"What are you talking about? I don't quite understand." Loen still had a blank and confused expression on his face.
"Thank you."
However, Charles did not explain; instead, he offered a sudden, disconnected word of thanks.
Then, he spoke slowly in an incomparably sincere tone: "I know you saw what happened that evening. I am very grateful that you did not report it to the Night Church."
That was the truth—
"How did you know I didn't report it?" Seeing that the other party had laid his cards on the table, Loen decided to stop acting as well.
With this face of "James Scott" he currently wore, he was considered a celebrity in Backlund; it was normal to be recognized.
"I have my own sources of information," Charles replied with a smile. "I am still able to learn a bit about the internal investigative movements of the Night Church."
"Your organization—the waters run much deeper than I imagined."
Loen pondered for a moment and threw out a question: "I'm curious, does it make a difference? Even if I didn't say anything, the Night Church would still investigate. The unnatural death of that 'Demon' is quite obvious. His corpse is still there; the Night Church will definitely find a way to uncover the truth."
"There is still a difference," Charles explained. "Because of the special nature of our organization, we ourselves have a certain degree of reporting to the Night Church."
"Although under normal circumstances, we are outside the list of the Night Church's key investigations. However, once certain key characteristics are captured, it is very easy for the Night Church to follow the trail and find us."
"So, even a blurry figure is equally dangerous for us."
After explaining, Charles asked in return: "Actually, I am more curious why you chose not to report it?"
"Hmph—" Loen shrugged, revealing an expression of "it's better to avoid extra trouble." "Regardless of how you put it, the act of 'taking out that Demon' itself is not a bad thing. At least for the security of Backlund. I was just a passerby who was accidentally dragged into it at the time, and I didn't want to invite more trouble. Saving the Duke was already eye-catching enough; I didn't want to create complications."
He looked directly at Charles, his tone carrying a clear inquiry: "Now, I am more concerned about whether this matter—should not have any follow-up, right?"
A reasonable and logical answer, although there was some concealment, logically it was fine—Charles nodded slightly.
"Rest assured, I promise you that the incident of assassinating Duke Negan has nothing to do with me; it was definitely not planned by us."
"Between that 'Demon' and me, there were only some private grudges."
"I didn't want our conflict to be exposed under the eyes of the Night Church, so—"
"Understood."
Loen only half-believed his words, but still nodded.
"Actually, a long time ago, I inquired about your organization's situation. To be able to achieve such a scale under the eyes of the authorities, you must have extraordinary connections and means."
"Don't worry, as long as it doesn't involve me, I won't do anything unnecessary."
"Thank you. You have gained our friendship." Charles's tone was exceptionally sincere.
"Then, let's continue to talk about the investment. Actually, not only your Charity Gala fund, but I am also very interested in your arms industry—"
"Hmm—is this considered repayment, or a bribe?" Loen asked suddenly in a half-joking, half-serious tone.
Charles was taken aback, then laughed: "James, you are truly interesting." He changed how he addressed him, appearing closer.
"Actually, it counts as both. Repaying your silence, and also bribing you—to continue to be silent, and, I hope we can become good partners."
The subsequent conversation went exceptionally smoothly. Charles promised to invest 10,000 pounds into Loen's Charity Gala fund in the name of the organization. At the same time, he would also invest in Loen's arms industry in a private capacity, helping Loen secure some links currently missing from his supply chain, for example—the sales channel part.
Of course, specific matters could not be made clear in a short while. So they just set a basic framework for cooperation first.
To facilitate subsequent contact, Charles proposed that Sherlock Moriarty could serve as the liaison between the two.
"By the way, Mr. Horn," just as the conversation was about to end, Loen suddenly said, "Actually, I am also very interested in the pharmaceutical industry. I wonder if you have any resources in this regard?"
"Pharmaceuticals? Hmm—yes. If you need it, I can help you connect." Charles was slightly surprised, but quickly nodded.
During the previous financial crisis, they acquired quite a few bankrupt enterprises, including several small pharmaceutical companies.
But because they had a stable cooperation with the Sanguine, they did not have a great demand for general medicine, and this kind of industry was easily subject to the authorities's supervision, making it difficult to invest in a big way in Backlund.
Therefore, if James Scott really had needs in this area, he indeed had the channels to provide help.
The two chatted for a while about the current status of the pharmaceutical industry and possible cooperation models.
"By the way, James." Charles suddenly changed the subject, "Are you interested in joining us?"
"Join—" Loen narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew what the other party was talking about. "Sorry, I have no interest in being a Detective."
"You should also be able to guess," Charles leaned forward, his voice lowered, "Why can I, a mere Director of a commercial investigation organization, have the strength to deal with a Sequence 5 'Demon'? And how can I easily obtain the internal intelligence movements of the Night Church?"
"Stop." Loen suddenly raised his hand, making a gesture to stop, interrupting Charles's words.
"Sorry, Mr. Horn. There are some things I don't want to know for the time being." His expression became serious. "The impact of the assassination of Duke Negan is too great. I will definitely be in the spotlight during this period of time, and I don't want to get involved in too many complicated matters. I am just an innocent ordinary citizen who was accidentally dragged into it."
"As for other matters—I think, let's talk again after everything calms down."
"Hmm—that's true, it was too abrupt of me." Charles nodded.
"In any case, we have agreed on the investment and business cooperation. I will have Sherlock help pass on documents and information regarding the specific details later. May our cooperation be pleasant."
"Extra! Extra! Duke Negan assassinated on the street, the terrorist organization 'Aurora Order' has claimed responsibility for this incident!"
"The hero of the east district performs another miraculous feat! Mr. James Scott bravely repelled the Assassin, saving the Duke's life!"
—
Just as Loen expected, once the news spread, he was thrown to the peak of public opinion again. The factory entrance was more crowded than after the Capin case last time, not only with reporters who came upon hearing the news, but also curious citizens, speculators wanting to take advantage, and even some unknown groups holding signs expressing "support" or "protest."
"Mr. Scott! May I ask if you were at the scene at the time? How did you discover the assassination of the Duke?"
"Mr. Scott! May I ask what the specific situation of your battle with that Assassin was? Were you afraid?"
"Mr. Scott! There are rumors that the Negan Family will give you a huge reward to thank you, is this true?"
"Mr. Scott! You saved the Conservative Party leader Duke Negan this time, does this mean that you personally support the Conservative Party?"
"I just happened to be passing by at that time, and out of a citizen's simple sense of Justice, I decided to help. As for the specific situation of the case, everyone can pay attention to the subsequent official announcement from the police. As for other matters, I have no comment."
After finally dealing with this group of difficult reporters, Loen returned to his office exhausted.
"So many people blocking here every day, the factory's normal work cannot be carried out—it seems that it is really necessary to establish a security department."
"Should I—just set up a security company myself?"
"Mr. Scott!"
Old Kohler ran over, panting.
"What's wrong? Did reporters break in again?" Loen frowned slightly.
"No, it's not—it's that more invitations have been sent over—"
Invitations—
Hearing this word, he felt a headache. With the spread of the news that he saved Duke Negan, in these two days, he had received too many similar things. There were some sent by the police commissioner of the police department, salons held by celebrities he had met at the Charity Gala, and dinner invitations sent by some minor nobles whose names he hadn't even heard of—
Today, he also received a formal invitation from the Church of Evernight, inviting him to visit St. Samuel Cathedral when he had time. The Archbishop of the Backlund Diocese of the Church of Evernight expressed that he was "very much looking forward to meeting" this "pious" believer of his.
Bishop Electra, whom he met at the previous gala, also sent a greeting letter in a private capacity.
Besides that, he had to go to the main residence of the Negan Family in person in two days, saying it was to express the most sincere gratitude for his heroic deed.
"Sigh—being a celebrity is tiring. And, this is just the beginning. After the authorities statement from the Negan Family comes out, I'm afraid these invitations will be even more—not to mention that there is an unknown force in the dark, eyeing me covetously—"
"Why not, after finishing these two days of things, find an excuse to go out and hide for a while—"