New Gods of North America

“This reminds me of a legend that has been circulating in Georgeburg for many years…”

“Legend has it that there was once a poor girl who fell in love with a mute painter. One day, the poor girl was burned, and the mute painter rushed to the pharmacy to ask for ointment for her.

He gestured for a long time, but the pharmacist didn't understand what he wanted. Later, he directly reached for the flame on the candle, and the pharmacist suddenly realized that he needed ointment for burns.

Afterwards, the pharmacist chuckled, saying that he only needed ointment, so was it necessary to hurt himself? The poor girl, who had endured the pain to follow him, was already in tears outside the store.

The pharmacist was quite moved by this scene, and knowing their financial situation, he kindly waived their fee. A pastor happened to pass by and kindly paid the 5 cents for them.

It is said that since then, that 5-cent coin has become a symbol of luck, passing through the hands of kind people, bringing wealth, love, and good luck to everyone who receives it.”

Madame LaLaurie used an emotional tone without any inner fluctuation, watching the stupid girl in front of her, who seemed to be moved to tears by the story she had casually made up.

A faint blue light shone in her eyes, but the female student reading a book on the lawn by the lake, who was listening to her story, seemed completely unaware of this.

Thinking that she had chosen a good target, Madame LaLaurie took out a 5-cent silver coin from her pocket, quietly injecting spiritual power into it.

Then she handed the coin over with a smile: “This is for you, I hope you can also find a love as beautiful as in the story.”

The other party hesitated slightly, “A proper lady should not accept gifts from others casually.”

The smile on Madame LaLaurie's face deepened slightly, and the blue light in her eyes grew brighter.

She gently took the other's small hand and placed the coin in the girl's palm, “It's just 5 cents, it's not a gift, but a small blessing.”

The girl hesitated for a moment,

But looking at the rather exquisite dress on Madame LaLaurie, perhaps feeling that a coin should not be a 'burden' for a lady, she thanked her and accepted the blessing from the stranger.

Then, Madame LaLaurie chatted with the girl for a few more words, telling her that the lakeside was indeed a good place for a leisurely walk, and the weather was good these days, so it was worth coming over at this time every day.

She was originally quite satisfied with her extraordinary abilities, but 'persuading' others always took a little time.

Pastor Bazzini was okay, he just wanted to find or create some 'handles' for the target, and wasn't in such a hurry, but Pastor Pasiel always smiled and urged her every time, lamenting when the 'accident' would happen.

To get others to commit crimes for oneself, one often needed more powerful 'persuasion'. One had to temporarily 'share' one's abilities to achieve a better and deeper level of 'persuasion'. The choice of person and timing were very important.

Madame LaLaurie sometimes couldn't help but think recently, if only Pastor Pasiel could be like he usually pretended to be in front of others, on the verge of death at any moment.

After chatting for a while, she saw that the girl's companion was ready to return. After reminding the other party to quietly put away the coin, she smiled and bid farewell to the girl, and left gracefully.

Mary Brooke trotted back to her companion, looking at the elegant figure walking away, and asked curiously:

“Gladys, who is she?”

Gladys Russell shook her head slightly, “An unknown lady, maybe the wife of a professor at the college?”

Mary Brooke puffed out her cheeks slightly, “Then what did she say to you?”

“Um…” Gladys Russell tried to recall, “She saw me reading a book here alone, so she chatted with me about the content of this novel, and told me a love story from Georgeburg.”

As for the 5-cent blessing… if she told Mary, she would be teased with laughter.

Mary Brooke felt that it sounded a bit boring. She looked at the sky, “It's getting late, Gladys, let's go back to the dormitory. Miss Olivia has to return to the manor every day recently and doesn't accompany us.”

“She's been feeling unwell recently and needs to have the family doctor check her condition. She should be fine after a while.”

Gladys Russell closed the book and stood up. The two young ladies checked each other's skirts for any grass blades hanging on the back, and then left the college's lakeside while talking.

……

After having dinner at the detective agency, Wayne and Miss Olivia, who had come for a routine check-up, returned to the college in carriages one after another.

This little girl has been to the detective agency more often than Wayne has recently. Wayne joked that she might as well pick a small wooden house and move over.

Miss Olivia's pretty face showed a slightly dazed expression, and then she pouted slightly, saying that she didn't want to give Wayne a chance to earn rent.

Seth hitched a ride with Wayne tonight,

And also reported to Wayne on the screening of students who regularly go to the college church. Currently, he has not been able to find any misdeeds of Pastor Pasiel from this side.

In the case where the medicine cannot be identified as a problem, it does not seem to be a problem to let people drink something.

Among them, there are several students who are about to graduate. Seth made a suggestion that if Wayne is interested, he can consider recruiting them to work in the detective agency.

Although for students graduating from well-known universities like the college, 'private detective' is not an ideal profession, 'freedom' may still be attractive to some 'fallen people' who have not found shelter.

Wayne asked Seth to draw up a list, and then planned to find a chance to chat with them face-to-face recently.

The detective agency can consider recruiting some sales-type talents, or try to cultivate its own legal counsel. For the time being, they can be a bit mediocre, but at least they must be trustworthy and be able to pass the bar exam.

However, Wayne is currently most interested in the matter of the 'lucky coin'.

Even the detective agency doesn't dare to be too presumptuous in the territory of Virginia, and there are still people who dare to cause trouble here?

Or maybe there really is such an extraordinary item, which would be even more interesting.

Wayne tried to start from several fields, but for a while, he couldn't figure out what extraordinary ability could be linked to 'luck'. He was quite curious about the principle of that thing.

Moreover, the detective agency can now contact the cathedral and knows Simon Sherman,

Whether it's taking dirty things to the church to exchange for contributions, or selling good things to suckers, it doesn't feel like a bad thing.

So Wayne thought about it:

“Compared to meeting those students who are about to graduate, I'd rather find a way to see that lucky coin first. I remember you said you heard people talking about it at the college, and some people have already started playing with the coin?”