Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 237: One hundred and seventy-six: Your Name (2)

Chapter 237: One hundred and seventy-six: Your Name (2)

"Speaking of which, the Mischael family is obviously a super-wealthy family, so why do I get the impression of them being like a small, run-down household?" Camilla dismounted her horse and, looking at the mansion before her, asked Colin in a skeptical tone, "Colin, my good friend, do you think our Viscount might have stored all his money in a cellar?"

"If that were the case, they would have had to dig out a small mountain of earth and rock. I think they must have kept it in safety deposit boxes at the bank, then used loans to earn even more money," Colin sighed as he spoke. "The idea of money making money does sound like a nice story, but history has taught us that an unregulated financial market only brings disaster. I still dread the thought of allowing mortals to control the market."

Camilla certainly knew what Colin was talking about — two centuries ago, the Mimicking Bird, the Chaos Champion, had descended upon the Eastern Kingdom. Relying on the then-thriving financial market of the Eastern Kingdom, it ensnared those pitiful souls and summoned a vast number of the Chaos Legion. In the face of this crisis, the human kingdoms, The Great Forest Land, Crown Forest, Logan Hills, and Supreme Mountain formed an alliance, with humans, orcs, elves, half-goblins, and dwarves standing together in the same trenches.

Beyond that, even some Kobold clans, some Bear Goblin tribes, and a few families of spirits joined the cause.

No one could remain unaffected; if the tide of Chaos swept over the world, everyone would perish.

"Speaking of which, why do humans always repeat the same mistakes?" Camilla stood at the front gate.

"Maybe it’s to keep heroes from being unemployed due to having nothing to do," Colin stood next to him and raised his hand to press the doorbell on the gate—another trendy little gadget, powered by fragments of Crystal Stones, this little device would make a sound when pressed.

"The Tech Hunter Guild always manages to salvage some antiques from desperate situations." Camilla had always been averse to such trendy gadgets, as who could know whether these modern toys were not some trinkets left by the Evil Gods of Chaos.

"Don’t always look at these trendy things with such prejudice." Colin gave his friend a reproachful look and, as the gate opened, nodded to the half-human butler standing behind it, "Hello, we are Colin the Priest of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Camilla, Knight of the Church of Justice. We have an appointment."

"Ah, the two gentlemen, my young master just mentioned you to me, he said if it was you two, to please come in quickly." Opening the door wide, the half-human butler smiled and stepped aside, "Please come in, both of you."

"Thank you." Colin went first, followed by Camilla, as they entered the mansion; the lighting in the hall was quite good, and Colin immediately saw Mr. Mischael sitting in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, to whom he nodded in greeting.

The Viscount, still sporting a cast, smiled and nodded, "Good afternoon, gentlemen, sorry I can’t stand up to welcome you."

"Please don’t say that, Mr. Mischael. We came here today for two reasons: first, to visit you, and second, to inform you that as the actions of the culprit become more outrageous, for safety reasons, we from the Church of the Goddess of Harvest would like to offer a protection squad for your family."

"That would be wonderful." Mr. Mischael seemed very happy as he nodded vigorously, "I’ve heard about it, even ladies of Aurelia’s stature have fallen victim. For safety reasons, I indeed need someone to protect me; I was thinking of hiring Elite bodyguards from the guild, but now that the Church can protect me, that’s truly great."

At this point, the young man took out a small notebook from a box beside him, wrote down a large number, and the half-human butler, who had already approached his side, took the completed check from his young master’s hand and held it out to Colin with both hands.

Colin naturally shook his head, "No, Mr. Mischael, this protection service is free of charge. Your family is a family of devout followers of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest, and we would not stand by and watch you and your family suffer misfortune. It is for this reason that we have come before you today."

"I know, Mr. Colin, I know, my sister and I have been raised by the Church from a young age, deeply graced by its beneficence. Today we still need the Church’s protection; this money is my contribution, please accept it and, on my behalf, put it in the donation box, would you?" Mr. Mischael’s words and actions were sincere.

After deliberation, Colin finally nodded. He took the check, "I will ensure that it is put into the donation box."

"Thank you, Mr. Colin."

"Please don’t mention it, Mr. Mischael. Our Church will certainly put this money to good use where it’s needed most."

The conversation between the two was warm and friendly, and Mr. Mischael even repeatedly invited and insisted that Colin and Camilla dine at his house.

"Why did you agree to that?" Camilla looked at her old friend and asked this question when Mr. Mischael was being wheeled back to his room by the half-human butler to change clothes.

"The man was so polite, and there was a cheque for fifty thousand on that cheque, you tell me, could I have just taken the money and run?" Colin retorted, "So I might as well eat here,"

After some thought, Camilla nodded in understanding, "Alright, you’ve convinced me. If I just slapped my butt and left, the Bishop would have killed me."

"So why not stay for dinner?" Colin said, turning to his old friend, "But speaking of which, don’t you find something strange?"

"Indeed, he immediately agreed to a protection squad, which I find very strange. No murderer would want to have more trouble around themselves," Camilla said with a furrowed brow.

"That’s exactly what I find odd, so we need to observe a bit more. The protection squad we had already chosen, I will send them a message now so they can arrive after dinner today, no matter what, this is a good sign," Colin said while walking to the window, where he summoned his little spirit to take his message to the Church.

"I hope that’s the case, Colin," Camilla said, then turned his head towards the main door.

Colin also turned around; they saw a girl entering the hall, and she noticed Colin and Camilla: "You two are..."

"Ah, miss, you’re back just in time, these two gentlemen are the young master’s friends, Mr. Colin from the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and Mr. Camilla from the Church of Justice."

"Mr. Colin! Oh, my goodness, look at my eyes," the young girl said with an embarrassed smile, "Do you gentlemen have any business here?"

"Our church will be providing a protection squad, the murderer has been very rampant lately, and your brother has already agreed," Colin said with a smile—he knew Shela, the girl was famously short-sighted.

Shela nodded her head, then looked at her brother, "Brother, I’m back."

"Welcome back, my sister, how was it hanging out with your boyfriend?" Mr. Mischael asked with a smile.

"Very happy," Mr. Mischael’s sister said with joy, beaming at the mention of her boyfriend.

"That’s wonderful," Mr. Mischael seemed very happy too, he turned to Colin and Camilla, "Please, take a seat first, both of you."

Having said this, he was wheeled into a dining room on one side by his eager sister.

The old butler smiled and gestured for them to proceed, then entered the dining room himself.

Colin glanced at Camilla, who looked at Colin, "Mr. Mischael just lied."

"Are you sick? Who would like an uninvited man hanging around their sister?" Colin rolled his eyes, feeling that his old friend was being ridiculous.