"Miss Granger, wake up, wake up!"
"Mmm... where am I..."
Her shoulder was pushed several times, and Angel, aching all over, woke from her dream, only to discover the sun was already hanging high in the sky, warm sunlight spilling from the bay window into the living room, spilling onto her body.
Standing beside her was Tromi with a panicked expression on her face, holding a wooden bucket filled with cleaning tools in one hand, the other hand prepared to continue touching Angel. Seeing the other party wake up, the panicked expression on her face was replaced by relief.
So I fell asleep on the living room sofa?
She slowly climbed up from the sofa, turning to a sitting position. Her body, twisted from sleeping in an awkward position, protested again with waves of pain, making Angel unable to help but groan.
"Sorry, Tromi, you go about your business. I'll rest for a while and be fine."
The worried female worker looked back at her three times with each step, and only left the living room to attend to her own matters after seeing Angel sitting steadily on the sofa.
"Did the captain come again to create nightmares, making me sleepwalk to the living room?"
Covering her head, Angel's thoughts were in complete chaos. It took her a while to remember what happened last night.
"So it was Mrs. Daly... no, it was her 'human face' that came, and in the end was angered by me, lighting up the living room's large lamp."
Angel looked up at the large gas lamp that had ignited with blue-green flames last night, directly frightening her unconscious when she was trapped in the negative state of the "Magic Pocket Watch."
At this time the gas lamp had already been extinguished, the slightly yellowed glass shade showing constantly changing colors in the sunlight.
"Perhaps what I said was too excessive? First time seeing Mrs. Daly get angry..."
While thinking, she stood up from the sofa, the thin blanket on her body sliding down to the carpet.
Hmm? Someone covered me with a blanket?
No, I remember yesterday I was crouching in the corner of the living room. How did I wake up on the sofa?
Angel didn't think that translucent human face could have the ability to move a human body, otherwise it definitely wouldn't just be a tool for conveying messages, but could serve as a means of remotely attacking enemies.
"Could it be that Mrs. Daly herself also came to Tingen, even came to my house last night?"
She murmured to herself, bending down to pick up the blanket, but discovered a note placed on the coffee table.
Written on it in delicate handwriting were several paragraphs.
"Sorry, Angel, I didn't know that magical item's negative effects were so strong. Originally lighting the flame was just to scare you, I didn't expect you to faint directly."
Sure enough, it was Mrs. Daly's message...
Even though the motive was to improve the relationship between Daly and Dunn, those words of mine did indeed anger Daly...
Angel smiled bitterly and continued reading.
"According to Dunn, this magical item's effect can only last ten minutes, but the negative effects last as long as twelve hours. This degree of negative effects could very likely cause huge impact on you during battle. My suggestion is that you can use it frequently, try starting with the smallest flame to get used to this feeling of fear, gradually adapting to its negative effects, to avoid being affected by the magical item during long battles."
Starting with the smallest and gradually getting used to larger ones... this seems to be called "desensitization therapy" in medicine?
Angel recalled some medical knowledge from her previous life, thinking Daly's suggestion should have some effect, and noted down this plan.
"Also, I'll help you ask Dunn for leave. Rest well at home in the morning, remember to go to the base in the afternoon. The 'Red Gloves' should arrive at that time. Do you still remember what I said last night?"
"As for the matter between Dunn and me, I'll find an opportunity to talk with him, perhaps when I next come to Tingen. Before that, I also need time to sort out my thoughts, and besides, if a woman is too proactive, he'll be scared too, right."
At the end of the message was a crooked smiley face, with "thank you" written beside it.
Looking at this smiley face, Angel finally felt relieved.
At least the barrier between Daly and Dunn had been broken through by herself. How things develop next would depend on them.
Perhaps with their personalities, they might drag it out for several more months, even until next year, but Angel believed this mutual love would definitely reach a beautiful ending with her help.
Not until the "Magic Pocket Watch's" pointer returned to zero did Angel bid farewell to the busy Tromi and leave No. 6 Daffodil Street.
Since Tromi's father died in the "Cursed Altar" incident last time, as comfort and help for her, Angel gave this pitiful female worker quite a raise, so she no longer needed to rush from dawn to dusk to various employers' homes every day.
As a replacement, the frequency of Tromi coming to Angel's house to clean, organize and do laundry had also increased, almost becoming half a dedicated household maid for her family.
Tightening the cloak on her body, Angel jumped down from the hired carriage, paid the fare and turned to look at the "Backlund Bank" by the street.
Of course, this was still Tingen, and "Backlund Bank" was just a branch of this bank in Tingen City.
But the independent, modern building with a completely different style from the surrounding buildings still made passersby turn their heads to look, even though they passed by this largest bank in the Kingdom of Ruen every day.
"Indeed, no matter which world, the financial industry is always the most profitable..."
Sighing inwardly, Angel walked into the brightly lit bank hall.
It was a weekday afternoon, there weren't many people conducting business, so Angel didn't need to queue and found an available window.
"Please help me deposit this money into the account."
After passing the note with her anonymous account number and paper money totaling 100 pounds into the window, Angel's gaze left the busy staff member and began looking around boredly.
Hmm, extravagantly keeping all the lights on in broad daylight. If my negative effect of fearing firelight was still active, I would definitely faint on the spot in the hall... There seems to be someone conducting business in the VIP reception room, and there's actually a waiter serving coffee there, with guards standing outside the door. It seems without several thousand pounds of business, there's no chance to enter...
Her gaze swept past the luxuriously decorated VIP reception room with its half-closed door, and Angel quickly looked away, feeling that every extra glance would reduce the money in her pocket by several pounds.
There were also many exquisite paintings hanging on the hall walls. Last time when I came to withdraw money I was too nervous and didn't notice to observe them...
This time, approaching the time Angel and Klein had arranged for their "special application," she worried her cash of unknown origin might be discovered as problematic, so after the weekly salary was paid and the portion used for investigating "Red Chimney" was replenished, she deposited the 100 pounds withdrawn from the anonymous account back again, changing from the Tarot Club's wealthy "Queen" Miss back into that poor Nighthawks member.
"Sorry, sir, we were unprepared this time, giving you a bad experience. Next time we will provide you with the best VIP service."
The voice from the VIP room made Angel shift her gaze from the wall, where hung portraits and introductions of the bank's major shareholders. She was just looking at the "Earl Hall" section.
The half-closed door was pushed open from inside, and a thin man wearing a windbreaker, top hat, and carrying a black briefcase walked out. His face was gloomy, seeming extremely disappointed with the "VIP service."
Noticing Angel's gaze, the gloomy man's eyes swept over without concealment, stopping on her.
Angel seemed unaware, her gaze paused on the man for a few seconds before slowly moving away, looking at the bank manager chasing after him apologetically, looking at the window staff conducting business.
The gaze lingering behind her continued for quite a while before disappearing.
"Your money has been deposited into this account. Please keep the receipt."
Angel thanked him, took the receipt, folded it and put it in her pocket.
Then she turned her head, looking at the gloomy man's retreating figure. After he disappeared at the street corner, she walked toward the sweating bank manager.
"Sir, excuse me."
"What is it?"
The bank manager asked with slight dissatisfaction, his gaze also just returning from that VIP customer's retreating figure.
"I am Inspector Granger, this is my badge. What business did that gentleman just conduct at the bank?"
Angel held up her police badge and asked with a serious expression.
That brown-haired, thick-lipped gloomy man was the "Aurora Order" member who had tortured and killed the Plark family, as revealed in Old Neil's writings.