If this trip went smoothly without further issues, Shard planned to use the remaining daylight to wander the locale before temporarily giving up his exploration of Coldwater Port City and fully focus on returning to Tobesk to find ways to quickly augment his strength.
Though Miss Danester's divination suggested that Shard needed to embark on a distant journey, divinations were not always correct, and he had no need to waste too much time in a strange city.
As for being able to handle the commission in a distant harbor city, that was because Mrs. Lemer's deceased distant relative, Mr. Lemer, had left his will with a friend, who happened to live locally.
This was certainly no coincidence, as the late Mr. Lemer was a sailor who traveled between the New World and the Old Continent, making Coldwater Port undoubtedly a frequent stop for him. His friend must have been closely linked to his role as a sailor, and in addition to being trustworthy enough to safeguard a will, it was actually quite normal for the friend to be in Coldwater Port.
When leaving, Shard didn't forget to don a hat to prevent being recognized. Of course, no one in this city would have seen Shard himself, and even if someone could recognize him from a photograph in the newspaper, as long as he denied ever being in Coldwater Port, it would not cause any trouble.
As for the destination of his trip, although Shard did not possess a photographic memory, he had a habit of carrying a notebook, which contained the information relayed by the client who had visited him that day.
Mr. Lemer's friend lived in the Dock Area as well, apparently a minor civil servant for the local government. When he left the inn and inquired about the address, he learned that it was only a half-hour walk away.
Shard did not know the gentleman's name, but Mrs. Lemer knew he resided at 5 Mermaid Lane in the Dock Area of Coldwater Port City. Judging by the name, it should be one of the nicer alleys in the vicinity.
Even within the same country, different cities had distinct architectural styles. The disparity between the architecture of Fog City in the inland and the harbors on the West Coast was quite notable. Walking under an umbrella through the unfamiliar city, what was a half-hour journey, took Shard nearly an hour with all his stops along the way.
He saw children laughing and running in the rain, laborers still moving goods at the docks despite the downpour, old nobles racing down the streets in carriages, and beggars huddled under store awnings to avoid the rain.
The city was thriving, yet the city was decayed and filthy. Though Shard was miles away from Tobesk, his opinion of the place held a surprising consistency:
"A city playing two roles in an era of change will inevitably either prosper or decline in the wake of a greater transformation."
The main roads of the Dock Area were well-drained to facilitate the transportation of goods, but once one ventured into the alleys, the sludge and materials Shard preferred not to guess at threatened to submerge the tops of his boots.
Mermaid Lane was situated on one side of the main road, and the fifth door down the alley was his destination. It was a two-story house with peeling paint, and the wall facing the street was edged with moss. The window beside the door was curtainless, revealing a wilted plant on the windowsill that seemed long dead.
Out of politeness, Shard refrained from peering through the windows of someone else's home and instead walked up the stairs under the eaves with his umbrella, knocking lightly on the door and waiting patiently:
"I wonder how Mia is doing at Miss Luisa's place."
Today, it was raining in both Tobesk and Coldwater Port, but relatively speaking, the rain was heavier in the harbor city. The wind blowing through the city carried the unique scent of the ocean, and those who lived here all their lives were probably very accustomed to this smell.
After all, there was no constant foggy weather in Coldwater Port as there was in Tobesk.
It was not long before someone came to open the door. Upon opening the door, there stood a tall and thin middle-aged man with a beard,
"Excuse me, may I ask if Mr. Jonathan Lemaire is here?"
Shard made good use of his surprise to convey his emotions, as he had been expecting Mr. Lemer's friend to be a rough sailor.
The man who answered the door furrowed his brow as he sized up the young man with the umbrella, replying with a slight accent,
"That's my friend, sir, may I ask what business you have with him?"
"We have a financial dispute, I'm here to settle accounts with him."
The middle-aged man became wary all of a sudden, sizing up the unfamiliar young man from head to toe.
"No, I owe him money."
Shard said, his hand that wasn't holding an umbrella took out the Roder Card from his pocket and waved it:
"We met on a ship, when I took their vessel from Coldwater Port to the New World. With nothing better to do, we all gathered together to play cards on the ship, and I lost a sum to Jonathan Lemaire, but couldn't pay at the time, he gave me this address, saying it would be fine if I just sent the money here… That was two months ago, and I've just returned to Coldwater Port from the New World."
Shard didn't know whether the crew member liked to play cards, but since he was a sailor who was out at sea all year round, he definitely could not escape smoking, drinking, and Roder Cards. There weren't many entertaining things in that era, and those were the only sources of fun to be found at sea.
"I'm a person of my word, and the amount I owe isn't much."
Shard also didn't forget to explain the reason why he was so "honorable."
"How much do you owe him?"
But the man who had answered the door remained cautious.
"12 shillings and 7 pence."
The amount was neither here nor there; if it was too little, it wouldn't be worth the time to repay, and if it was too much, it would instead invite suspicion.
Only then did the middle-aged man relax somewhat, and seeing that it was still raining outside, let Shard inside to talk:
"Thank you for coming to repay the money, but… come in first."
The middle-aged man was named Jason Delar and was the dispatcher in charge of warehouse scheduling in the local Dock Area. Although it sounded like an insignificant position, it was still within Coldwater Port City's civil service, and even Shard, who had never encountered a similar profession, understood it to be a cushy job.
Mr. Delar entertained Shard in the living room and informed him about the unfortunate news that Mr. Lemaire had passed away.
Well prepared, Shard displayed a "surprised" demeanor with considerable acting skill. He first lamented the unpredictability of life, recalling how healthy the crew member had been when they had met a few months earlier, and upon learning that he had died in a shipwreck, he timely pretended to pray for the soul of the innocent deceased—praying to "Mr. Dawn."
To make the conversation seem more natural, Shard also made inquiries about Mr. Delar's relationship with the late Mr. Lemaire.
His client, Mrs. Lemer, had learned little from the lawyer, only that the gentleman in Coldwater Port who had the will and the crew member who died tragically in a shipwreck were good friends. And when Mr. Delar introduced himself, he merely suggested that he and Mr.
Lemaire had become acquainted friends through playing Roder Card at the tavern and consequently grew familiar with each other, sharing a friendship that spanned several decades.
This excuse sounded much like Shard's story and seemed a bit fishy as well. Nevertheless, by now, Shard was fairly certain that the matter of Mrs. Lemer accepting the inheritance was indeed true and not some scam.
After all, even if this were a scam, a scammer wouldn't bother preparing such a realistic trap in a faraway city.