.
He suddenly realized that she truly cared about him—in her stubborn belief in what was right and safe, she was concerned about “Uncle Duncan, who has been seriously ill for years, weak in body, reckless in actions, and recently desperate to make money.”
“I don’t want a bicycle,” Nina muttered, head bowed.
“Go to school,” Duncan suddenly sighed and went forward with a smile, gently patting Nina’s head.
Nina looked up in surprise.
“You’re right, it’s dangerous,” Duncan said earnestly as he looked at Nina, “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait for you here in the shop.”