Chapter 10
Wicked Bartender
The bartender’s expression of surprise flickered for a moment before quickly being masked by an annoyance at seeing guests at this hour.
“If you want a drink, old man… and you, Supervisor.”
Mr. Bartender drawled in a tone that felt weary, narrowing his eyes and speaking slowly, “It’s still too early. No one’s here yet.
“Ah, a heads-up. Our bar’s food is quite a bit more expensive than outside. Don’t order if you’re going to complain about the price later… no refunds.”
For some reason, even though it was still the same elven accent with a long drawl and many glissandos… Haina felt that the bartender’s voice lacked the elegance of Eivass’s butler.
Perhaps it was because some of the tonal changes were too harsh, too clear, or perhaps his throat had a hoarseness from long-term smoking, giving him a roguish air.
“How much more expensive?”
Haina instinctively asked at the words.
But she quickly realized she was here to investigate. No matter how expensive the food was imperative.
Rather, the investigation funds provided by Steward Oswald were for times like these.
So she immediately changed her tune, “What dishes do you have here?”
“Heh…”
Eivass, standing in front of her, couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
Investigating with a novice like this was truly a peculiar experience.
Although the wild elf bartender was quick, he couldn’t deceive Eivass. He intentionally addressed Eivass as “old man,” as if he hadn’t seen through Eivass’s identity at all.
But that was impossible.
This elf, who looked to be in his mid-thirties by human standards, should be at least a hundred years old. As a wild elf, he lived among the common folk, and his elven blood made his memory and perception significantly stronger than a human’s.
Even with a full-coverage cloak, Eivass’s build could never resemble an old man; just by observing the style of his shoes and his exposed chin, he should have recognized Eivass.
If it had been Oswald accompanying her instead of Haina… he would have immediately noticed that the bartender’s actions were too deliberate.
— A few days ago, Eivass had met with those two “pen pals” at the Pelican Bar.
And he had been quite conspicuous at the time.
The “Pelican Bar” was the meeting place specifically chosen by those two pen pals. At that time, Eivass could still walk normally, was agile and robust, and wanted to hide his contact with the Demon Scholar, so he had gone alone to meet them.
However, considering this was a place Eivass had never been before, he had set off nearly two hours early and hired a carriage driver to take him directly to the Pelican Bar.
Frankly, if Eivass hadn’t hired a carriage driver, he might not have found the “Pelican Bar”—who would have known that the Pelican Bar wasn’t named “Pelican”?
When Eivass arrived, it was more than an hour before the agreed-upon five o’clock in the afternoon. But he had already anticipated this, so he had brought a book to read in advance.
It was a book of Occult study in Star Antimony Language, “Alchemical Cipher.” Those alchemists of the “Equilibrium” Path were very concerned about their knowledge leaking out and affecting the world’s equilibrium. Therefore, when writing books and communicating with peers, they would use ciphers that outsiders couldn’t understand.
For example, “King,” “Queen,” and “Empress” all indicated different things. Similarly, “Sun” and “Moon,” “Toad,” and “Dragon” could all hint at something. And based on the fundamental principle of “secrecy from outsiders,” each alchemist used different ciphers. There was no unified consensus or common industry jargon among them.
They each had their own codebooks, which they secretly taught to their students for decoding; if it was a sufficiently excellent peer, they could also understand what he meant from the hint.
This was the so-called “those who know, know; those who don’t, won’t understand even if told.”
The book “Alchemical Cipher” revealed several classic ciphers with examples. In one example, the author demonstrated an alchemical process for making “antimony glass.” It was an emetic, mildly poisonous. And by slightly adjusting the proportions, one could obtain “mercurial antimony,” a slightly sweet, viscous, and fluid highly poisonous substance.
Not to mention, this was knowledge for synthesizing deadly poison!
This Forbidden knowledge struck Eivass’s excitement point. In that incredibly noisy bar, he sat in a corner engrossed in reading, and in the blink of an eye, it was almost six o’clock. It wasn’t until those two people slapped his shoulder and woke him up.
Originally, Eivass had only planned to meet them and leave.
Not out of suspicion, but because the safety of the Lloyd District was indeed poor. If it got too late, it wouldn’t be safe even by carriage—the Strangler Gang had been causing widespread fear recently.
But it was already past mealtime, and as they drank and chatted, they became happier and more excited. So Eivass casually used a white coin to order dinner on the spot, treating the two “friends” to an extremely lavish meal. He didn’t ask for the change back, but instead treated the other patrons to a drink.
— Because his two friends had assured him that no matter how late it was, it would be fine, and they would escort him home. After finishing their meal, they chatted for a long time, and by the time they left the bar, it was past ten o’clock.
“Zero hundred hours is the most suitable time to summon a demon.”
The bald man said, “The ritual will take about an hour. And it’s precisely this time… would you like to try it yourself?”
…Around that time, he had already perceived Eivass’s intense desire to touch the Forbidden through those hours of conversation. Knowing this, Eivass would certainly not refuse the invitation.
Looking back now… they must have deliberately arranged to meet here, and deliberately arrived late.
Since it was already mealtime, and he was hungry, and there were other patrons ordering food around him. He wouldn’t particularly look for another place to eat.
So, why would the two Demon Scholars of the “Noble Red” society specifically request to meet him at the Pelican Bar, and also prevent him from taking them elsewhere… could it be understood that they believed only here was absolutely safe?
And, a young man from upper society, extremely handsome and well-dressed, sitting in a bar in the Lloyd District, an environment filled with laborers and sailors, nursing a glass of weak beer less than half a liter, staring motionlessly at a book for two full hours.
— In that case, could a bartender with a good memory possibly forget him?
Even if he wasn’t a wild elf, but a human bartender… upon witnessing such an absurd event, he would remember him for at least a month. And he would make it a topic of conversation, bragging or mocking him frequently to others.
Not to mention, the Pelican Bar didn’t have that much foot traffic; the total number of patrons in a night wouldn’t reach thirty.
Therefore, this bartender was definitely suspicious.
His deliberate pretense of not recognizing Eivass actually demonstrated his timidity. Because Eivass came in a cloak, his intention was not to be recognized. So he went along with Eivass’s intention, trying to help conceal his identity.
This was to lower his guard and stabilize him for the time being;
At the same time, he hoped Eivass would accept this identity.
If Eivass truly wished to conceal his identity, playing along with the bartender’s words and pretending to be an “old man.”
Then he couldn’t converse clearly with the bartender, and there would be no exchange between them for the time being.
— This would allow him to stall for time.
“Mr. Ademar, is it?”
Unexpectedly, Eivass, wearing a hood, suddenly spoke, “Are you waiting for someone?”
This was the name of the bartender he had heard from other patrons during his previous visit.
“…What?”
Hearing this, Haina turned her head back somewhat doubtfully, “Do you know him?”
But she glanced, and couldn’t see any particular reaction from Eivass.
And when she turned back, she saw obvious surprise and hesitation from the bartender.
In that instant, her heart stirred. She vaguely felt that she had grasped something.
Before she could ask, Eivass let out a light laugh. As if confirming something.
“Haina.”
Eivass’s voice was extremely light, like that of a superior or a teacher. Instead of politely addressing her as “senior sister” as before, he called her directly by name, like a superior.
But perhaps precisely because of this, Haina, accustomed to obeying orders, became alert in an instant.
“Yes!”
She instinctively focused her attention, stepped forward from Eivass’s behind and slightly diagonally half a step, subtly shielding Eivass behind her, and waited attentively for the next command.
“Draw your sword—”
Eivass commanded.
Although she didn’t understand what was happening, Haina did not hesitate to obey Eivass’s instructions. In a flash, she drew the elven sword from its sheath.
The blade slid out of the sheath like a living thing, and a pure white radiance emanated from the sword.
A dazzling, brilliant white light illuminated the bar, whose ambient light was already bright at noon.
The silver-white halos gradually lit up in Haina’s originally lake-blue eyes. This was the resonance with the Path of Authority.
The Power infused into her bloodline was gradually activated, and a surge of power flowed into her limbs and bones. A wave of energy spread outwards from her as the center, making the bottles on the bar cabinet sway and emit a disordered, crisp clinking sound like wind chimes.
The few patrons there were immediately startled and one by one moved away from their seats, running towards the entrance.
Seeing this, the bartender’s face suddenly changed, and his heart leaped in shock.
— I’m exposed?
Why?
He was horrified and bewildered.
The situation was critical, and he chose not to wait for death.
He took a deep breath, and something bulged beneath his skin as if worms were wriggling.
Purple patterns began to spread from the lower eyelids across his entire face. Like bulging, discolored veins, they covered more than half of his face in a web-like pattern. Only a circle around his mouth and chin—the area where he would normally grow a beard—was not covered by the purple patterns.
As he inhaled deeply, the purple patterns on his face began to glow. With each inhalation, they brightened, and with each exhalation, they slowly dimmed.
These patterns spread rapidly on his skin like a curse, crawling out from his sleeves and reaching the tips of his ten fingers.
“Demon Scholar—”
Haina recognized his identity. Or rather, she roughly recognized it.
Exceptional beings could use Mystical Art and various spellcasting materials to wield their Extraordinary Power in a non-combat state. But to fight seriously and channel Path Power to freely cast powerful Extraordinary skills, they had to resonate with their Path.
Each person’s resonance characteristics were different, but the common point was that there would always be a light effect corresponding to the color of their Path.
Just as white was the color of the Path of Authority, purple was the color of the Path of Transcendence. The former symbolized diamonds, while the latter was amethyst.
Although she didn’t know the wild elf’s specific profession, he certainly belonged to the Path of Transcendence.
All Paths of Transcendence were illegal!
So she would just treat him as a Demon Scholar—
— Mr. Eivass really found him!
She rejoiced in her heart.
She didn’t know how Eivass had identified the other party’s identity. She hadn’t seen any loopholes in his identity at all.
But once he entered combat mode, this was her professional domain!
And looking at the wild elf bartender, whose skin was covered with purple spiderweb patterns… seeing such clear characteristics, Eivass finally recalled the other party’s identity.
The number one of the “Sinful Nexus Pelican Bar,” the “Wicked Bartender” Ademar!
In his memory, that burly man with arms as thick as warhammers, stooped and bare-chested, with deep purple glowing patterns all over his upper body—
His image gradually merged with the wild elf, who was gradually inflating like a balloon.
— Originally, Eivass had just wanted Haina to scare him, to put some pressure on him.
He hadn’t expected him to actually buckle under the pressure and transform with just a little push!
Now, they had found the right person!
