"Swindler? Blame yourself for not behaving properly in a foreign place."
With that said, Ryan's attention shifted to the banknotes he had just received from the hunter as compensation. The banknotes were thick, like heavy parchment paper, slightly stiff, and waxy to the touch. Engraved on them was the face of an old man with a wrinkled face, resembling an oil painting. At the center, "2 bins" was embedded in black ink.
These banknotes were the official currency of Ditness, and later they were printed and opened for public use. Aside from qinc and bins, there was also the reil. Ten qinc equaled 1 reil, and 12 reil is equal to 1 bin.
"These 2 bins are equal to 240 qinc. I just hit the jackpot!" Ryan's eyes sparked with happiness as he swiftly tucked the two banknotes into his pocket with extreme care, as if a slight action could make the banknotes crumple.
The young man, who was about to get thrown out by the hunter, sighed in relief upon seeing the hunter depart.
"I really thank you; without you, I would've been on the road just now," the young man quickly thanked Ryan with sincerity.
"It's nothing serious. But I'm kinda curious about the information you told the hunter earlier. Care to go into detail for me?" Ryan remarked with interest.
The young man pondered for a moment before nodding his head.
Everything returned to normal; it was as if it were just a normal day for this bar.
After finding a spot to settle in, Ryan didn't rush into business. The first thing to do was to order a beer to drink.
"Do you like beer or prefer juice?" Ryan asked casually.
Even though this place was called a bar, it wasn't limited to just beer. There were many drinks like juice, coffee, tea, and milk. Aside from drinks, the bar also served meal as well, such as dishes, bread, and midnight snacks.
"I don't like beer; can I get juice or coffee instead?"
"Who said I am going to pay for you? I just asked to make the atmosphere feel more lively," Ryan smirked.
The young man was at a loss for words, as he tried to comprehend the situation he was in.
Seeing the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Ryan took the initiative to break the awkwardness.
"What's your name?"
"Finz Verlond. You can call me Finz."
"What a good name. So, can you tell me about the abnormalities in this town?"
Just as Finz was about to open his mouth to talk, the sound of something rumbling emitted from his stomach.
Ryan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and he additionally ordered a set meal.
A few moments passed before the waiter finally approached their table with a set of dishes.
The aroma coming out of the food filled Finz's nose: rice, honey chicken wings, roasted potatoes, avocado mixed with salad and carrots, and milk tea, with milk filling half of the cup.
This was one of the most popular meals at this bar; it was called healthy food. This set of dishes was not only popular in the bar, but also in the entire town.
Seeing this, Finz couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
"Can I eat this?"
Ryan took a sip of his beer and nodded his head in agreement.
Did I just make a good choice by doing business with this man? Judging from his eating, this one set of dishes seems like it isn't enough... Ryan thought with resentfully.
After all, this set of dishes cost 3 reil and 2 qinc. And in his entire life, this was the first time he had spent this much money on a meal.
Even his hotel only cost him 2 reil a week. Now he was spending a week and a half of hotel payments on a single meal, and he wasn't even the one eating it was a stranger instead.
But it was worth it compared to the key details about the abnormalities of this town.
Before long, Finz finally finished eating.
There weren't even any leftovers, the plate was wiped clean, as if it had just been washed.
"Can we get down to business now?"
Finz found a moment to compose himself; slowly, he took a deep breath before recounting the event he had witnessed.
"Yesterday, at 9:20 P.M. on the west side of the town, while I was going out for fresh air, I saw something extremely terrifying..."
At the recollection of this event, fear got ahold of him, as he tried to suppress it and continued with difficulty.
"I saw someone drag a human body out from the alley near the street I was walking on. At that time, the street lamps were turned off, thus I couldn't see his face clearly, but I could see a glimpse of his side profile. A burly man, tall with rough skin, appearing to be in his late thirties. There was also a strange tattoo on his arm," Finz tried to recall the murderer's figure with a trembling voice.
"How did you manage to get out of that situation?" Ryan pursued.
"It can be considered my good fortune. At that time, I suddenly needed to pee, and when I found a spot to release it, it was just good timing and a good spot facing away from the alley. And due to the street lamps being turned off, the murderer didn't see me." When saying this, Finz couldn't help but thank the god of fortune.
Upon hearing this, Ryan noticed that something was amiss, but he didn't voice out his thoughts.
"This involves a serial murder case, and it happens occasionally. Why haven't the officers solved this yet?"
"What serial murder?" Finz blurted out with shock.
Serial murder case ? then the man i meet at yesterday might, is the psycho killer who kill a person without even blinking...
Ryan frowned slightly. "Then what happened afterward?"
"Afterward, I saw him drag the body away to another street, but I don't know where he went after that, nor did I dare to trail him..." Finz's body trembled as he tried to recall.
The human dragging a fresh corpse, leaving a trail of blood across the street, the crimson blood on the streets, and the murderer's figure flashed vividly in his mind.
Seeing that it might leave a heavy impact on his mind, Ryan chose not to pursue it any further. After paying the bill, Ryan bid Finz farewell before departing from the bar.
Walking just a few steps from the bar, Ryan's brow furrowed as he tried to locate the ominous feeling from before.
Ever since Finz started to talk about the event suspected to be related to the serial murder, the ominous feeling had been increasing the more the conversation dragged on.
Only after he left the bar did the feeling from before disappear.
Ryan shook his head slightly.
My purpose in coming here is to enjoy my life, but I didn't expect trouble to always walk toward me. I'd better turn a blind eye and avoid it... With that thought, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Horse carriages moved forward with drivers carrying whips, trying to control the horses, their wooden wheels grinding against the uneven stone street to make a sharp yet soft sound. Rising smoke crawled out from the chimneys of the buildings, marking the activities inside each building.
The buzzing noise of street vendors calling for customers reverberated across the street; the sound of price discussions between shop owners and customers could be heard across the entire street.
Wooden carts overflowing with local spices, cheap trinkets, and secondhand clothes lined the curbs, forcing pedestrians to stop and look for a moment.
All kinds of vegetables and meats were being sold everywhere. The aroma of ready-made dishes and freshly ground coffee beans wafted out from the coffee shop nearby.
Along the way, Ryan almost immersed himself in this lively activity. Only when he thought of the money he had just gotten and the hotel payment did he snap back.
"Why is the urge to buy everything so hard to beat?" Ryan cursed.
"I thought the money I just got from that unlucky fellow would be enough to make me live on for another two or three weeks, but it seems like one day might not be enough."
At the thought of money, Ryan suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Being unemployed, he had no work to do; beside his part-time gig as a swindler, he was completely fresh.
"Who says money can't buy happiness? Without money, you can't even laugh properly," Ryan said thoughtfully.
After a long while, he finally passed the money-spending zone. Along the way, he had seen many things that he wanted to buy, but all the times, he kept repeating "hotel payment" to suppress this unknown urge.
There is a saying that the more money we have, the more we want to spend.
After passing a few streets, Ryan finally reaching his hotel.
Standing in front of him was a three-story building constructed from grey stone on the lower floor, topped with dark, soot-stained timber on the upper floors.
This was considered an average hotel in this town; its price was already cheap enough for an average person. Most of the people renting this hotel were part-time workers or foreigners who had just set foot in this town.
Ryan didn't linger around, immediately ascending the staircase to the upper floor. The wall lamps emitted a crackling sound, casting down a faint glow over his doorway to reveal the number 123 embedded on a silver plaque on the door.
With a light push, the door opened and revealed the darkness inside. With familiarity, he tapped the button on the wall beside the door to turn on the wall lamps.
With the light on, one could clearly see a small room with a wooden bed, covered by a stiff, coarse wool blanket. A small table sat at the window, with a half-burned candle and a cup of coffee with a small round plate below.
On the table, there were many books, documents, and papers scattered everywhere.
During his first time coming here, he had gathered many books and documents about this town; he had even learned of this town's culture, traditions, food, folklore, and many other things.
"Today is my fortune, but also my misfortune."