Chapter 324: No IQ Requirement for Nighthawks, Huh?
Good, good, good—so you really are from the official side.
If that's the case, you probably were one back in Tingen too.
Chased me all over Tingen back then. Now I've changed my appearance and come to Backlund, and you're chasing me again.
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Lorne sneered inwardly, but his face remained completely unruffled. He perfectly played the role of a boss exhausted from work, oblivious to his surroundings. He didn't even look up, just picked up another report from the desk and began flipping through it on his own.
"The income and expenses still have issues—" he sighed lightly, unable to hide the weariness on his face.
"—" Leonard stood guardedly at the door, scrutinizing James Scott behind the desk. Pulling someone into a dream had gone much smoother than he'd imagined; the other party seemed to have entered the dream without any resistance, which only made him more cautious.
Just then, the man buried in the documents suddenly raised his head.
"You're here?"
What?! He knew I was coming?! Leonard was so startled he instinctively took two steps back, his entire body tensing, ready to handle any sudden situation.
"Ted, is the workshop issue settled? Is the machine fixed?" Lorne asked, seemingly unaware of the other's odd behavior, with a hint of urgency.
Workshop? Machine? Is he—mistaking me for one of his employees? Leonard's mind raced, countless thoughts flashing through in an instant.
"Ted?"
Seeing him standing there dumbfounded, Lorne cast a puzzled look his way.
"Ah! Boss!" Leonard snapped to attention, hurriedly responding, his body instinctively leaning forward slightly into a respectful posture. "It's all taken care of, the machine is fixed."
"That's good." Lorne nodded and continued looking down, flipping through the report in his hand.
For a moment, the only sound in the office was the rustling of turning pages.
A moment later, he seemed to suddenly remember something and looked up again: "Oh, right, a few workers in the workshop have caught the flu. Go handle it."
Handle—probably means fire them—Leonard thought to himself.
He knew that in this era, a sick worker being "handled" often had only one outcome. Fired, losing their job, then swallowed by the harsh reality. The lucky ones might tough it out; the unlucky ones could only entrust their future to the gods they believed in, in some forgotten corner.
Thinking of this, a sliver of pity arose in Leonard's heart. He was aware of these things, but what could he do?
Uh—James Scott is very powerful. I can only play along with this role for now and find an opportunity to fish for information later—Leonard sighed inwardly, trying to quickly slip into the role of a cold-hearted foreman, just as he had once played the "poet."
He replied in a low voice: "Understood, boss. I'll go dismiss them."
"Who told you to dismiss them?!"
A remark laced with clear reproach suddenly came from behind the desk.
What? Lorne's question completely stumped Leonard. If not dismissal, then what? Could it be—he'd actually treat their illness?
Seeing him standing there dumbfounded with a stunned expression, Lorne explained impatiently: "I meant for you to arrange proper care for them! Let them go home and rest first, and come back to work when they're better!"
He scrutinized Leonard up and down with a critical gaze and retorted: "Do I look like the kind of person who would abandon my employees?"
"No, no! Of course not!" Leonard, feeling a pang of guilt under that gaze, hurriedly waved his hands with an awkward smile. "Boss, you're the hero of the East Borough. How could you possibly abandon those poor workers—"
At the same time, his impression of James Scott quietly improved a bit.
No wonder he could single-handedly storm the Capine Villa and save those girls. It seems the newspaper reports weren't all government propaganda. This "hero of the east district" truly has a kind heart.
I admit, I had some misunderstandings about him before.
"Remember, give them a little relief money on the sly." Lorne suddenly lowered his voice. "Don't make a fuss. The factory—isn't doing too well right now either."
Wants to help the workers privately but doesn't want others to know, afraid of causing unnecessary trouble—Leonard instantly understood.
"Understood."
"Hmm, good that you understand." Lorne nodded approvingly. He leaned back in his chair and spoke in a devout and solemn tone: "the Goddess teaches us not to abandon the weak, but to do our best to help them."
Saying this, he raised his hand and touched his chest four times in a clockwise direction, murmuring softly: "Praise the Lady."
Truly a devout believer of the Goddess—Leonard, infected by the other's emotion, instinctively also touched his chest four times.
"Praise the Lady."
"Wait!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly saw Lorne look up at him with a slightly surprised gaze.
"You praise the Lady too?"
"Aren't you a follower of the God of Steam and Machinery?"
"Ah—this—" Leonard's smile instantly froze on his face, his complexion turning deathly pale.
Crap! I'm about to be exposed!
"Right! I am a follower of the God of Steam and Machinery!" he hurriedly tried to cover up.
"I was—I was moved by your devout faith, boss! That's why I—heh heh—" He scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.
"Your faith isn't very firm." A trace of disdain appeared on Lorne's face. "Although, if you were truly willing to convert to the Goddess, it wouldn't be a bad choice. But—"
He deliberately paused for a moment before saying leisurely: "the Goddess doesn't need fence-sitting believers."
"Uh—"
Leonard felt a bit guilty hearing this. Although he prided himself on never betraying the Church, there was indeed an unreported "roommate" living inside him.
If James Scott was truly that devout to the Goddess, in a way, he himself might not necessarily compare.
"Alright, get back to work." Lorne seemed unwilling to continue the topic. "Take good care of the workers."
"Otherwise, I'll have to dock your pay."
"Yes, yes, I'll go right now—" Leonard instinctively turned to leave.
Wait, that's not right! I came to gather information!
Catching himself, he quickly turned back, putting on an anxious expression: "Boss! I came to report to you! Something's happened!"
"The police came by earlier to investigate, said they wanted to ask about yesterday's incident again—"
"Yesterday? Didn't they finish the statement yesterday?" Lorne frowned slightly. "Are the police still here?"
"They've left." Leonard nodded. "I saw you were too busy, so I sent them away. But I wrote down all the questions they wanted to ask."
"I see—sigh, these police really know how to pick their timing." Lorne sighed. "What did they want to ask?"
"About what happened yesterday at Green Cemetery." At this point, Leonard feigned curiosity and asked: "Boss, what happened yesterday? Did you go play the hero again?"
"Ted, since when did you become so gossipy?" Lorne chided him, then continued in a casual tone: "I've had a bit of bad luck recently. Then, a doctor friend of mine had a similar situation—"
"Not long ago, he started having nightmares and hired a Detective to investigate. Yesterday, he was sent a dream by a little boy, dreaming of a burial site. He got scared and came to me, planning to go check out the place from the dream together—"
Lorne recounted Will Auceptin's matter in a relaxed tone.
Pretty much matches what's in the case file—Leonard nodded, then followed up with a few more detailed questions about the incident. Lorne answered normally as before, without any concealment.
To be honest, he still wanted to ask about the other's own information, the other Beyonder who was in the office earlier, and the truth about that night at the Capine Villa.
"Just stick to questions related to this case. Don't ask about the rest. His strength is no less than yours; he could easily sense something."
Remembering the old man's earlier warning, he swallowed back the questions already on the tip of his tongue.
Anyway, this mission is basically accomplished. I also found out James Scott is a devout believer of the Goddess. The previous observation task is considered over-fulfilled.
With a bountiful harvest, Leonard didn't plan to stir up more trouble. In good spirits, he bid farewell to Lorne.
"I'll get to work. Boss, you should rest early too."
Come to think of it, should I stop by his Charity Fund to donate next time?—He thought to himself as he withdrew from the dream.
After about ten minutes, Lorne slowly opened his eyes. He found himself slumped over the desk, with no abnormal spiritual reactions around anymore. He sat up, rubbing his throbbing temples.
"Seems like becoming a Nighthawk doesn't have an IQ requirement—"
"But—there's a strange feeling about him."
"Marauder—" He recalled the Beyonder characteristic and that broken monocle he had studied not long ago.
"Is it—a Mystical Item related to the Marauder pathway?—"