Chapter 51 Grudges
After seeing Dunn off, Luze finally got a good night's sleep.
When he woke up, it was already bright daylight. After having breakfast, Lu Ze packed his things and said goodbye to his sister.
Donning a black trench coat and a top hat, he looked incredibly handsome in the mirror. After admiring himself, Luze smiled nonchalantly, picked up his briefcase, walked to the foyer, and turned to Cecilia, saying:
"I'm leaving, Cecilia. I'll be back in about four or five days. Take good care of yourself at home. Um, I'll bring back a gift. Is there anything you'd like?"
"Any gift will do." Cecilia, dressed in a plain dress, saw him to the door and straightened his collar. "What I want most is for you to come back safe and sound."
Unlike Moretti's brother and sister, Cecilia knew that her brother's job was very dangerous, so she was more worried.
"Don't worry, I have two colleagues going with me. Our work isn't usually that dangerous."
"Brother, why did you change your shirt?"
Cecilia, who was adjusting his shirt collar, suddenly noticed something was wrong and asked curiously.
Ah, I changed it that night.
Lu Ze immediately realized that the shirt he was wearing was borrowed from Leonard at the security company. He had already thrown away the blood-stained, torn shirt he wore the night he was stabbed. He panicked for a moment, but smiled calmly, "Oh, that one. I accidentally tore it when I went to train with the martial arts instructor, so I wore one of his shirts."
Fortunately, he had a quick wit and what he said made sense. Cecilia didn't notice the problem, but just sighed, "Brother, you shouldn't just throw it away. You can take it back and turn it into a rag or a patch."
Sister, our family doesn't have to live those difficult days anymore.
Lu Ze thought to himself.
The two walked to No. 2 Narcissus Street, where Klein also came out with his suitcase.
"Good morning, Luze and Cecilia." Klein greeted the two, his gaze lingering on the siblings' faces for a moment.
If they weren't night watchmen, they'd be better suited to be actors in the theater. Regardless of their acting skills, the theater would definitely be packed.
Klein looked at their equally exquisite faces and thought to himself.
The morning air was a bit chilly, and seeing that Cecilia was dressed lightly, Luze told her to stop and not see him off any further. He and Klein walked to the street corner and hired a carriage to head to the Tingen train station.
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"Newspapers for sale! The Tingen City Serious People's Daily, today's breaking news: a big star has been shot dead!"
"Freshly baked bread, 3 pence each!"
"Ruth, I will miss you!"
The train station was bustling with noise.
The last time Luze visited the train station was late at night to greet a high-ranking butler. This time, however, the station was much busier during the day. The platform was crowded with travelers heading to various parts of Luen. Every time a train arrived, the platform was enveloped in steam, making everything and everyone appear indistinct, like a dreamlike illusion.
"Be careful, your wallet might get stolen."
Leonard whispered a reminder.
The crowd was chaotic, obscuring the view, making it the perfect time for the artisans to work. Lu Ze readily complied, clutching his pockets, and together with his two colleagues, followed the flow of people towards the train. As they approached the carriage, he couldn't help but stop and glance at this steel behemoth. The steam-powered locomotive fiercely spewed white steam, appearing even larger than the trains of his previous life, yet its speed was far less, and its passenger capacity was much smaller.
I said, Russell, you still haven't tried hard enough. Why didn't you invent the internal combustion engine or the electric motor?
Lu Ze mentally mocked his time-traveling predecessor, then chuckled and stepped into the carriage.
Because their reimbursement allowance was insufficient, the three of them bought second-class tickets. The environment inside the carriage was better than that of the third-class carriage, with four seats in a row and an aisle in the middle. In the third-class carriage, there were six seats in a row, making the passengers very crowded and the air inside the carriage was also very stuffy.
Because Tingen is the starting station, there weren't many passengers on the train. They bought consecutive seats, and there was no one in front, behind, or to the sides.
"What a pity, we couldn't persuade the captain to buy first-class seats,"
Leonard said to the two across the aisle with some regret, "I was thinking of playing cards with the three of us in the car."
Oh right, I'll buy two more bottles of wine, and I'll have Klein buy some snacks to go with them. We can eat, drink, and have fun all the way, right?
Lu Ze placed his suitcase beside him, sat down, and said, "We're on a business trip. It wouldn't look good if someone saw us like this."
His trunk contained several changes of clothes, ritual materials, talismans, a silver dagger, and other items. In addition, it held two magical artifacts sealed by a spiritual wall: the servant bell and the bone flute. Knowing the trip to Enmat Port might be dangerous, he had brought all of these with him.
"Waaah—"
A loud whistle echoed through the platform, the wheels turned on the tracks, and the carriages began to tremble. Through the glass, Lu Ze watched the people and scenery outside slowly recede, then accelerate until they flew away.
brush!
The scenery suddenly opened up before us. The train passed through the city, swept past slums with their low-rise houses, and headed straight for the open fields. Vast expanses of green came into view, and in the distance, we could see spinning windmills and farmers at work.
Luze looked out the window, occasionally chatting with Leonard and the others.
Enmat Port belongs to East Chestershire. The Looney coastline bends here, forming a perfect sheltered bay, making it a port city since ancient times. With the advent of the steam age and the Age of Exploration, spearheaded by Russell, Enmat Port prospered and became an important transportation hub in Looney.
Enmat is located southeast of Tingen. The train will first travel east to Stohn, the capital of East Chestershire, where it will stop for ten minutes before heading south to its final destination, Enmat. The entire journey is expected to take five to six hours.
At first, the group was quite lively, chatting and laughing from time to time. However, the journey was too long, and the three of them got tired towards the end, only exchanging a few words here and there. Lu Ze was even drowsy.
However, at that moment, Leonard's words suddenly jolted him awake.
"Oh, right, did I forget to tell you that the Night Watch captain of Enmat Port and our captain don't get along very well?"
Lu Ze sat up abruptly.
"What did you say?"
"I mean, Edward Crawford, the Night Watch captain of Enmat Harbor, doesn't like our captain, Dunn Smith."
"Why? Is there some grudge between them?"
Klein asked curiously as well.
"It's not really a grudge. How should I put it? It's more like Edward Crawford just dislikes our captain." Leonard gave a gossipy smile. "The reason is simple: Edward Crawford likes Ms. Daly."