The owner, his face marked by years, saw Furen's gaze fixed on him. He remained frozen for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his wrinkled face. With his short, thick fingers, he pointed at Furen, then pointed to a slightly empty corner of the counter.
Without really understanding, Furen walked towards the part of the bar closest to the owner, ready to listen to what he had to say.
Before Furen could even open his mouth, the boss, in a harsh, gravelly voice, said:
"Hey, kiddo! We can see right away that you're new to this kind of joint. I've seen clumsy kids like you, at least eight hundred in a year! Come on, let me teach you the basics."
As he spoke, a strong smell of alcohol escaped from his mouth and hit Furen's face. Furen didn't respond, nor did he move; he simply stood facing the owner, his eyes fixed on the menu on the counter, before saying calmly:
"A glass of shimmering Milky Way."
The boss sneered and said to the bartender:
"Look at that! The kid wants to play the high-class client to fool the madam, huh? Okay, let's play along, kid, let's play along! Ha ha ha!
His vulgar words triggered hearty laughter from the customers seated around the tables. Furen suppressed the disgust he felt for the man, frowned slightly, but remained silent.
The boss continued:
"Okay, enough laughing. Looks like you came to me for a reason. Since you know how to do it, go ahead and talk."
Furen suppressed his urge to punch him in the face and replied coldly:
I come on the recommendation of the "Scholar." As for what it is about, I think you already know.
The boss's face showed surprise for a moment, but his eyes already betrayed understanding.
Huh? The "Savant"? It's been four or five years since I heard that name. He must be dead, right? What's the matter, are you his nephew? His son?
He raised his voice towards the bar:
Hey, Ober Wright! Lazybones! Come here, take this kid to an empty pool hall upstairs. I'll be there in a moment.
At that precise moment, the bartender had just finished preparing the cocktail called Glittering Milky Way. Furen took the glass, a midnight blue mixture sprinkled with fine silver glitter, and silently followed the young man the owner had called Ober Wright, towards the upper floor.
But Ober, far from being intimidated by Furen's cold demeanor, exclaimed joyfully:
Hey, man! Your outfit is super classy! In recent years, I've seen a few guys like you, not from the same crowd as us, invited by the boss to come up to the pool hall. But say, what do you all come here for, exactly? Ah, what a mystery! Ha ha ha ha.
Furen hadn't paid attention to his words at first, but when he heard that there had been "others, a few years ago," his expression changed slightly. He asked curiously:
Ober, how long have you been working here? Tell me a little about these people like me that you've seen before.
Ober, unaware that Furen hadn't answered his previous question, continued cheerfully:
Me? I've been working at the Burning Axe for quite a while now. Not six or seven years, no, but enough to be one of the few good people in the bar. The boss really likes me, you know! He yells at me a lot, yeah, but apart from me, he doesn't have anyone he can really trust!
Furen quickly realized that Ober talked a lot, often without following the thread of the conversation. But it taught him at least one thing: Ober had never met his father. It was logical that when Martin (Furen's father) had first come here, it was his own father who had accompanied him. Furen, however, had never heard of his grandfather.
As he thought, Ober continued to chatter:
…And by the way, recently, there was a guy who looked a lot like you: a nobleman, or a young heir to a rich merchant. That was a month ago.
That guy was even colder than you, but cunning, oh yes! In three sentences, he shut the boss up. I was also the one who brought him here so they could have a "deep" talk. Heh heh... But tell me, what are you really coming to do with him?
At that moment, Ober looked at Furen with curious eyes, waiting for an answer. Furen remained silent for a moment, looking thoughtful.
The two finally arrived at an empty billiard room. Ober opened the door, and after Furen entered, he gave a small, amused smile.
It's a complicated story, but it can be summed up simply: you come to do business with the boss. Business that no one else must hear about. And if that business goes through, death can strike at any moment. The government and the Church would take you for a mortal enemy. So, you want to know?
Furen's enigmatic smile made the young employee shudder. Trying to keep his composure, Ober replied:
Tch! You daddy's boys are all smooth talkers. Me, Ober, I don't get involved in customer secrets!
Then, muttering to himself:
Well, I'm going to leave. The boss is counting on me, and I'm not the type to hang around. I have to remain a model employee, eh. The boss won't be long.
With that, he opened the door, closed it quickly behind him, and his hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Furen listened to the hurried footsteps, shook his head with a smile, then looked around the billiard room. He pulled out a chair at random, placed the cocktail on the table, leaned back, rested one elbow on the pool table and his head in the palm of his hand, pondering his next plans while waiting for the boss to arrive.
Less than ten minutes later, he heard the door open. He picked up his glass, turned around, and saw the owner enter.
The old man, despite his wrinkled face, still seemed solid. He smiled as he spoke:
Not bad, kid. I didn't think you were capable of scaring Ober, that smartass. He's a coward, yeah, but out of all the clients he's brought me, you're the first to have that effect on him.
Then, without taking a breath, he added:
So, you want to become a Beyonder? No… you must already be one. When the "Scholar" first came, he was the same. Very well. You can call me Sam Widoss. We might do business a lot, you and I.
(End of chapter)