Charlot suppressed his nervousness and quickly found his office following Mrs. Pascal's dires.

  It rivate office, quite spacious, with a rge window a view of the street outside Kilmainham Prison. Though most of the space was occupied by filing ets, Charlot was still quite satisfied.

  W with filing ets was clearly much easier than w with colleagues—at least there would be istic Office Politics to deal with.

  "Filing ets are all such 'well-behaved panions,'" he thought to himself.

  Charlot pced the two items he had chosen on his desk.

  Charlot had no idea how to use a fil, let alone a multi-headed fil.

  What caught his eye about this on was that it was made of star iron—a rare material worth dozens of écus, even if sold as scrap.

  Charlot po sell the multi-headed fil on the bck market and use the proceeds to purchase a variety of ons instead.

  A standard military pistol cost at most two or three flor, a rapier was slightly more expensive, but a e could be bought for just a few times.

  By selling the multi-headed fil and buying a few standard ons, Charlot would still have dozens of écus left over—a small windfall.

  Not every new hire at Kilmainham Prison could t on such a bonus.

  It was clear that this opportunity came courtesy of Miss Menielman's favor. Whether Charlot would have future ces to earn such perks depended on how well he could win the senior’s approval and whether he got assigo special tasks.

  Charlot didn’t linger over the multi-headed fil but spent a good while pying with the vampiric axe, growing fonder of it by the minute.

  ...

  That day, Miss Menielman didn’t arrive at Kilmainham Prison until noon. Upon arrival, she immediately assigned Charlot a daunting workload of clerical tasks, keeping him busy from the momearted his new job.

  Initially, Charlot had eained some expectation of w te with his senior, but by nightfall, all he wanted was to find a pce to sleep—even if it was a stone floor.

  This exhausting pace sted a week and three days before Miss Menielman finally gave Charlot a day off. It was only then that he could clock out aurn home for the first time.

  As he left Kilmainham Prison, Charlot couldn’t help but deeply appreciate that, whether oh or in another world, being able to finish work on time was a rare and simple joy.

  Back at his apartment in the Savings Union, he enjoyed a good sleep.

  ...

  The day, after a light breakfast, Charlot left the apartment and headed straight for his alma mater—Sheffield Uy.

  He wasn’t there to relive old memories but to visit the ons market he uy.

  As a prison officer, it was unthinkable not to carry a on. It would make him stand out, and the ons market near Sheffield Uy offered det quality at reasonable prices.

  Uncharacteristically, Charlot decided to walk instead of taking a public carriage.

  The ons market near Sheffield Uy mainly catered to students and local residents.

  During his uy days, Charlot often wandered around the market, even though he rarely bought anything. Back then, there was no need for personal ons, as the school provided training arms, and he wasn’t particurly ied in onry.

  At the market, Charlot, well-versed in its yout, strolled around for a while before stopping in front of a shop that specialized in sed-hand ons. He remembered it often had quality used items, although the owner had a reputation for being unscrupulous.

  The shopkeeper, who didn’t recall Charlot as a former idle brreeted him warmly with a beaming smile. "We have the best ons in Strasb! Whether you’re looking for a rapier, saber, knight’s nce, or shield, we’ve got it all, and the quality is unmatched!"

  Charlot smirked inwardly, thinking, “Your shop mainly deals in sed-hand goods and often passes off shoddy items as quality ones. Without even a workshop of your own, how dare you cim ‘unmatched quality’? Suonsense is meant for unsuspeg outsiders.”

  He didn’t expose the shopkeeper’s deceit and merely smiled faintly. “I’m looking for a pistol—or perhaps a e. Do you have any good reendations?”

  The shopkeeper’s enthusiasm immediately waned. Sed-hand pistols were hard to sell at a good price, as new ones weren’t expensive, and their prices were fairly transparent.

  As for es? A few times per sale didly excite him.

  Calling over a clerk, the shopkeeper said, “This is our best employee. Please allow him to reend a few suitable ons.”

  This recisely what Charlot wahe shopkeeper was shrewd and difficult to deal with, but his clerks were easier to handle.

  Ign the clerk’s endless reendations of low-quality goods, Charlot wandered around the shop and grew slightly disappointed. It seemed there were nains to be found this time.

  Just as Charlot was about to leave and try another shop, his eyes lit up. In a er, he spotted a dull, dusty rapier lying casually with a dozen others.

  Striding over, he picked it up and drew it slightly from its sheath. One gnce made him chuckle. “A fake antique?”

  The clerk hurriedly excimed, “It’s a geique! Sir, you have a dising eye!”

  Charlot couldn’t help but smile. “If this were truly an artifact from the Sherlock Dynasty, its price would be calcuted in écus. Are you really going to offer it to me for just a few écus?”

  The clerk hesitated, then said, “It’s authentic! You couldn’t take it for less than five flor!”

  Charlot returhe rapier to its pd said ftly, “I’ll pay no more than fifty times.”

  Seeing Charlot’s disi in the “antique sword” and his apparent readio leave, the clerk relutly called out, “Even if it’s a fake antique, it’s worth more than that! Three flor and fifty times—that’s our final offer!”

  Charlot waved dismissively and headed for the door. The clerk gritted his teeth and shouted, “One flor! One flor! Sir, this is a real bargain. We ’t go any lower!”

  Charlot left his address aed with his head held high.

  As a gover employee with a fixed residence, he was able to pce orders and pay upon delivery, sparing himself the need for immediate payment.

  ...

  As a graduate of Sheffield Uy, Charlot had received a rigorous general education.

  The Sherlock Dynasty, also known as the Magiasty, was renowned for its magical rapiers. After being quered by King Axel, the dynasty’s craftsmanship in magical rapiers was lost forever.

  Authentitiques from the Sherlock Dynasty were now sidered treasures, with each piece valued in gold écus.