infodatos Chapter 47 Cunning
Chapter 47 Cunning
"Of course it's true. If you can get a notarized document made by a 'notary,' I can sign it with my real name," Evan said confidently.
Evan's attitude pleased Isengard Stanton, who believed that Evan was genuinely interested in making a deal with him.
"I can get it notarized without the hassle of finding a notarized document."
As he spoke, Isengard Stanton called to the servants waiting outside to prepare paper and pen, and then quickly drafted two copies of the contract himself, which he then handed to Evan for review.
When Evan took it, he discovered that Essinger Stanton had written the contract in standard printed font. If he hadn't seen it handwritten with his own eyes, Evan wouldn't have believed that a human hand could write such a similar printed font.
At the same time, Evan understood that this was Isengard Stanton's way of preventing people from finding his true identity from his handwriting, but he didn't expect that Evan already knew who he was.
Evan carefully reviewed the contract and found that Eisinger Stanton had listed everything in detail, including restrictions on Evan's ability to fulfill his promises and various requirements for him to complete the commission. It was not just about protecting his own interests, which made Evan feel very relieved.
Eisinger Stanton's terms were dense and complex, spanning two whole pages, making Evan wonder if he had previously allowed a 'lawyer' to exploit loopholes.
Evan quickly finished checking the entire contract and found no problems. He even found the signature of "Eye of Wisdom" at the end of the contract, which showed that he was very confident in the contract he had drafted. Evan didn't hesitate and immediately picked up a pen and wrote the name of "the child" in the aristocratic calligraphy he had learned since childhood.
This kind of occult contract is mainly occult in nature. It doesn't matter what names the two parties write when signing, as occult abilities will connect the 'alias' with the real person.
After the servant took the contract from Evan again, Isengard Stanton wiped his hands with a handkerchief and took out a ring inlaid with many tiny diamonds.
The ring was intricately designed and exquisitely crafted, with a bright green diamond clustered in the center. From a distance, it gave Evan a feeling of mental exhaustion and a splitting headache.
Eisinger Stanton slipped the ring onto his finger, then closed his eyes for a moment, and suddenly the emerald diamond on the ring emitted a golden, sunlight-like brilliance.
Eisinger Stanton touched the radiant emerald to the contract in front of him, and all the golden light emitted was contained and condensed, finally forming an impression in the air and falling down to imprint itself on the contract.
And Isengard Stanton solemnly declared:
"Contract! Form an agreement!"
After the occult contract was completed, Isengard Stanton quickly took off the ring and put it back in his pocket. Then, looking at Evan, who was staring longingly at his ring, he suddenly felt like a mouse being watched by a cat and quickly explained:
"This is my most prized collection. Originally codenamed 2-081, it comes from the Church of Knowledge and Wisdom. It can identify and imitate the extraordinary abilities used by opponents. The more knowledge the user has, the stronger it becomes. It is a sealing artifact that fits me perfectly."
The implication was that he wouldn't sell it, and that Evan shouldn't even think about the sealed artifact.
Evan reluctantly looked away from Isinger Stanton's pocket; he was still quite fond of this extraordinary, multifunctional item.
However, this 2-081 ring has a significant impact on those around it. Anyone who sees such a ring will have their brain affected, making it less discreet and unsuitable for long-term wear. From this perspective, Evan should think twice before trying to obtain it.
After the contract was officially signed, Evan's relationship with Isinger Stanton became even closer, and Evan even asked him if there was any news about any extraordinary items.
Eisinger Stanton also introduced his collection, but unfortunately, although he had a lot of items, few of them were of interest to Evan. However, Evan was not too disappointed, because the Golden Gaze had largely made up for Evan's shortcomings.
Evan talked a lot with Isengard Stanton, mainly finalizing many details about investigating Zeryl. Evan then took off his black robe, put on his mask, and left.
After Evan left, a servant came in to tidy up, and Isengard Stanton, who had been tapping his fingers on the sofa, suddenly spoke to the servant:
"Tomorrow, could you send a letter to some detectives for me, saying that I'm holding a detective gathering the day after tomorrow and hope they'll attend? I'll also be inviting some detective novel authors to exchange ideas. This is a great opportunity for everyone to expand their network, and I'm sure they won't miss it."
"Yes, teacher."
It turns out that this servant was a student of Isengard Stanton.
Evan left the dark alley and realized it was still a bit early to go home. He thought about the map of Backlund Bridge District and found that it wasn't far from Detective Zeryl's house, so he prepared to take a public carriage there to take a look.
The Backlund Bridge district is named as such because the area is bisected by the Tasok River, with the Backlund Bridge connecting the north and south banks of Backlund. However, the presence of the river also divides the Backlund Bridge district, resulting in a noticeable difference between the two banks.
On the North Shore, the streets were filthy, the streetlights were broken, and there were beggars and prostitutes everywhere.
On the South Shore, there are detached houses, row houses, clean streets, and nice gas streetlights. Although it is still not as good as other areas, it can be regarded as a transitional residence for the middle class.
Whether it's achieving upward mobility or experiencing downward mobility, people will move away from here, so the population changes in this area are very frequent, which explains why Zeril chose to live here.
Before long, Evan took a public carriage, crossed the Backlund Bridge, and arrived at Rose Street, where he found Zeril's residence without much effort.
Because he rented a townhouse, the house number was easy to find.
Using the shadow of the corner of the house, Evan examined the house with the gaslights already on. He suddenly felt that the house was cleverly chosen because no matter how the surveillance positions were changed in this area, it would be impossible to fully monitor the house. There would always be blind spots. If the surveillance personnel kept changing positions, it would be very easy for them to be exposed.
Evan looked around but didn't find Hugh Deercha. This didn't match Evan's understanding of her from "Lord of Mysteries." In his impression, Hugh was a very proactive person.
Evan thought for a moment, then looked around Zeril's house again before heading toward a relatively tall apartment building nearby.
Halfway there, Evan saw two police officers on patrol, so he went up to them and started a conversation, offering them cigarettes that he had prepared in advance.
While the two patrol officers were smoking, Evan began asking around if there were any suitable residences available for rent.
"I prefer to live a bit higher up. I wonder if there are any suitable houses around here?"
"Then you're really unlucky. There's a room in that building that fits your requirements perfectly, but unfortunately it was already rented out this morning."
Evan watched as the old policeman pointed to the house, which was exactly the house he was going to. So, while lamenting his bad luck to the policeman, he walked towards the house with a look of reluctance.
Evan found the house that had just been rented out that morning and knocked on the door.
After a long while, Evan finally heard footsteps inside.
"Who is it? What do you want?"
The door hadn't opened yet, but the sound came first. When the door opened, a woman in her mid-twenties with slightly curly brown hair, light blue eyes, and a languid air looked at Evan impatiently.
Evan's eyes lit up as he scrutinized the person before him with his golden gaze. By observing the indentation and yellowing marks on her right middle finger, Evan confirmed that she was none other than Fors Wall, the famous writer of the Kingdom of Rune and the future "Magician" of the "Tarot Club."
Seeing that Evan didn't answer her question but instead scrutinized her, Fors grew impatient and prepared to close the door.
But Evan blocked her with his hand and smiled at her, saying, "I'm looking for Hugh Deercha. I'm her employer."
Only then did Fors take a closer look at the person in front of her. By the light of the corridor, she suddenly realized that Evan was actually very handsome. Upon hearing that Evan was Hugh's employer, Fors's imagination ran wild.
"A young, wealthy, handsome, and courageous nobleman from MI9, a force to be reckoned with in the shadows, and a poor, beautiful, resolute, upright, and kind-hearted mercenary girl burdened with a secret past—what a commercially successful story!"
Fors was so engrossed in her own world that she paid no attention to Evan.
Fortunately, Hugh Deercha heard the noise at the door and realized that it was his employer who had come looking for him, so he quickly welcomed Evan in.
After Evan went in, Hugh introduced the two of them. Fors was obviously overly attentive, either pouring water for Evan or constantly asking questions, trying to find out some information about Evan.
Finally, Hugh Deer couldn't keep watching and interrupted his friend to ask:
"Excuse me, how did you find this place? We just rented it today."
Evan picked up the freshly brewed coffee, took a sip, and realized it was only medium-quality coffee, and a bit too hot, so he put it on the coffee table and said:
"It's really nothing, because only this room can be monitored from above. If I were watching him, I would choose this room too."
Upon hearing Evan's words, Fors said smugly:
"It was my suggestion that Hugh rent this room. If we also add a telescope invented by Emperor Roselle, everything that spy does in the room will be under our surveillance."
Evan looked around and found the room to be messy and obviously not cleaned properly. There were also traces of binoculars being placed by the window. He thought to himself, no wonder they took so long to open the door; they were tidying up the binoculars.
"Now that you've moved into this room, have you checked with the neighbors?"
Hugh Deercha naturally didn't hide anything from his employer and told him everything he had investigated.
After listening to the report, Evan praised Hugh Deercha, saying:
"You've done a good job; you've understood everything you needed to."
Hearing his employer's praise, Hugh Deercha wanted to say something modest, but Evan's next words made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
"There's just one problem: why is it that this house, which offers such a perfect view of Zeryl, is never rented?"