Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Reward.

Duncan steadied himself and walked toward the two constables at the door.

His conscience was perfectly clear. He had not caused any damage or clashed with the authority. Captain Duncan’s name might be infamous out on the Boundless Sea, but what did that roaming calamity have to do with him, an honest and proper antique shopkeeper?

Come to think of it, the most suspicious thing he had done was attend a cultist gathering—and afterward he had even gone out of his way to report it!

Wait… report?

Duncan suddenly remembered and immediately had a vague guess about why the two constables had come. His steps forward became much more confident. Nina, however, clearly did not share that calm. When she saw her uncle coming downstairs, she hurried over to meet him. Keeping her voice low where the two constables could not hear, she whispered urgently: “Uncle, when the two constables ask questions later, you have to answer honestly…”

Duncan stumbled a little at that. He looked at his “niece” with a strange expression: “Is that really the kind of person I am in your mind?”

Nina looked a bit aggrieved at this “uncle” whose reputation was so bad, who used to be visited every few days because of drunkenness or fights at the gambling hall. “…Otherwise, why else would the constables come to see you?”

Duncan: “…”

He sighed helplessly, walked to the shop door, and gave the two constables in deep blue uniforms a bright smile: “Good morning, gentlemen. How can I help you?”

“Mr. Duncan Strenn,” the older of the two constables spoke, polite and official. “We have found this place according to the registered address. The lead you reported to the patrol yesterday has been confirmed. On behalf of City Hall, we thank you for your contribution to maintaining order in the city-state and have brought you your reward money.”

As he finished, the younger constable stepped forward and handed over a paper packet that looked rather thick.

Nina, standing to the side, already had her eyes wide open.

Duncan had already guessed why the two constables had come, figuring it must be follow-up on the cultist den he had reported. He had not expected them to bring the reward directly to his door. Somewhat surprised, he took the packet. On the disposable wax seal at the flap he saw the words “435 Sola.” For a resident of the Lower City, this was a very generous sum.

“So there was money too…” Duncan squeezed the packet, feeling the thickness of the notes. “I didn’t even think about that at the time.”

“Of course there’s a bounty—the Governor takes cracking down on crimes inside the city-state very seriously, especially recently. Any effective report will be rewarded in a real and generous way,” the younger constable said with a smile. “And the lead you provided… was rather unusual.”

At that, Duncan could not help feeling a stir in his heart. Pretending to be casual, he asked: “By the way, I heard something wrong over there and didn’t dare get too close to look. What exactly happened?”

The two constables exchanged a glance, then took two steps forward into the shop. Nina blinked at this, then quickly went to close the door.

“We didn’t go to the scene. The Guardians were the ones handling it. But according to the reports… the scene was very brutal,” the younger constable said. He had not yet fully learned the detached, official tone of the veterans. “You did the right thing by not approaching rashly and finding the patrol to report it at once. Otherwise you would definitely have been in grave danger.”

When the young man finished, the other constable spoke as well: “Ordinary citizens do not need to know the details. We only want to remind you of one thing—cult activity in the city has been increasing lately. Do not mention your report and reward to outsiders.”

Duncan paused for a moment, then quickly understood.

This was the Lower City, where sewage and poisonous vapors sank and gathered. The things Pland least wanted to see in the light all hid in these old, winding alleys. Whenever heretics and malevolent spirits began to stir, they would inevitably hide in places like this as well.

Although the street where the antique shop stood was considered one of the more presentable parts of the Lower City and still some distance from the most rundown shantytowns, in terms of filth and hidden rot, the entire Lower City was not much different.

On the other hand, even setting aside the possibility that cult members might be hiding among the ordinary people of the Lower City, someone who “reported others to the authority and collected reward money” was very likely to be viewed with suspicion here.

Constables who knew the local situation were certainly aware of this. Their reminder was part of routine procedure, but it was also genuinely well meant.

Duncan thought about it and felt that their warning was right.

This place really was prone to cultists—he still had that Sun emblem tucked in his pocket.

“Thank you for the reminder,” he said sincerely. He did not know what the average constable in this place was like, but at least these two made a good impression. “Would you like to sit and rest a while?”

“No need,” the older constable waved his hand and turned toward the door. “We still have patrol duties.”

The younger constable turned back before leaving. “If you come across similar leads in the future, you’re welcome to report them in time. The safety of the city-state affects every one of us.”

“Of course.” Duncan squeezed the packet in his hand, a heartfelt smile spreading across his face. “I’ve always been a good citizen who cares about order in the city-state.”

The two constables left the antique shop of “good, enthusiastic citizen Mr. Duncan.” Only when the two uniformed figures disappeared down the street did Nina finally come back to herself and look at her uncle. Uncle Duncan was opening the packet and counting the blue and green notes inside. The pleasant sound of the bills rustling made it all gradually feel real to her. “Uncle… is this really a reward from City Hall? You actually… really…”

The girl opened her mouth for a long time, but in the end she still could not bring herself to ask, “You actually really did something good?”

But Duncan knew what Nina was thinking and what she was puzzled about. He laughed. “I just reported some illegal activity on my way home yesterday. Your uncle has always been keen on public welfare.”

Nina: “…”

“But I really am surprised the reward is this high.” Before Nina could speak, Duncan lowered his head again and looked thoughtfully at the bills in his hand, muttering under his breath: “This is a lot faster than making money through business…”

There was another thought he did not say out loud: according to the information he had, there were still countless cultists from various city-states hiding in this city.

All of that was money!

Nina did not catch that for a moment. “Uncle, what did you say?”

“Nothing.” Duncan waved his hand. While he considered this new way to make money in his heart, he said casually: “Aren’t you supposed to be going to school? Head out early so you won’t be late. Right, when is Mr. Morris coming for the home visit?”

“This afternoon. I only have one class this afternoon,” Nina said, as if she had just thought of something. “Uncle, are you going out today?”

Duncan nodded. “Yeah, I need to go out for a bit, but I’ll be back before your history teacher comes.”

As soon as she heard that, Nina shot him a suspicious look. “Uncle, what are you going to do?”

Duncan gave an especially bright smile. “Your uncle is going out hunting.”

He already had an idea. Since the Sun badge worked so well and the authority handed out money so readily, he would be a fool not to use this channel. Even without the “report them and get paid” part, he would still have to make trouble for the cultists, at least to keep the area around him safe. Now that he knew he could fleece them once more after causing them trouble, why not?

But Nina was a clever young lady. Even without knowing the rest of Duncan’s secrets, she guessed at once what “hunting” in his words really meant. The girl’s fine brows knit together at once. “…Uncle, this isn’t right. Yesterday you said you were going to run the shop honestly, straighten things up here, and hire a shop assistant…”

“Caring about public security and running the shop steadily don’t contradict each other,” Duncan said with a grand wave of his hand. “Go to school. Your uncle knows what he’s doing.”

What he had not expected was that, after hearing this, Nina instead found a chair beside him and sat down.

“Nina?”

“Uncle, this is dangerous.” Nina raised her head, her eyes fixed on Duncan.

Duncan: “Uh… actually…”

“I have to keep an eye on you.” Nina sat there stubbornly. “Those two constables just said the city isn’t safe right now… It’s one thing to run into danger by accident, but how can you go looking for it on purpose?”

Duncan stared blankly at the girl who was only seventeen.

He suddenly realized that she truly was worried about him—in a stubborn way she believed was right and safe, she was worrying about the “Uncle Duncan” in her eyes, who had been seriously ill for many years, had a weak body, acted recklessly, and lately seemed desperate to earn money.

“I don’t want a bicycle.” Nina lowered her head and muttered softly.

“Go to school.” Duncan suddenly let out a breath, smiling as he stepped forward and pressed a hand on Nina’s head.

Nina looked up in surprise.

“You’re right. It is dangerous.” Duncan looked at Nina very seriously. “I won’t go anywhere. I’ll wait for you here in the shop.”