"Where in the world did that bastard Lager go to slack off?!"
Reyna walked away, grumbling.
She told Alexander to tally his losses, and all compensation would be deducted from that scoundrel Lager's salary.
If the money wasn't enough, she would even take a loss to send Lager to the Upper hive and have him heavily modified into a Servitor to pay off Alexander's debt.
Alexander said he definitely wanted the money, but he could do without the Servitor.
Lager was too ugly; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he saw him.
Alexander pushed open the iron door with the grotesque hole and entered his house.
Then, he paused slightly.
Everything in the house was as neat as before; there were no signs of the bed being disturbed, and the items on the small table remained exactly as Alexander had left them.
Alexander pulled open the cupboard. The clothes in the cupboard had been moved, and one undershirt was missing. All other items were untouched.
What Alexander found most peculiar was a letter placed on his bedside table.
Strange, too strange.
Alexander's brows immediately furrowed.
He reached out, picked up the letter, and after opening it, he realized…
He realized he couldn't understand it at all.
The letter was written in quite beautiful, elaborate cursive, appearing intricate and exquisite.
Each letter was neatly arranged on the yellowed paper. If it weren't for the visible ink marks, Alexander would have suspected the letter was printed.
Alexander squinted, barely making out a few words similar to the low gothic used locally on Ashford Star.
But for many more words, he couldn't understand them at all, only sensing the language's intricacy and elegance.
Compared to this language, Ashford Star's low gothic seemed like a barbaric, hybridized language.
But strangely, Alexander found this language somewhat familiar.
These words and letters resembled 3K-era English, just more elaborate and complex.
Unfortunately, Alexander's English wasn't very good back in school.
After all these years, he was only at the level of nodding for yes and shaking his head for no.
"This is high gothic," Sanguinius said softly.
"..Huh?"
Alexander looked puzzled.
High gothic is one of the Imperium's official languages, originating from Terra's Americ and Pan-Pacific regions during the Dark Age of Technology.
In other words, it was an elaborated and improved version of English from before Alexander's transmigration.
The North American region during the Old Night era had become a federation of hive cities, where nobles favored elaborate and useless etiquette. High gothic likely originated this way.
Because of this, this language was extremely obscure and difficult for most Imperial citizens to understand.
Only Adeptus Ministorum members, high-ranking Imperial officials, and some bored nobles would use it.
Most people used the hybridized low gothic that had evolved differently on various planets.
However...
"Are you saying a low-level hive city thief left me a letter written in high gothic?"
"How did he think I could understand it? He overestimated me too much..."
Alexander couldn't help but shake his head.
Let alone the complicated high gothic, even if it were written in English, Alexander wouldn't understand it.
Reyna seemed to know some.
Her family were devout Adeptus Ministorum followers, and many of the Adeptus Ministorum's original scriptures were written in high gothic.
"Do you want me to read it to you?"
Sanguinius chuckled and said:
"Although I was born on Baal, as a Primarch, I also received an education in high gothic."
"I'm curious if Angron would?" Alexander couldn't help but ask curiously.
"This..." Sanguinius was momentarily speechless: "You're too harsh on him."
"In terms of intellect, that brother of mine is biologically disabled, you see."
"Didn't Khârn try to teach his father a little? His father also had to participate in military meetings during the Great Crusade."
"You're also being too harsh on Khârn. If you want him dead, just say so." Sanguinius shook his head.
Saying that, Sanguinius looked at the letter in Alexander's hand.
"I apologize for visiting your house with violence. I believe your income is commensurate with your contributions, and therefore, I did not visit your house for theft."
Sanguinius softly read the letter written in high gothic:
"Enclosed with this letter are blood coins to compensate for your door."
"I have a well-paying job that can contribute to the Imperium and the Emperor, which I hope to entrust to you."
"If you wish to discuss it in detail, I will await you tomorrow night at the eastern garbage dump of the thirteenth district in the Lower Nest."
"For safety, I wrote this letter in high gothic, trusting that you can read this ancient language."
"Also for safety, please do not disclose the contents of this letter to others."
"Signed: Knight of Orleans."
"..Huh?" Alexander tilted his head in confusion: "Orleans?"
A moment later, he realized,
"Knight of Orleans" was the Zealous Thief's self-proclaimed name...
What kind of ridiculous self-proclaimed name was that?
That name on Terra was extinct, so how could someone still call themselves that?
Also, if you weren't there to steal, why did you zealously break down my door?
Alexander looked at the few blood coins peeking out of the envelope with a strange expression.
The letter even thoughtfully included the repair fee for the door.
There were simply too many absurdities in this letter; the more Alexander read, the more peculiar his expression became.
What Alexander found most bizarre was,
How could this Zealous Thief think he could read high gothic?
"He seems to possess some form of precognition, perhaps discovering your uniqueness through it, just like me."
Sanguinius said:
"But as I said before, your fate is triply interwoven and indistinct; he might not see it clearly either."
"You know, high gothic is basically an elaborated version of ancient Terra's English. Theoretically, you should be able to read it roughly..."
"Reading is for chumps..." Alexander muttered, frowning.
Alexander was now increasingly suspicious of this Zealous Thief's identity.
"Orleans"—that didn't sound like something a Lower Nest thief in 40k would know.
There was no "France" in the Lower Nest.
Oh my, could Tzeentch be coming to get his revenge? So soon?
Alexander looked at the letter in his hand and couldn't help but shake his head.
Whether it was Tzeentch's corruption or not,
He wouldn't go alone to meet that Zealous Thief who called himself "Knight of Orleans."
He should at least bring two or three hundred people with him.
Alexander thought for a moment and stuffed the letter into his four-dimensional pocket.
[Item: High Gothic Letter]
[Origin: Nether Shield Star System - Ashford Star - Verdian city Lower Nest]
[Description: A letter written in high gothic. The signature 'Knight of Orleans' reminds one of the deliciousness of french cuisine.]
[Production Time: 998.M41]
[Status: Unsealed]
[Value: 0.001 Credits]
No corruption...
Alexander had gotten an idea from the previous incident.
Any item entering the four-dimensional pocket would display relevant information.
If an item had corruption, Alexander could know it through this.
Still feeling uneasy, Alexander inspected all the items in his small room again before feeling a little more at ease.
He found a synthetic wooden board to block the hole in the iron door, then lay down on the bed.
0.3 seconds later, Alexander was asleep.