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Chapter 68: The Swiftstep Technique
🕑 Added 2025-01-09 22:49:00 +0000 UTCIt must be said, spending time in the company of a beautiful young lady, riding in a luxurious carriage, sipping coffee, and enjoying the scenery along the banks of the Rosé River was an unparalleled delight.
Back on Earth, Mr. Huang, an ordinary math teacher, had never experienced such luxury.
Modern Earth was overly competitive, and even then, most struggled to rise above the fray.
Charlot casually chatted with Annie while continuing his practice of Blood Glory. Perhaps it was the relaxed environment that provided a subtle boost. As they passed the Lantern Tower, built in honor of the Lamp Bearer, Charlot suddenly felt a faint tremor in the Blood Vortex of his left leg. Before he realized it, a Agility Rune had quietly formed.
Charlot couldn’t help but smile, thinking, This is fantastic. I’ve finally mastered the rune for the Swiftstep Technique.
His whole body felt as if it had become half as light. But with Annie beside him, he couldn’t exactly jump around like a frog to test his newfound ability.
Suppressing his excitement, Charlot maintained an air of composure, accompanying Annie in leisurely sightseeing. Occasionally, they would stop at uniquely charming shops along the road to browse.
If not for the looming threats of evil gods, the upcoming duel, and his enmity with the Fierce Horse Detective Agency, such a life might have been the ideal existence for an unambitious transmigrator.
Even the ambitions Charlot had kindled during his escape had been tempered by the peaceful atmosphere, if only slightly.
By the time Charlot returned Annie to Gorgias University, where her carriage was still parked, and made his way back to 58 Elysée Avenue, it was already evening.
Charlot took the opportunity to ask Mrs. Nancy, “Will you be staying overnight?”
Mrs. Nancy replied that she could stay in residence, requiring only half a day off per week.
As a modern man, Charlot keenly sensed something amiss and asked, “Mrs. Nancy, do you have family to take care of?”
Mrs. Nancy hesitated slightly, then admitted, “I have a son.”
“Is he still in school?” Charlot inquired.
Mrs. Nancy’s expression turned somber. “He’s been out of school for over half a year.”
Charlot smiled and said, “I happen to need a young servant for errands. Let your son handle some odd jobs for me.”
Overjoyed, Mrs. Nancy expressed her gratitude repeatedly. After confirming that Charlot wouldn’t be leaving the house, she drove off to retrieve her belongings.
Charlot wasn’t particularly worried that his newly hired carriage driver might disappear. After all, the Carriage Guild provided guarantees, and he was himself a senior officer of the City Patrol Guards. While their general case-solving efficiency might be low, any matter involving their superior officers would undoubtedly be resolved swiftly, with cooperation from other districts. After all, this would be considered an “internal matter.”
...
Once alone, Charlot could no longer contain his excitement. He went into the courtyard and activated the Agility Rune. With a light leap, he soared seven or eight meters into the air.
Such a height was astonishing, rivaling that of certain antelope species renowned for their jumping ability.
Charlot bent his body and sprinted a lap around the courtyard, moving so quickly that his feet seemed to barely touch the ground. In this fantastical world, he now felt as though he had mastered the legendary "lightness skill" of martial artists.
Charlot continued to test the Swiftstep Technique in his courtyard, growing increasingly satisfied with this new ability. Its energy consumption from Blood Glory was exceptionally low. As a Fourth-Order Transcendent, Charlot could maintain the Swiftstep Technique for nearly an entire day.
Mrs. Nancy soon returned. As a carriage driver, she naturally wouldn’t reside upstairs. Instead, she found a spot in the basement and set up a bed.
Charlot felt a slight pang of guilt, but this was not Earth. If he let Mrs. Nancy stay upstairs, rumors about his supposed preference for “sturdy female carriage drivers” would undoubtedly spread, potentially affecting Annie Bretagne’s impression of him.
Moreover, offering such kindness wouldn’t fundamentally improve Mrs. Nancy’s circumstances—it would merely satisfy some minor eccentricity of a transmigrator.
Charlot wasn’t a petty man. He quickly set aside his discomfort and adapted to local customs.
...
Having a carriage indeed proved convenient. The following day, it rained, and Charlot comfortably rode to No. 1 Falcon Street, enjoying the rain-soaked view outside the window.
Of course, without a carriage, he simply wouldn’t have gone to work that day. After all, in the Lukavaro District, Charlot was the head of the City Patrol Guards.
Nominally, Charlot oversaw a force of over seven hundred personnel. Among them, more than a hundred were adventurers he had recruited himself. Another hundred were regular City Patrol Guards brought over by Dubin Alger. In practice, however, Charlot could only count on about 260 personnel.
When Charlot arrived at No. 1 Falcon Street, only about 190 officers were present. Around 70 were on leave or had outright skipped work.
Charlot understood it wasn’t the time to address such issues just yet.
When he initially obtained the Lukavaro District Patrol Guard’s roster from the Central Government Office, there were 170 names. Although about thirty of those were questionable “phantom employees,” he still had enough slots to register his recruited adventurers.
Charlot first arranged for Mrs. Nancy to be officially registered with the City Patrol Guards. However, given her circumstances, she could only take the lowest rank—First-Class Private at Rank 53. Her weekly salary was 35 centimes, which wasn’t enough to cover her full wages, forcing Charlot to supplement the remaining 50 centimes from his own pocket.
Ordinary carriage drivers wouldn’t cost nearly this much. Charlot couldn’t fathom what made Mrs. Nancy worth the extra expense. But then again—who cared? If she proved unsatisfactory after her trial period, he could always dismiss her.
After all, whether as a private hire or an imperial civil servant, no one in the Fars Empire was immune to dismissal.
Even Charlot himself, back when he served as an Assistant Clerk, had been dismissed by Warden Magru Trell, despite his standing as a minor imperial official.
...
Charlot handled some minor “official business.”
The Lukavaro District, being an outer district, suffered from near-total lawlessness, with various gangs maintaining a delicate balance of power. Previously, the City Patrol Guards had been little more than a nominal presence. Now that the Guards were active, conflicts with these gangs were inevitable.
So far, however, only Dubin Alger had shown any real initiative. Most of the other Guards were content with the status quo. A few minor skirmishes had occurred, but nothing significant had transpired yet.
Dubin, on the other hand, had thoroughly investigated the local gangs. As a semi-urban, semi-rural district, Lukavaro was home to more than twenty gangs. Of these, the five largest controlled 90% of the district’s underworld.
Charlot wasn’t particularly interested in these matters. He merely took note of the situation for reference. With his own plate full of troubles, he had no capacity to concern himself with the “business” of the Patrol Guards.
Spending some time at the station, Charlot invited a dozen personnel for snacks and light conversation—a tactic he had perfected during his days as a teacher dealing with unruly students.
The adventurers he had recruited were still focused on the rewards Charlot had promised. Meanwhile, the regular Patrol Guards brought in by Dubin were uneasy and required some reassurance.
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