Chapter 708: Chapter 232 Vera Williams_3
“`No?v(el)B\\jnn
Leonard Churchill said indifferently, “Just call me... Sunny.”
After all, he was still a fugitive, and without the clown mask, it was better to be cautious.
The curious child didn’t mind at all and asked, “Mr. Sunny, are you a card master?”
Leonard gave no direct answer, but chuckled and asked in return, “How did you figure that out?”
“I guessed.”
The child blinked with a twinkle in his eyes, adding, “I feel like you’re different from others.”
“...”
Leonard just laughed without saying anything.
Being of an inquisitive age, the child, taking Leonard’s silence as an affirmation, blinked again and asked, “Are you strong?”
Leonard thought for a moment and replied, “Somewhat strong, I guess.”
Upon hearing this, the child’s interest piqued, and he pressed, “How strong is ‘somewhat’? As strong as Uncle Lester in our town? Oh, I forgot to mention, Uncle Lester is a formal card master. Dad says he’s a ‘Fighter’ and a very strong hunter too!”
Leonard offered no detailed explanation: “Hmm... more or less.”
The child wanted to say more, but at that moment, the camp outside became bustling.
Leonard hadn’t figured out what was going on, but the child’s face showed expectation. He turned and eagerly asked, “Sir, can you still walk? If you can, we can go together to the town to get bread. Today is another bread distribution day by the Rose Chamber of Commerce. Oh, and if we’re lucky, we might even see that very beautiful lady.”
It seemed urgent indeed, as the boy rattled off quite a long speech in one breath.
Now interested, Leonard said, “Hmm, I should be able to walk.”
He needed some food and had to find out where he had been transported.
...
Leonard stepped out of the tent into the buzz outside.
There were thousands of tents from which a large group of refugees emerged.
Although the child could have run ahead on their own, seeing the frail Leonard, he paused to help him, urging, “Sir, we need to hurry. Otherwise, if we’re too late, we might not get any.”
“Mm.”
He and the child squeezed into the town and lined up at the end of the queue.
...
“Wow... there’s even meat porridge today!”
“Oh, that lady from the Rose Chamber of Commerce truly is a kind and charitable angel. May she live a long and healthy life...”
“Yes. Other Commerce Guilds seem to want to strip every last copper from our pockets, selling expensive and shoddy goods. Only the Rose Chamber of Commerce sells products affordable for us poor folk...”
“Have you heard? Not only do they give out food, but the Rose Chamber of Commerce’s new factory has also opened, and they’re looking for workers. I heard the wages can be two hundred a month...”
“Really?! Oh my, I only make five hundred a year working at the plantation owner’s sugarcane fields!”
“...”
Leonard listened in the crowd, but wasn’t the wage level far too low?
Even the lowest wages in Sinless City were two or three thousand, and here two hundred was considered a high salary?
Leonard felt something was off.
Looking at the attire, the Commoners were mostly wearing very coarse, handmade hemp clothing.
Yet even Sinless City, a place for banished criminals, generally outfitted its population with Machinery-spun clothes.
What was this situation? Was the textile industry behind, or what?
It wasn’t long before the line moved forward.
Leonard didn’t see any particularly dangerous presence.
Such remote towns did not even display the arrest warrants.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
...
As Leonard was queuing for bread in the town, within Machinery City...
In the Rose Chamber of Commerce apartment,
a young girl in a pale blue princess dress was busy writing a letter.
It was not clear what she was thinking, but a faint blush tinted her pretty face.
“`