Charlot couldn’t help but smile and said, “What an interesting name. Unfortunately, I’ll never get to taste this dy’s cooking.”

  Mrs. Nancy hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice, “Actually, while I was shopping earlier, I passed by the human market and ran into Mrs. Umeboshi. She doesn’t look appealing and is quite stout, so no buyers took an interest in her. Her situation is rather bleak.”

  Charlot poured himself a mug of ale, took a rge sip, and said slowly, “Mrs. Nancy, if you want to help your old colleague, go to the human market and bring her over.”

  Mrs. Nancy shuddered slightly and immediately stood up, saying, “I’ll bring her back right away. Her cooking skills are truly exceptional—you’ll be very satisfied.”

  After Mrs. Nancy left in a hurry, Charlot was alone once more. He drank a mug of ale, then poured another. Having been in this world for so long, he had tried hard to adapt to it, yet often still felt out of pce.

  “I really wish I had the abilities of those other transmigrators—capable of changing an entire world.”

  Charlot wasn’t without ambition. With his knowledge and perspective, he had once dreamed of making great strides in this world. But he was just an ordinary civil servant. Although he had cwed his way up through “unscrupulous” means, rising rapidly to become a minor noble scion in the lower rungs of power, he was still far from changing the world.

  “I wonder where the Bretagne family will send me next?”

  “Actually, now that I command the city patrol guards in Lukavaro District, if I put in the effort to bring all twenty or so gangs in the district under my control, it would be quite the force.”

  “And then I could start a business…”

  “As a transmigrator, merely living off a ‘meager’ fixed sary feels incredibly wrong.”

  “Why not open a pharmacy? Not to sell actual medicine, but rather teas, flower infusions, beauty balms, and tonics for vitality and strength. The great thing about this kind of business is that the raw materials are cheap, the profit margin on each item is high, and the market competition isn’t too fierce.”

  As Charlot drank and ate, he began to feel somewhat tipsy. His thoughts grew scattered and chaotic.

  Mrs. Nancy soon returned with a stout, middle-aged woman in her forties. Unlike Mrs. Nancy, she wasn’t particurly tall or strong but had an honest, hardworking air about her.

  They were also followed by a human trader. Upon seeing Charlot, the trader smiled faintly and said, “Sir, are you in need of a cook?”

  “Allow me to introduce this dy.”

  “She comes from the New Continent and is of noble birth. However, due to her nation’s defeat, she ended up in Fars. She was trained under the most rigorous system to become a senior cook and once served diligently in a baron’s household, earning her former master’s deep favor…”

  Charlot gnced sidelong at the trader, interrupting his chatter. “I am the Head Overseer of the city patrol guards in Lukavaro District. Tomorrow, I pn to conduct a joint operation with the patrol guards in Picardy District to sweep through the disorganized human market.”

  “What do you think about that?”

  The trader immediately swallowed the five écus he was about to quote and smiled awkwardly. “You only need to pay a basic cost, sir.”

  Charlot muttered, “Tomorrow we’ll conduct the joint operation and give that market a thorough sweep.”

  “These bastards—if we don’t arrest and interrogate a few of them properly, they’ll never understand what it means to respect the Goddess.”

  Mrs. Nancy and Mrs. Umeboshi stared bnkly. It seemed as though all Charlot needed to do was mutter a few words about a joint operation, and the human trader, sweating profusely, gave Umeboshi to Charlot for free.

  Charlot wasn’t the type to bully people unnecessarily—it’s just that…

  This was Fars.

  On Earth, he would have chosen to beat the human trafficker to death.Not paying for her was already him showing great mercy.

  Although Charlot had made some compromises, this situation still left a bitter taste.

  Charlot knew he couldn’t help everyone. He didn’t have the power to change the world—yet helping one person was still worth it. After acquiring Umeboshi’s contract, he pnned to issue her a freedom certificate tomorrow at No. 1 Falcon Street. Hiring a free cook cost more than employing unpaid servants, but he would rather pay extra to employ a proper cook.

  Oh, and he could also appoint her to the city patrol guards.

  Earning an additional sary from the empire was a fair enough way to compensate Mrs. Umeboshi.

  Mrs. Umeboshi cleaned herself up, scrubbing her hands meticulously before coming over to help Charlot roast meat.

  It had to be said—her cooking skills were excellent, far surpassing Charlot’s own, despite his origins from Earth.

  Since Charlot began cultivating, his appetite had grown tremendously. Mrs. Nancy and Mrs. Umeboshi barely ate anything, while Charlot devoured all the food—dozens of pounds—and drank more than half a barrel of ale.

  Once he was full and satisfied, Charlot left the courtyard to the two women and returned to the third floor.

  Mrs. Umeboshi had spent the entire day being “dispyed” on the street and was already exhausted. After rushing around earlier, she had been running on fumes.

  The moment Charlot left, she slumped onto a chair, gasping for breath. “Nancy, thank you.”

  Mrs. Nancy said softly, “This new master has a very good temper. The only thing he dislikes is being disturbed. We can only clean the house when he’s at work—that’s the only rule.”

  “Also, three young dies frequently visit here. You mustn’t speak carelessly in front of them. Though Mr. Charlot is usually very mild-mannered, he is also a Transcendent. Not long ago, he killed eight detectives, slew two assassins, and even fought a duel…”

  “In short, you and I cannot afford the consequences of angering this gentleman.”

  Mrs. Nancy poured a mug of ale and handed it to her former colleague.

  Mrs. Umeboshi took the mug and downed it in one go. “I really am hungry. I didn’t eat my fill yesterday, and today I didn’t eat anything at all. That wretched human trader even told me not to speak out of turn so he could sell me for a high price.”

  Mrs. Nancy skillfully roasted some leftover meat, mushrooms, and vegetables. She handed them to Umeboshi, watching as she wolfed the food down. “The hard times will pass. Don’t think about the past anymore.”

  On the third-floor terrace, Charlot tapped his brow, deactivating the Eye of Insight. Smiling faintly, he looked forward to seeing what this new cook could do, then resumed his daily cultivation.

  He needed to master the Spider Technique’s rune as quickly as possible. With it and the Swiftstep Technique, he could fight and flee even against high-level Transcendents.

  The Old Continent’s Transcendent system was purely divided by energy strength from low to high.

  Many low-level Transcendents cked special abilities. Even many mid-level Transcendents hadn’t yet acquired any. The gap between Transcendents with abilities and those without was like night and day.