The horse-carriage started moving towards the Eltos Grand Station. Sarah asks,"Why are we going towards Eltos Grand Station?"
"Well, to go to the kingdom of Gerance, Ms. Buckins." answers Khaleed.
"Wait, what? Why are we going to another kingdom? I thought we are going after the NightHowls?"
"Ha! Ha! We are indeed going after the NightHowls in the Kingdom of Gerance."
"We know where they are?"
"Not where are 'they' but where is 'he'."Sarah seems surprised."Whom do you mean by 'he'?"
"He is Rami. And for your next question,'How do I know where he is?' It's because when I slashed Rami his blood splattered to my cane.One of my skills is to locate people. By touching my cane to anything related to the person, it shows in which direction the person is."
Khaleed then put his cane vertically on the floor of the horse-carriage and let it fall. The cane fall in the south-eastern direction Khaleed did the same thing thrice, and thrice it fall towards the same direction, the direction is which Gerance is located.Khaleed then says,"As you can see, it always point towards the same direction as Gerance and according to Taz's intel, the base of the NightHowls can be located somewhere in Gerance."
"So that's why we are going to Gerance."says Sarah.
"Precisely."says Khaleed.
After reaching Eltos Grand Station, they boarded a train to Berner in Gerance. Dr. Hudson asks to Nathan,"Hey kid, why are we going to Berner and not and to the capital city of Gerance?"
"We can go to Swizar, the capital city of Genance, but Khaleed just told me that in Berner we will be benefitted."
"Tssk!!! That kid irritating, he never properly open up his mind. We can't tell what is going on in this mind."
"I would say that's true."
"What are you two talking about?"asks Taz.
"Nothing kid." says Dr. Hudson.
"Well guys, it seems like one of us has to set somewhere else." says Khaleed.
"I will go." answers Dr. Hudson.
Dr. Hudson snatches the newspaper from Khaleed's hand and proceed to seat somewhere else.
"Well, now seat guys!" says Khaleed.
Khaleed sit beside the window on one side and Sarah on the other side. Taz swift sit beside Khaleed, leaving Nathan in a moment of despair.
Taz [smirking] says"Nathan, my brother, please sit."
"Ah! Yes! I am sitting."
Hesitating many times, Nathan finally sit besides Sarah.After sitting Nathan did an
contact with Khaleed. Khaleed nodded and then says,"The weather is pretty nice today."
Taz [still smirking] says,"Indeed."
Nathan [clearing his throat] says, "Taz?"
"Yes."
"We are travelling so far away into another kingdom. Didn't you send any letter to Lady Sherlyne regarding that?"
"Ahm! Ah! Yeah! Yeah I did.I did send her 1...
"143 letters." says Khaleed interrupting Taz.
Sarah is in utter shock and is unable to proceed what she heard.
Nathan [laughing] says,"As expected from my friend."
Taz [blushing] says," How...how do you know that Khaleed???"
Khaleed [smirking] says,"Well,it's simple.You were awake till 4:00 a.m writing all the letters and then wake up early at 7:00 a.m, finishing the work and went to the post office to deliver it.
"Mr. Bashir, how do you write so many letters in just 2 hours?" asks Sarah.
" Uhmm..."
"Well, Ms. Buckins do not worry.Every letter is just one or two sentences and Taz is a pretty fast writer." answers Khaleed on behalf of Taz.
"Ohhh!"
Taz [in suspicion] asks,"How the hell do you know all that Khaleed?Were you spying on me?"
"Perhaps yes, perhaps not.Well, you know I am a detective. Dr. Hudson went to bed immediately and Nathan returned to the base after half an hour and went to sleep."
Everyone is a bit shocked,Sarah asks,"Mr. Amin, didn't you sleep last night?"
"Oh! I did sleep. Sleep is a necessity of life."
Nathan [smirk] says,"Well all things aside, Taz good job!!!"
Taz heavily blushes and dismisses the topic. The journey goes on and after sometime Nathan falls asleep, following that Sarah also falls asleep. A bit later,both of their heads lean towards each other, resting against one another. Taz sees it and immediately calls Khaleed, but Khaleed was also sleeping. Taz, disappointed resume to read the book,'The History of the Continent :Aefis' without realising Khaleed is indeed awake.The moment,he saw them,he immediately closes his eyes and turns towards the window, perhaps to not make fun of his friend Nathan, perhaps to pretend that he didn't see anything. A few hours later,they were passing through the 'Great Lilom Mountain Ranges'.Surrounding the mountains, there is explicit beauty of greenery.Far away can be seen small villages, shining brightly as the golden sun rays fall on them. Passing through the tunnel, the train continues its journey on the other side of the mountains travelling through the country of Gerance. Travelling through the beautiful countryside, after 8 long hours, they have arrived at their destination, Berner. Berner is not an imperial city but its greatness lies in its vast agricultural lands,which provide important crops to the whole continent.That's why it is also called the "Agricultural Hub of the World". All of this is due to the presence of of the Haber river in its vicinity, the longest river in the world.The train arrives in Berner station.The group of detectives aboard a horse-carriage and continue their journey through the streets of Berner.
Khaleed speaks in his mind,"Hooo!!! It's good that the moment is not awkward.The moment Taz slept, I separated Nathan and Sarah's head. Taz is not teasing him, perhaps he thinks that we will assume that he is making up stuff. That's for the best I think."
Dr.Hudson asks,"So, where are we heading towards?"
Khaleed replies,"Keep patience Dr. Hudson, you will see it yourself."
Dr.Hudson [a bit irritated] says,"Hooo! Okay!"
After a short while, they stop before a building. Dr. Hudson and Sarah seem shocked and they believe it's some kind of joke. Dr. Hudson asks,"The sun has already set,it's literally evening,so why are we in front of a perfume shop?"
They were indeed in front of a big perfume shop. The banner of the shop says in big letters,'A. & R. Perfumery'.
"Relax, relax Dr. Hudson. Let us first enter the building."says Khaleed.
Khaleed and Dr. Hudson enter the building. A person says,"Who are there? It's already evening. The shop will be closed shortly."
"It's the Great Detective Khaleed Amin and Dr. Hudson."answers Khaleed.
Dr. Hudson immediately punch Khaleed in the head.
"Ouch! But why?"
"Whom are you referring to as 'great'?"
"But that's what the public call me."explains Khaleed.
The person shows up and looks quite surprised to see Khaleed.
"Khaleed?"
"Yeah!"replies Khaleed.
Another person arrives and says,"Indeed. It's the great detective."
"Well, please don't flatter me."
Nathan, Taz and Sarah enter the building.
"Akin! Ratin!"exclaims Taz.
"Taz. Nathan. You two too.Ahm! And a young lady."says Ratin.
"She is Sarah Buckins. She recently joined the Midnight Detective Agency."explains Khaleed.
"Oh! So that's why we don't know her."says Akin.
"Precisely!"exclaims Khaleed.
Akin says," Well! Ah! I am sorry if I sounded a bit rude back then."
"Kid.It's okay!"exclaims Dr. Hudson.
"Yeah... kid... haah!"says Akin.
Later, at night they all dine together. They all eat, talk, and laugh. During the conversation, Ratin says,"Well, today is' Red Thread Day' in our Gerance Kingdom."
"What is that?"asks Taz.
"Well, according to the 'Aefisian Calender', on the '12th of Henarch', our kingdom celebrates the 'Red Thread Day'.On this day, girls tie red string around the right wrist of those people whom they want to keep safe — the people they dearly love and care for.It could be a mother tying a red string to her child or a sister to her brother or a lady to her lover. It's done as a sign of love, connection and good will. The person receiving the red string offers a token of gratitude in return. And lastly, my favorite part, we hold a lavish feast like this at night."explains Ratin.
Taz asks,"That means if we haven't had come. You were going to eat this much???"
Everyone laughs and merrily enjoys the dinner. After some time, when they were going to sleep. Sarah approaches Nathon and asks,"Mr. Drake?"
"Yes, Ms. Buckins."
"Can you please show me your right hand?"asks Sarah.
"Yeah! Surely."
Nathan shows his right hand to Sarah and Sarah ties a red string around his right wrist.
Nathan, eyes wide with shock, asks,"Mrs. Buckins,where do you get the red string?"
"Well, I asked Mr. Akin for it. I wanted to tie a red string around everyone's wrist.But Mr. Akin only had a single red string.Then I thought that since I know you the most,I should tie it around your wrist.Do you have any problem with it Mr. Drake?"
"Well no, but why do you address him as Mr. Akin?"
"Since I know only his first name and it was already late at night so I didn't wanted to disturb him anymore."
"Oh! Well Ms. Buckins! Since I don't have anything to give you, I can only promise you that I will protect everyone of us. That's a promise."
"Oh! No! Mr. Drake you don't have to do that! It's fine."
"Well, a promise is a promise."
Everyone sleeps and then wake up at the next morning. They all have breakfast, and the detective group's time has come to continue their quest.
"Well, I see,"says Khaleed to Akin and Ratin,"your perfume business is thriving."
Ratin remarks,"Well indeed. Berner is one of the trading hubs of the world, so many merchants and traders go past Berner. Also, due to Berner being so famous, many tourists too visit this place. Our idea in investing in such a place really succeeded. Only if Darius joined us, it would have been even better."
"Yeah! That's a pity."says Khaleed.
When Ratin was talking to Khaleed, simultaneously Taz asked Akin,"Which is the best perfume in your store now?"
"Well, my friend Taz, we have ordered a special batch of perfumes from the kingdom of Remen. This batch of perfumes surpasses every fragrance you have ever experienced before. It will be delivered here in a few days."
"Well, then I will be looking forward to it."
"Of course! See you in a few days."says Akin.
"So, we have kept all the heavy suitcases in your building and are only taking a few pairs of clothing and the other important stuff with us. We will take all our stuff while going back home. I guess it's okay?"asks Khaleed.
"Yeah! It's totally fine."says Ratin.
"Come on kids, let's go!!!"says Dr. Hudon.
"Well then it's time to say goodbye."says Taz.
"Well, goodbyes don't last forever."says Ratin.
The detective group starts their quest again.