dmims Chapter 43 The Free Lunch
Chapter 43 The Free Lunch
Suren was not at all surprised by Mrs. Howard's appearance.
Judging by the time, the other person should have left the coffee shop, circled the alley, and removed the illusion from her body by now; they should be home by then.
When Carl saw Mrs. Howard appear, he paused for a moment, standing at the bottom of the steps.
Suren had already put the photos in his pocket beforehand. He bowed politely and said, "Hello, we're here to discuss something with your husband."
Mrs. Howard glanced at Suren and Carl, then gave them an impeccable smile: "Gentlemen, please follow me."
Her voice was soft and pleasant, with the tone that a noble lady would use when receiving guests.
Following Mrs. Howard, the two returned to the familiar study.
Mr. Howard sat behind his desk, still perusing the old books, as if he hadn't moved an inch since Su Lun and the others left.
Mrs. Howard left the room, the door closed softly, leaving only the three of them in the room.
Viscount Howard closed his book and looked up. He looked at the two of them quietly, his gaze deep, and said nothing.
Suren walked to the desk, took the photo out of his pocket, and casually tossed it onto the table.
Viscount Howard raised an eyebrow and snorted somewhat displeased, but his gaze was quickly drawn to the contents of the photograph.
He held up the photo, looked at it carefully for a few seconds, then frowned and looked at Suren with a puzzled expression.
"That's right, sir." Suren turned slightly to the side, his voice unhurried, as if stating a routine matter, "I entered the 'Starry Club' without being discovered by Madam—after all, it's easy for 'Deathbird' to do such a thing."
Carl muttered to himself, "It's not easy at all."
Suren seemed not to hear Karl's whisper; he pointed with his index finger at the photograph in Viscount Howard's hand.
"In fact, Mrs. Howard spent the whole morning at the club chatting with these beautiful ladies." At this point, Suren pointed to her ear, "Fortunately, my hearing is still pretty good, and I could hear them talking about a perfume investment."
Viscount Howard stared at the photograph, lost in thought.
The room fell silent for a moment, then Viscount Howard abruptly asked, "Your photography skills are quite good. Have you used this kind of camera before?"
Viscount Howard stared intently at Suren, trying to see the panic on his face, but to his disappointment, Suren remained smiling.
Suren raised her hand, took the camera off her shoulder, and slapped it on the desk in front of Viscount Howard.
He reached into his pocket with his other hand, and when he took it out, there were two photos between his fingertips.
"I'm very sorry, sir. Cameras are rare items, especially high-end ones like yours. Fortunately, our 'Dead Bird' has a strong learning ability. I've already mastered how to use it perfectly, even though it only wasted two sheets of film."
He explained with a smile and placed the photo on the table as well.
Viscount Howard picked up the camera and flipped it over to check the film compartment. He opened the back cover of the film compartment, glanced at it in the sunlight, and then closed it again. Sure enough, two negatives were missing.
He put down his camera and looked at the two photos. One was completely ruined, and the other was just a blurry image.
He looked at Suren and said with a rare hint of admiration, "If we put aside your lowly status, you are indeed one of the most intelligent people I have ever met."
Suren remained silent, inwardly sneering: Viscount Howard hadn't explained how to use the camera when he handed it to her. Fortunately, Suren was meticulous; she had deliberately taken two "bad photos" on her way to the "Mist Exchange."
Karl walked swiftly to the desk, pulled the crumpled bounty poster from his pocket, slammed it on the table, and pushed it forward: "Viscount, now that the mission is complete, please sign here."
Viscount Howard lowered his head, looking at the note that was even stained with dirt, and his brow twitched.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, and signed his name. The sound of the pen scribbling loudly could be heard throughout the room.
After signing, he didn't even bother to say anything, he just raised his right hand and waved it.
Carl picked up the bounty poster, looked at it with satisfaction, folded it in half, and put it in his pocket.
The two of them didn't linger and quickly left the room.
Pushing open the door to Viscount Howard's residence, the two men emerged. Carl, somewhat pleased, remarked with a smile, "These noble gentlemen are so easy to fool; a simple photo can fetch over a hundred pounds."
"That's because you have no idea what's hidden behind this," Suren thought to herself silently.
He turned to Karl and said, "I need to speak with Professor De Went about something. If you're in a hurry, you can go back to the duty station first."
Carl looked up, squinting at the sun's position. Then he looked away, rubbing his stomach. "It's almost lunchtime. I'll go with you; we can get a free lunch."
Suren looked somewhat surprised, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Mooching a meal?"
"Yes, I often ate there when I was asking the professor questions. Professor Derwent's lunches were really quite lavish." Karl's tone was somewhat smug.
Suren looked at the beaming Karl and was momentarily speechless. After a couple of seconds of silence, he finally asked, "But doesn't this violate the 'doctrine'?"
"What 'doctrine' is being violated? This isn't a transaction, and I even brought the professor pleasure!" Karl puffed out his chest and said confidently.
Listening to Karl's words, Suren thought about something deeper: "So it seems that the rule of 'equivalent exchange' only applies to transactions, and the basis for judging the rule seems to be the definition of the behavior by both parties. Does that mean that it only takes effect if both parties agree to it?"
Suren shook his head, deciding to stop thinking about this pointless question. He followed Karl, and the two headed towards Professor Derwent's residence.
Before long, the two were standing in Professor Derwent's living room. The old butler had just left through the door, his footsteps still echoing in the hallway.
Professor De Went was sitting on the sofa in the living room, flipping through a book, seemingly to pass the time while waiting for lunch.
Professor Derwent looked up at Karl and Suren, a friendly smile on his face: "Karl, you brought Suren along today?"
Hearing Professor Derwent's teasing tone, Suren smiled helplessly. He turned to look at Karl, and judging from the professor's tone, Karl probably came over for meals every day. Professor Derwent really had a good temper; if it were anyone else, they probably would have kicked Karl out long ago.
Before long, the three of them were having lunch in the dining room. Professor De Went's lunch was indeed very lavish, with seven or eight exquisite dishes laid out on the table, and the silver cutlery gleaming softly in the firelight of the fireplace.
Suren, who had been eating "pre-made meals" lately, cut off a small piece of steak and ate it, almost moved to tears. However, he didn't forget the purpose of his visit. After swallowing the steak, he looked up at Professor Derwent, who sat at the head of the table: "Professor, do you know Viscount Howard?"