Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 29 "Career" and Housing are both serious matters

Klein tried hard not to show any unusual behavior and asked with genuine curiosity:

What abilities do "fortune tellers" possess?

"Your question isn't precise enough. It should be, what abilities will you gain after taking the 'Diviner' potion?" Dunn Smith shook his head and smiled, his gray eyes and face hidden in the shadows behind the red moon. "Astrology, card divination, pendulum, psychic vision, and many, many similar things. Of course, it doesn't mean that you'll immediately understand and master them after taking the potion. The potion simply gives you the qualifications and abilities to learn them."

"Because of the lack of direct means of combat, well, you can imagine that ritual magic requires too much preparation and is not suitable for skirmishes at all. Therefore, correspondingly, in terms of occult knowledge, 'diviners' are more knowledgeable and professional than 'secret seekers'."

It sounds pretty much what I'm looking for... but the lack of direct means of combat is a bit of a concern... and the Church of the Goddess of Night probably doesn't have any "sequences" after that... "Sanctuary" should refer to the Church's headquarters, the Tranquil Church... lower-sequence direct means of combat might not be as good as firearms... Klein fell silent, the scales in his mind swaying back and forth, sometimes to "Secret Seer," sometimes to "Diviner," and as for "Corpse Collector," he had already given up on that idea.

Seeing this, Dunn Smith smiled and said:

"Don't rush to choose. Tell me your answer Monday morning. Whether you choose one or decide to give up, we night watchmen won't have any objections."

"Calm down and ask your own heart."

After saying that, he took off his hat, bowed slightly, and slowly walked past Klein toward the stairwell.

Klein did not speak, nor did he give an immediate answer. He bowed silently and watched them leave in silence.

Although he had always hoped to become an Extraordinary, when the opportunity actually came his way, he was still filled with hesitation: the lack of "Sequences", the various ways "Extraordinary" went out of control, the credibility of Emperor Roselle's diary, and the illusory whispers that drove people mad and corrupted them, all mixed together to form a swamp that hindered his progress.

He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"It's like a student who's neither good nor bad filling out college applications..." Klein chuckled self-deprecatingly, gathered his scattered thoughts, quietly opened the door, went home, and lay down on the bed.

He lay there, eyes open, quietly watching the bottom of the upper bunk stained with a faint crimson.

A drunkard staggered past the window, and a carriage sped along the empty street in the distance. These noises did not disturb the tranquility of the night; instead, they made it seem more distant and profound.

Klein's emotions settled down as he recalled various events from his time on Earth. He remembered his father, who loved to exercise and always spoke in a loud voice; his mother, who had a chronic illness but always liked to take care of him; his best friends whom he had grown up with, evolving from playing football and basketball together to playing video games and mahjong; and the person whose face had become blurred from his past confessions and who had failed to reciprocate his feelings... These memories flowed like a calm river, without many ripples or deep sorrow, yet they silently overwhelmed his heart.

Perhaps it is only when something is lost that we learn to cherish it. When the crimson faded, the sky was ablaze with fire, and the golden hue emerged, Klein had already made his choice.

…………

He got up, washed his face in the public restroom to refresh himself, then took a 1 soule note and went to Mrs. Wendy's to buy 8 pounds of rye bread for 9 pence to make up for the staple food he had eaten the night before.

"Bread prices are starting to stabilize..." Benson commented as he changed his clothes after breakfast.

Today is Sunday, and he and Melissa finally got a chance to rest.

Klein, already dressed in a formal suit, sat in a chair, flipping through the expired newspapers he had brought back yesterday, and said with considerable surprise:

"Here's a house for rent: 3 Wendell Street, North End. It's a detached house with two floors. Upstairs, there are six bedrooms, three bathrooms, and two large balconies. Downstairs, there's a dining room, a living room, a kitchen, two bathrooms, two guest rooms, and a basement storage room. There's a 2-acre private lawn in front and a small garden in the back. It can be rented for one, two, or three years at £1.60 per week. If interested, please go to 16 Champagne Street and ask for Mr. Gusev."

"This is our future goal," Benson said with a smile as he adjusted his black top hat. "The rents in the newspapers are all too high. The Tingen City Housing Improvement Company has cheaper options that are not much worse."

"Why not go to the 'Tinggen Working Class Housing Improvement Association'?" Melissa, holding the tattered gauze hat, walked out of the cubicle wearing a light gray-white dress that had been patched several times but was still her best piece.

She was calm and reserved, yet her youthful energy was undeniable.

Benson laughed heartily:

"Who told you about the 'Tinggen Working Class Housing Improvement Association'? Jenny? Mrs. Rocher? Or your good friend Selena?"

Melissa glanced to the side and answered softly:

"Mrs. Rocher... I ran into her last night while I was washing up. She asked about Klein's interview, and I told her a little about it. Then she suggested that I contact the Tingen Working Class Housing Improvement Association."

Seeing that Klein also looked puzzled, Benson smiled and shook his head, saying:

"This is a housing association for the poor, or more accurately, the lower classes. The houses they build and renovate are mostly of the communal bathroom type, and they only offer three options: one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom. Do you want to continue living in similar places?"

"The Tingen Housing Improvement Company has the same business as them, but it also provides choices for the lower and middle classes. To be honest, we are now a little better off than the lower and middle classes, but worse off than the real middle class. It's not a matter of salary, but mainly a lack of time to accumulate experience."

Klein understood, put away the newspaper, picked up his top hat, stood up and said:

"Let's go then."

"I remember the 'Tinggen Housing Improvement Company' was on Narcissus Street," Benson said as he opened the door. "They, like the 'Tinggen Working Class Housing Improvement Association,' were called 'Five Percent Charity,' do you know why?"

"I don't know." Klein picked up his cane and walked beside Melissa.

The girl with long, black hair that fell smoothly down to her vest nodded in agreement.

Benson stepped off the path:

"These housing improvement associations and companies were established under the influence of Backlund. They have three sources of funding: first, they raise funds from charitable foundations; second, they apply for and obtain high-quality loans with an annual interest rate of only 4% from the government's public affairs loan commissioner; and third, they accept commercial investments and give the other party a 5% return each year by collecting a certain amount of rent, hence the name '5% charity'."

The three siblings descended the stairs and walked slowly towards Narcissus Street. They planned to find a suitable place before approaching their current landlord, Mr. Frankie, to avoid the situation where they couldn't move in there and had to move out of this place.

"I heard from Selena that there are also purely charitable housing improvement companies?" Melissa said, as if deep in thought.

Benson chuckled:

"Yes, the 'Devils Trust' established by Sir Deville's donation is an example. He built apartments for the working class and provided specialized property management, but charged very low rents, yet the requirements were very strict."

"It sounds like you don't like it too much?" Klein keenly sensed, and asked with a smile.

"No, I have great respect for Sir Deville, but I think he certainly doesn't know what the real lives of the poor are like. The requirements for moving into his apartment are like the hopes a clergyman gives, so unrealistic. For example, you have to get the major vaccines, you have to take turns cleaning the bathrooms, you can't sublet or use the apartment for business, you can't litter, and you can't let the children play in the hallways. Goddess, does he want to turn everyone into a gentleman or a lady?" Benson replied in his usual tone.

Klein frowned in confusion and asked:

"It sounds like there are no problems at all; these are all excellent requests."

"Yes," Melissa nodded in agreement.

Benson turned his head, glanced at them, and chuckled:

"Perhaps I've protected you too much, and you haven't truly witnessed the lives of the poor. Do you think they have the money to get the major vaccines? Free charitable medical organizations have waiting lists that stretch for three months."

"Do you think their jobs are stable, not temporary? If they can't sublet their rooms and collect a fee, and then move out again when they lose their jobs? Besides, many women make a living by sewing clothes and making matchboxes at home, which is a commercial activity. Are you going to kick them all out?"

"Most poor people are using all their energy to make a living. Do you think they have time to discipline their children and stop them from playing in the hallways? They can probably only lock them in their rooms and send them to places that accept child labor when they are seven or eight years old."

Benson described it with few adjectives, which gave Klein a slightly creepy feeling.

Is this what life is like for ordinary people at the bottom of society?

Beside him, Melissa also fell silent, and after a long while, she said in a ethereal tone:

"After moving down the street, Jenny refused to let me visit her at her house anymore..."

"Hopefully her father can recover from the trauma of his injuries and find a stable job again, but I've seen too many drunkards who use alcohol to numb themselves afterward..." Benson chuckled heavily.

Klein didn't know what to say, and Melissa seemed to be in the same state. The three siblings walked silently to Narcissus Street and found the "Tinggen City Housing Improvement Company".

The person in charge of receiving them was a kind-looking middle-aged man, not wearing a suit or hat, but a white shirt and a black vest.

"You may call me Skate. What kind of house do you gentlemen require?" He glanced at Klein's silver-inlaid cane and smiled even more warmly.

Klein glanced at Benson, who was eloquent, and gestured for him to answer.

Benson spoke very directly:

"Townhouses".

Scart flipped through the documents and files in his hand, a smirk playing on his lips:

"There are five properties that are not yet rented out. To be honest, we are mainly targeting those who are truly in housing difficulty, such as six, eight, or even ten or twelve laborers and their children crammed into one room. There are not many townhouses. One is at No. 2 Narcissus Street, one is in the North District, and one is in the East District... The weekly rent is between 12 and 16 soula. You can take a look at the specific details."

He pushed the document in his hand to Benson, Klein, and Melissa.

After glancing through the paper, the three siblings exchanged glances and simultaneously pointed to a certain spot on the paper.

"Let's look at number 2 Narcissus Street first," Benson said, and Klein and Melissa nodded in agreement.

This area is barely familiar to them.

(End of this chapter)