Chapter 95: 31. The Veil of the Usurper
Fisher, who had just come out of Saint Nali University, walked a long way before finally reaching the nearest tram station. He had just called Trandal from his office to let him know to come over to his rental apartment. It was Monday, and that guy would get off work by noon, likely heading to the Pink Pavilion or another physiological entertainment venue according to their original plans for the afternoon.
With Trandal as a regular, Fisher could directly ask about anything he didn’t know and reduce risks. However, before that, he needed to go home to retrieve something. He did not want to go directly or make some poor disguise; he had a more clever way to hide.
As mentioned before, Fisher’s Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans now recorded two subhuman females. During his journey on the Southern Continent, he had learned a lot from Raphael, including the Feimabaha Dragon Tongue, the Dragon Court Grimoire, and clues about Dragon Court ruins. Although Renee was not an undying sorceress, researching her had also yielded some rewards.
Renee’s research progress was far behind that of Raphael due to her harsh personality. Fisher could see that beneath her ridiculous teasing lay a harsh defense. It was only Fisher who could approach her; otherwise, no one else would even be able to touch her body. Consequently, the research on the sorceress species had never been fast.
Strangely, although he had not researched Renee extensively, the progress bar had risen considerably, now exceeding fifty percent. Besides the enhancements to magical circuit strength and physical attributes, Fisher had also received two items from the Supplement Handbook.
Before long, Fisher got off the tram in the city center of Saint Nali. After changing trams once or twice, he finally returned to his rental apartment.
It was just past noon, and Martha had already finished her lunch and gone out to look for neighbors. Fisher casually found some cold pumpkin porridge in the kitchen to make do with, then went upstairs to his room.
He lay on the floor and reached under the bed to pull out a heavy safe containing what he was looking for.
After twisting the appropriate code, a rich and intense fragrance wafted out as the safe opened. Fisher frowned as he retrieved a viscous substance resembling aloe vera gel, which radiated a silken glow, almost as if it were alive.
This was the first reward he obtained from Renee, the Veil of the Usurper, a relic.
What Fisher held in his hand was not its true form; thus, it looked somewhat ugly. Its true effect was to alter one’s appearance when worn, fully transforming one’s bones and skin texture—far exceeding typical disguise techniques. However, maintaining this appearance required a certain amount of magical power and would burden the body.
When the Supplement Handbook was gifted to Fisher, there was also a special note explaining its origin.
“The Changer of Faces, this is proof of the Undead’s concealment in the world.”
Fisher speculated that this could be an item once used by the undying sorceress. When he first got it, he had tried to use a tracking spell. The spell lit up but remained vertical without pointing in any direction.
There were two possibilities: either the veil’s owner lived very high up in the sky, but according to this direction, unless that guy lived on the moon or the sun, it seemed unlikely; or he was already dead, hence the spell could not point anywhere.
Ultimately, Fisher began to doubt whether this item was even a relic of the undying sorceress. Knowing he could not glean any extra information from it, he simply decided to put it away.
He had not taken this item with him to the Southern Continent because it absorbed magical power when carried; there was no need to move a heavy safe onto the carriage, and he generally didn’t use it.
Now he needed it for a little help in the Pink Pavilion.
As the transparent gel-like substance touched Fisher’s fingers, his magical circuits lit up, and a pure magical power was absorbed into it. Simultaneously, its state solidified from the “aloe vera gel” into something resembling silk fabric—a thin veil adorned with complex patterns that emanated an ancient and unchanging fragrance, as if it had once been a personal belonging of someone.
However, Fisher found the scent unfamiliar; he had never smelled it before.
He did not immediately wear the veil. Its effects were indeed too good; he planned to wait until Trandal arrived before putting it on, saving time on explanation.
Fisher looked back into the safe, where there was also a very ancient parchment. This was another reward for researching sorceresses. This item was called “Location of the Sorceress Tower,” a map that was the same type as the clues about the Dragon Court ruins he had obtained from Raphael.
However, Fisher could not understand this map at all; the writings and illustrations on it were all extremely ancient, definitely not any known language today. Interestingly, he could read the location of the Southern Continent Dragon Race ruins in Dragon Tongue but could not decipher the markings on the Western Continent Sorceress Tower map.
Fisher kept an eye out for any language that could correspond to the inscriptions on it but found nothing, so he put it away together with the Veil of the Usurper for safekeeping.
This time, Fisher reviewed the content on the map once more. Just as he was engrossed in reading, the doorbell rang, signaling Trandal’s arrival.
He carefully stored the map, took the Veil of the Usurper, and went downstairs. As expected, the golden-haired man with a slicked-back hairstyle was standing outside. It was hot outside, and he was sweating profusely, but he still couldn’t forget to style his hair, glancing at Fisher as he said,
“What do you need me for right now? I have part-time work this afternoon.”
Fisher looked at his somewhat pale face. It seemed true that the more desperate someone was, the greater their cravings. Fisher suspected that if this guy hadn’t paid, those ladies would have kicked him out of bed.
Fisher pulled him into the room and said, “Just right, I’m going to the Pink Pavilion with you this afternoon.”
“Oh good. Huh?! You? You’re going with me?”
Trandal instinctively agreed but after a second or two, his expression turned to one of immense surprise as he looked at Fisher incredulously. After confirming he was serious, he couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief.
“No, no, that’s absolutely impossible?! I can’t possibly take you there. You can go by yourself, don’t involve me! If Her Highness Elizabeth finds out I took you there, I swear my hometown will be flattened three times by the Royal Guard!”
He waved his hands, his survival instinct compelling him to turn and leave, radiating a desire not to get involved. His previous invitation to Fisher to go to the Pink Pavilion was just a joke, knowing that Fisher’s nature would never allow him to go to such places. But now that he knew Fisher really intended to go, Trandal was instead reluctant to get involved.
Of course, everyone with a bit of status in Saint Nali knew about Fisher and Elizabeth’s ambiguous relationship! Thus, many noble ladies, even knowing that Fisher was talented, young, handsome, and wealthy, dared not approach him. This might be one of the reasons he was still single at 28.
By the way, only Martha knew that Fisher had Renee by his side; she was an exception. It was absolutely impossible for anyone to discover her if she did not want to be found.
Fisher sighed and said, “Just watch.”
Trandal looked back in confusion, seeing Fisher gently covering his face with the Veil of the Usurper. A rich fragrance instantly surged into Fisher’s nostrils, and within that dark and obscured sensation, his face gradually transformed into another appearance.
The change was random but generally did not turn very ugly or very handsome. Now Fisher’s appearance had morphed into a rugged man with bronze skin and a masculine look that reminded Trandal of the folks from Shivali.
It was not to say that there weren’t such people in Nali, as both Nali and Shivali shared the same lineage, but Nali no longer favored such robust men.
“My dear Mother God, this is a relic?! Where did you get this? I can’t tell at all that you’re that Fisher!”
Fisher rubbed his face; there, the silk feeling had completely vanished, but he could still sense something covering his skin tightly against his face.
If he wanted to remove it, it would be a bit problematic. He would need something like tweezers imbued with covering magic; it couldn’t be pulled off by hand.
“This should be fine now; no one will recognize me as Fisher, and no one will cause you any trouble.”
“Wow, Fisher, you’re going all out to find a lady. Alright, I support you. Let’s go; this afternoon, I’ll introduce you to every lady in each room. I’ll make sure there are seven or eight around you!”
Fisher shook his head and unbuttoned the suit he was wearing, needing to change into something else to avoid being recognized.
“I’m going there for business; I need to find someone. She’s hiding in the Pink Pavilion.”
“Not going for fun?”
Trandal looked as if he had eaten a fly. He had been feeling uncomfortable not visiting the Pink Pavilion for several days now. The ladies there were just too alluring, not on the same level as those outside. Only there could one truly experience the joy and freedom of being a man.
The ladies there understood men’s minds too well. As long as you had Nali, you could surely enjoy a wonderful and blissful time.
“No, you’re going for fun. I’m with you as a companion. If you really play, otherwise I’ll be discovered. So you don’t need any disguise; just come as you usually would; nothing will happen.”
Fisher changed into a brown suit. This statement made Trandal’s expression brighten up again. He breathed a sigh of relief and confidently patted his chest.
“Don’t worry; I’m skilled at this. Even with you beside me, I can work without losing my composure. I absolutely won’t hold you back!”
Before Fisher could mock Trandal’s enthusiasm for certain things, he surprisingly took out some perfume from the wardrobe and applied some to his wrists and other exposed places. That should make him foolproof.
It wasn’t that he was overly cautious, but his intuition told Fisher that the Pink Pavilion was not a simple place. On the surface, it was just an entertainment venue providing questionable services, but in reality, it was on a large scale and could silently corrode the two-party personnel.
The contraband substances they sold originated from Shivali, and following the cold war with Shivali, importing those drugs had become very difficult. Their ability to procure them from elsewhere already indicated their prowess. Adding to that the protection of the undying sorceress, one could easily imagine their purposes would not be simple, so caution was absolutely necessary.
Fisher did not bring a hat or staff, instead carrying several magically inscribed playing cards, and finally tucked a pistol into his waist before heading out with Trandal through the back door, heading towards the Pink Pavilion.
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(End of Chapter)
