Chapter 98: The Spinning Knife

Jacques Saunière, observing William's still puzzled expression, stood up and patted him on the shoulder with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, William. After the ceremony, I'll explain everything to you. Right now, you're not officially one of us, and it's too complicated to discuss here. Once you see what your family has been guarding, everything will make sense."

William nodded reluctantly. "Alright, Mr. Saunière. A few more hours won't hurt. I'll see you tonight at 8 PM."

Saunière suggested with a grin, "William, why not visit the Louvre or take a stroll down the Champs-Élysées? I know you have plenty of money—buy something nice for your family. I can hardly believe it, but one of Henry's descendants has become a billionaire. Henry was always broke, you know. Haha."

William laughed along, knowing well that his grandfather wasn't wealthy. As they walked out of the café, Saunière suddenly turned serious and asked, "William, have you found any clues about the treasure of King Henry that your family has been searching for?"

William's mind raced. Damn it, this old man doesn't entirely trust me. He's still testing me, even as we part ways.

"Mr. Saunière, our family hasn't been searching for any treasure belonging to King Henry. Any details about such a treasure are the Devonshire family's deepest secrets. How do you know about it?" William's hand instinctively moved towards his jacket, where a Glock was holstered under his arm.

Seeing William's hand move towards his jacket, Saunière realized his question had angered William. It occurred to him that if someone knew the deepest secrets of his family, he too would take measures to eliminate that threat.

"Wait, William," Saunière quickly said. "I'm not entirely convinced you're Henry's descendant. But if you are, you must know what the Devonshire family has been searching for over the generations. Am I right, William?"

William paused for a moment, then nodded. "Of course I know, but what I'm curious about is how you know."

Saunière immediately replied, "Look, William, I know because Henry told me. He requested a lot of information from me and asked many questions. The problem now is that we don't fully trust each other. I have a way to clear up any misunderstandings between us. Do you want to hear it, William?"

"Go on," William responded directly.

"Here's the idea, William: We can both write down our answers on slips of paper and reveal them at the same time. If they match, the misunderstanding is cleared up. How does that sound?" Saunière proposed.

"Fine," William agreed.

"Good, William. You're a tough one to deal with, always reaching for your gun. That's not like Henry at all. You're too rash," Saunière commented as he walked towards the bar, making sure to step into the range of the security cameras.

William watched as Saunière deliberately moved into the view of the cameras, loudly asking the bartender for two pieces of paper and pens. It was a clear signal for William not to try anything rash in this public and monitored area.

Without further ado, William wrote "Solomon's Treasure" on his slip, folded it, and placed it under an inverted coffee cup on a table two meters away from both of them.

When Saunière finished writing, William said, "Show me yours first, Mr. Saunière. You better hope it matches mine, or you won't be walking out of this café."

Saunière shook his head, insisting, "No way. We reveal them together."

Ignoring Saunière, William crouched low behind the coffee table, avoiding the camera's view. He pulled out his Glock and, from his storage space, retrieved a silencer, which he quickly attached under the table.

All of this happened right in front of Saunière, who saw every move clearly. Knowing William had the gun aimed at him, Saunière had no choice but to hand over his slip. William read it: "Solomon's Treasure." He breathed a sigh of relief, reholstered his Glock, and gestured for Saunière to check his own slip.

Saunière sighed in relief, walked over to the coffee cup two meters away, and read William's slip: "Solomon's Treasure." He immediately started cursing.

Returning to William, Saunière grabbed his arm and exclaimed, "Damn it, you little brat! Even Henry was always polite to me. I'm the Grand Master, and this is how you treat your leader? Always pulling out a gun. Even if I were a spy trying to uncover your family's secrets, would you really shoot me here? Don't you realize I'm over seventy? If I had a heart attack, I'd die for nothing."

William grinned and replied, "Believe me, Mr. Saunière, I don't need a gun to kill you. I have plenty of ways to ensure you wouldn't last a minute. The gun was just for show. The bullet wasn't even chambered."

Turning his back to the cameras, William suddenly produced a finger-sized throwing knife. Noticing that only one other customer was sitting far away by the window, he flicked his wrist. The knife spun through the café, slicing through a rose in a vase about five or six meters away before returning to his hand. William discreetly showed the knife to Saunière before making it disappear with a twist of his wrist, actually storing it back in his space.

Saunière, astonished, examined the severed rose, noting the clean, smooth cut. He returned to William, exclaiming, "Good Lord, how did you learn that? Henry could shoot, but he had no skills with knives. This is incredible! A knife that spins around and returns after hitting its target!"

"Mr. Saunière, this is a Devonshire family secret. Henry simply never mastered it," William lied, attributing his skill to his family's legacy. In reality, he had learned the throwing knife technique from the System only four months ago. He could currently manage two knives at once, while Bullseye, the character he studied, could handle over a dozen. William still had much to learn.

"Well, I see now that your family truly deserves its thousand-year legacy," Saunière marveled. "Alright, William, since we've cleared up our misunderstanding, I need to get to work and sort out some things. I'll see you tonight."

William nodded, "See you tonight, Mr. Saunière."

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