Lord of Mysteries: The New Black Emperor

Chapter 113: Commission on the Bulletin Board

~~~

After seeing what might have been George III's carriage yesterday, Hobert suddenly realized that in the Kingdom of Loen, nobles still held the most power.

And Hobert, prompted by a sudden inspiration, formed the "Justice League." Interestingly, two nobles' children were part of it, perfectly positioned to expand Backlund's aristocratic circle. Perhaps they would play a significant role at some point.

Viscount Glaint's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea!"

Hobert continued, "But the condition is that you disclose the purpose of finding the ring to the other three initiators."

This left Glaint somewhat hesitant. "That's... that's..."

"I trust their integrity," Hobert said. "Of course, whether to disclose the purpose of finding the ring is up to you, but being honest with them makes a big difference compared to them discovering the truth themselves."

"You might want to consider it first. How about a first meeting on Tuesday morning at nine o'clock at your mansion?"

"Even if you don't intend to reveal too many secrets to them, exchanging information is good."

Glaint nodded. "Alright, this is a mysterious organization we've started, and we should manage it well."

Hobert added, "Next, I'll go inform Miss Audrey, Miss Xio, and Miss Fors. Would you handle the letter to them?"

"No problem."

Visiting Audrey was something Hobert had planned for a long time. As her lawyer, it was natural to communicate regularly with her aristocratic employer.

Additionally, he had promised Audrey to explain the deal with Utravsky. However, in the past week, Hobert hadn't found time to visit her.

Arriving at Earl Hall's mansion by carriage, Hobert informed the servants at the gate that he was here to visit Miss Audrey. He waited at the gate for about ten minutes until Audrey's personal maid came to escort him inside.

Audrey's beauty once again pleased Hobert, and he openly complimented her beauty.

Audrey smiled as Hobert sat down in her living room. Hobert began by saying he wanted to tell some stories about mysticism. Observing this, Audrey immediately understood Hobert's intentions and asked her maid to leave the room.

After listening to Hobert's new deal with Bishop Utravsky, Audrey sighed, "Mr. Hobert, you have a very broad network!"

Hobert smiled and shook his head modestly. "No, no, just lucky."

Then he continued, "Are you available on Tuesday? I think it's time for our 'Justice League' to have a meeting."

Audrey eagerly replied, "Of course, I have time! We should have had a meeting long ago!"

That was their own mysterious organization! With the meeting settled, the two chatted. Suddenly, the steward of Earl Hall knocked on the door and informed Hobert that the Earl wanted to see him.

Meeting Earl Hall, Hobert learned that he was called to review a contract.

The Earl said, "Originally, I wanted to invite Lawyer Barton over, but I heard you were here. Today is Sunday, so I called you to help take a look."

Hobert smiled and said, "Gladly."

Opening the contract, Hobert's eyes narrowed slightly. It turned out the contract was a land transaction between Earl Hall and Count Vincent.

It was an area of woodland without any special products, on the eastern outskirts of Backlund, not far from where Hobert had caught thieves yesterday.

Hobert speculated that this transaction was related to George III's outing yesterday. However, he had no intention of actively investigating the specific connection.

Hobert carefully read the contract once and pointed out two places that might cause ambiguity, then proposed amendments.

Finally, Hobert said, "Is there a mine discovered in that woodland? Why would Count Vincent be willing to buy the land at a price higher than the market value?"

He continued, "According to the Contract Law, contracts that are higher or lower than market prices may be invalidated. I suggest, sir, that you have a rough idea of why Count Vincent wants to buy the land, to avoid potential disputes."

"Your advice is as professional as Lawyer Barton's," Earl Hall smiled and casually said, "I've done my research. Count Vincent wants to convert it into a hunting ground."

"This piece of land has been undeveloped in my hands, so I might as well do him a favor and sell it to him."

Hobert complimented, "You are the wisest Earl I have ever met."

Um, so far, I've only met one Earl.

In Hobert's view, the reason given by Count Vincent seemed more like deliberately concealing something.

Could it be that relics from the Tudor Empire period were discovered there, and George III went to see if they could be transformed into tombs?

Hobert shook his head. Lacking relevant information, it was difficult to make accurate guesses.

After bidding farewell to Earl Hall and Audrey, Hobert had lunch at the Mercenary Club and attended the afternoon gathering.

However, this gathering did not yield what he was looking for. So after attending the gathering, Hobert went up to the third floor to the room with the information wall.

It had been about two weeks since his last visit, and the information here had been updated.

Among the tasks posted on the wall, Hobert saw a commission posted by Simon Vincent, to find the mastermind behind the thieves who infiltrated his home.

Hobert only briefly acted as a mercenary yesterday and had no intention of continuing in this industry. Even if he did intend to work as a mercenary, he would not take on such a risky commission.

Scrolling down further, another commission caught Hobert's attention. Previously, a cult hideout in Southville County was raided by mercenaries hired for this task.

However, not all cult leaders were caught. According to reliable information, two cult leaders had fled to Backlund and were likely hiding in the chaotic East Borough.

So the new task was to capture or kill these two cult members, regardless of their lives, with a reward of up to 200 pounds. Providing effective clues could also earn a commission ranging from 10 to 30 pounds.

Detailed information could be obtained from the waiter.

Hobert thought this commission was suitable for Xio to handle. He could pass on this information to her. If Xio completed the commission, he could symbolically take a cut.

He could even offer some assistance, after all, only with money from Xio could he buy the Beyonder characteristic left by the Sheriff.

Hobert muttered to himself that he really was a competent customer manager, worrying about customers.

After obtaining more specific information, Hobert learned why their reward was so high. It turned out that the two cult members were both Beyonder people in Sequence 9.

Xio was relatively capable among Sequence 9s. There was no problem accepting this task.

Putting away the information, Hobert continued to look down. Other commissions were either team tasks or required travel abroad, which were not suitable.

Then he went to look at the trading information and free exchange information. Among them, a communication message caught Hobert's attention.

The person who left the message said he saw a stone suddenly surrounded by a halo of light, and then the stone turned into sand. He was curious about what was going on?

Hobert thought to himself that this was a case where an ordinary mercenary encountered an Beyonder event, and it even showed the Beyonder event of "disorder."

As he pondered whether to enlighten this fellow on basic mysticism knowledge, he suddenly thought, since disorder could turn a stone into sand, could it also crush Beyonder characteristics?

~~~

join Patreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters