Chapter 226: Warehouse Dispatcher

If this trip went smoothly without any follow-up matters, Xia De planned to use the remaining time of the day to walk around locally, and then temporarily give up exploring in Coldwater Port City, focusing on returning to Tobesk to find a way to increase his strength in a short time.

Although Doctor Daniester's divination believed that it was necessary for Xia De to go on a long trip, divination was not necessarily correct. He didn't need to waste too much time in an unfamiliar city.

As for being able to handle the commission in a distant seaport city, it was because the friend entrusted by Mr. Lemeier, the distant relative of Mrs. Lemeier who had passed away, lived locally.

This was certainly not a coincidence. Mr. Lemeier, who had died, was a crew member traveling between the New Continent and the Old Continent, and Coldwater Port must be the place where he stayed most often. His friend should have a close connection with the identity of a crew member, and coupled with the relationship being good enough to help keep the will, it was actually normal for the other party to be in Coldwater Port.

When going out, Xia De didn't forget to wear a hat to prevent anyone from recognizing him. Of course, no one in this city had seen Xia De in person, and even if someone recognized him through the photo in the newspaper, as long as he didn't admit that he had been to Coldwater Port, it wouldn't cause any trouble.

As for the destination of this trip, although Xia De didn't have the ability to never forget, he had the habit of carrying a notebook with him, and the notebook had the information said by the client when she came to the door that day.

Mr. Lemeier's friend also lived in the pier area, seemingly a small civil servant of the local government. When asking for the address when leaving the hotel, he learned that it would only take half an hour to walk there.

Xia De didn't know the gentleman's name, but Mrs. Lemeier knew that he lived at No. 5 Mermaid Lane in the pier area of Coldwater Port City. Judging from the naming method, that should be a relatively good lane nearby.

Even in the same country, different cities had different architectural styles. The architectural style difference between the fog city inland and the seaport on the west coast was quite large. Walking in an unfamiliar city with an umbrella, the original half-hour journey took Xia De nearly an hour to finish, walking and stopping.

He saw children running and laughing in the rain, saw laborers moving things at the pier in the heavy rain, saw old nobles running wildly on the road in carriages, and saw beggars huddled under the eaves of shops to avoid the rain.

This city was thriving, and this city was decaying and dirty. It was thousands of miles away from Tobesk, but the evaluation in Xia De's heart was surprisingly consistent:

"A city playing two roles in the era of change will eventually move toward prosperity or decline in a greater change."

In order to facilitate the transport of goods in the pier area, the drainage on the main road was done quite well, but once he drilled into the small lane, the mud and things Xia De didn't want to guess almost covered the shoe surface of his boots.

Mermaid Lane was on one side of the main road, and the fifth door after drilling into the lane was the destination. This was a two-story small building with peeling wall skin, and moss grew on the edge of the wall facing the street. The window next to the door didn't have curtains, and he could see a pot of withered flowers placed on the windowsill, looking like it had been dead for a long time.

Out of politeness, Xia De didn't peek at other people's houses from the window, but walked up the steps under the eaves and knocked on the door gently, then waited patiently:

"I don't know how Miya is doing at Miss Lu Yi Sha's place."

It was raining in both Tobesk and Coldwater Port today, but relatively speaking, the rain in this seaport city was heavier. The wind blew through the city, bringing the unique smell of the ocean into his nasal cavity. People who lived here all year round would probably be very used to this smell.

After all, there was no year-round foggy weather like Tobesk here.

Soon someone came to open the door. When the door was opened, he saw a tall and thin middle-aged man with a beard:

"Excuse me, is Mr. Jonathan Lemeier here?"

Xia De made good use of his surprise to express his emotions. He still thought Mr. Lemeier's friend was also a rude crew member.

"Lemeier?"

The person who opened the door frowned, sized up the young man holding an umbrella, and answered with an accent:

"That's my friend, sir. May I ask what business you have with him?"

"We have some financial disputes, and I've come to settle the account with him."

"He owes you money?"

The middle-aged man became vigilant, sizing up the strange young man.

"No, I owe him money."

Xia De said, shaking the Luo De Pai he took out of his pocket with the hand not holding the umbrella:

"We met on a ship. At that time, I took their ship from Coldwater Port to the New Continent. There was nothing to do on the ship, so everyone gathered to play Luo De Pai. I lost a sum of money to Jonathan Lemeier, but I couldn't take it out at the time. He gave me this address and said to send the money here... That was two months ago, and I just returned to Coldwater Port from the New Continent."

Xia De didn't know if the crew member liked playing cards, but since he was a crew member who went to sea all year round, he would absolutely not be able to escape smoking, drinking, and Luo De Pai. There weren't many interesting things in this era, and if one wanted to find some fun at sea, there were only these.

"I am a person who keeps his word, and I didn't owe much money."

Xia De didn't forget to explain the reason why he was so "honest."

"How much do you owe him?"

But the middle-aged man who opened the door remained vigilant.

"12 shillings and 7 pence."

This sum of money was neither too much nor too little. If it was too little, there was no point in spending time to pay it back. If it was too much, it would attract suspicion instead.

The middle-aged man relaxed a little, seeing that it was still raining outside, so he let Xia De enter the house to talk:

"Thank you for being able to come and pay back the money, but... come in first."

The middle-aged man was named Jason Delar, a dispatcher in charge of warehouse dispatching in the local pier area. Although it sounded like an inconspicuous position, it was still a civil servant position in Coldwater Port City. Even Xia De, who had never been in contact with similar professions, could understand that this was a fat job.

Mr. Delar entertained Xia De in the living room and informed him of the unfortunate news of Mr. Lemeier's death.

Xia De, who was well prepared, showed an "astonished" attitude with great acting skills. First, he sighed at the impermanence of the world. A few months ago when they met, the crew member was still in good health. Upon hearing that he died in a shipwreck, he appropriately pretended to pray for the soul of the innocent dead—praying to 【Mr. Dawn】.

In order to make the conversation appear natural, Xia De also inquired about the relationship between Mr. Delar and the deceased Mr. Lemeier.

His client, Mrs. Lemeier, didn't know much information from the lawyer, only knowing that this gentleman who kept the will in Coldwater Port was a good friend of the crew member who unfortunately died in the shipwreck. And when Mr. Delar introduced himself, he only pushed that he and Mr. Lemeier were friends who met playing Luo De Pai in a tavern, and gradually became familiar, having decades of friendship.

This kind of statement was very similar to Xia De's statement, and it seemed a bit suspicious. But no matter what, by now, Xia De basically confirmed that Mrs. Lemeier's acceptance of the inheritance was indeed true and not some scam.

After all, even if this was a scam, the scammer wouldn't be bored enough to prepare such a realistic trap in a distant city. ===== CHAPTER 227 =====