Leave of Absence: An Encounter on the Journey
“You’re Connal’s companions from Kankakee City? Are you heading to Richmond this trip? Then we’ll be colleagues from now on. I’m Liam, the current head of the Detective Agency’s First Office. It’s a pleasure to meet you all in advance.”
When Hope first met and shook hands with the man named Liam, he actually had a very good impression of him.
He felt that this should be a “potential colleague” whose ability and character had been recognized, and perhaps even one of his future “superiors,” a benchmark worth observing and learning from.
At the time, the steam train encountered robbers. Hope and his companions, being first-time visitors to Virginia, saw the bandits on horseback attempting to surround the forced-to-slow-down steam train. Amidst the panic of other passengers, they hesitated whether to actively draw their weapons to stop them.
Then, a group of people wearing unified uniforms with badges pinned to their chests charged out.
They didn't appear to be official law enforcement, yet the train staff were not unfamiliar with them.
After a brief understanding, Hope and a few companions, representing everyone on the train, went to greet them.
Then he met this head of the Detective Agency's First Office.
When Connal returned to Kankakee City to recruit, he had already introduced everyone to the situation of the “Wayne National Detective Agency”:
The founder, Mr. Wayne, is a former Sheriff who went from the West to the East Coast to study. He has rich experience in handling cases and has obtained a special license from the local Cathedral. As a wild Extraordinary Person, he even maintains normal contact with the local church's Exorcism Department, so Agents do not have to worry about being subjected to extra supervision.
One of the partners, Miss Inessa, is an experienced Hunter from the Hunter Association. The Hunter Association in Kankakee City had verified her badge and generally understood her deeds. Even the old man in the Association said, “It is quite fortunate to be able to learn hunting by her side.”
As for the other partner, Miss Lina, Connal didn't say much. Hope only knew that she was easy to get along with and her abilities were sufficient to match her status as a partner, making her someone who should not be underestimated.
They had actually been to Kankakee City before and had collaborated with local companions and conducted recruitment.
The participants at that time had good impressions of them, but back then, their Detective Agency had just been officially established, its future uncertain, and not all those who were interviewed at the time were recruited.
By the time Connal returned, the Detective Agency seemed to have become quite good.
This could be seen indirectly: Doug, who was originally only a marginal figure in Kankakee City, even had Connal bring back a lot of money for his family and companions this time, and the daily diet also sounded quite generous. Except for entertaining guests, the food eaten by other members was almost exactly the same as that of the partners (it is said that one must never touch food related to Mr. Wayne; he likes to drink holy water).
And the most troubling operational issue for Mr. Wayne at the Detective Agency currently was that too many steam train route commissions were received, and the offices were understaffed.
In addition, Connal is actually quite a proud person; people lacking in character or ability would not earn his admiration. If he wasn't happy somewhere, he would never tell so many interesting daily anecdotes.
In short, it didn't sound like a strict organization, its conduct was more upright than that of bounty hunters, its operating conditions were good, and it was more willing to share profits than those stingy capitalists.
However, this does not mean their requirements are not high. There are assessments in firearms, combat, and professional skills, which ultimately affect promotions and are linked to salary and profit-sharing ratios, and even have behavioral constraints.
Connal once said that within the Detective Agency, there were members whose combat skills were similar to his. Although everyone in the bar at the time teased him, saying he wasn't particularly top-notch in Kankakee City, judging from a few playful exchanges at the time, Connal's skill had improved even further compared to before.
What was both anticipated and feared was that they would provide training for members. In addition to personal explanations from the partners, some members would also be responsible for certain courses.
Little Willie is now reportedly a substitute teacher for the lock-picking class, and Connal looks like he has a headache whenever he talks about classes.
So, under these circumstances,
Hope naturally felt that Liam, who could become the head of an office, was a very reliable gentleman—he was also the head of the “First” office, which sounded even more extraordinary.
Then Hope quickly discovered that something seemed amiss…
The companions who had agreed to move from Kankakee City to Virginia were divided into three groups. The most enthusiastic ones returned with Connal at the time, and the second group followed a few days later.
Hope and his companions were the last group this time, departing the latest and being the most numerous. Some needed to settle their families, while others needed to dispose of houses or property. However, in reality, their departure time was only three days later than the second group.
After all, the Detective Agency had previously had situations of “interviewed but not recruited.” Although Connal told everyone not to worry, everyone still felt they shouldn't delay too long.
As a result, after meeting the “seniors” from the First Office, their journey was instead delayed by at least an additional week…
“Isn’t this pickled wild chive delicious? It’s a specialty of the Virginia mountains. I think this ingredient might be useful for the chef, so I’ve ordered a batch from the villagers. You guys can help bring it over.”
“This area is far from towns. I’ll take you to familiarize yourselves with the patrol routes. Although it’s a bit far, we occasionally encounter robbers attempting to stop the steam train. This is valuable experience, and we can also hunt a few white-tailed deer along the way, which will save more expenses for everyone to share—don’t worry, the accounts are real, and the boss doesn’t mind these things.”
“Later, we’ll go around that mountain. There’s a flower field there, and we should be able to get some more honey. I’ll give some to you to take back to the main camp, and we’ll keep the rest for grilling.”
“Don’t rush, Winchester’s specialty here is apples. We once saved a Hans family, and their apple wine is delicious. I also got the recipe for fried pork hock; the boss and others will definitely like it too. I felt bad simply accepting their family’s gifts, so I also bought several large baskets of apples. You should still be able to carry them, right?”
Hope and his companions truly didn't expect that their already minimized luggage could Peng Zhang to such an extent during the journey.
By the time they were ready to buy steam train tickets again, the ticket Agent, upon hearing that their luggage included several barrels of wine, several large baskets of apples, and even furs, mushrooms, wild chives, and honey—enough to fill a freight wagon when transported—already demanded additional freight charges from them.
Mr. Liam looked both reliable and unreliable: “No need to buy tickets. Our Detective Agency has a partnership with them, and I also know some train staff. I’ll take you to board from another place then.”
In the end, although Hope did board the steam train without paying, everyone, along with their goods, was led to an empty freight car.
The staff were quite accommodating, but they didn't help with the moving. During the steam train's brief temporary stops, everyone hurriedly moved various large and small, fragmented items from the horse-drawn carriage onto the train. Even ten or so people couldn't finish it in one trip.
So everyone is busy catching the train. No update today, it will be made up tomorrow. We will try to get to the destination in two days, and at least resume double updates next month.
