The visibly weathered boss happened to catch Fulen's gaze, and after a slight pause, a small smile formed on his wrinkled face. He pointed at Fulen with a stubby finger, then gestured towards the slightly open bar counter in front of him.
Fulen, not understanding, walked to the bar counter closest to the boss, ready to hear what the boss had to say to him.
Before Fulen could even ask, the rough boss, with a somewhat crude tone, said to Fulen, "Young man, you're clearly new to this kind of pub. I've seen at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, people act as clueless as you in a year. Come on, let your uncle here help you get your foot in the Door."
As the boss spoke, a strong smell of alcohol rushed towards Fulen with his words. Fulen did not follow the boss's lead, nor did he reply. He simply stood in front of the boss, looking at the items on the bar, and said to the boss, "One 'Brilliant Galaxy'."
The boss chuckled, "Tsk," and said to the bartender, "Our little friend here wants to pretend to be a customer to trick the madam. Alright, let's play along with the kid's game, hahaha."
The boss's vulgar words drew a series of low, vulgar laughs from the surrounding drinkers. Fulen suppressed his disgust for the boss, his brows slightly furrowed, remaining silent.
The boss then said to Fulen, "Alright, I can tell by your look that you're here for something. Since you're so sensible, what is it? Speak."
Fulen suppressed the urge to beat up the boss and said indifferently, "I was introduced by a Scholar. As for what it is, I don't think I need to say more, do I?"
The boss's face showed some surprise but also a confident expression as he said to Fulen, "Hey, a Scholar, I haven't heard that name in four or five years. He must be dead by now. Are you his nephew? Or his son? Alright, Ober Wright, you little rascal, don't you dare slack off. Get over here and take this kid to an empty billiard room upstairs. I'll be right there."
Just then, the bartender had finished mixing the cocktail called 'Brilliant Galaxy'. Fulen took the blue-black drink with specks of silvery-white powder in the middle and, without a word, followed the pub's attendant, whom the boss called Ober Wright, upstairs.
However, this attendant named Ober Wright was not intimidated by Fulen's somewhat cold face, which was due to anger. Instead, he spoke boisterously, "Hey, big brother! Your clothes look really cool. In the past few years, I've seen people like you, who are clearly not like us, invited upstairs to the billiard room by the boss. What exactly do you people come to this pub for? Tsk tsk tsk, I'm really curious, hahaha."
Fulen had not initially paid attention to the attendant's words, but upon hearing "years," his expression shifted, and with a hint of curiosity, he asked, "Ober, when did you start working at this pub? Tell me about the people like me you've brought up."
Although Fulen did not answer Ober's question, Ober seemed not to mind, continuing enthusiastically, "Speaking of me, I'm an old-timer at this Flame-Axe pub! Of course, not one of those old fellows who've been here for six or seven years, but I'm one of the rare skilled attendants in this pub, and the boss really appreciates me! Don't mind that the boss always scolds me, but when it comes to getting things done, the boss really has no one else to rely on but me."
Fulen clearly felt that this attendant named Ober talked a lot and didn't follow Fulen's train of thought, but even so, Fulen understood that Ober had never met his own father. It made sense; Martin was brought into the Flame-Axe pub by Martin's father, but Fulen had never heard of his own grandfather.
However, as Fulen was pondering, Ober rambled on, "...As for the most recent noble man, or rather, a rich merchant's son, who was very similar to you, hey, I saw one about a month ago. That person was much colder than you, but he also seemed quite shrewd. A few words from him left the boss speechless and uncomfortable. In the end, I also led him here, so he could have a deep conversation with the boss! Hehe, speaking of which, little brother, you people are all so mysterious. What exactly do you come to the boss for?"
At this point, Fulen saw Ober, who was clearly impatient, looking at him with expectant eyes, but Fulen did not answer. Instead, he pondered for a moment.
During this time, Fulen and Ober arrived at an empty billiard room. Ober pushed the Door open, and after Fulen entered, Fulen said with a playful smile, "This matter is quite complex, but also quite simple. In short, we need to make some deals with the boss, but these deals cannot be told to others. Moreover, if this deal is successful, then death will come at any time, and the government and the church will also consider you a mortal enemy. So, do you want to hear it?"
Fulen's playful smile made the eager attendant's heart tremble. He forced himself to maintain a calm expression and said, "Hmph, you rich kids are all good at deceiving people. I, Ober, don't care about all that. A qualified attendant would never inquire about a customer's secrets."
Then, he continued to mumble some words, "I'm leaving now. The boss wants to rely heavily on me. I'm such a diligent person, I can't waste time here with you. I'm a very hardworking little Wright, and the boss will be here soon."
Then, Ober, still muttering defiantly, opened the Door and closed it with incredible speed. Footsteps echoed from outside the Door.
Fulen listened to the somewhat hurried footsteps and couldn't help but shake his head and smile. Then, his gaze swept across the billiard room. He casually pulled out a chair, placed the cocktail on the table, leaned back against the chair, rested his elbows on the billiard table, and comfortably rested his head on his hand, all while contemplating his next steps and waiting for the pub boss to arrive.
Less than ten minutes later, Fulen heard the billiard room door being pushed open. So, Fulen picked up his glass and turned to see the pub boss walking in.
The boss, whose face looked old but whose body did not appear aged, spoke with a slight smile before Fulen could, "Alright, kid. You're so young, yet you managed to scare that sly Ober like that. Although he's timid, among the customers he's brought, you're the first."
Then, the boss continued without a breath, "You want to become a Beyonder? No, you must already be a Beyonder. The Scholar was like this when he first arrived. Alright, you can call me Sam Widows. We might be dealing with each other quite a bit from now on."