"What is it?"
The clown's voice was as erratic and unpredictable as ever.
"It's a troubleso matter, related to the Orthodox Church... On second thought, just get the Huntress. Is she available?"
"She is. One mont."
Having worked with the Huntress several tis, Jenkins considered her swift and always capable of completing her tasks. The matter he wished to commission was important, so he needed soone with outstanding abilities.
"Oh, one more thing."
He called out again, stopping the clown who was about to go find her. Seeing him press out the candle fla with a ridiculous, grimy cat-paw glove, its cotton stuffing peeking through, Jenkins stepped forward and asked in a low voice:
"I need a completely secure, anonymous bank account that can be used throughout the Three Great Kingdoms. Yes, the kind for handling... difficult money. Can you provide one?"
"That's simple. Thirty pounds. I'll give you the account na and password in a mont. You can go to the Travelers' Bank to change them yourself, but I must remind you: if you commit a cri, do not implicate this place."
"I'm well aware of that. It's the black market's code... Wait, who said I was going to commit a cri?"
"Hmph."
The clown, his face a mask of greasepaint, let out a derisive snort, then turned and walked step by step into the deeper darkness.
Jenkins wasn't familiar with the situation elsewhere, but he believed the underground black market in Nolan City probably wasn't the largest in the entire region. For safety, most illegal Enchanters wouldn't choose to settle in a large city. Instead, country towns or more remote, smaller kingdoms were the ideal choice.
Consequently, so rather large Enchanter black markets existed in the countryside. These markets were held periodically, but compared to the strictly regulated city markets, those unrestrained places were more prone to trouble.
This was all according to Papa Oliver.
The clown returned in just half an hour. He handed Jenkins a tal ring wrapped in a slip of paper. The top of the ring was set with a square piece of tal, and beneath the embossed design was a string of fine numbers. In return, Jenkins gave him thirty pounds.
The ring was actually a seal, while the paper held the bank account na and password. All three had to be used together to have full control of the account. The banking industry wasn't very developed yet; only the highest-tier accounts could handle transfers between different kingdoms. Even so, it still took so ti for the branches to sync their data, and inter-regional transfers could only be completed in larger cities.
Furthermore, the annual fee for such an account was quite high. The clown told him he had to maintain a balance of at least eleven pounds and three shillings, or it would be frozen at the end of the year. All in all, it was a very troubleso affair.
When he saw the Huntress, she was already in the room lit by a single candle. Jenkins was now even more certain that the room was underground, as he could hear a deep rumbling sound from above. It was the sound of large, buried steam pipes passing overhead.
"The middleman said you specifically requested . Does that an you're not a new client? Or were you referred by an acquaintance?"
Jenkins remained silent, sitting stiffly upright on the sofa, a posture he did not normally adopt.
As he expected, with him holding himself like this, she didn't recognize who he was.
"Alright, I have no intention of prying into your privacy. So, what do you need to do?"
"Currently, there are a few Enchanters from the Church of Sun and Justice in Nolan. Their original purpose was to retrieve a special item, so they weren't particularly hiding their tracks. But things are different now... I need you to investigate what they've been doing lately. I don't need to know their objective; that would be too dangerous. I just want a record of their movents within a one-week period, starting from this week."
He was worried about startling them and bringing trouble upon himself, so he only wanted to know their current activities.
"Oh?"
A smile of interest touched the Huntress's unusually plain face. "I don't commit cris, you know."
"How many pounds?"
He asked coolly.
"I just need them followed? No deep investigation?"
"You could put it that way."
"Tsk. Three hundred pounds."
A mocking smile spread across her face.
"Asking for a king's ransom?"
Jenkins didn't get angry, maintaining his detached attitude.
"A king? That's an interesting taphor. But it's not a king's ransom, because you haven't been entirely truthful either—what are they really doing? I have to know that before I can act. Otherwise, there's no telling what might happen."
She had a point, but Jenkins certainly couldn't reveal that he had pocketed a drop of divinity that belonged to soone else.
"They're looking for sothing. Sothing even they don't know the nature of. That's the truth."
The woman fell silent for a mont, her brow slowly furrowing. Jenkins noticed a golden point of light in front of her begin to glow, though he had no idea what kind of ability was at work.
"If it's just tracking, then it's relatively simple. But this commission involves the Orthodox Church, so I'll be taking on so risk. Therefore, the price might be a bit higher."
"That's to be expected. I understand. But please, give a reasonable price."
"Good, as long as you understand. Since it's for a week of their movents, then... fifty pounds."
Jenkins hesitated for a few seconds. His usual instinct was to haggle for a lower price, but he quickly made up his mind. "Done. But you absolutely must not be discovered."
He knew the price was fair. The last commission concerning the house had been twenty-two pounds, but while that task had been troubleso, it hadn't been certain to involve contact with Enchanters, hence the lower cost. This ti, he was asking her to actively track Enchanters from an Orthodox Church. Fifty pounds stung, but it wasn't an exorbitant price.
As Jenkins took out the deposit, the Huntress sat across from him and teased:
"I don't mind who you are, but may the gods help you if you're a wanted criminal. Tracking might be unethical, but it doesn't seem to be illegal. I just hope your troubles don't end up involving ."
"I have no troubles."
He retorted.
"I'm not the least bit interested."
The woman shrugged, her body relaxing against the soft back of the sofa. But inwardly, she remained vigilant. After all, this stranger's commission was connected to the Orthodox Church.
"Could he be one of those recently active cultists?"
She wondered, looking again at the man sitting at the edge of the candlelight.
His face was a blank slate, betraying no particular professional air. But the more she stared at him, the stranger he seed. As for what was strange about him...
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