Mystery: Starting from the Shadow World

Chapter 61 Williams

The next day.

East End, Dalavi Street.

After successfully renting a one-bedroom apartment nearby for a month for £1.50 including the deposit, which he intended to use as a cover, Philip arrived at the tavern that Caspas had mentioned, where he could accept bounties and commissions.

He sniffed lightly and, upon discovering that he could still smell the pungent odor of alcohol through the tavern's closed door and the gauze mask, his eyelids twitched.

Philip's hand, which was hovering in mid-air, trembled slightly twice, and finally, with a helpless sigh, he stretched forward until he pushed the door open.

It was much smaller and more crowded than the Brave Ones Bar, and the smells were much stronger. Philip squeezed his way to the bar with difficulty, using the gaps that were barely wide enough to pass through, relying on his extraordinary strength and the help of the gauze mask.

"A glass of 'Nanville Beer', please."

The shopkeeper, who was wiping glasses, saw the five copper pennies in front of him, grabbed them with a large hand, stuffed them into his pocket, and then poured him a beer.

Philip picked up his glass, took two sips while the other man's gaze remained fixed on him, and then said:

"I'm looking for Williams."

Upon hearing this, the boss pointed to the long-faced young man next to him who was drinking heartily, "See him? That's him."

After saying that, he turned around and went about his own business.

Philip nodded slightly, walked over, and calmly and indifferently called out, "Williams."

At the same time, the man named Williams, upon hearing the call, replied in a half-drunk, incoherent voice, "Oh! Wait a minute, who are you again?"

Philip's brow twitched, somewhat exasperated by the man's flushed face from drunkenness, but he still said seriously, "My name is Bell, Bell Sirales, and I'm a bounty hunter. Caspas said you can pick up commissions here."

"Haha, excellent! Bounty hunter."

Williams slammed his drink down on the bar, grinned, and, under Philip's puzzled gaze, waved his hand. "Kid, don't even think about doing this unless you're facing a life-or-death situation. Get out of here."

Looks like being a bounty hunter isn't so easy? Or rather, it was expected. But I never really intended to do it properly anyway. Philip shrugged and said calmly, "Of course I've looked into it, but if possible, I'd like to have an extra source of income."

"Oh, okay, that's extra income."

Williams narrowed his eyes, a smirk playing on his lips. He swirled the liquor in his wooden cup and said with a straight face, "Mr. Celeste, are you sure you want to be a bounty hunter? I mean in Backlund, in a place like the East End. Hahaha."

Philip's face remained expressionless. "So, is there any commission or bounty?"

"Alright, alright." Williams shrugged helplessly, no longer offering any advice to the hopeless young man before him.

"I don't know what you were like in the past, but in Backlund, it's not easy to gain a foothold and become a bounty hunter who earns enough money. Private investigator is definitely more suitable for you. The two professions are almost the same in many ways. You can at least do some small jobs to make a living with the latter."

"Private investigator? My skills aren't up to par. Finding things seems like divination could be a better option." Upon hearing the choice offered, Philip subconsciously thought of a well-known fictional character from Earth. After a moment's consideration, he nodded and said:

"Okay, thank you for reminding me. I can try working as a private investigator for half a day and a bounty hunter for the other half."

Williams, who had been tilting his head back and leisurely taking a sip of his drink, was about to swallow it when suddenly his eyes widened, and he began to cough violently, spilling some liquid onto his mouth, clothes, and the floor.

However, Williams didn't care about that. He looked at the young man in front of him who was obviously lacking in intelligence, pursed his lips, and finally gave the bartender a wink.

Upon hearing this, the latter immediately squatted down, pulled out a dozen or so sheets of paper from somewhere, placed them on the bar, and was pushed in front of Philip by Williams. "You can take a look, and then give it a try. Hmm, it shouldn't put you in any danger."

Philip picked up the commission order and the reward notice. Although he didn't pay much attention to them, he still kept the other party's advice in mind and then began to look at them.

Many of these jobs come from finding missing persons, while the remaining half are due to conflicts between gangs. The pay is mostly between 1 sous and 1 pound, and it either takes time or involves risking one's life.

Philip suddenly realized that if he went back and asked Kaspass if he had any clues about other gatherings of extraordinary individuals, and then sold a recipe at a brand new gathering, he might earn more than he would in a year as a bounty hunter.

With that thought in mind, he put down the bounty posters, looked at Williams who had resumed drinking and cheering, abandoned his idea of ​​saying goodbye, and turned to squeeze out of the hotel.

Philip, now dressed and resembling Jane Charlotte, sat in a trackless public carriage, touched the "silver" pendant on his ring finger, closed his eyes, sighed, and even considered giving up the identity of Belle Silveras.

After all, a qualified bounty hunter must have sufficient information channels and connections, and must also have the experience and ability to deal with unexpected events, especially in Backlund.

This would take too much time, but in that time she would already be a mid-level extraordinary individual, and could easily find a way to access higher platforms. There's no need for her to lower herself to go to such a place.

"Um"

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Philip pinched the bridge of his nose, skipping the question and closing his eyes to ponder the use of Jane Charlotte's identity. This was her most crucial line of defense; if this identity were exposed, she would be finished.

Although Kaspass said that as long as time went on, even if the authorities went to investigate the area, there wouldn't be any problems, the authorities he was referring to probably only meant the police department, not the extraordinary individuals.

However, the possibility of this is very low, and Philip doesn't think he would be so reckless as to do that.

She leaned back in her chair, a sudden thought flashing through her mind. Remembering her predecessor, Roselle, the time traveler, she had an idea that wasn't bad, but not too good either—

Write novels.

This offers ample freedom and the requirements are not high; Jane Charlotte, with her grammar background, is perfectly capable of the role. Even if she gains more fame later on, as long as her true gender is not revealed, no one will be able to associate her with Philip Howard.

After all, "prisoner" and "assassin" are completely unrelated, unless some pervert has some inexplicable obsession with male-to-female transformations, which would lead to this connection.

I need to search carefully to see which novels I remember haven't appeared in this world. The money can last a long time, as long as Mr. "The Hanged Man" doesn't work too well and directly collect the recipe for the "monster" potion.

After thinking it over, Philip muttered to himself, "Before I go back to Hillston, I'll go to the bookstore and buy a few best-selling novels."

Even plagiarists cannot simply copy.

It's necessary to consider the current market situation to some extent.

(End of this chapter)