Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 63 Sophie's Lesson

By the time Altaïr returned from the gray fog, it was already three in the afternoon. The effect of the sleeping spell had worn off, but Venata still hadn't woken up. It seemed that the battle in the Twilight Kingdom had put a heavy burden on her.

After all, Altaïr mainly used the abilities granted by the holy emblem in the Kingdom of Twilight, while Venata used her own abilities at a high frequency, resulting in a considerable consumption of her own spiritual power, and now her fatigue symptoms are more serious.

What's more, Backlund's winter is really perfect for sleeping in...

Altaïr couldn't help but yawn. Seeing Venata sleeping so soundly made him want to take a nap. As an assassin, although he usually maintained a regular schedule, once something happened, his schedule would be messed up.

However, at this moment, the scene shrouded in gray fog appeared in Altaïr's mind again, and Mr. Star's harmonica arrived.

Altaïr had no choice but to perform a "sacrifice-granting" ceremony while Venata was still asleep, and obtained the strangely shaped harmonica.

It is more appropriate to call it a mouth string than a harmonica. It does not have a complicated mechanical structure. It is just a piece of bamboo scraped thin with a knife, and a reed tongue of different widths is hollowed out in the middle. It seems to be a crude instrument that relies on plucking the piece on the side to change the tone while playing.

Altaïr played with it for a while and then put it on the desk. He planned to try it out in his equipment room when he went out during the day tomorrow.

After doing all this, Altaïr lay back in the armchair, covered himself with his coat, poked the charcoal in the fireplace slightly to make it burn more vigorously, and prepared to take a nap.

"Knock knock knock", there was a rhythmic knock on the door.

It seemed that he could not sleep... Artair reluctantly lifted his coat and struggled to get up from the armchair that had been warmed by his body temperature. He walked to the door and looked outside through the peephole, but was shocked to find that there was no one outside.

"Playing a prank? Who's so bored?" Artair was a little annoyed and pushed the door open, but he heard a scream and then the sound of things falling.

Altaïr quickly looked down and found Sophie rubbing the place where she had just fallen with a grimace on her face. When she saw Altaïr coming out, Sophie grinned and greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Altaïr... Today someone came to inspect the pollution control in the factory. In order to prevent the total amount of testing from exceeding the standard, we got off work early and came directly here."

Early? Altaïr glanced at the sky outside. The sun, which was rare in Backlund, was still hanging weakly in the sky, but according to convention, it would set in more than an hour at most. No matter how fast it gets dark in winter, the workers who changed shifts at noon could not be considered to be leaving get off work early at this time.

"Because the minimum hourly wage is stipulated above, but the boss said that we need to go and clean another set of machines for him in the afternoon. We haven't produced any garments for him during this period, so he won't pay us for this period."

Sophie explained, her tone casual, as if she was completely used to this pattern.

Not only did they use child labor, but they also deducted wages, even half of them... Altaïr took a deep breath. This reminded him of a joke that was popular in the East District.

A factory owner was accused of drastically withholding workers' wages. In court, the judge asked him why he withheld the wages. The factory owner replied: They only work twelve hours a day, why should I pay them a day's wages?

"In fact, the funniest part of this joke is that no factory owner will be prosecuted for withholding wages!"

The man who told Altaïr this joke said this, and then laughed to himself. About half a year later, his arm was crushed by a machine in the factory, and Altaïr never saw him again.

After calming himself down, Altaïr stepped forward, helped Sophie up, and led her into the warm room.

"Wait a moment, Venata is still sleeping..." Altaïr smiled apologetically, led Sophie into the dining room, and went into the kitchen to take out dessert and milk from the cupboard.

"Eat something to warm yourself up first, and then I'll teach you reading and arithmetic after she wakes up. I can teach you, but I have something else to do right now."

"Thank you, Mr. Brewster, you are such a kind gentleman..."

Sophie nodded gratefully, picked up a small piece of butter bread and ate it in small bites. She ate very slowly and seriously, which was quite common among people who were often hungry, so that they could get more satiety with less food.

"Is Mr. Statham not back yet? I remember that the 'Storm Lord' does not encourage women to study in school, right? He won't object to you coming to study with me, right?"

Altaïr picked up a piece of preserved fruit from the plate and put it in his mouth, chatting with Sophie in an incoherent manner.

"Of course I won't object." Sophie retorted anxiously, but she almost choked because of her sudden words, and Altaïr quickly patted the girl on the back.

"Dad is very open-minded, but the Storm Church doesn't have a special school. It only teaches hymns and the choir of "Storm Revelation". We don't have money, so we can't go to public school..."

Sophie paused and explained to Altaïr.

"The priest in the choir seemed very kind and was very nice to me. He would look at me with a smile every time I went to church... But my father didn't seem to like him doing this. After I told him about it, he wouldn't let me go to church to pray. He sold his watch to an uncle and bought a Holy Storm Emblem from him. I prayed to it every day."

Sophie said innocently.

"To be honest, I still feel it's a bit of a pity... Dad really likes that watch and usually doesn't want to wear it. Of course, I'm not saying that the Lord's holy emblem is not worth it..."

Sophie was still chattering away, but she noticed that Altaïr had frowned.

"Mr. Altaïr, what's wrong with you?"

Sophie asked with some concern, "Is there something that makes you unhappy?"

"It's okay. I just thought of something else." Altaïr reached out and rubbed the strand of hair that was not in line with Sophie's forehead. "You just need to know that your father is doing this for your own good."

"Oh..." Sophie nodded, not quite understanding.

"By the way, what's the name of the choir priest you mentioned? Which church does he work for?"

Altaïr withdrew his hand and asked Sophie with a smile.

"Such a kind priest, I also want to find a chance to visit him."

(End of this chapter)