The four of them followed the waiter to the second floor.
On the second floor of the café, other than the aisle in the middle, there were private rooms on both sides.
Room 6 was on the left side of the aisle, which was the side that didn't face the street.
Walking into the room, Feng Chou realized that it was more spacious than he had imagined. In the middle of the room was a long table, and on each side of the table were two wooden benches. The walls of the room were decorated in a brownish yellow color, and there were a few small oil paintings hanging on the wall.
There was a wide window on the outside wall of the room that allowed them to see a small garden behind the café building. Across the garden was an apartment building.
Under Zachary's suggestion, Feng Chou and Shi Douhua sat by the window while the two lawyers sat on the outside facing each other.
Lawyer Zachary ordered a cup of black coffee from the south and a few special desserts and biscuits for the four of them.
Next, Zachary took out the contract he drafted and discussed it with Lawyer Todd.
Soon, the waiter served the four of them coffee. Feng Chou put two copper coins of ten pence on the waiter's tray.
This was his tip.
The taste of the black coffee was not bad. There was a rich coffee aroma amidst the bitterness. Paired with milk and white sugar, the taste was intoxicating. It was much better than the coffee Feng Chou had drunk in the cafes on Earth.
While drinking coffee, Feng Chou and Shi Douhua talked about mercenaries.
During the conversation, Feng Chou realized that mercenaries in the big city were very different from mercenaries in the countryside.
In the countryside like Antalya, mercenaries had two main jobs. One was to escort goods, and the other was to clean up wild creatures around the countryside.
But in a big city like Casablanca, mercenaries' main job was completely different. Their main job was to provide security services for the rich in the city. The other job was to provide armed escort services for cargo ships on the Alvindale River.
Whether it was security services or armed escort of cargo ships, the mercenary group needed to have a high reputation. Otherwise, no one would dare to put their lives in the hands of a group of unreliable armed personnel.
Therefore, in a big city like Casablanca, there was no room for low-level mercenaries to survive.
Even a young man born in Casablanca would have to leave the city and go to the nearby countryside to slowly build up his reputation if he wanted to become a mercenary. Only mercenaries with a reputation level of level-5 and above would have a chance to survive in the big city.
This was because a mercenary with a Level 5 credit rating would be able to receive a small pension from the mercenary union after retirement. This kind of guarantee was very precious in this era. Once he broke the contract, he would lose this minimum guarantee. This made the possibility of a Level 5 mercenary breaking the contract very low.
From their conversation, Feng Chou discovered that Shi Douhua was a shrewd person who didn't match his appearance. He was a guy who hid his strength well.
It took the two lawyers more than half an hour to finalize the paperwork.
Lawyer Todd, who was hired by Shi Douhua, was very professional in his work. He didn't give in at all when discussing the agreement and didn't lose his ground because of the other party's identity.
Feng Chou called the waiter over to pay the bill. A few cups of coffee and a few plates of exquisite desserts cost Feng Chou 7 crowns and 64 pence. Feng Chou directly handed the waiter 8 crowns and the rest was his tip.
After leaving the cafe, the four of them crossed the street and walked into the Western District Court.
Under the guidance of the two lawyers, Feng Chou passed through the hall on the first floor of the court and went out the back door.
Outside the back door was a garden. Looking past the garden, Feng Chou saw a solemn steeple building. It was the classic shape of a temple building. On the wall below the steeple of the building, a circular emblem was embossed. The emblem was embossed with a balance supported by a shining mountain peak.
That's right, it was the temple of the God of Light.
Walking into the temple, Feng Chou and the other three people bowed to the tall statue at the bottom of the temple.
Lawyer Zachary and Lawyer Todd both knelt down devoutly and bowed respectfully to the statue, while Feng Chou and Shi Douhua just bowed to the statue.
This meant that he and Shi Douhua were not believers of the God of Light.
After the ceremony, Feng Chou followed Lawyer Zachary's request and walked to the donation box at the side of the door. In front of a trainee priest, he put a small gold lion into the box and then said his purpose. "Reverend Shepherd of the Strict Ones, I need a trainee priest to provide a fair judgment for a document of my property used as collateral."
The trainee priest nodded and said, "Please wait a moment."
He turned and walked to a porch at the side of the temple. After a while, he came back with another trainee priest.
The trainee priest and Feng Chou left the temple together, walked through the garden, and returned to the court building.
Under the guidance of Lawyer Zachary, they came to an office on the first floor.
The sign on the door of the office said, "Judge Warner Vincent."
Zachary knocked on the door of the office, and a young secretary received them.
It was a large office. In the middle of the office, there were two desks facing each other. After passing through the desks, there was a door that led to the office inside. That was Judge Warner's office.
The office outside was both a reception room and the offices of the two secretaries of the judge.
The secretary who received them was called Tim, and the other secretary seemed to be absent.
Zachary and Tim seemed to be very close. Tim told them that Judge Warner was handling a case in the office inside, and they might have to wait for a while.
Zachary left the decision to Feng Chou, because the waiting time would also be included in the lawyer's fee.
Of course, Feng Chou didn't care about a few kronor's fee. He nodded indifferently.
Tim invited them to the lounge area near the door of the office, where there were two sofas around a small square table.
After the four of them were seated, Tim served them black tea with milk and sugar.
The four of them waited for about 20 minutes, and the door of the inner office opened. A young man accompanied by a few men dressed like gentlemen came out.
After the young man escorted them out of the office and returned, Tim asked him, "Willie, is the judge free now?"
The young man named Willie nodded and said, "Yes, the case is over."
Tim came to the inner office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Tim opened the door and entered the office. He said something to the people inside, and then came out again. He said to Feng Chou and the others, "Gentlemen, the judge can accept your case."
The four of them followed Tim into the inner office.
This was an even more spacious and even somewhat empty office. The huge space and the high dome gave this office a sense of oppression.
The judge's desk was in front of the window on the inner side of the office, and on both sides of the window were two bookshelves that took up the entire wall behind the judge.
On the white walls on both sides of the office, there was an emblem hanging on each side.
One of the emblems was the city emblem of Casablanca, which was a huge bronze emblem. The emblem was embossed with a carving of a merchant ship on the water, surrounded by a circle of redbud patterns.
Below the emblem hung two crossed flags. One flag was the city flag of Casablanca with red, yellow, and blue stripes, and the other was the flag of the Alvindale Empire with silver stars on a blue background.
On the other wall hung the sacred light of the Holy Mountain of the God of Light.
Judge Warner didn't have any intention of getting up to greet the four of them. According to the teachings of the God of Light, in the judicial process, the judge represented the sacred law. He didn't have to show humility to anyone, even if he was the king.
Under Tim's invitation, the four of them came to the large reddish-brown desk of the judge. Zachary represented the four of them to explain their intentions to Judge Warner and submitted the contract.
Feng Chou stood behind Zachary and quietly looked at the serious-looking judge in front of him.
This was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. He was thin, and his face was as hard as granite. The wrinkles on the corners of his mouth were as if they were carved by a knife. A pair of brown eyes were cold and bright.
The judge wore a gray wig and a brown Kevlar suit with a dark purple Kyrie underneath.
After listening to Zachary's introduction, Judge Warner took the contract and carefully read it.
After reading the contract, Judge Warner asked Feng Chou for the property rights of the manor that he wanted to use as collateral.
After carefully reading the property rights document, he asked the trainee priest of the God of Light that Feng Chou invited to cast a spell to verify the divine emblem of the Goddess of Commerce on the document.
In the presence of Judge Warner, the trainee priest cast a spell to check the property rights document.
Under the stimulation of the priest's spell, the divine emblem of the Goddess of Commerce clearly appeared with a $mark.
Seeing this scene, Judge Warner nodded with satisfaction. He took out his official seal and stamped the heads of the three contracts, then signed his name on the seal.
With the official seal and signature of the judge, the three documents were legally binding.
Next, Feng Chou and Stewart signed their names on the three documents. A formal, legally binding contract was completed.
One of the three documents would be left with Judge Warner for backup, and the other two would be kept in the hands of Feng Chou and Stewart.
After Feng Chou paid Judge Warner's secretary, Tim, 20 crowns, they left the judge's office.
After leaving the judge's office, Lawyer Zachary shook hands with Feng Chou and said, "Mr. Baron, are you satisfied with my service?"
Feng Chou said, "Of course, you are an excellent lawyer. I look forward to the day when you stand in court."
Lawyer Zachary smiled and said, "You really know how to flatter people."
Feng Chou took out his money bag, took out three small gold lions, and handed them to Lawyer Zachary.
Lawyer Zachary put away the gold coins, took off his triangular hat, nodded to Feng Chou to thank him, put on his hat, and turned to leave.
After Zachary left, Feng Chou turned to Captain Shi Duhua and said, "Captain Shi Duhua, the day before the expedition team departs, I will ask Allen to meet you at Turkey and Ale. As my representative, Allen will be participating in the expedition with all of you. You can reimburse Allen for your expedition expenses, and then deduct them from the silver coins you will receive from him … Alright, I hope we can work well together."
After that, he turned and left.