The bartender's expression of astonishment flashed across his face, quickly replaced by an irritable look, as if he didn't want to see any customers at this moment.
"If you want a drink, old sir... and this Inspector."
The bartender, drawing out his words in a tired manner, squinted and slowly said, "It's too early to come now. No one's here yet at this hour."
"Oh, a word of warning. Our bar's food is much more expensive than outside. Don't order it and then complain about the price... no refunds."
For some reason, despite it being the same Elven accent with drawn-out words and many glides, Haina felt that the bartender's voice lacked the elegant feel of Aiwass's butler.
Perhaps it was because some of the inflections were too harsh and clear, or perhaps it was because his voice had a hoarseness from long-term smoking, giving him a scoundrelly air.
"How much more expensive?"
Hearing this, Haina subconsciously blurted out the question.
But she quickly realized that she was here to investigate. No matter how expensive the food was, she had to order it.
In fact, the investigation funds given by Oswald were meant for this very purpose.
So she immediately changed her question: "What kind of food do you have here?"
"Heh..."
Aiwass, in front of her, couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
Investigating with such a novice was truly a unique experience.
Although the wild Elven bartender's reaction was quick, he couldn't deceive Aiwass. He deliberately called Aiwass "old sir," as if he hadn't recognized Aiwass's identity at all.
But this was impossible.
An Elf whose appearance was roughly that of a human in his thirties should be at least over a hundred years old. As a wild Elf, he lived among the common folk; and Elven blood made his memory and perception significantly stronger than humans.
Even with a full-coverage cloak, Aiwass's physique could never resemble that of an old man; simply by observing the style of his shoes and his exposed chin, he should have been able to recognize Aiwass.
If Oswald had come instead of Haina, he would have immediately noticed that the bartender's behavior was too deliberate.
A few days ago, Aiwass had come to Pelican Bar to meet those two "pen pals."
And he had been very conspicuous at the time.
Pelican Bar was the specific meeting place designated by the two pen pals. At that time, Aiwass could still walk normally, was agile and strong, and wanted to hide his contact and communication with the Demon Scholar, so he came alone to the appointment.
But considering this was a place Aiwass had never been to, he still set off almost two hours early and found a coachman to take him directly to Pelican Bar.
To be honest, if Aiwass hadn't found a coachman, he might not have found Pelican Bar who would know that Pelican Bar's name wasn't "Pelican"?
When Aiwass arrived, it was more than an hour before the agreed time of 5 PM. But he had already considered this and brought a book to read.
It was a book on mysticism in the stibium language, "Alchemy Cipher." Those alchemists of the Balance Path were very concerned about their knowledge leaking out and affecting the Balance of the world. Therefore, when writing books and communicating with peers, they would use ciphers that outsiders would not understand.
For example, "King," "Queen," and "Empress" indicated different things. Similarly, "Sun" and "Moon," "Toad" and "Dragon" could all hint at something. And based on the fundamental principle of "keeping secrets from outsiders," each alchemist used different ciphers. There was no unified consensus or common industry terminology among them.
They each had their own codebooks, secretly teaching them to their students for decoding; and if they were sufficiently excellent peers, they could also understand the meaning he wanted to convey from the hints.
It was the so-called "those who know, know; those who don't, won't understand even if told."
"Alchemy Cipher" exemplified several classic ciphers. In the examples, the author demonstrated an alchemical process for making "stibium glass." It was an emetic, slightly toxic. And by slightly adjusting the proportions, one could obtain "mercuric stibium," which was a slightly sweet, thick, flowing, highly toxic substance.
Leaving aside everything else, this was knowledge for synthesizing potent poisons!
This forbidden knowledge hit Aiwass's excitement point directly. In that incredibly noisy bar, he sat in a corner, completely engrossed in his book, and in a blink of an eye, it was almost six o'clock. Until the two men patted him on the shoulder and woke him up.
Originally, Aiwass only intended to meet them and leave.
It wasn't that he suspected them, but the security in Lloyd District was indeed poor. If he stayed too late, even taking a taxi might not be safe the Strangling Party had been causing widespread panic recently.
But by then, it was already dinner time, and they drank and chatted, becoming happier and more excited as they talked. So Aiwass simply used a white coin to order a dinner on the spot, treating his two "friends" to an extremely lavish meal. He didn't take back the change but treated the other customers to a drink.
Because his two friends assured him that it didn't matter if it was a little late; they would escort him home. And after dinner, they chatted for a long time, finally leaving the bar after ten o'clock.
"Zero hour, zero minute, is the most suitable time to summon a demon."
The bald man said, "The ritual will take about an hour. And now is precisely that time... would you like to try it yourself?"
...Around that time, he had already, through those few hours of conversation, perceived Aiwass's fervent desire to touch the forbidden. He knew that Aiwass would not refuse this invitation.
Now that he thought back... they must have deliberately arranged to meet here, and deliberately arrived late.
Since it was already dinner time, and he was hungry, with other customers ordering food around him, he naturally wouldn't go out of his way to find another place to eat.
So, could it be understood that the two Demon Scholars from the Noble Red society specifically designated Pelican Bar as their meeting place and also prevented him from taking them elsewhere, because they believed only this place was absolutely safe?
Furthermore, a young man from the upper class, extremely handsome and well-dressed, sitting in a cheap bar in Lloyd District, a place full of laborers and sailors, with a glass of less than half a liter of light beer, motionless, reading a book for a full two hours.
Given this, would a bartender with a good memory possibly not remember him?
Even if it wasn't a wild Elf, but a human bartender... upon seeing such an absurd thing, he would remember it for at least a full month. And he would use it as a talking point, frequently boasting or mocking him to others.
Not to mention that the foot traffic at Pelican Bar was not too high to begin with; the number of customers in one evening didn't even reach thirty.
So, this bartender definitely had a problem.
His deliberate pretense of not recognizing Aiwass, on the contrary, proved his inner timidity. Because Aiwass came wearing a cloak, his intention was not to be recognized. So he went along with Aiwass's intention, trying to help him conceal his identity.
This was to lower his guard and temporarily stabilize him;
At the same time, he also hoped that Aiwass would accept this identity.
If Aiwass truly wanted to conceal his identity, he would go along with the bartender's words and pretend to be an "old man."
Then he wouldn't be able to speak directly with the bartender, and there would be no temporary exchange between them.
Thus, he could stall for time.
"Mr. Ademar, isn't it?"
As a result, Aiwass, wearing his hood, suddenly spoke, "Are you waiting for someone?"
This was the bartender's name he had heard from other customers yesterday.
"...What?"
Hearing this, Haina turned her head back with some confusion: "Do you know him?"
But she glanced, yet couldn't see any particular reaction from Aiwass.
And when she turned her head back, she saw obvious astonishment and hesitation from the bartender.
In that instant, her heart stirred. She vaguely felt she had grasped something.
Before she could ask, Aiwass chuckled softly. As if he had confirmed something.
"Haina."
Aiwass's voice was extremely soft, like that of her superior, or a mentor. Not only did he not politely address her as "senior sister" as before, but he called her by her first name like a superior.
But perhaps precisely because of this, Haina, accustomed to obeying orders, instantly became alert.
"Yes!"
She instinctively focused her attention, stepping forward diagonally half a step from behind Aiwass, subtly shielding Aiwass behind her, and waited intently for the next command.
"Draw your sword"
Aiwass commanded.
Although she still didn't understand what was happening, Haina unhesitatingly chose to obey Aiwass's instructions. In an instant, she drew the Elven sword from its sheath.
The blade slid out of the sheath like a living thing, and a Pure White glow lit up from the sword's body.
A dazzling, brilliant white light illuminated the bar, which was already brightly lit by the midday ambient light.
In Haina's originally lake-blue eyes, a silver-white halo gradually lit up. That was the resonance with The Path of Authority.
The power infused in her bloodline was gradually activated, and abundant power filled her limbs and bones. A wave of air whistled outwards from her, causing the liquor bottles on the bar to sway and emit a chaotic, crisp clinking sound like wind chimes.
The few customers present were instantly startled, one by one leaving their seats and running towards the door.
And seeing this, the bartender's face immediately changed, and his heart was startled.
I've been exposed?
Why?
He was horrified and confused.
The situation was critical, and he chose not to sit idly by.
He took a deep breath, and beneath his skin, something bulged as if worms were moving.
Purple patterns started from his lower eyelids and spread across his entire face. Like bulging, discolored veins, they covered most of his face in a net-like pattern. Only the area around his mouth and chin the part where a beard would normally grow was not covered by the purple patterns.
As he took a deep breath, the purple patterns on his face brightened. With each inhale, they brightened, and with each exhale, they slowly dimmed.
These patterns spread rapidly across his skin like a Curse, extending from his cuffs and climbing all the way to the tips of his ten fingers.
"Demon Scholar"
Haina recognized his identity. Or rather, she roughly recognized it.
Otherworlders could use mystical arts and various casting materials to use their Otherworlders power in a non-combat state. But if they were to get serious, to mobilize the power of the Path to spontaneously release those powerful Transcendent skills, they had to resonate with the Path.
Each person's resonance characteristics were different, but the common point was that there would definitely be light effects corresponding to the color of their Path.
Just as white is the color of The Path of Authority, purple is the color of the Way of Transcendence. The former symbolizes diamonds, the latter amethyst.
Although she didn't know the specific profession of this wild Elf, he certainly belonged to the Way of Transcendence.
The Way of Transcendence is forbidden!
Then, she would just assume the other party was a Demon Scholar
Mr. Aiwass really found him!
Her heart swelled with joy.
Although she didn't know how Aiwass had identified the other party. Because she hadn't seen any flaws in the other party's identity.
But once it entered a combat state, this was her area of expertise!
And looking at the wild Elven bartender with purple spiderweb patterns all over his skin... seeing such obvious features, Aiwass finally recalled the other party's identity.
The old boss of "Pelican Bar, the Nexus of Sin," Evil Bartender Ademar!
In his memory, that brawny man with arms as thick as war hammers, hunched and bare-chested, his upper body covered in deep purple glowing patterns
His image gradually merged with the wild Elf, who was inflating like a balloon.
Originally, Aiwass had only wanted Haina to scare him a little, to put some pressure on him.
He hadn't expected him to be so unable to withstand the pressure, transforming directly with just a slight push!
This time, he had truly found the right person!
"..."
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