novelraw Chapter 52 A Series of Coincidences
Chapter 52 A Series of Coincidences
The chain of the gilded pocket watch got tangled in the pen, and Lanius, with a cigar in his mouth, spread out three ledgers on his mahogany desk.
"Dear Mr. John Colson invested £1500..."
This is already the third "investment payment" this week. That idiot in the top hat dared to sign a check without even touching the mine blueprints.
"As expected, greedy people are all foolish."
He sneered at the empty office, his cigar-ash-covered fingers making a mark on the ledger.
The profit-sharing slips on the corner of the table were covered with all sorts of signatures and stamps, with the bottom one even having a lipstick stain on it.
This reminded him of the easily appeased baroness from last week.
"what?"
The knocking sounded like a heavy hammer hitting the door, nearly burning Lanius's wool shirt with the cigar in his hand, and also interrupting his train of thought, causing him to furrow his brow slightly.
"Come in."
His secretary pushed open the door, revealing half of his body.
It would be too strange for a company to have only one boss, so he hired a secretary for himself.
He was a college graduate with good abilities but lacking sufficient experience. He worked very hard, and most importantly, he was very good at deceiving people.
The only downside is that it can be clumsy at times and can't distinguish between light and heavy objects.
"Sir, a gentleman has arrived at the meeting room and says he wants to make a large investment..."
"Tell him I'll be there soon." Lanius listened to his secretary's report while tidying up the documents on his desk.
Photos of him posing with the mayor, various forged signatures and contracts, and some half-fake exploration certificates...
Lanius was in a good mood, thinking that another sucker had come along. He sorted through the documents in his hands and went over the deceptive lines in his mind again.
Just then, a dog suddenly barked downstairs. Lanius instinctively pulled back the curtain beside him, and the reflection of a silver-plated carriage made him squint.
Something's not right!
Lanius's spiritual intuition was slightly touched.
After completing a certain ritual, he received certain blessings, which greatly enhanced his perception.
"Sir?" The secretary knocked again. "That gentleman asked if he could see the ore samples first..."
So impatient?
Lanius stood up and looked at his secretary, a smile playing on his lips. He said slowly, "I'm still organizing the documents. I'll be there soon. You go to the storage room first."
My treasured coffee and tea are on the shelf at the very end; we must serve our honored guests the best of everything.
Ask him to wait a little longer.
After temporarily dismissing his secretary, Lanius closed his eyes and sensed the spirituality around him.
Something is wrong!
He got up and went into the shadows on the second floor to observe the scene on the roadside.
Thanks to the "fraudster's" excellent observation skills, he noticed several suspicious people around the company.
Police? No… It’s not just the police. The spiritual beings around them wouldn’t act like this. There must be extraordinary beings among them.
Could it be that the church discovered me? No way, my disguise should be perfect.
Lanius was somewhat surprised. There was still quite a bit of time before the closing moment of his fraud plan. If he stopped now, the profits would be greatly reduced.
Just as Lanius was struggling with his decision, he noticed that the group of people downstairs had suddenly gathered together, and judging from their aggressive demeanor, it seemed like they were about to launch a full-scale attack.
So impatient, and that outfit... Could he be a substitute for the punishment?
If it's a Night Watcher or someone with a Mechanical Heart, Lanluus wouldn't mind trying to mediate, but if it's a Punisher...
As a group of "saw-men" in action, the substitutes who adhere to the principle of taking action first and then talking are the kind of people he doesn't want to mess with at all.
Once someone is suspected, very few people can escape unscathed from their presence.
Those who operate in the Extraordinary Realm know that those who take the punishment are all extremely irritable, and they have the highest rate of resorting to vigilante justice among all the Extraordinary members of the official church.
Hearing the unusual noises outside the office, Lan'erwus went to the bookshelf next to him, pushed aside the top book, and revealed the lever hidden inside.
A moment later, the entrance to a secret passage appeared directly on the office wall.
He specially modified this office during the renovation, adding a mezzanine level specifically to deal with such emergencies.
Without thinking twice, he quickly packed up the money in the safe and then crawled into the secret passage.
"What bad luck..." Lanluus's mood became even more depressed as his face was covered in spider webs from the iron stairs of the secret passage.
……
Inside a small hotel.
Lorne was using a pendulum to perform divination.
"I will encounter danger if I go out today."
"I will encounter danger if I go out today."
……
After asking himself the question seven times in his mind, Lorne slowly opened his eyes.
A pendulum rotating slightly counterclockwise represents negation.
"Does that mean there's no danger?"
The whistleblower letter has been sent out for several days, and Lorne has not chosen to go out for fear of encountering any more inexplicable accidents.
At least for now, things are calm.
He wasn't investigated by the authorities, nor did he feel any strange stares. It seemed like everything was back on track.
"It should be fine now, right? We've already done the divination."
He originally planned to wait a few more days until things had completely calmed down before going out, but then he suddenly remembered that he had made an appointment with the fortune teller named Grassis to discuss investing in the mining company in Lanius.
The agreed time is today.
He is not someone who likes to break promises.
Seeing that the divination results were satisfactory, Lorne decided to keep the appointment after a brief moment of thought.
Arriving at the familiar building by carriage, Lorne easily made his way to the divination club on the second floor.
"Hello, I'd like to see Mr. Grassis. We had an appointment to meet today," Lorne greeted the receptionist politely.
The receptionist glanced at Lorne, then picked up the list on the desk and flipped through it a few times. A few seconds later, she gently shook her head.
"I'm sorry, sir, Mr. Grassis is not here today."
"Not here?" Lorne was a little surprised. He had clearly made an appointment with the other party! Could it be that the other party stood him up?
Seeing that Lorne seemed a little confused, the receptionist continued to explain.
"He hasn't been to the club in the last few days."
Why?
"Um……"
The receptionist briefly recalled for a few seconds before answering.
"I heard that Mr. Grassis has suddenly fallen seriously ill and is currently receiving treatment in the hospital."
"But I'm not entirely clear on the specifics either."
Sick? What a coincidence!
Lorne was puzzled by this. Even if they weren't extraordinary, diviners should be very sensitive to these kinds of things.
You should be able to sense if there's something wrong with your own body, right?
However... that Grassis was indeed just a novice diviner, and it's not impossible that his skill level wasn't high enough.
Or does divination in this world require the use of things like lifespan?
Many ideas popped into Lorne's mind.
The only certainty is that his investment talks today were forced to be cancelled.
Damn it, my investment plan has fallen through again...
The opportunity to make a fortune was right in front of them, but...
Seeing that staying any longer would yield no further gains, Lorne had no choice but to leave in disappointment.
Arriving at the club downstairs, he was somewhat frustrated. He had finally made up his mind to come out, but ended up with nothing.
He hailed a horse-drawn carriage parked by the roadside to return to the small inn.
Feeling the jolting of the carriage, Lorne grew increasingly irritated. At the same time, he also had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
"Speaking of which, ever since I came to this city, one strange thing after another has happened."