Mr. Azik's house was located in the city, a detached building with a lawn in the front and a garden in the back. Its total area was even larger than Old Neil's house. Such a nice house, especially within Tingen City, probably couldn't be afforded on a university lecturer's salary.
Old Neil's house was worth 900 pounds; this house was probably worth three to five thousand pounds.
Caesar surveyed the house, thinking to himself, then walked forward and pulled the rope on the side of the main door.
"Ding! Ding!"
The doorbell rang in response.
Footsteps sounded a moment later, and soon the main door opened, revealing Mr. Azik in his home clothes behind the doorway.
"Welcome."
He smiled faintly, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. Please come in."
Before coming to Mr. Azik's house, Caesar had already contacted him through Klein, obtained Azik's address, and arranged a meeting time. This was to prevent the awkward situation of him arriving and Azik not being home.
"Good afternoon."
Caesar nodded to him, "Mr. Azik, I apologize for disturbing you."
Azik proactively stepped aside, welcomed him into the house, closed the door, and led him to the living room on the first floor.
"Please sit. Would you like something to drink, coffee or black tea?"
Azik asked.
Sitting on the soft, high-quality sofa, Caesar thought for a moment and said, "Black tea is fine."
After speaking, he suddenly became curious. Azik's house was so nice, yet there were no servants attending to him, which was quite different from the lifestyle of the middle to upper classes in Loen. But if that was the case, who would brew the black tea? Could it be that he preferred to do it himself?
"Snap!"
Mr. Azik, with his bronze skin and gentle features, snapped his fingers.
Behind the living room, in the empty kitchen, the sound of cups and saucers clinking suddenly rang out. A moment later, a tray flew through the air. On the tray, a teacup and teapot were steadily placed.
Caesar's eyes narrowed. An ordinary person would only see a floating tray, but under his eyes, he saw a phantom shadow holding the tray—it seemed to be a low-level undead creature, a Wraith, as described in the material. But he had never seen an ordinary Wraith with such abilities; not only could it interfere with physical matter, but it was also intelligent enough to brew black tea!
"Clink."
The tray was placed on the coffee table, and the porcelain clinked against the tray, making a crisp sound. The invisible Wraith bowed respectfully to Azik, then floated into the kitchen and did not reappear.
"Try it. Her tea-making skills are very good," Azik said with a smile to the dumbfounded Caesar.
"...Okay."
Caesar picked up the teacup. The tea was reddish and translucent, and the thin porcelain cup was a translucent milky white, with delicate and intricate patterns, seemingly expensive bone china. With a cautious attitude, he brought the teacup to his lips and lightly tasted the tea.
"How is it?"
"...To be honest, I don't really understand this," Caesar frankly chose the latter between "acting elegant" and "telling the truth," "I just feel like it smells quite fragrant."
Mr. Azik couldn't help but laugh at his words.
"Haha, you're refreshingly honest. Truth be told, I don't really understand black tea either."
He reached to the coffee table, where a small box of cigars lay unopened. Picking it up, he offered it across with a faint smile.
"I don't smoke, but I bought these just in case. I thought you might prefer one."
"Thank you, but I don't smoke."
Caesar shook his head. In his past life, he had disliked alcohol and tobacco. In this world, with the risk of losing control, he avoided them even more strictly. More importantly, his younger sister Cecilia had hated the smell of smoke since childhood—it made her cough.
Seeing Caesar decline, Azik set the cigar box aside without regret. The gesture had been purely one of courtesy.
Caesar took a few more sips of tea, then finally spoke:
"Mr. Azik, you mentioned you needed my help. May I ask what, specifically, you'd like me to do?"
Azik leaned back slightly, his expression growing faint and contemplative.
"I want you to help me retrieve my past memories."
"Past memories?"
Caesar asked in surprise.
So Azik began to explain his experiences to Caesar. It turned out that Mr. Azik's memories were incomplete; he only remembered his life after entering university, with no impression of his life before that. He didn't know where he came from or who his parents were.
During this time, he gradually discovered that he possessed peculiar abilities and would occasionally recall fragments of the past. Pursuing his past became an obsession that drove him forward.
"Mr. Azik, do you mean that the aura on me almost made you recall something, and so you hope I can make you perceive that aura again?" Caesar understood Azik's intention, "But I don't even know what aura you're talking about, let alone how to release it."
Although he said this, Caesar had some suspicions in his heart. The aura that gave Azik a sense of déjà vu was very likely the influence from the True Creator on him.
But who exactly was he in the past, that he could be connected to such a dangerous evil god, yet not be influenced and fall?
"Don't worry, I naturally have a way, it just requires your cooperation," Azik said. "I will summon a special undead creature and use it to draw out the hidden aura on you. Its appearance might be a bit frightening, I hope you don't mind. Of course, as I said, no matter the outcome, I will give you the compensation you deserve."
Caesar was here for the compensation, so he naturally wouldn't decline. He nodded and said, "Alright, please start quickly."
If it ended early, he could still go to the shooting range to practice with his revolver.
Seeing this, Azik said no more. He took a section of an ethereal white bone flute from his pocket, pricked his index finger with his thumbnail, and let a drop of blood fall onto the bone flute. The crimson blood quickly seeped into the bone flute.
"Woo woo—"
Even though no one was blowing it, the bone flute emitted sounds on its own. Accompanied by this hollow murmur, the surrounding environment became hazy. Large, vibrant colors piled and layered, as if the most frenzied painter had used bold oil paints to create a disordered world.
Caesar saw a bronze Door appear behind Azik—just like the one he had seen in his dreams. The Door's surface was corroded and damaged; upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't rust, but a multitude of twisted faces.
"Creak—"
The Door slowly opened, and dark vines emerged from within, embracing Azik, knotting and gathering in front of him to form a sphere.
A crack opened in the center of the sphere, and from within, a transparent Monster emerged. It looked like a combination of an octopus and a jellyfish. It extended its slimy tentacles towards Caesar's face.
Caesar looked at the Monster, feeling somewhat wary.
Before coming, he had taken some precautions, mailing a pre-written letter to himself at the Blackthorn Security Company. If he could leave today, he would naturally retrieve the letter. If he couldn't return, the letter would be received by others in the company, and they would immediately take notice of Azik.
But he seemed to have overthought it; the tentacle just rested slimily on his forehead and caused him no harm.
Not long after, his vision began to blur with illusions.
In the illusion, there were soaring feathered serpents and many other peculiar existences.
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