Charlot was slightly surprised and said, “Miss Annie! Why are you here so early? I was just about to take care of some personal business. Your carriage is over there; thank you for letting me borrow it.”

  Annie another an on the carriage. That an jumped down and moved the carriage left here ht out of the way.

  She said to Charlot, “Where are you going? Let me give you a ride.”

  Charlot greatly ehose who traveled by carriage. Riding in a carriage was far more fortable than walking, especially on rainy days when traveling on foot was nothing short of a disaster.

  He could afford a carriage, but owning one required a courtyard to park it, a stable for the horse, and hiring a an. The associated costs were too much for a first-css civil servant ranked forty-one, or even thirty-seven, to bear. It was a lifestyle marked by css disparity.

  He replied, “A friend asked me to sell a magical artifact.”

  Annie’s eyes lit up as she said, “I happen to know of a magical artifact au.”

  Charlot felt a faint sense of joy. He had no real es; if he wao sell something, his only option was sed-hand goods shops, which generally offered low prices. Magical artifact aus, however, ofteched several times higher prices.

  Such gatherings were events for the elite. The hosts were usually people of siderable status, and only fabulously wealthy merts h-ranking nobles were invited.

  The Meburg family was wealthy, but still not riough to meet the standards of these aus. As the sed son of the Meburg family, Charlot couldn’t eve his foot in the door.

  Aended her delicate hand in an invitiure.

  Charlot hesitated only briefly before opening the door for Annie and inviting her into the carriage. He then climbed in himself.

  This carriage was a bit simpler than the one from the previous day, but it was still spacious enough to seat seven ht people.

  Charlot sat opposite Annie and asked, “Miss Annie, don’t you have csses today?”

  As a third-year student, her studies should have been demanding. Charlot asked casually, intending to start a versation.

  Annie answered with a hint of pride, “I’ve already pleted my core credits. I only have a few internship csses left, so my schedule is quite flexible. I don’t o go to school every day.”

  Charlot suddenly realized that he shouldn’t view the world of an academic overachiever through the eyes of an ordinary student.

  During Huang Haisheng’s uy days, he had been endlessly stressed, w hard to plete assigs under his professuidance, stantly worried about having enough credits to graduate, uo rex even a little. As the sayi ihematics department: “When pushed to the limit, humans do anything—except math.”

  Charlot Meburg’s uy experience had been much the same. He graduated from Leman Public Academy and was admitted to the Behemoth National Institute, where he had takeives like Lamia Breathing Teiques, but he only barely mao form a power seed by the time he graduated, never breaking through. During four years at Sheffield Uy, he had also failed to awaken, ultimately only stepping into the extraordinary realm through summoning a dark god.

  pared to Annie Bretagne, who reached extraordinary status in her first year on her own power, Charlot was clearly outcssed.

  Annie Bretagne appeared far more posed today thaerday. This young dy was quite tall—by Earth’s measurements, she stood at approximately 170 cm. Even ating for shoe thiess, she was no shorter than 168 cm, making her a tall girl.

  Today, she wore tortoiseshell-framed gsses instead of a long dress. Her knee-high boots, leather hunting pants, and a form-fitting jacket highlighted her long legs perfectly. Her smooth golden hair was tied into a ponytail that hung behind her head, exuding an air of elegand decisiveness. Beside her seat y a tri hat.

  After some pleasantries, Charlot asked, “Miss Annie, do you have other pns for today? If I’ve caused you to ge your schedule, I would feel terribly sorry.”

  Annie hesitated briefly before answering, “I’m also going to the magical artifact au.”

  Then, in a low voice, she added, “But there’s something I must expin to you, Mr. Meburg. I’m not attending the au to make a purchase, but because…the person who killed my aunt will be there today.”

  Charlot was stunned. “Mr. Yanmills is attending? Shouldn’t we report this to the city patrol guards?”

  A her lip and said, “The host of the magical artifact au is the Duchess of Messau. The city patrol guards ot ehe venue.”

  Charlot immediately uood. While the Fars Empire was a society governed by w, it operated on a vastly different system from what Huang Haisheng had known in his previous life.

  In Huang Haisheng’s old world, no high-ranking official would dare opeertain a fugitive. In this world, however, the w was nothing more than a piece of scrap paper in the face of nobility.

  Power was above the w!

  The city patrol guards would never offend a duchess like the Duchess of Messau over a fugitive, especially one as iial as her.

  Charlot had heard many rumors about the Duchess of Messau, all of which boiled down to one fact: she anded one-sixth of the empire’s navy.

  The Norther was the hereditary force of the Messau family, loyal not to the emperor but to the Messau lineage.

  If not for Zimourman Axel Robin’s return with the Pirate King’s fleet and the losses the Duchess of Messau suffered while expl the Ragihe Norther would, at its peak, have prised half of the Imperial Navy.

  As Charlot pondered whether his small item might be unworthy of such a high-end au, he was interrupted by Annie’s apologetic voice. “I’m sorry to involve you in this, Mr. Meburg, but I really need your help.”

  Charlot uzzled. “How I help?”

  He couldn’t see how getting involved at the Duchess of Messau’s au was a good idea. Even with the influence of the Bretagne family, such as were unwise.

  Annie whispered, “He knows me, but he doesn’t know you. You help me approach him and pce this trag beetle on him. That way, even if he leaves the au, I still track him.”

  Annie Bretagne opened her hand to reveal a small bck beetle. The beetle was lifelike, but it wasn’t a living creature; it was a magical alchemical creation, plete with gears as fine as threads.

  Charlot didn’t uand how magical alchemical creations operated. While Earth’s teology could achieve simir feats, the principles were clear and stific. Magical alchemical creations, however, were shrouded in mystery, their ws still g a plete theoretical foundation. This world indeed held its own marvels.

  The task seemed simple enough and uo cause trouble. Charlot readily agreed, smiling as he said, “I’m happy to be of service to you, Miss Annie.”

  After discussing some of the finer points of the pn, the carriage arrived in front of an old residence.

  Charlot hadn’t expected the magical artifact au to be held in the Alexander District.

  He had always assumed it would take p Val-de-Vas but never imagi would be in the Alexander District, and so close to the Savings Union apartments.