VII

Zalt Fran has always been happy lately. Since opening the "Pure Gold Women's Lingerie Store" next door, the business of his clothing store has been getting better and better.

He is now already thinking about increasing the number of people in production. The clothes he sells here were originally supplied by the declining sewing guild, but as the number of female customers increased every day, he now felt the need to open a textile factory.

Seeing that there were few customers in the store and the sky was starting to darken, Zalte decided to close. In this day and age, with the exception of the food and beverage industry, the average shop strictly follows the "sunset" rule - of course, a magician with a side business like Zart would not "work at sunrise".

"Soleton! Tell everyone to get ready, call it a day!"

After handing over the store to his disciples and helpers, he went to check on today's turnover. Looking through the account book, a smile appeared on the face of the black-robed store manager: As usual, today is also a prosperous day for business. It's a pity that compared to the next door, his business is just a small thing. Even after sunset, the lingerie store was still bustling with people. In just over three months since it opened, its store has tripled. As a fugitive from the North, Zalt Fran had been in the clothing business for six years, but he never imagined that the clothing business could be so profitable.

Now, that store has opened several branches. In order to provide enough goods for all the branches, the owner of the shop, Lessa, opened a sewing factory with hundreds of people, specializing in the manufacture of all kinds of women's underwear, panties, all kinds of swimwear, and some kind of women's cotton balls...... Indeed, at first these somewhat overt and exaggerated designs were criticized for their somewhat exaggerated designs, but the criticism soon became trendy. Now, the factories and shops that used to produce petticoats and shirts have begun to imitate women's underwear, otherwise they will face the risk of closure.

"Speaking of which, it seems that Danika and Virentina have also thrown away their petticoats and changed into their underwear, right?"

As a healthy young male, Zalte was not averse to the costume. At least...... At the very least, it looks a little more eye-catching than before. Either way, thanks to the huge flow of customers from that store, Zart can now pay off the arrears early.

The amount owed for the ring......

He habitually fumbled for the small box deep in his pocket. When he touched the little box, he always felt at ease. £30,000...... Uh, or rather, "an amethyst ring with error-free teleportation magic". A week earlier, he had just paid off the loan.

The last remaining question is to give her this ring.

"But...... Do you want to send it in the name of Naimon López, or do you want to tell him his real identity first......?"

With this in mind, Zart walked out of the shop with his disciples, closed the door, and added another magic lock to the outside of the lock. There were very few people in Lenny who could unlock their magic, and Zart never worried about being stolen. Anyway, he carried all the valuable gold coins with him.

"The stall next door is closed, sister, are you no longer going to follow Namen López today?"

Bonnie Seiffel sat in the deepest part of the lingerie store, in the "Idler's Free Room", leisurely resting her curvy legs on the table, sipping the real Hua Dynasty premium post-rain tea. During the Age of Enlightenment, tea had to be transported from the East to the West, to say the least, for half a year, and the price of Oriental tea was much higher than that of local tea. Today, she is the general manager of Lennie's largest and most profitable clothing store, Pure Gold Women's Lingerie, and naturally has access to this high-end luxury.

"It's been a long time since I went! Anyway, the investigation and follow-up can't investigate anything. Anne pouted, "I don't need that outdated intelligence-gathering method anymore. ”

The younger sister smiled and did not answer, but said with a pun: "Ah, it's good to be leisurely." After three months of hard work, I can finally be free. It's nice that you don't have to investigate, you don't have to follow up......"

"Uh...... Oh, yes. Anne blushed, remembered the useless labor of the previous time, and hurriedly diverted the subject. "Now it's finally done, and the branches are all on track. Come to think of it, we've really used all kinds of means......"

The two looked at each other and smiled. In the past three months, they did use not very bright promotion techniques.

In the first month, they copied the women's sculptures of various famous sculptors of the Revival era and used them as models to show their underwear – because there was no plastic in this era. This practice of blaspheming the works of famous artists has naturally aroused the dissatisfaction and attention of public opinion. As a result, in Lennie's major newspapers, there were many debates, such as "whether this new costume is in line with social morality", "whether the new clothing and sanitary napkins are harmful to women's health", "whether these clothes are in line with the aesthetics of the human body" and other articles kept appearing. In the South during the Age of Enlightenment, newspapers were extremely popular, and for a time this topic became the main news of the month. Liberal and conservative journalists have written articles for or against it, invisibly promoting underwear and sanitary pads. At the end of the month, the "Pure Gold" store doubled.

In the second month, they promised all their customers that if they could sell their underwear to other customers, they would be rewarded, and if others continued to sell their underwear, all previous customers would be rewarded...... To put it simply, it's a pyramid scheme. In the blink of an eye, underwear became popular in half of the city, so much so that it had to open a separate "MLM store" to manage the MLM business. Even the illiterate women of the middle and lower echelons took off their rough cloth shirts and began to experiment with new things like bras. At the end of this month, "Pure Gold" decided to open a factory specializing in the supply of underwear.

In the third month, they simply went to the Protestant churches, and I don't know how to persuade the nuns there to try the new costume. The "sacred garments blessed by the gods" quickly spread among nuns and became the standard dress for Protestant nuns. Using the powerful influence of religion, underwear finally gained an upright status, and a large number of upper-class ladies also began to use bras and tampons. Today, lingerie and sanitary napkins with the "pure gold" logo are famous for Lennie and are being shipped out by caravans. As long as the average woman has worn a bra, she will no longer want to wear other underwear outfits. Women's underwear has become a "Lenny specialty", and merchants have to bring back several sets as gifts for their wives.

In return for these actions, Resa Helmont now has at least a million gold pounds on her books, and is steadily increasing. This wealth, even in the Free City of Lenny, is a staggering figure -- it is equivalent to about one-sixth of the total annual tax revenue of the entire federal government.

"Would you like to close early today?" Bonnie suggested.

"Well, I want to rest early today too. Anne nodded, "Speaking of which, why don't you ask me about the new intelligence gathering methods I use?"

The brown-haired girl moved her legs off the table and replied with a "think twice" expression: "Sister, are you using amateur methods...... Eight achievements are questionnaires or something. ”

"How do you know?" Anne scratched at her hair in disappointment, "I thought you wouldn't have guessed." ”

"Amateur is amateur......" Bonnie stood up and walked out the door. "Did you go and donate to them?"

"Yes, we are acquaintances with them anyway, so we are not afraid. Anne smiled, "This level doesn't affect history." ”

"By the way, do you want me to help you investigate? Anyway, I'm half a professional. ”

"No need. This is the only thing I want to do by myself. When she said this, the expression on her sister's face was quite resolute.

"Okay. It looks like we haven't been home for two more days, haven't we?"

The moment they appeared in the store, the entire store staff seemed to be in good spirits. Every clerk knows that the real owners of this shop are rarely here, and it is actually the Sephirs who run the shop. Bonnie has been careful to portray herself as omniscient, and that one looks quite successful.

Anne sometimes felt that her sister wanted to paint a sign on the wall, "Big Sister is watching you."

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

As soon as he entered the gates of St. Grace's Welfare House, Soleton heard a continuous stream of shooting coming from the side courtyard. This voice proves that Interim Lieutenant General Clad López has come to visit his daughter again. Once a week – sometimes more than once. Danika López was always reluctant to talk to him at length, only willing to accept his magical guidance.

"Are you back, Naimon?" Seeing them walk through the door, Virentina, a nun from the orphanage, greeted them. Sister Virentina is the head of the orphanage, and she is usually very amiable, but she is very scary when she starts a fire. The stunt is to lift up nearby things and smash people, and the weapon specialization is a pan and a thick "The Nature of Divinity and Belief".

"It's back. As usual, Zalte Fran handed the nun the meat and vegetables in her hand. "Is anything happening today?"

"Oh, a kind young lady has given us five thousand pounds today. Villandy's eyebrows fluttered, "Five thousand pounds! What a kind person, she will be blessed by God!"

"Five thousand pounds......!!" Zart was stunned. That's enough money to buy a pretty good house around here...... How could ordinary people be so generous?" "What kind of person is it, Viren?"

"I want to think about it...... She was a lovely lady, she was very impressed, she was tall, she had a good figure, and her hair was blonde......" Sister Viren recalled with her fingers wrenched.

"Did you send you a lot of underwear?" Hearing this, Zalte suddenly spoke.

"Ah, you already know?" said Vilen with a smile, "it's the one next door to you." The lady said she was doing welfare work for the store and hoped that we could promote their store in addition to the donations. ”

I heard that "pure gold" was using religious channels to promote their underwear...... But is it necessary to use five thousand pounds?

"That should be one of the two actual people in charge of that store. What else did she say?"

"Well, no. But she mentioned you, and said you've been doing well lately......" Villatina replied after a moment's thought. Her words were a little flickering, but Zart didn't notice.

"Then I'll go back to my room. ”

"Let's go. Virentina watched as she disappeared into the hallway.

"Then I'll go to the side yard and have a look......" Teenage Soleton also wanted to leave.

"Wait a minute!" Viren called to him, "I have one more thing here. ”

Out of nowhere, the nun found a form.

"This is the questionnaire sent by the kind young lady this afternoon, and she said she wanted to know more about Mr. Namen. Their store seems to want to co-opt his independent store as an independent department. For the sake of five thousand pounds, let's fill it out carefully. Don't let Naimon know, maybe you'll surprise him then. ”

"Huh?" the boy whispered reflexively. He didn't think the blonde girl would be a "kind young lady." Viren didn't know how he and her first met three months ago. Perhaps there was some conspiracy, but the two sisters didn't look like they were revenge or vengeance-seeking......

"I don't understand. The boy grunted and walked to the side yard.

"6 shots, 5 hits, 25 rings. ”

The dwarf Tug read out loud Danica López's shooting results this time, drawing laughter from the children around him. A full ring of 6 bullets should be 60 rings. The brown-haired, ponytail-tied girl's face turned pale for a while, and she didn't know what to say.

"Danica, you're shooting in the wrong way, you should make the bull's-eye, the crosshair, and the notch form a line. Her father reminded him quietly, "Shooting isn't like magic, you just have to think of the target to hit. ”

"Less nonsense, father, isn't it the Ten Rings?" though he used an honorific title, there was no respect in Denika's tone. She thrust the gun into the holster, her expression became very serious, her eyes closed, and the fingers of her left and right hands crossed together, leaving only the index fingers of her two hands pointing straight ahead.

“...... The power of magic rippling in the air, under my control, gathered at the tip of my index finger, turned into a light with speed and power, and followed the guidance of my gaze!!Magic Missile!"

Purple light gradually gathered on her fingertips. When the violet light reached its brightest, Danika snapped open her eyes and focused her gaze on the center of the target.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!"

As she counted, purple light flew out of her hand one by one, each hitting the bullseye accurately. It wasn't until the eighth light bullet flew out that the light on the index finger faded. Soleton, who happened to be passing by, caught a glimpse of this scene and was immediately silent. Eight ...... Even if he went all out, he could only send out three shots.

Danica flicked her ponytail and stared at her father defiantly, as if to say: What is the use of a firearm?

"It's completely redundant and full mantra, in fact, only the last word is a concentration word. Clad López frowned slightly, "Indeed, longer the chant can increase the power of magic...... But if you don't use extra-long spells to concentrate your power, how many can you cast?"

"Five...... bar. Danica hesitated in reply. The young man who estimated that he only had one left on the side shrank back and didn't dare to interject.

"If you're in the middle of a scuffle, how much energy do you have left to use magic, and if you're injured, what if you're hard to spot with the naked eye?"

"This ......"

"Firearms are the greatest gift that technological advances can give to magicians. In the era of firearms, ordinary mages were not strong enough because they could not gain an advantage over warriors or monsters at close range, and there were no powerful weapons in this world that could be used without strength. But guns changed all that. "If you want to outdo me, you must master the power of firearms. ”

Danika wanted to refute, but couldn't find the right words to refute it for a while. "I didn't ask you to learn shooting, it's because you said you could teach me advanced magic, and I'll talk to you!"

An 18-year-old girl in the middle of puberty casually threw a hidden fog technique and ran back to her room. The smoke that symbolized her youthful anger and rebellion filled the air for a few moments before it was dispersed by a strong wind summoned by Clad.

"It's okay, it's just puberty. Soleton began.

"Oh, you're here. It seemed that it was only now that he noticed the boy's presence, and Crader turned his head to face him. was probably just hit by his daughter's attitude, and a trace of depression could be seen on the middle-aged man's perennial cold face. "Are you going to learn to shoot?"

"Well, please advise me. Soleton pulled out the black revolver he had on his belt, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

"8, 10, 9, 10, 9, 9, 6 hits, 55 rings. Tug read the results again.

A look of surprise flashed in Klad López's eyes: "Do you usually practice?"

"A little, because I can't shoot eight magic bullets. The boy was slightly pleased: it was the first time he had surpassed Denika in something.

Just then, a man walked in from outside, carrying a silver star and two vertical bars on his epaulettes.

"Major Hull, how did you get here?" Clad walked over with some surprise when he saw him.

A young man known as Major Hull approached his commander and whispered in his ear. Moments later, Clad López left in a hurry with his men, as if on his way to an important appointment.

Seeing Klad leave, the boy returned to his room bored.

"There's a weird question and answer sheet to fill out tonight...... Maybe Danika and Sister Veron will fill it in too?" he yawned. It's so tiring, just fill it in......

"What kind of person is Namen López?"

"It's a weird nice guy. "Uncle the eccentric rebellious mage who fled from the north. "A venerable archmage. ”

"What is Namen López's personality?"

"Generous people. "Mercenary, stingy, and paid very little. "Pragmatists who like to play dumb. ”

"Does Namen López have anyone important?"

"Maybe it's in the north, right? ...... here?" "Sister Viren, of course. "Miss Sister Vilentina. ”

"What is Namen López's level of magic?"

"I don't know, I won't look at it. "It's not dead, daddy is strong (smeared)...... All in all it must be strong. "Well, it's probably that strong. ”

"What is Namen López's financial situation?"

"Uh, you should be rich, right?" "It's a lot of salary deductions. "I should have been paying off the ring's debt recently...... I remember the last time you asked about the ring?"

"What is Namen López's birthday?"

"Summer solstice, right? June 21st. "I don't know. "I've asked three times, and each time it's different. ”

...... In short, most of the questions were answered meaninglessly. By the time Anne Seiffel took the answer, she would have felt a pain in the coffin for the donation of five thousand pounds.

The plain black carriage with a striking advertisement of "pure gold underwear" stopped in front of the mansion located on the edge of the third district in the north of the city. The mansion is about half a street away, backed by a central moat and a parapet wall. The mansion has a small courtyard and a four-storey mansion at the center, which Bonnie bought for £150,000 a month ago. The former pirates were housed in the courtyard, and Leonard and Kezmi served as the captains and deputy guards - the former pirates knew a lot about the thieves.

"What has Lesa been doing lately?" As soon as she got out of the car, Anne saw various colors of light shining in Lesa Helmont's room.

"I'm still working on some magic-making stuff, Ganda's materials seem to be updated to pure gold alloys. Having money is also a difficult thing for an alchemist. ”

The two of them walked towards the mansion, and the butler waiting at the door gave Bonnie, the manager, copies of the accounts of each branch.

Bonnie flipped through the copy of the accounts, her eyebrows twitching, "I'll go back to my room first, sister." ”

"Oh, are you going to wait for you to eat?" asked Anne.

"No need, I'll have the servant bring the food to my room. ”

The two parted on the stairs on the second floor, and Bonnie returned to her room alone.

As soon as she entered the room, she flipped through the ledger and unlocked the encryption magic on the text. This magic can encrypt a specific number of pages in a book, and only those who know the password and the number of pages can write and read, and those who don't know the password need a much higher level of strength, cultivation, and time to release the magic. The history of espionage in modern times is actually a duel between detecting magic and hiding magic. For Bonnie, who possessed two hundred years of advanced magical technology, most of the espionage methods of this era could be easily defeated.

When it comes to intelligence, she and her sister share the same view: the most important thing to control the changes in history is intelligence—especially now that they have so many uncertainties in place. Anne is used to going straight, while Bonnie is used to acting in secret. Bonnie didn't want her sister to know about her intelligence network: on the one hand, for Anne's sake, and on the other hand, for the intelligence network itself.

Using these three months, and as the de facto head of the Pure Gold Lingerie Store, Bonnie Seiffel has built up a rough intelligence network. Most of the information is gossip and rumors, and a small part of it comes from those intelligence traffickers, and then it is gathered to her by reliable people through pyramid schemes and a network of pure gold underwear. Bonnie is confident that she uses money, psychic magic, and her status as a Protestant priest to control the network. She was accustomed to moving in the dark, as she had done the same work in later generations.

Of course, most of the low-level intelligence agents don't know who they are responsible for, and Bonnie will appear in front of many high-level intelligence agents as her sister, her mistress, or some other magical avatar. It is better to make people feel that the organization is large, mysterious, and omniscient than to let them know the fragile truth of this intelligence network. In this world, a dark organization with only one or two real core executive members may not be much more vulnerable than a huge organization. The important thing is to make subordinates feel that the organization is omnipotent, not really omnipotent.

The image of omniscience requires hard work behind the scenes. Decent capitalists by day and mysterious intelligence network bosses by night – all in order to control the butterfly effect.

She scanned the information one by one. Most of the information is "known to everyone", but it is valuable data for the newcomers, such as population, industry intelligence, and lists of powerful people, which are stored directly in the magic data book, and then summoned highly intelligent creatures for archiving once a week. Others, like rumors or gossip, are "changing intelligence", which she needs to sort through one by one.

"The question of the succession of the Duchy of Soma has been successfully resolved, and the new duke has taken office. The northern court is fine. ”

Bonnie frowned, in her perception, the next history was not so simple. However, at present, intelligence in the north is completely dependent on merchants, and in fact it cannot be called a "spy network," but can only be called a "rumor network." She decided to find another credible person to open a branch in Teland and find out how Gustav Hugh Coman was preparing for the expedition.

"Regarding the operations of the garrison of the capital: there are frequent personnel changes under Dikhao Lemda. The MLM has been developed among the wives of military officers and can be expected to expand further. ”

The brunette girl pondered. December 7, or maybe it was just a coincidence. It's the end of October, and it's time to think about getting ready.

"Intelligence on the coalition parliament and coalition government: the current anti-war coalition has a comparative advantage. ”

Investigate militant parliamentary leaders...... No, perhaps some low-profile lawmakers should also be investigated. "The most striking is often not real." However, this is still a bit difficult for the current intelligence network.

"We received a strange and suspicious letter today, which we sealed in the mezzanine as required. ”

It's finally time to come. Bonnie opened the compartment and magically checked the material of the letter, which was free of poison or magic. She tore open the envelope.

On the elaborate letterhead was the words: "To all newcomers, welcome to the City of Freedom." We have a regular guild meeting tonight, and we welcome all of you to send good agents to attend. Hope we get along well. The contact can be ......"

Bonnie closed the letter and smiled quietly. She opened a summary from another intelligence point, which contained the same information. Three of the five intelligence points she had set up had received the same letter;

"Okay...... The invitation from the underworld has finally arrived. ”

The secret intelligence network and the secret intelligence network overlap in the same city, and they will definitely be aware of each other. There will always be some low-level amateurs who are exposed, or part-time or something. Everyone is playing chess in secret, and everyone knows the existence of the opposing player, but they don't know the intentions and background of the other party.

History of the dark side that is not recorded in history books, Bonnie thought. But she has the biggest advantage — and that advantage is called history. She can judge whether the information is true or false based on the consequences.

She uses her transformation magic to transform herself into a bat, flies out of the window, and disappears into the darkness.

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