Doing More Work For Mister Burke

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 29, Post Number 716

-Mister Burke's Residence, the first floor, 10:00 A.M.-

Wearing her green, white, and gold outfit with matching boots and black bike shorts on underneath the skirt, Leona also carried with her her Silver Longsword in its scabbard secured to her left hip and wore her Argent Gloves. Leona took her boots off at the door and left them on the mat just inside the doorway to Mister Burke's residence. She was escorted into Mister Burke's presence by his assistant Kumiko. Mister Burke was dressed in casual attire; he wore a blue Hawaiian shirt with white flowers and a pair of khaki dress pants with brown loafers. He was seated in front of a low wooden table with a white porcelain cup sitting on a white saucer.

"Ah, Miss Jarnefeldt! Welcome!" Mister Burke bade her before Kumiko stepped off to the side so that Leona could see the client.

"Come, Miss Jarnefeldt! Sit and join me for tea!" Mister Burke requested. Leona obliged and sat down at the low table across from Mister Burke, where she noticed that a similar porcelain cup and saucer were sitting just in front of her. Kumiko soon departed the room and returned about two minutes later with a kettle of tea that had steam pouring from its nozzle. The dark-haired young woman first poured tea for Mister Burke, then she carefully walked over to the waiting Wizard Saint and poured tea into her porcelain cup.

Leona waited until Mister Burke took a sip of his tea before taking a sip from her tea. It was green tea and it was not bad. It had a decent flavor, but Leona would have much preferred coffee. She kept her mouth shut and watched Mister Burke lower his tea cup and begin to speak to the Wizard Saint.

"I have called you here for an important task, Miss Jarnefeldt. I need you to transport something for me to a superior who has an office in Capital Crocus." Mister Burke told her the reason she had been called here. Leona remained silent and listened intently as he took a sip of tea and then set his cup down again.

"We will go to the third floor meeting room to discuss the details. Please follow me." Mister Burke bade her and stood up. Leona stood up and began to follow her client to his private meeting room on the third floor.

-On the third floor, the meeting room-

Mister Burke stood just inside the room and to the left of the door. When Leona entered he shut it behind her and walked over to the desk where a computer monitor sat. In the center of the desk was a medium-sized brown rectangular box. Next to it was a blue plastic card on a white lanyard. The blue card had a horizontal white stripe running across it.

"Within the brown box is the object that I need you to deliver to my superior in Capital Crocus." Mister Burke informed her of the significance of the box. He then pointed towards the card on the lanyard.

"The card on the lanyard will get you past security. Present it to the secretary at the reception desk and tell them that Mister Burke sent you. You should be able to meet with my superior Mrs. Riley without any trouble." Mister Burke told Leona what she needed to do to meet with the person the package was to be delivered to.

"I don't mean to question you, Mister Burke, but what if there is trouble?" Leona asked the man. She was concerned that she might have offended him, but instead he smiled.

"Then tell them to call me on my iLac immediately. I should be able to clear up any difficulties you might encounter." He replied with confidence. Leona was satisfied with that answer and collected both the package and the lanyard. She put the lanyard around her neck, then took the package into her hands.

"One last thing, Miss Jarnefeldt. It would be best if you left your weapons, armor, and other personal effects here. Doing so will make entering the office a lot easier." Mister Burke informed her. Normally she was a bit slow on the uptake, but on this occasion Leona immediately understood what he meant and set the package back on the desk. She then took off her sword belt and then removed her Argent Gloves. She waited for instructions as to what to do with them.

"Just leave them on the desk in front of you. I will take care of them and make sure they do not go missing." Mister Burke assured her that her gear would not go missing. Leona knew that he was as good as his word and obligingly set her gear on the desk. She then took the package intended for Mrs. Thornton and put it under her right arm.

"I'll get going for Capital Crocus right away, Mister Burke." Leona notified him. Then she realized that she had forgotten something very important. She had not asked him where the office building was!

"Where in Capital Crocus is the office I'm supposed to be going to?" Leona asked the client.

"I will tell you the address." Mister Burke replied.

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-The outskirts of Capital Crocus, 11:15 A.M.-

Landing on the outskirts of Capital Crocus on Winged Lion's back, Leona hopped off and dispelled the lion, then smoothed out her skirt. It felt odd not to have her Silver Longsword at her side or her Argent Gloves on her hands, but the alternative was to have those objects and then have to explain to the building's security why she was going into an office building with weapons and armor. Her role as a Wizard Saint should have been more than enough to explain the presence of her gear, but for the sake of the job she had left it behind so that she could avoid unnecessary conflict.

Leona wasted no time in walking towards the city proper. She had better not take too long to deliver the package because she had no idea how long she had to make the delivery.

-Outside the office building, 1:25 P.M.-

It had taken quite a bit of walking to get to this building, but after taking more time than she had anticipated Leona was finally here. First, she had never been to the area that the office was located in, so finding the right place took time. Second, foot and vehicle traffic was heavy and took some time to navigate even with prior knowledge of the city's layout. Now she was standing just outside the building and looking at it while she tried to catch her breath.

The office was a six-story building with an immaculate glass exterior that boasted windows so clean that they gleamed. On top of the building was a blue sign that read WALTMAN INDUSTRIES. This was the first time that Leona had ever learned what company Mister Burke worked for.

Leona looked down from the sign and towards the front door, which was double glass doors that opened and closed automatically. The doors were getting a workout because there was a steady stream of men and women in business attire going in and out of the building. Leona waited until the stream of people let up a little before getting into line on the left side and entering the building.

-Inside the office building, the lobby-

Leona now stood in a busy lobby with white tile flooring. The lobby was sparsely decorated with framed business awards and the focal point of the area was the receptionist's desk, which was a semicircular desk with a computer monitor and not much else on top. Taking a quiet breath, Leona walked over to the receptionist's desk and spoke to the young woman seated at the desk. The receptionist was a black-haired young woman wearing a gray jacket over a white blouse and wore a gray skirt with black dress shoes.

"Hello. Mister Burke sent me to deliver a package to Mrs. Riley." Leona informed the receptionist and showed her the card on the end of the lanyard around her neck. The receptionist looked up at Leona and looked back at her monitor, then looked at Leona again, this time in surprise.

"Mrs. Riley is currently in a meeting, but if you'd wait over in the waiting area for a little bit I'll let her know that you're waiting on her." The receptionist informed Leona and pointed towards the waiting area. Having no choice but to trust the receptionist, Leona accepted the offer.

"OK, I'll wait over there then." Leona replied. She walked over to the indicated area, took a seat, and began the waiting game.

-The lobby, two hours later-

Leona had waited for Mrs. Riley for two hours. Without anything to read or her iLac the Wizard Saint had to struggle to look professional because she was almost bored to tears from the long wait. The Wizard Saint looked up at the reception desk and spotted the receptionist talking to a middle-aged woman with light brown hair wearing a black jacket over a blue blouse and black knee-length skirt with black dress shoes. The receptionist pointed towards Leona, who was shaken out of her boredom-induced lethargy and sat up straight.

The middle-aged woman turned away from the receptionist's desk and walked towards Leona. Leona stood up from her chair as the woman approached.

"Hello, Miss Jarnefeldt. I'm Mrs. Riley. The receptionist informs me that you've got a package for me from Mister Burke." The woman greeted Leona and stated her identity.

"I apologize for making you wait so long, but I was in a meeting of great importance." Mrs. Riley apologized for making the Wizard Saint wait so long to see her.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Riley." Leona said and left it at that.

"Let's go to my office, Miss Jarnefeldt." The older woman suggested. She then began walking deeper into the lobby while Leona followed behind her. The pair eventually reached an elevator and boarded it, then went up to the sixth floor.

-The sixth floor, Mrs. Riley's office-

After reaching the sixth floor and walking through a clean and modern office space with individual offices instead of a cubicle farm like Leona had expected the pair were now standing inside an office in the upper right corner of the building. Just like the lobby the office was sparsely decorated except for a few framed awards adorning the walls, a single chair sitting in front of a desk, and a large desk made of dark wood, possibly mahogany. Mrs. Riley stood behind her desk and looked at the Wizard Saint.

"I'd like the package now, please." Mrs. Riley requested. Leona obligingly walked over to the desk and handed the package to her. The woman sat the package on the desk and began to open it as Leona watched.

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Mrs. Riley opened the package to reveal a plain rectangular box with nothing special about it. She then carefully removed the lid and set it aside. Inside the box was a small silver cylinder of some sort roughly the length of Leona's forearm. Leona had no idea what it was, but Mrs. Riley certainly did.

"I see that Mister Burke has completed his latest project." Mrs. Riley said with obvious satisfaction. Since it was none of her business Leona did not dare ask about it.

"Some thought me foolish for choosing Mister Burke as my protege. They said that he was prone to pursuing projects that were foolish wastes of time and money. This is proof positive that I chose my protege wisely." The older woman said with satisfaction. Again Leona kept silent, but she learned a little more about Mister Burke. She never knew that he had a mentor in the company.

Leona remained silent as the woman swung the cylinder around in front of her like a sword, giving the impression that she was attacking her critics with the object. Whatever it was was of great importance to the older woman. Eventually Mrs. Riley stopped swinging the cylinder around and held on to it, facing Leona before speaking again.

"Thank you for this delivery, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mrs. Riley thanked Leona for making the delivery of the odd cylinder.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Riley." Leona replied. It had been a simple delivery job with the greatest complication being how long she had to wait for Mrs. Riley to get out of her meeting. Anyone could have done it.

"Mister Burke told me that you have worked for him on several previous occasions, including the recovery of the Orion prototype after it was stolen from us. He has an uncanny ability for choosing talented free agents who can get results." Mrs. Riley said to Leona and cited an example of past work Leona had done for the man. The older woman smiled.

"Your recovery of the Orion prototype saved the project, Miss Jarnefeldt. Countless hours of research went into its creation and it would have been very difficult and time-consuming to make another. I cannot thank you enough." Mrs. Riley thanked Leona for the work she had done several months ago.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Riley." Leona repeated. She was glad that she could recover the Orion prototype before it was too late and it fell into the hands of whoever had hired the thief. Leona had never learned if the thief had been apprehended or not, but that was none of her concern. Leona's job was to produce results, not ask questions or pry into matters that were none of her business.

Mrs. Riley stepped out from behind her desk.

"I had better deliver this item to my superiors as quickly as possible. I cannot thank you enough for your efforts, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mrs. Riley said. Leona took that as her cue to leave the building once she got off the elevator.

"I'm glad that I could help, Mrs. Riley." Leona replied. She then followed Mrs. Riley out of her office and through the sixth floor. They stepped on the elevator together and went down to the first floor.

-The first floor-

The two women stepped off of the elevator and walked back towards the lobby. From there their paths diverged. As she had anticipated Mrs. Riley had dismissed her and went to get on another elevator elsewhere, presumably a place accessible only to company employees that Leona could not access with the card she had been loaned by Mister Burke. Since her work here was done, Leona left the building and began the trip back to Shirotsume.

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's residence, the third floor, two hours and twenty minutes later-

After reaching Mister Burke's residence and letting him know that she had returned he wasted no time in escorting Leona to his private meeting room. Leona now stood facing Mister Burke, who was standing behind his desk. He was politely waiting for the Wizard Saint to speak.

"I've delivered the package to Mrs. Riley, Mister Burke." Leona notified him of her success. He smiled at her.

"Excellent. She notified me that she had received it roughly an hour ago. Your help is greatly appreciated." Mister Burke thanked Leona for her efforts. Leona was tempted to ask about his professional relationship with Mrs. Riley, but instead she decided to keep her questions to herself. Besides, Mrs. Riley had already told the Wizard Saint that Mister Burke was her protege. That should have told the Wizard Saint everything that she needed to know about them.

"Now that that business is concluded, I have another task that needs doing... if you are interested in doing it, of course." Mister Burke offered Leona another task.

"What might that be, Mister Burke?" Leona asked the client. She wondered what the next "task" he had for her was.

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When the client heard Leona's acceptance of his next task he smiled a little.

"I need you to return to Capital Crocus on a personal errand. This has nothing to do with the company I work for. If you do not want to do this, you can say so now and I will let the matter drop." Mister Burke told her that the task was a personal errand and that if she did not want to do it she could choose to turn it down without penalty. Leona shook her head.

"I'll run the errand for you, Mister Burke." Leona informed him. He smiled again and began to speak.

"I need you to return to Capital Crocus and pick up some computer components I have ordered from a store named Parts N' More. I intend to use them to update my personal computer, which is about six years old." Mister Burke informed her. Leona's eyes widened in recognition of the store's name.

"You seem to recognize the name of the store, Miss Jarnefeldt. I take it you have been there before?" Mister Burke asked her. Leona nodded.

"I've been there before, Mister Burke. I've both visited the store and met the owner, Dr. Bridgette Jacobson." Leona informed him that she was familiar with Parts N' More and its owner. He smiled at her.

"Excellent. That knowledge will make this task an easy one." He told her. He then pulled out a mint green iLac. Leona assumed that it was his personal iLac.

"When you leave here I will call ahead and inform Miss Jacobson that you are on the way to pick up the computer components on my behalf. You should not have any problems getting them." Mister Burke informed Leona. That answered the question of how she was going to convince Dr. Jacobson that she was working for Mister Burke. Now that that very important question had been answered another one came up.

"Mister Burke, how long do I have to return with the computer components? Do you need them in a hurry?" Leona asked him. It sounded like a dumb question to ask, but the Wizard Saint was not sure whether she had to hurry back with them or if she could take a bit of time in returning. Traffic in Capital Crocus tended to be bad and she was not certain how long she had to complete the errand.

"There is no hard time limit, Miss Jarnefeldt. I would say any time within the next twelve hours is good. More importantly, I would like for you to bring back the components in one piece." Mister Burke laid out the details and gave her a generous time limit in which to accomplish them. That was easy enough for her to accomplish.

"All right then, Mister Burke. I'll get going." Leona informed him.

"Excellent. I will call Miss Jacobson now." Mister Burke replied. He lifted his iLac and brought up a menu as Leona turned and walked towards the door. She could hear him talking to Dr. Jacobson as she left the meeting room.

-Capital Crocus, inside Parts N' More, three hours and twenty-five minutes later-

The flight to the outskirts of Capital Crocus had taken only an hour or so, but getting to Parts N' More had taken much longer. Even though Leona knew the way to Parts N' More and would not waste time getting lost like she had when she went to the Waltman Industries building earlier, getting to the store had been problematic. Foot traffic had been thicker than it had been earlier and it had moved very slowly. By the time she had finally gotten to Parts N' More slightly over a quarter of her time limit had elapsed.

Leona now stood inside Parts N' More, which was empty except for Dr. Jacobson herself. The store was in perfect order just like it had been the last time Leona had visited. The glass display cases were clean and full of the latest graphics cards, external hard drives, and other computer components anyone wanted or needed. The components were organized by type and labeled with small cards placed just beneath them; the cards listed the manufacturer, the specifications, and the price.

Dr. Jacobson stood patiently behind the wooden counter in the back. She was dressed in her usual attire of light blue long-sleeved shirt and black knee-length skirt, but her hair was a bit disheveled like she had received an electric shock at some point during the day. She also looked more than a little tired and looked like she wanted to close up the shop for the day but something was keeping her from doing so. That something had to be Mister Burke's order. Not wanting to keep either Dr. Jacobson or Mister Burke waiting any longer than she had to, Leona made her way towards the counter and stopped in front of the waiting woman.

"Hello, Miss Jarnefeldt! It's nice to see you again!" Dr. Jacobson greeted Leona and did her best to sound upbeat despite how tired she looked.

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"Hi Dr. Jacobs- uh, Bridgette!" Leona greeted the frazzled doctor. The older woman looked like she was about to fall over from exhaustion at any moment, so the Wizard Saint would not take too long to pick up the computer components. That way Dr. Jacobson could close down the shop, then go home and go to sleep while she was still able to move under her own power.

"I'm here to pick up the computer components for Mister-" Leona started to explain why she was here when the older woman raised a hand for silence. When the Wizard Saint saw the hand she immediately stopped talking.

"Mister Burke called ahead and told me that he was sending you to pick them up on his behalf. I've already gathered them for you and put them in a bag." Dr. Jacobson informed Leona that Mister Burke had indeed called ahead like he said he was going to do. The older woman then bent down behind the counter and lifted an object that sounded like a plastic bag. She stood up straight and put a medium-sized gray plastic shopping bag with the store's name in gold letters on the side onto the counter.

"Here you go, Miss Jarnefeldt. Here is Mister Burke's order." Dr. Jacobson told her. Leona looked at the bag and saw that it was over halfway full of what looked to be small boxes and the occasional medium-sized one. She reached out with her right hand and grabbed the loops in the top of the bag, holding on to the bag.

"Thank you, Dr. Jacob- er, Bridgette. I'll be on my way to Mister Burke with his order. Thanks again!" Leona thanked the doctor for her time and bade her farewell.

"Later, Miss Jarnefeldt." Dr. Jacobson bade the Wizard Saint goodbye. After the pleasantries were exchanged Leona turned around and headed for the exit to the shop. She pushed the door open with her left hand and left Parts N' More to take Mister Burke's order to him while she still had time to do so.

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's Residence, three hours and thirty minutes later-

Leona had hoped that the foot traffic in Capital Crocus would have decreased a little while she was in Parts N' More, but as soon as she had left the store her hopes were dashed. She had to struggle to make her way back out of the city because of the heavy foot traffic. She managed to make it out of Capital Crocus without incident and get to the outskirts to summon Winged Lion, but her troubles were far from over. Leona had to keep the bag of computer components balanced as she flew towards Shirotsume, which was no small feat because using her hands to hold the bag steady meant that one small bump while flying could have thrown her off of Winged Lion with fatal results.

Thankfully Leona had made it to her destination without incident thanks to Winged Lion's careful flying. Once he landed in Shirotsume the worst of the trip was over. She had made it back to Shirotsume with the computer components with slightly under half the time allotted to her still on the clock.

Now she was on the first floor of Mister Burke's home and standing in the foyer. She had taken off her boots and left them on the mat just to the right of the door. Leona took a few moments to catch her breath before walking towards the small living room where Mister Burke sat.

Once she did so she immediately walked forward and saw Mister Burke sitting at the low table and drinking tea. When she got within two meters of the low table he noticed her and stood up.

"Ah, Miss Jarnefeldt! I see that you have returned with my order from Parts N' More!" Mister Burke greeted the Wizard Saint.

"It took me a bit longer than anticipated, but I got your order. I did my best to make sure that everything made it here intact." Leona informed the client. He walked up to her, then stopped and faced her.

"Excellent. I am sure that everything is intact. If you would follow me to the third floor, I will take the components off of your hands." Mister Burke said to her. He began walking towards the stairs and Leona followed close behind him.

-Inside the meeting room, the third floor-

Mister Burke and Leona now stood inside the meeting room. Mister Burke was standing behind his desk and Leona was standing just in front of it with the bag clutched in her right hand.

"I would like you to bring the order over to me. Just set it beside me, if you would." Mister Burke requested. Leona walked around the desk and set the bag down beside him, then walked back to the front of the desk and stood facing him.

"Thank you for your assistance with that matter, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke thanked her for completing the task despite it having nothing to do with the company he worked for.

"It's no problem, Mister Burke." Leona replied. She did not mind doing doing a personal errand for him since he was a good employer who paid well and was straightforward about what he wanted from her when she worked for him. She wondered if he had anything else for her to do and she was just about to ask when he spoke to her.

"Speaking of computers, I have one last task for you. This one is another courier job and this one involves taking money to a free agent of mine. Are you up for it?" Mister Burke asked the Wizard Saint. He did not need to ask her twice.

"I'm ready, Mister Burke. Where do I need to go?" Leona asked him. He smiled at her.

"I know that you are likely tired of going there today, but I need you to go to Capital Crocus for a third time." Mister Burke told her where she was going to make the delivery.

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"I am going to give you a briefcase to take to the free agent, a young woman by the name of Miss Catherine Corvinus. I will also give you her address. I would like you to keep her name and address to yourself." Mister Burke informed her that what he told her was not to be told to anyone else. Leona could keep that information a secret, especially if it was for Mister Burke. He set a silver briefcase on top of his desk.

"All right. I'll take the money to her right away." Leona told him. She reached for the briefcase with her right hand and grabbed it by the handle. She gently raised it off of the desk and listened to Mister Burke's instructions. He produced his mint green iLac again.

"I am going to call Miss Corvinus to let her know that you will be making the delivery. Get there as soon as you can, but do not worry too much about a time limit. Miss Corvinus keeps late hours, so you should be able to make the delivery when you get there." Mister Burke informed the Wizard Saint that there was no real need for her to hurry to Capital Crocus. He then told her the address she would need to go to.

"All right, Mister Burke. I'm on my way to Capital Crocus. I'll get there as soon as I can!" Leona informed the client before turning around and walking out of the room. She would be going to Capital Crocus for the third (and hopefully last) time today.

-Capital Crocus, 1946 Babbage Road, two hours and fifty minutes later-

It had been yet another long walk through the busy streets of Capital Crocus, but the Wizard Saint had made it through the foot traffic to finally reach her destination, which was on 1946 Babbage Road. She was standing in front of an ordinary-looking one-story house with nothing special about it. For a moment Leona was not sure if she was even in the right place, but she had turned onto Babbage Road at the right place and the gold letters to the right of the door spelled 1946.

Leona spotted a glowing green doorbell button to the right of the doorframe. She walked over to it and pressed it. A DING sounded and she stepped back from the doorbell to wait for Catherine Corvinus to open the door for her.

Leona waited patiently for the door to open, but it did not open. The Wizard Saint waited another minute or so before walking over to the doorbell and pressing it again. The DING sounded and Leona stepped back to wait for the door to open.

The Wizard Saint was expecting the door to open at any moment after she had rung the doorbell, but after it failed to open for the second time she was starting to get impatient. Leona took a deep breath and resumed waiting. After another three minutes had passed with still no answer the blonde was starting to grow a little concerned.

Had Catherine slipped and fallen in the shower or suffered another kind of accident that kept her from answering the door?

Leona was not sure what was taking Catherine so long, but she needed to be patient. Maybe Catherine had just fallen asleep instead. The Wizard Saint waited two more minutes before walking over to the doorbell and ringing it a third time. Within moments of ringing it the door opened. The third time was a charm because Leona saw a young woman with jet-black hair done in a ponytail wearing a blue t-shirt and black gym shorts standing in the doorway.

"Hey there, lady. Sorry it took me so long." The young woman greeted Leona casually and gave a casual apology for the delay in answering the door. She looked at Leona again and her eyes widened in recognition.

"You're Leona Jarnefeldt!" She said to Leona in a tone of awe.

"Yes I am. I was sent here-" Leona started to explain why she was here when the young woman stepped back and motioned for her to enter.

"I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting! Come on in!" She bade Leona in a tone that was a mix of respect for the mage and apprehension over possible consequences for being slow to answer the door. The Wizard Saint obligingly walked into the house and the door was shut behind her.

-Inside the house-

The pair were now standing in a modest living room with a brown leather couch, a brown leather chair, and a coffee table. The living room was mostly clean except for a stack of pizza boxes sitting on the coffee table. In the back of the living room was a mini-kitchen that looked to have all of the appliances one could expect to find in a kitchen.

"Hey there... um, what do you like to go by? Do I have to use your Wizard Saint title or can I just call you Leona?" The dark-haired young woman asked Leona what form of address she preferred to go by.

"You can just call me Leona." Leona replied casually.

"Great! Welcome to my house, Leona! I'm Catherine Corvinus!" The young woman cheerfully introduced herself as Catherine Corvinus. Shortly after the introductions had been exchanged Catherine's blue eyes wandered to the silver briefcase in the Wizard Saint's right hand.

"Mister Burke told me that you'd be delivering payment for some freelance computer work I had done for him. I can't believe that he'd go to the trouble of hiring a Wizard Saint to make the delivery! Then again, a Wizard Saint makes a great courier because there aren't too many people stupid enough to try and rob them!" Catherine said in awe of her guest. Leona walked over to Catherine and extended her right arm, holding out the briefcase.

"Here you go." Leona replied. Catherine took the briefcase into both hands and walked over to the brown leather couch. She set the briefcase on the left side of the couch, then set the pizza boxes onto the floor before sitting down on the right side of the couch. She picked up the briefcase and set it on top of the coffee table. She then opened it and pulled out a large bag of Jewels.

"Mister Burke pays me well for my services." Catherine said to Leona with a bright smile on her face.

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"I see." Leona commented laconically. That was a large bag of Jewels that Catherine had just received courtesy of Mister Burke. She was not jealous of Catherine's pay, though. The Wizard Saint tended to earn a good bit of money herself by doing various jobs for various employers. Some of the work she did was very lucrative and Mister Burke had hired Leona for several lucrative jobs in the past.

Catherine set the bag of Jewels down, closed the briefcase, and took it into her hands. She then stood up and presented the briefcase to Leona. The Wizard Saint walked over to Catherine and accepted the empty briefcase from her.

"Is there anything else you needed from me, Leona?" Catherine asked the Wizard Saint. Leona shook her head.

"No, Catherine. I just came here to make the delivery." Leona replied truthfully. She hoped that she did not offend her hostess by sounding like she wanted to get away from Catherine as soon as possible by saying that, but the Wizard Saint was telling the truth. Her only purpose in coming here was to make the delivery of money, nothing more.

"OK, Leona. I'm sure that you've got plenty of Wizard Saint business to go on, so I won't hold you up." Catherine replied to Leona's statement. She did not sound offended by what Leona said in the slightest. She smiled at the Wizard Saint and Leona waved goodbye as she walked around the coffee table and walked towards the front door.

"Be sure to tell Mister Burke that I appreciate the money!" Catherine bade Leona as the latter prepared to leave for Shirotsume. Leona turned around and waved again, then opened the front door and walked through it. She shut it behind her.

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's residence, three hours later-

The heavy foot traffic had slowed Leona's return to Mister Burke, but she eventually made it back to him with the empty briefcase in hand. She entered Mister Burke's residence and took her boots off at the door, leaving them on the mat. She then walked into the living room area, where she saw Mister Burke sitting at the low table with a cup of green tea in hand. He noticed the Wizard Saint's approach and looked up.

"Welcome back, Miss Jarnefeldt!" Mister Burke greeted Leona. The Wizard Saint raised a hand in greeting and stood in front of the low table opposite him. He stood up and left his cup of tea.

"Let us go to the meeting room." He said to her. He walked past her and Leona followed close behind him.

-In the meeting room, the third floor-

Mister Burke and Leona were now in the meeting room again. Mister Burke stood behind his desk and Leona stood in front of it with the empty briefcase in hand.

"I take it that your delivery to Miss Corvinus did not run into any serious problems." Mister Burke said to her. Leona nodded.

"The only real problem I encountered was the foot traffic in Capital Crocus. It slowed me down a bit, but it didn't stop the delivery." Leona replied. Mister Burke smiled.

"Excellent. I knew that I could count on you to handle such an important matter." Mister Burke replied. Leona set the empty briefcase on the desk and stepped back.

"Catherine told me to thank you for the money." Leona said next. He took the empty briefcase back and smiled.

"Miss Corvinus is worth every single Jewel. She has done quite a bit of freelance work for me and is one of my most reliable and valuable free agents. Her aid is indispensable." Mister Burke commented about Catherine Corvinus. He did not elaborate on the nature of the freelance work he had her do and Leona was not going to ask. She trusted that everything he did was in pursuit of legitimate business purposes.

"Is there anything else that you need for me to do for you, Mister Burke?" Leona asked the client if he had any more tasks that needed doing. He shook his head.

"No, Miss Jarnefeldt. You have done enough for me today." Mister Burke informed her. If that was the case, Leona was going to go back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and begin reading the book that Dr. Taylor had given her a couple of weeks ago.

"If I'm not needed for anything else, I'll be going then." Leona said to him. He held up his right index finger as if to say "Wait a minute!" and leaned down behind his desk. He produced all of Leona's gear that she had left with him before the trip to Waltman Industries many hours earlier.

Leona walked up to the desk and reclaimed her Silver Longsword, Argent Gloves, and backpack of supplies in that order. She put the Silver Longsword on her left hip, put on her Argent Gloves, and then put on her backpack. She had been without them for so long that carrying her gear again felt odd. After putting everything back on Leona made eye contact with Mister Burke.

"Thanks for keeping my gear safe for me." Leona thanked the client for keeping her belongings safe for her just like he had promised to do.

"It is no problem, Miss Jarnefeldt. I may require your help again at some point in the future, so please keep an eye out for my messages." Mister Burke said to her.

"I'll keep an eye out for them, Mister Burke." Leona promised before leaving the meeting room and setting out for the first floor. She would reclaim her boots before setting out for Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

[Post Word Count: 942]
[Total Word Count: 6,528/7,000]

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, three hours later-

Having finally arrived back at the guild hall after a long and busy day of doing various tasks for Mister Burke, Leona took off her sword belt, her Argent Gloves, and her backpack and set them on her bed. She then took off her boots and set them in the space between her desk and her bed. Finally she sat down at the desk.

On top of the desk was the book Dr. Taylor had given her a couple of weeks ago, A Modern Guide To Magical Ingredients. Leona reached over and opened the book to the table of contents, then reached into a desk drawer and pulled out the notebook she had used to take notes on magical ingredients. After getting the notebook she found the pen she had been using in another desk drawer. How it got there was a mystery, but now that she had it the Wizard Saint could do a bit of research from the comfort of her room.

Leona glanced at the table of contents and immediately looked for wolfsbane. She soon located in on Page 422 and opened the book to that page, then opened her notebook and found an empty space. She jotted down the book's title and underlined it, then dropped down and wrote the page number for wolfsbane. After that she began to read about wolfsbane and its applications.

As she had gleaned from her earlier research wolfsbane could be used for anti-wolf applications. The ingredients for the formula were exactly the same as in the old books she had used as sources, but the new book listed some new applications. The formula could be applied to arrowheads and crossbow bolt tips for a distance attack that was not something Leona had considered. She had been so preoccupied with applying it on swords and knives that she had not even considered using the formula on arrowheads or crossbow bolt tips. Leona made a note of that in her notebook, then read to see whether the time limit on the formula's useful life was still seven hours or if this new book had new information.

Leona read on and learned that the formula's useful life could be extended to a full twenty-four hours by adding nightshade to it. Leona blinked. Nightshade extended the useful life of a wolfsbane formula?

Leona would question it later. Right now she jotted it down for future reference... not that she really needed a working formula any time soon. She already had a Silver Longsword for anti-werewolf use and the weapon did not require any special preparations to use against normal wolves to lethal effect.

Leona wanted to look under "garlic" and see if there was a new and improved formula for an anti-vampire formula. She recalled from her earlier research that two of the three ingredients for the formula were fairly easy to get... she needed garlic, rosemary, and holy water. She read the ingredients list and saw that those three ingredients were still the basis for the formula in this book like it had been in the other one.

Garlic and rosemary were readily obtainable, but holy water might be a bit more problematic to obtain. Leona was sure that the Order of Lightbringers could be convinced to part with some holy water if she needed it, but not everyone in Fiore had access to the resources she did. Aside from the issue of acquiring holy water, the biggest problem with the formula was the length of time necessary to prepare a single container's worth.

It took almost two months to prepare a small amount of the formula. That was acceptable if one anticipated a vampire encounter in that timeframe, but if one needed it sooner that timeframe suddenly became a major issue. Another issue was that the formula only lasted seven hours before losing potency and becoming useless.

Leona read on to see if she could find a variant of the formula that was quicker to prepare or longer-lasting, but she had no such luck. The Wizard Saint frowned. She might be better off just making a special anti-vampire weapon instead of trying to make and use the formula.

Feeling the fatigue that had accumulated during her travels earlier, Leona used her rapidly dwindling focus to jot down the page number for the anti-vampire formula while she still had the presence of mind to do so. She then closed the book and clicked her pen closed. Finally she closed her notebook of research and set the pen on top of it. She would do more research later... right now she needed to sleep.

Leona got up from the desk, pushed the desk chair in, and walked over to her bed. She cleared it off by piling everything into her desk chair, then walked over and sat on the edge edge of the bed. She then swung her feet over to the foot of the bed and reclined. Once she was settled it did not take long for her to go to sleep.

[Post Word Count: 848]
[Total Word Count: 7,376/7,000]