Chapter 134: Chapter 97: Ahhh—Stop Hitting Me

Things had developed to a point that was clearly beyond the scope of the Secret Investigation Department.

Especially since it involved the nobility. According to the laws of the city-state, such cases had to be handed over to the Noble Committee for handling.

After they finished discussing the case, Wei’en counted out banknotes worth 100 gold pounds and placed them on the table. "This is the commission fee from the old knight. I brought it with me."

"Mm," Lisi accepted the gold pounds and separated 50 from the stack. "This is for you and Tina."

"Thanks, thanks."

On the way back, Wei’en had already secretly given Tina a share of the extra gold pounds from Sayam.

Counting this income of 25 gold pounds, the amount he had on hand once again exceeded 100. He should be able to purchase the knowledge for a few decent Magic spells.

Then, he took out the translated Era Relics and placed them on the table. "I finished this, too."

"You’re pretty fast. Hand it over. I’ll take it over to Yegor later with everything else."

As quitting time approached, everyone kept busy with their own tasks.

Lisi was teaching Kali the procedural steps for compiling case files, the two of them huddled close together.

Meanwhile, ever since returning to the office, Tina had taken out that box of cookies and resumed her task of feeding the clown doll.

This time, however, the clown doll put up no stubborn resistance, occasionally opening its mouth to swallow a cookie. Who knew if what went in would ever be... produced...

As for Wei’en, it only took him twenty minutes to draft the report on the Ceres Manor commission and submit it to Lisi. Afterward, he went back to poring over the design schematics for the Mechanical Puppet.

Even with his knowledge of runes, improving upon the original schematics for the Iron Heart Fury was no easy task.

First, the puppet’s overall appearance had to be changed. The previously stout limbs had to be made more slender due to the simplification of the "Heart of Fortitude" and "Furious Burst" patterns.

At the same time, the torso of the Mechanical Puppet had to be enlarged, especially at the location of the Keystone Rune. The component count in that area was abruptly increased from just over ten parts to a full 45.

That was nearly equal to the total number of parts in the original design.

And yet, Wei’en felt this modification was perfectly reasonable...

But thinking was one thing, and doing was another. In reality, he wasn’t very confident in this new schematic. His only option was to modify a copy of the blueprint first, then try to manufacture and assemble the components.

After all, every schematic for a Mechanical Puppet represented the culmination of countless years of predecessors’ painstaking research. The fact that he could make even minor changes was the most he could hope for.

When he actually got to work, Wei’en discovered just how much he still had to learn. Beyond the study of runes, Mechanical Puppets also involved materials science, mechanical weaponry, kinematics, and so on.

Even the self-proclaimed genius Jerry Mage only started researching and designing his own Mechanical Puppet after advancing to the rank of Official Mage. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Therefore, Wei’en had to lower his ambitions. ’I’ll just see how the final version turns out,’ he thought, ’and then make specific adjustments and optimizations from there.’

DONG. DONG DONG DONG.

"Four o’clock," Lisi said, glancing at the clock on the wall and gritting his teeth. "That bastard really didn’t come back. We’ll see how I deal with him tomorrow."

Wei’en offered a few seconds of silent mourning for Marco, then packed up his things. "Tina, I’m off for the day. You go home with the captain, okay?"

The silver-haired girl paused, then said coolly, "Tina knows."

"See you tomorrow."

Wei’en patted her head, then looked over at Kali. "Uncle Yuan said he’d be gone for two days and that he entrusted me with looking after you..."

"Huh?" Kali was clearly unaware of this. "He left?" she asked in surprise. "Where did he go?"

"He said he was going to the Andrea City State to pick up some materials. He should be back tomorrow."

"Oh, I see. Well, I’ll go back with you then." Kali hurriedly sped up her packing.

"Okay."

Once Kali finished packing, Wei’en said his goodbyes to Lisi and left the office with her.

The silver-haired girl turned her head, staring blankly at the doorway as she murmured, "Tina... see you tomorrow..."

*Hee hee hee ha ha ha... Wouldn’t it be better to never see him again?*

"Tina. Not good."

"Hm?" Lisi noticed her muttering to herself. "What is it, Tina? Are you okay?"

"Tina is fine."

"As long as you’re okay. Let’s get going. I’ll make your favorite beast blood tofu for you tonight."

"Tina eats. Clown, no eat."

The clown doll: ’I only get to eat cookies, is that it? I don’t want them! I want blood too!!’

PS: One more Chapter in two minutes, please wait.