Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1396 1368. Return to the Castle
Speaking of Stuart, Lan was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"You don't have to remind me, Lincoln. I've already promised you."

"You always keep your word, and we have no doubt about it." The young clerk said solemnly, "But Stuart is becoming more and more stimulated by his disabled body. And we can only watch, feeling anxious but helpless."

Lan nodded to show his understanding: "Post-traumatic stress disorder, and the inferiority complex caused by disability."

"Especially since you guys are still making progress, but he can only watch himself being left behind."

Stuart's psychological problems are common to many disabled people.

However, as a member of the rapidly progressing military group, the Knights of Embers, the psychological stimulation he endured was undoubtedly greater and more urgent than that of an ordinary disabled person.

"So, I will fulfill the promise I made to you." Lan En took a deep breath, took out a wooden box from the alchemical leather bag and handed it to Lincoln.

The young clerk was stunned at first, then took it with surprise and opened it.

The box is divided into ten small squares filled with straw to absorb shock, and ten bottles of potions emitting psychedelic light are wrapped in the straw.

Lincoln's hands, which could remain motionless even when he was charging with his lance, now trembled slightly as he tried to touch the bottles.

But then there was a "click" sound, and Lan En, who was standing next to him, raised his hand and closed the open box.

"Ouch!" Lincoln shouted quickly, "It hurts, sir!"

"It hurts." Lan En looked at the boy expressionlessly, "Forget about the first batch. I still need people to manage the affairs of the Knights."

Lincoln curled his lips and muttered in a low voice: "Look at what you have done. What can I say?"

He held the wooden box tightly in his arms. The other Embers Knights seemed to understand what it was, and many fiery glances were immediately directed at Lincoln.

Maria and Adeline were taken to identify the assigned rooms, while Lan and the others followed the gradually formed routine.

After being away for such a long time, the Lord of the Knights always goes to the office in the castle to learn about what has happened during this period and make important decisions that have been piled up.

"Wow, what a great armor you have." Lincoln was in the castle's office, helping Lann take off Smaug like a follower.

This was the first time the Embers had seen their leader's new armor.

"By the way, where is your original set of master-level Bear School armor?"

Lincoln asked suddenly with a turn of his eyes.

"The original one?" Lan En thought for a moment, "Isn't it that Berengar kept it?"

"Then Master Berengar, we will go to the workshop later and retrieve your Excellency's last set of armor."

Lincoln didn't stop his hands, he just turned his head and spoke to the old demon hunter who had just walked in.

The old demon hunter hadn’t realized what was going on yet, so he could only say, “Huh?”

The young clerk said solemnly, "A set of armor is nothing, but the key is that it was taken off by the adults, and it has representative significance. We are thinking about whether to build a room of honor or something like that."

"." Berengar's face turned bitter, "I've almost finished dismantling that set and recycling the materials."

"Then put it back together." Lincoln said seriously, "The Knights can pay for the labor, but the key is that it must be original, with traces of battle and wear and tear. In short, it must be original."

"Wow." The old demon hunter sighed, raising his hands to indicate that he surrendered. That's it. "Actually, I still have the two swords he replaced at the beginning. Do you want them?"

Lan En had never thought that Berengar still kept his original steel and silver swords, but before he could open his mouth in surprise, he heard Lincoln's voice suddenly rise.

"want!"

Lan En turned around and saw that Lincoln's eyes were shining. Why?

This isn't a demon hunter yet, right? !
"I'm back meow!"

When Lan En took off the arm armor and breastplate on his upper body and sat on the large and sturdy desk chair wearing only the silk lace shirt lining, Flannel Ball had happily finished helping outside and trotted in on all fours.

It greeted enthusiastically, and Lincoln bowed his head while making way, then moved closer to Berengar and added another sentence.

"I want the ones that Master Flannel Ball changed too."

"You want that too?"

"Build an Honor Exhibition Room." Lincoln explained solemnly, "This is an important part of the Knights' culture, of course!"

Berengar was a little numb. Geralt, who was standing next to him, looked at Lincoln, the young boy he had once taken care of. His stiff and tense old face could hardly hold back.

They looked at Lan, who was buried in documents behind his desk, and found that the young demon hunter, who usually worked efficiently and smoothly, now seemed to be immersed in his work.

In fact, Lan En thinks that Lincoln is only about 17 or 18 years old now, and he should have some tendencies to be a fan and a collector?

There's nothing wrong with having a hobby, it can also relieve stress. As long as the hobby is not evil, that's all he requires.

Lincoln is a very steady person. His collecting addiction shouldn't be a bad thing, right?
Lan En was thinking casually in his mind while sorting out the documents and account books in his hands.

"The income from the Valyria Chamber of Commerce, my properties in Novigrad, and the Dark Alley Gang." The account books were flipped through page by page quickly, and Lann memorized the information at a glance. Mentos summarized it with ease and calculated from the data in the account books whether the current operating conditions of these assets were good.

The fluffy ball was squatting on the small chair Lincoln had placed for it next to Lan.

Geralt and Berengar also found a chair for guests by the wall and sat down.

"Communication and Supervision of the Alley Gang." The pages were still turning, and Lan En's eyes had already moved on to the next account book, but he raised the one he had just finished reading in his hand, "Which line is the communication channel?"

The Alley Gang was a rare underworld gang that piqued Lan's interest when he first went to Novigrad.

The gang itself is nothing special, just a bunch of scum.

But the point is that there is a talent among the dregs, Francis Beran.

As a small-time gang leader in the free port city of Novigrad, he keenly realized the importance of information and intelligence and began to make profits from it.

Lan En discovered him and helped him solve his troubles. At the same time, this talent and this gang were secretly protected by him.

Novigrad is known as the 'Pearl of the North'. If the information flowing through this city every day can be used properly, the power contained in this information will be extremely huge and critical.

But on the other hand, it is better not to float on the water.

Therefore, Lan En prohibited the Dark Alley Gang from using this as their main means of profit. Selling some unimportant business information was the bottom line. No more intelligence could be leaked.

The main funds of the gang came directly from him.

Only by strangling the neck of finance and personnel appointments can one have absolute control over an organization.

Lan En is not worried about the other assets he has on hand, because those who manage the assets are friends that Lan En has contact with and recognizes.

The Alley Gang is different. They admire Francis Belan, but they lack trust in the "gang" organization and the vast majority of its members.

"We used the Giancardi Bank's messenger," Lincoln responded to Lan's question with ease.

He opened the large notebook that he had hung on his body like a cross-body bag, flipped through a few pages, and spoke with reasoning.

"Not only the messenger, Mr. Toot Biberwit also reached a cooperation relationship with some idle wizards in Novigrad. He used magic to transmit the information to Thaned Island, and then we took it back."

"The content of the communication is mixed with code words and passwords to prevent leakage."

"Sounds good," Lan commented, nodding.

"But it's still not good enough." Lincoln was neither sad nor happy. "Now the theft of magical information during transmission is getting worse and worse. No one can find out where all the thieves are and what their identities are."

The young demon hunter nodded. "It's normal. When the situation becomes tense, all kinds of news and tactics are flying around."

"So compared to the convenient and quick magical information that may miss some information, we can only rely more on traditional methods now."

Lincoln snapped the tome shut and hung it by his side again.

"Mr. Biberwit is now looking to acquire a pigeon company, but I'm worried that this is a bit too obvious, so I haven't responded yet."

"It's obvious that he's trying to acquire the company." Lan En had already flipped through several account books, his lifeless eyes flashing data on his retina like a waterfall. "After all, many people know that he is managing my business."

That was Mentos' attempt to deeply analyze financial data and dig deep into the underlying information from the surface of the data.

"Let the Dark Alley Gang do it. There's no need to buy the company. Just find a few craftsmen who can train homing pigeons."

When the Alley Gang was mentioned again, Lincoln's expression hesitated.

This was an extremely subtle change in expression, but in the eyes of Lan En, who had already entered the state and began to analyze things with the mindset of a manager, the slight hesitation that his clerk had just shown for a moment was simply eye-catching.

"." In just a moment, many possibilities flashed through Lan En's mind, and with the timely computing support of Mentos, only one possibility remained. "Something went wrong with them?"

It is a question, but it is expressed in a declarative tone.

Lincoln immediately relived the feeling of his superior before him, as if he saw through everything on the battlefield.

"Mr. Toot Bibblewit has assigned a financial officer to the Dark Alley Gang in accordance with your wishes to manage and oversee the flow of funds."

Then the young clerk's last bit of hesitation disappeared.

"But three months ago, when the finance department was about to submit the accounts, a gang fight affected the office. The employee was beaten and bedridden. I heard that he had broken bones. There was also damage to the office items."

"Are you sure it was an accident?"

"I don't know, sir. It's far away after all."

Lincoln answered simply.

Lan En raised his eyebrows and looked up when he heard this.

(End of this chapter)