Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 12 Work
Artair stopped at a nearby convenience market. He had just changed the bandage and cotton wool for his wound at home, and now the friction between the wound and the gauze was a little painful, which forced him to slow down. It took him a full ten minutes to walk to the convenience market.

"Let's splurge a little today and buy some nutritious seafood or lean meat."

Altaïr thought about it for a moment. He also wanted to buy some blood clots to see if this food passed down from ancient elves could be used to solve the negative properties of the "Blood-Tearing" dagger. Last night, he couldn't find any other substitutes, so he could only suck some blood from his own wounds to prevent himself from losing control when his spiritual power was exhausted.

Although there was no discipline similar to nutrition in the Kingdom of Loen, private doctors in the upper class were always trying to promote similar ideas. Fresh meat, fish, eggs and other foods helped wounds heal - this was a view that private doctors generally agreed on.

Altaïr came to a stall selling sea fish, and the fishy smell filled his nostrils. Most of these sea fish were preserved by salting, which allowed them to survive the long shipping time from Rhun. When he was working in Baron Sindras's house, he heard about this from the head chef.

The scene he described was so attractive that I could even see the sailors' muscles bulging and pulling the nets. Altaïr thought as he looked down at the price tag.

"Fresh sea fish, eighteen soli per pound."

Sorry to bother you.

Altaïr left the sea fish stall awkwardly and walked to the stall selling river fish. The fish sold here were mainly catfish and mandarin fish. Since people at that time generally believed that these fish fed on the mud at the bottom of the river and were relatively dirty, the price was not very high. In the eyes of the people in the East District who did not care about these things, they were a good source of energy.

After spending three solis on a nearly three-pound catfish and some duck blood, Altaïr headed towards his home. On the way, he spotted a newly opened pudding shop, and after searching his pockets for a few solis, he decided to buy some lemon pudding advertised on the billboard.

The store was doing unusually well, with a long line of people waiting outside. Altaïr was sitting in front of a balding gentleman, and they struck up a conversation while waiting.

"…So, you have a sister who likes pudding?"

Altaïr changed his hand to hold the fish, and asked the gentleman with interest. Extraordinary people like him have an extra bonus when communicating with ordinary people, and even if they don't actively stimulate it, they can make ordinary people feel close to them.

"Yes. She is studying at Backlund University, studying mechanical repair. Since my brother passed away a few years ago, our pace of life was disrupted for a while, and it has only recently returned to normal."

A trace of gloom flashed across the other person's face for a moment, but he quickly hid it.

"Every year at this time, we would buy lemon pudding and white beer and have dinner with him. But during the war, the owner of the bakery near our home unfortunately passed away, so I came to this shop specially today."

"May the goddess bless their souls."

Altaïr bowed his head and tapped his chest four times. In the East, there were very few people without faith. There were many shallow believers like Altaïr who only went to mass once a year on the Day of the Dead.

"Praise the goddess." The gentleman also saluted solemnly. "My name is Benson, I am a government employee. This is my business card. If you need any identity verification procedures, you can come to my office in the East District."

"My name is Altaïr, and I'm currently a bodyguard. Actually, I'm not sure if this job is suitable for me, so maybe the next time you see me, I'll be living on rent."

Altair took Benson's card and made a little joke.

"You can collect rent, but you still want to be a bodyguard?" Benson was stunned. At this moment, the person in front of him took his bread and left. Benson walked up and asked for two lemon puddings. Altaïr did the same. Then the two said goodbye and went home.

When Altaïr opened the door, he saw Venata sitting on the sofa, studying a stack of documents.

"We're having braised catfish tonight. I heard this is a dish from Intis, and it's a dish from the court of Emperor Roselle."

Altaïr placed the basket of catfish on the ground and changed his shoes at the door. "What are you looking at?"

"My degree certificate." Venata said without raising her head. "From Feysac National University."

"I didn't realize you even have a college degree."

Altaïr looked at the "provocateur" in amazement.

"What's that look in your eyes? There are so many things you can't see." Venata raised her head, rolled her eyes at Altaïr, and lined up the documents on the table. "Before I was forcibly conscripted into the army by the official Beyonders of the Feysac government, I was studying for a bachelor's degree in sociology at Feysac University. I had just finished my last course the day before I joined the army, but I was defeated by you in Loen and was left in Loen, and then I became a member of the gang."

"Let's get back to the point. Didn't you ask me to find a proper job? I thought about it and realized that only writers, private detectives, and journalists can both maintain sufficient freedom and obtain sufficient funding. Private detectives often deal with the police, and I don't want my identity to be exposed."

"To be honest, being a writer is not bad. It seems that the entry threshold is quite low now. I also read the best-selling book Stormy Heights a while ago, and I gave it to the neighbor's child half a month later."

Altaïr suggested.

"No, I still think that being a reporter is more suitable for me." Venata shook her head. "Have you forgotten that the demigod will assign me tasks in the future? The profession of reporter is obviously more convenient for action. Moreover, my sequence also has a great advantage in infiltrating and obtaining intelligence. However, I still lack an identity certificate. Do you know someone who can get an identity certificate?"

Altaïr thought for a moment and pulled out Benson's business card from his pocket.

"I didn't know him originally, but I just met one."

Venata didn't ask any more questions, but just nodded and continued to work on her own things. Altaïr picked up the ingredients he bought and walked into the kitchen. Soon, white mist appeared on the glass door of the kitchen.

……

On the other side, Benson opened the door and found Melissa sitting at the dining table. The table was already set with fried meat, fish and toast. There were three chairs and three sets of tableware beside the table covered with a white napkin.

"You made this?" Benson asked in surprise. "I thought Ruth was back... When did you learn how to make this dish?"

Ruth is Benson's wife. She went back to her parents' home to visit her relatives two days ago and has not returned yet.

Melissa smiled. "When I was working at Miss Audrey's foundation, the staff there taught me these things. Although Miss Audrey is sometimes a little... naive and doesn't know much about what ordinary people need, she is very good at listening to other people's opinions. Fortunately, there are many experienced people around her. For example, Ms. Jenny, who works in the foundation's poorhouse, knows very well what kind of food ordinary residents can afford."

"That's great. I'll come and try your cooking. By the way, I bought some lemon pudding."

Benson hung his coat on the hanger, sat down at his seat at the table, and poured a glass of light beer into his glass and the empty seat.

"Our life now is exactly what we expected when Klein was still here," Benson sighed. "We took a lot of detours along the way, but fortunately we still made it through."

“Yeah.” Melissa’s eyes wavered, and her expression trembled when she heard the name of her other brother.

Seeing his sister was a little sad, Benson did not continue the topic. He placed the pudding in front of Melissa, then picked up the glass and said, "Let's not talk about this. It's still the same as before. We have light beer and you have lemon pudding."

Melissa nodded slightly, and the two of them ate their dinner in silence.

After a while, Benson began to try to start a new topic.

"There's a new bakery over on Rose Street. I bought the lemon pudding today from there."

"It's on the way to where you work." Melissa took a bite of pudding. "Then you can buy bread from now on. The bakery near the university has started cutting corners recently. Even though the war is over, bread without sawdust is not available everywhere."

"Also, I met a very interesting person at the bakery..."

Benson told Melissa about his encounter with Altaïr.

"I don't know how I ended up chatting with him, but I just felt inexplicably... that this guy was very similar to Klein."

Benson finished his bread:

"He could have lived a good life just lying at home and collecting rent, but he insisted on being a bodyguard... He was also bruised and battered when he met me."

“You’d better stay away from him in the future. He might be... the kind of extraordinary person my teacher mentioned to me.” Melissa frowned, feeling a little strange.

"I'm just saying it. We may never meet again. He doesn't seem like someone who would be content to live a dull life. He might just fall down like straw in a corner one day."

Benson nodded, agreeing with Melissa's point of view.

"Of course, if that's the case, I still hope he can stand up after the wind stops... After all, if there's one less person who understands humor, it's a loss for Rune."

PS: I have a bit of a cold these past two days due to the change of seasons... I should have added a new chapter after receiving so many recommendation votes from readers, but I really didn't have the energy to write last night, and the classes have been full for two days in a row and I am running out of people. I'll see if I can spare some time to add a few more chapters on November 1st to thank you for your recommendation votes, but the recent chapters won't have much ups and downs until the pursuit of the craftsman, so adding one or two chapters doesn't make much sense... Anyway, thank you all for your recommendation votes.

(End of this chapter)