Chapter 65 Enmat Harbor
The steam trains of this era were not very fast, and in order to carry more people and cargo on a train, the locomotive had to tow more than 20 carriages, which further slowed down the speed of travel.
When they arrived at Stoen, the capital of Eastchester County, Angel looked at his pocket watch and saw that nearly two hours had passed since departure.
Can we really arrive at Enmat Port on time this way?
Holding her pocket watch anxiously, she looked at the busy crowd outside the window.
Stoen City is slightly smaller than Tingen City, with a permanent population of less than 100,000. However, due to its beautiful scenery and proximity to mountains and rivers, it is a good place for the dignitaries of the Kingdom of Loen to purchase real estate and go on vacation.
The train would be delayed for about twenty minutes when it stopped at Stoen. During this time, half of the people in Angel's carriage left, but three times as many got on. The carriage was soon filled up, with almost every seat occupied.
Sitting opposite her was a man in his thirties, wearing a brown vest and a white shirt underneath. He had his coat draped over his right hand and was holding an exquisite suitcase in his left hand.
With a "bang", he put the box at his feet, hung his coat by the window, took out an iron cigarette case and matches from his vest pocket, smacked his lips and poured out a cigarette as if he had been waiting for a long time, then glanced at the lady sitting opposite him, put the cigarette to his nose and sniffed it, then put it back into the cigarette case.
Angel doesn't smoke, but he doesn't object to others smoking, especially since smoking is not prohibited in such public places.
But when she saw that the other party put away the cigarette box consciously, she still smiled politely to show her gratitude.
"Enmat Harbor?"
Angel was watching the crowd gradually dispersing outside the window and listening to the long "woosh" sound of the train whistle. He didn't realize that the man opposite was asking him a question. He only turned his attention to him after the man repeated it once.
"Yes, on a business trip."
"Ah, me too. Looks like we're on the same route."
Doesn’t this train have only one destination... How could it not be on the way?
The man didn't seem to notice Angel's impatience and continued to talk:
"I've been to Enmat Port many times. Unlike Pritz Port, it's far from the raging sea and hasn't been tainted by the barbaric temperament of the southern continent. Instead, it has a more inland style, both in terms of architecture and cuisine..."
Angel turned his head away from him and looked out the window. The steam train started again, and the scenery kept changing, soon returning from the city with tall buildings to the farms and fields in the suburbs.
Contrary to her fears, the journey from Stoen to Enmat Harbor was a downhill road, which made the train move much faster. The "clang clang" sound of the wheels rolling over the gaps between the rails was obviously more frequent than in the first half of the journey.
Looks like we'll arrive on time...
She felt much better, and the man's noise was no longer piercing her ears, but she still put on her cloak hood and protested with her actions.
——————
Thanks to the altitude difference between the two places, the steam train that ran all the way finally arrived at the train station at Enmat Port after 11 o'clock in the morning.
As soon as the train stopped and other passengers were still packing their belongings, Angel left the car with his suitcase.
In order to facilitate the transfer of goods, the steam train station at Enmat Port is not far from the port area. As soon as she stepped out of the train door, a gust of fishy and humid sea breeze blew over. The experience was so different from the stuffy carriage that she squinted her eyes, smiled, and took a deep breath.
"Is this your first time at Enmat Harbor? You can see the sea just by going around the platform. Judging by the weather, there haven't been any big waves these past few days. I recommend you go to the beach and take a look..."
The familiar voice of the man who got on the bus in Stoen City came from behind, and Angel almost couldn't hold back the smile on his face.
"Thanks for the recommendation, but I have other plans. Goodbye."
She answered hurriedly without looking back, tightened her hood, and walked towards the station exit.
In order to prevent the familiar man from continuing to pester her, she immediately found a hired carriage and got in without asking the price.
"Golden Apple District, First Avenue, um... St. George's Church, please hurry up."
After reporting the destination, Angel put the suitcase away and looked out the window at the exit of the train station. He found that the man was walking out in his coat, looking around, but he didn't notice the carriage that had already started moving.
The roads near the busy freight station were already riddled with potholes from the weight of overweight vehicles. The carriages, lacking suspension, bounced from time to time, causing Angel to suffer greatly. Fortunately, once they entered the Golden Apple District, the road quality improved significantly, becoming much wider. The surrounding buildings had transformed from low-rise warehouses and apartments into beautiful and practical shops and single-family homes.
It seems that the Golden Apple District of Enmat Harbor is similar to the North District of Tingen City, both of which are wealthy areas. No wonder the church was built here...
"Ma'am, we have arrived at St. George's Church."
The carriage stopped at the driver's cry.
When Angel got off the car, he saw a building slightly smaller than the Church of St. Selina in Tingen. Perhaps due to its age, buttresses were not used to reinforce the outer walls during its construction. The bell tower was independent of the church itself, and the stained glass on the outer wall had become slightly dim due to years of erosion by the sea breeze.
While observing the church, the driver eagerly helped her unload her trunk from the carriage and then stood aside waiting to be paid.
Angel estimated the distance from the station to the church to be about 2-3 kilometers, which, according to Tingen prices, wouldn't be more than one soli. She pulled one soli from under her cloak, grabbed a handful of pennies, and casually asked, "How much?"
"It's three soli, ma'am."
"Okay...how much?"
She looked at the driver in disbelief. He held his head high, but couldn't look her in the eye. "Three soli in total."
Am I being bullied as a foreigner?
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Angel put the penny back into his pocket, took out a soli and placed it in the palm of his hand, and with his other hand he found the Ahowa County Inspector's badge from his inner pocket.
"Either take this soli, or..." she flashed her badge, "let's go to the police station across the street and figure out the fare."
The driver's eyes were quickly filled with panic as he looked at the police badge.
"What, you... you're a policeman? I'm so sorry, I miscalculated just now, I... I miscalculated, there's no need for three soli..."
"Then let's calculate again. Is one soli enough?"
"That's enough, that's enough..."
The coachman took a step back, as if he wanted to escape directly, but he gritted his teeth and took the 1 soli from Angel's hand, then jumped onto the carriage. Without even bothering to close the door, he waved the whip and drove away quickly.
I didn't expect that the first time I used the police authority would be on myself...
Angel took back the badge and looked around. He found that many passers-by had noticed the commotion here and were looking over curiously.
She hurriedly picked up her suitcase and walked towards the three-story building opposite the church.
————
Unlike the somewhat covert "Blackthorn Security Company", the Nighthawks' base in Port Enmatt openly hung a plaque with the words "Silver Bullet Detective Agency" next to the main entrance on the first floor. The door was open, and voices of conversation could be heard from inside.
Walking up the steps and standing in front of the door, Angel knocked on the wooden door that opened inward.
"Come in!"
A lazy female voice came from inside the door, and she felt that it sounded familiar.
"Ms. Daly?"
Walking into the hall that was brightly lit in broad daylight, Angel immediately saw the "psychic" Daly Simone, who was dressed like a psychic. She was sitting on a high-back sofa in the middle of the hall, with her legs crossed and a thick book on her lap. When she heard someone calling her, she looked up at the door.
"Angel Granger? That guy actually sent you here? I thought it would be Mitchell who came."
Putting the book back on the coffee table, Daly stood up to greet him, and the silver chain on her hand and the crystal pendant collided with each other, making a crisp sound.
"The captain said you have too many 'Sleepless Ones' here, and we need some Beyonders with other paths."
Angel felt reassured upon arriving and seeing someone familiar. She surveyed the lobby and discovered the entire first floor had been transformed into a literary salon, divided into three areas centered around a sofa and coffee table. Daly's resting spot was separated by a screen, and bookshelves lined the walls on either side. A steady glow from the gas lamp overhead made the curtained room as bright as open air.
In addition to the two of them, there were two men sitting on the sofa in the corner of the room, bending over and talking in a low voice. The voice that Angel heard outside the door just now came from them. Seeing someone coming to the door, one of the men with black hair and slightly darker skin just raised his head and glanced, then lowered his head indifferently. The other gray-haired man with his windbreaker draped over the back of the sofa and his top hat casually thrown on the coffee table had his back to the door and didn't even look towards the door.
"The Nighthawks from Pritz Harbor team came to support us. They arrived by boat early this morning. I'll introduce them to you later."
Daly followed Angel's gaze towards the two men and explained quietly.
"Clement won't be back until the afternoon. I'll take you upstairs and put your luggage away. They originally arranged for you to share a double room with the Nighthawks from Stoun, but unexpectedly... I'll find you a single room."
Angel followed Daly around the partition in the hall and came to the third floor from the stairs at the back. When she passed the second floor, she stopped and took a look. It seemed to be the office of the Enmat Port team. There was a row of offices on both sides of the corridor, most of which were closed and quiet.
I wonder if they have an underground area like "Chaness Gate"... And since our base is across the street from the Church of the Evernight Goddess in Enmat Harbor, there should be a secret passage connecting them, but it's not easy for me, an outsider, to ask...
After passing through the second floor, the two came directly to the living area on the third floor. The style of this floor was similar to that of the second floor, with a through corridor and doors on both sides. The stairs continued to extend upward, but the top was locked by an iron door, which should lead to the rooftop.
"302…304…306, this is it."
Daly turned on the gas light in the corridor on the third floor, walked to the side, and came to the door with the number "306" on it. She took out a bunch of keys from under her cloak, found one, and opened the door.
The lights in the room were off and the curtains were drawn. While Daly was groping for the gas switch, Angel had already seen the furnishings in the room through his dark vision.
Two single beds are separated by a low bedside table. There are two wooden armchairs and a coffee table of the same style by the window. The desk and wardrobe are against the inner wall. The bathroom is on the left side of the door...
It really looks like a standard hotel room!
Looking at this familiar furnishing, Angel couldn't help but think of the various hotels he often stayed in when on business trips in his previous life.
"How is it? The living environment here is much better than Tingen City, right?"
As if showing off, Daly said behind her with her hands on her hips.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
