After the Tarot reading ended, Odis, as usual, stared blankly at the ceiling for a while before getting up and taking out the magical item shaped like a gauntlet that she had prepared beforehand, ready to make the transaction.
After completing the transactions with "Justice" and "The Hanged Man," Odis praised "The Fool" and counted his gains for the day.
He received 800 pounds for trading boxing gloves with the "Hanged Man," and later received another 100 pounds for helping translate the ancient Elven script, for a total of 900 pounds.
In addition, I received £1,000 from trading intelligence with "Justice," bringing my total earnings from this Tarot meeting to £1,900.
Odis sighed. They were still far from their goal, and there were still many things that would cost money.
He decided to wait until he received his share of the profits from the "Nanmu Dance Hall" before considering negotiating a deal with the "Mysterious Queen" for magical items.
Today is Monday, and it's time to check the accounts again. Enoch and Manna's assistants came to hand over the accounts one after the other. Odis and Enoch agreed that in a few days, she would send someone with the "special method" mentioned earlier to enable Enoch's subordinates to have combat abilities.
After settling the accounting issues, Odis called Kena over: "You've been working here for about two years and are already very familiar with everything in the pharmacy."
"I need to travel frequently lately, so I'm promoting you to pharmacy manager and temporarily raising your salary to £1.10. If you perform well, I'll raise it to £2."
Odis paid his confidants the full amount of their salaries, but he would often give them extra rewards.
For example, when Kainah helped make the "Flaming Arrow," Odis gave him more than 1 pound as a reward, equivalent to a week's salary, after it was completed.
Kainer smiled and said, "Yes, Mr. Garr, I will take good care of the herbal shop."
"I also need to find you an assistant," Odis said. "For now, we'll pay you the same salary you would have when you first started as an apprentice: 12 soles per week."
Kaina hesitated for a moment before asking in a pleading tone, "Mr. Garr, may I have my sister as my apprentice?"
Although the salary paid by Odis could not compare with that of regular employees of large companies, it was always timely and there was never any delay.
Most importantly, Odis has been willing to teach Kaina whenever he is willing to learn over the past two years. He now has a basic understanding of the efficacy and extraordinary effects of most herbs, and having a skill is essential for establishing himself in this metropolis.
Relatively speaking, Kaina is lucky. At a young age, she became the pillar of her family and was the envy of her peers.
He also knew that Mr. Gar had always maintained a rigorous attitude in recruiting employees, which is why he spoke of the matter in a requesting tone.
Odis paused for a moment before saying, "Okay, but I must remind you that you should know very well how I deal with subordinates who have financial problems."
Kaina immediately replied, "I know, we'll definitely work hard."
Odis nodded, went to the backyard to get the manuscript of "The Manual of Combat", and then took a taxi to a secluded post office.
He found a secluded spot, turned his coat inside out, and put on Lelouch's mask.
His coat had different colors inside and out, so it was enough to disguise him easily.
Odis still didn't mail it himself. Instead, he spent 1 sous to find a newsboy to help him send the manuscript to reporter Mike through the post office.
After doing all this, Odis did not return to Gard's Herbal Shop, but went to 66 Rose Street, the address of the wizard "Gandalf".
He would stay here for most of the time until the wizard had fully digested the potion.
However, considering that it would be inconvenient to return to his current residence in the guise of a wizard, in order to create the illusion that "Gandalf" lived there, he also set up a "teleportation array" between his current residence and "Gandalf's" residence.
The "Ahonna Crystal" used in this teleportation array was the same crystal that led from his previous residence to 176 River Bend Avenue, which Odis had recycled at the time.
However, the gems in that magic circle could no longer be used, so Odis bought some small gems and many extraordinary materials, spending a total of several hundred pounds, to draw a new magic circle.
After finishing the drawing, Odis thought to himself: This is a necessary expense, and I hope the wizard "Gandalf" can recoup his investment as soon as possible.
Odis tested the magic circle and then returned to his residence.
He wasn't worried that the members of "Mechanical Heart" would lose track of him, because they knew he had a way to teleport within a small area.
Max had also inquired about this magic circle, but after taking it back and studying it, he found that it was very expensive, had a limited teleportation distance, and required maintenance.
The final conclusion was that it was too troublesome, so it was better to use the appropriate sealing material.
Therefore, the wealthy and powerful Church of the God of Steam and Machinery completely disregarded Odis's research.
Ding-a-ling~
While Odis was preparing dinner, the doorbell rang suddenly.
Odis saw that it was already dark outside, so he first picked up his cane by the door before looking out the window.
By the light of the streetlights, Odis saw a carriage with the "Storm Emblem" on it on the street.
He sighed. What was bound to happen had finally happened.
Odis remained vigilant, opened the door, and greeted everyone with a smile.
The person outside was Connor, the "Substitute Punisher" butler who had lost weight. In addition to him, there were two other "Substitute Punisher" members and a member of the "Mechanical Heart" team.
For nearly a week, the "substitutes" have tried every means possible, but have been unable to find any clues about Lelouch.
No one, whether in Backlund or in the surrounding area, has seen Lelouch.
There are already two well-developed speculations within "Mechanical Heart" regarding this outcome.
First, Lelouch used a sealing artifact that allowed him to "travel" to leave. After leaving Backlund, it is unknown where he went to hide.
Secondly, Lelouch removed his mask. Lelouch had never shown his true face before, and Connor guessed that Lelouch probably didn't wear a mask normally. After setting a fire in the fighting arena, he took off his mask and became himself again.
But then another problem arose: Simon and several others who had seen Lelouch's true face were dead, and no one knew what Lelouch looked like.
Logically speaking, such cases usually end here, since there's no point in investigating further. Backlund has a population of 5 million, and Lelouch might not even be among them.
But conservatives in Backlund politics have been pressuring the Church of Storms to solve the case as soon as possible.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
The Church of Storms could only allow Connor to continue the investigation, and after about a week of running around, the "Punisher" still hadn't found any clues.
Only then did he remember that, according to Simon's subordinates, he had seen Odis at an underground boxing ring.
Connor did not know that Odis was the "leader" and had never dealt with the herbalist, but he knew that Odis was an informant for the "Mechanical Heart".
Theoretically, Connor wouldn't know about an informant from another official Beyonder organization. He knew about Odis because she was a "well-known informant" among the official Beyonders.
Although Odis was not as famous as the "Chief", his herbal shop not only came into contact with some occult enthusiasts, but also with some extraordinary individuals, thus providing many valuable clues for the "Mechanical Heart".
Of course, "Mechanical Heart" didn't go around publicizing that he had such an informant. Connor learned about the young herbalist through some high-level documents.
Since there were no other clues, Connor decided to find something to do, otherwise he wouldn't know how to explain it to the nobles.
So he found out Odis's address from the "Mechanical Heart" and visited him at night to let the nobles know how dedicated he was.
As a precaution, "Mechanical Heart" also sent an ordinary member along, firstly to prevent Connor from being under too much pressure and arresting people indiscriminately, and secondly to prevent "the substitute" from interrogating people using extraordinary methods.
They knew very well that Odis could not withstand such interrogation.
Connor explained his purpose, saying he had some questions for Odis.
Odis was prepared for this, and after inviting a few people in, he began a question-and-answer session.
Odis had a solid alibi. He said that he had delivered several herbs to a viscount that day, herbs that he had collected over a long period of time. The viscount was pleased with the herbs and asked his steward to invite Odis to stay for dinner.
Connor immediately sent someone to verify, and received a reply after half an hour: such an incident did indeed occur.
Odis was thus cleared of suspicion.
The nobleman certainly wouldn't be kind enough to give false testimony for Odis; he was only willing to do so because Odis possessed a scandal that could ruin the viscount's reputation and cost him his title.
In fact, the intelligence network that Odis planted among the nobles through the "Nanmu Ballroom" was the most important and crucial.
He had more than just one or two aristocratic scandals under his control, but he rarely used them and would keep the secrets of those involved, thus maintaining a good reputation.
Furthermore, the people who gathered the intelligence were not the same group who came to threaten them, making it difficult for the nobles to find out who had leaked their information.
Connor was left with only a few questions: "You have a stable income, why do you still fight in underground boxing matches?"
"Because I'm looking for opportunities to practice," Odistan said. "I've learned some fighting techniques, but I haven't had the chance to put them into practice."
"So how did you achieve three consecutive victories?"
Odis smiled and said, "Because the opponent is too weak."
Connor re-examined Odis and nodded in realization: This is an extraordinary being, which is why he said the opponent was too weak.
The matter should have ended there, but Connor asked Odis a question that was difficult to answer: "Where did you learn to fight?"