After the six people at this long table finished their meal, they left the restaurant and entered City Hall Square, which had already fallen into the night. The middle-aged Gentlemen and the young lady who came to share the table at the end did not talk to Fors and Xio, as if they really just regarded them as strangers they met by chance.
But how could Fors not know them?
The middle-aged Gentlemen, who has a strong build and although his hair is a little gray, still maintains a strong energy, is obviously one of the "vests" of Dwayne Dantès, Tarot Club's "world" Gehrman Sparrow, and the young and beautiful lady next to him who cannot take his eyes off is undoubtedly "Empress" Miss!
Why did they come to Yarnam City? Is it because there is a Mr. Fool church here, or is there some secret hidden underground in this city that interests both Angel?
Thinking of this, Fors had the urge to take Xio and leave immediately.
What the two most powerful members of Tarot Club care about is very likely to be very dangerous for Beyonder, who has just been promoted to Saint, let alone "Disciplinary Paladin" who is just Sequence 5. Once she encounters a divine enemy, she will have no ability to resist.
But think about it from another perspective, now that "The World" and "Empress" are here, has this matter been resolved, or has it been controlled and there is no danger?
If there is really a danger, they will definitely warn "Magician" and "Judgment" who are both members of Tarot Club, instead of pretending not to know each other, as if they just want to spend their vacation in peace... If this is the case, Hugh and I will run away immediately. It won't make a fuss, it will be very difficult to ask her out next time...Magician named Merlin and assistant Vivian should both be Beyonder, but they don't seem to be wary of this city...
Thinking like this, Fors looked at his friend next to him and asked in a low voice:
"Do you recognize those two people?"
Most of her impressions of "Dawn" came from Xio, who had been his bodyguard for a few days. When "The World" appeared in front of her, it almost always had the image of Gehrman, so she had to confirm it.
Xio beside her seemed to be in a low mood since he got off the steam train and entered Yarnam City. He became even more taciturn after Magician Merlin asked the question in the mirror. After hearing Fors's question, he was stunned for a moment before nodding:
"It must be Mr. World. The other one is Christine Teresa Miss. There is a high probability that he is one of the identities of 'Empress' Miss."
With the answer from "Sheriff", Fors confirmed her guess. She looked at the streets and squares illuminated by the crimson Crimson Moon light. Her inner curiosity finally overcame her caution. She was going to find a bar to sit in as planned, and then decide whether to stay one night or return to Backlund immediately to end the trip.
And she still had to find a way to explain... to appease the friends around her and get over the embarrassing question just now!
Almost every city Yarnam City and Fors have visited is the same. Nighttime entertainment and communication are concentrated in bars. Each hotel has its own attached bar, and the largest one is right next to City Hall Square, which is the favorite leisure place for all citizens.
As soon as he entered here, Xio felt as if he had returned home. He walked to the bar in a familiar manner and ordered a low-alcohol cocktail for himself and Fors.
This allowed Fors to find out that the two of them were still Low Sequence Beyonder, who had once walked the streets to help each other find the criminal on the wanted warrant. When inquiring about the news at the East Borough bar, she squinted her eyes nostalgically, took the wine that was turbid on the surface, but exuded fresh fruity aroma and lemon sourness, and took a sip.
Like other food in this city, it is fresh and has a unique flavor... She commented, resisting the urge to take out her notebook and write something down, and looked at the other customers next to the bar.
There were ordinary workers, chefs, old people, and young people. I couldn't see any problems... After scanning the people around him, Fors felt relieved a little. Just as he was about to talk to Xio about the "Peach Dream" just now, a young, thin man with a strange white hair came up with a wine glass and sat next to Fors.
"Hello, two foreigners," he raised his wine glass and shook it towards them, "Just arrived at Yanan today?"
Fors, who was often accosted in strange cities because of his good looks and seemingly thin but actually not strong body, also raised his glass and touched it to the young man, and asked in confusion:
"How do you know that we are not locals? Have you met and remembered everyone in this city?"
The young man chuckled, put down his wine glass, turned the seat under him to face Fors, and said:
"Of course, this is the basic quality of a Author. If you don't even remember the people around you, how can you create fictional characters based on it?"
I don't quite remember... Fors reflected for a second, and then laughed in surprise:
"Author?"
The world is so small, how can she meet her peers even if she drinks a glass of wine?
"Alesu, determined to become the greatest Author on Five Seas." The young man introduced himself with his hand on his chest. "Of course, my career has just started now. I am imagining a novel and plan to send it to "Sea Breeze Newspaper", and then "Tussock Newspaper" and "Backlund Daily"..."
"Fors," Miss Magician, who is also Author, also reported her real name. Without her surname, almost no one would be able to connect her with the best-selling author Author. "I heard that you should write some short stories before serializing novels. While practicing, you can accumulate a group of readers... Do you have any short stories published?"
Alesu shook his head awkwardly and said:
"I have written some short stories, and even sent a thriller to "Dici Mirror Newspaper" about a young member of a security company tracking Serial Killer, but the editor rejected it... They thought that the coincidences in the story were too many and too deliberate, the villain almost never showed up, and the ending in which almost all the protagonists died was not in line with the preferences of current readers... Their views were too utilitarian!"
"Indeed." Fors agreed casually.
"So, I am going to write a full-length novel directly, with the now popular Adventurer and pirates as the protagonists, the legend of the six treasures as the main line, and all Pirate King and the generals as the villains. They happily defeat various enemies and obtain treasures. In the end, the hero embraces the beauty and becomes the legend of Above the Five Seas..."
Alesu said, taking a swig of the beer in his hand and becoming a little excited.
It sounds a bit familiar, no, it's basically the "The Great Adventurer" and "The Great Pirate" series... Fors was stunned and subconsciously asked:
"Do you know the big Author Fors Wall?"
When she said "Big Author", she felt her face getting hot.
But the young Author in front of him didn't notice this. Instead, he opened his eyes wide in surprise:
"I didn't expect you to have read Ms. Fors's best-selling novel... She has the same name as you, what a coincidence... Alas, the last thing I want to hear right now is the word 'coincidence'.
"Yes, I am planning to imitate that best-selling novel series as my first full-length work. Of course, the story is absolutely original, but it uses the same protagonist, Adventurer Gehrman Sparrow, and Pirate Queen Angelica Zaki, who is both his enemy and friend, and finally comes together.
"Anyway, they are all, well, public figures. Anyone can write about them. There is no copyright dispute."
No, there is really a copyright issue in this matter. I have my authorization, and if you dare to make up any story, you will most likely be found at the door, with a huge revolver pressed against your head, or hung from the ceiling by invisible threads... Fors commented secretly, and held a second of silence for the young Author who had an uncertain future in front of him.
Of course, if personal safety is not considered, Alesu is indeed right. As long as his story is original, celebrities like Gehrman, Angelica and legends such as "Ghost Empire" are not Fors's original creations, so there is nothing wrong with him using them for his own purposes.
Just saying this kind of thing in front of Author of "The Great Pirate Series" made Fors almost unable to hold back her smile. Xio next to her also looked at Alesu with a strange look.
After bragging about himself, Author, who had not yet published any works, calmed down his excited mental state and continued:
"The problem I am facing now is the names and settings of the supporting characters... I have never left Yanan, and I always see these people around me. I can only make some changes in their identities as supporting characters. For example, I designed the mute painter Anderson as a talkative pirate... but it is still not enough, so I have been looking for outsiders and want to communicate with them to make my story settings no longer so limited."
"People can't imagine things they haven't seen." Fors nodded and commented, "I can help you, but in exchange, you have to tell me the strange rumors about this city, especially the horror legends at night. Is this fair?"
"No problem!" Alesu readily agreed and asked the bartender who had been listening to the conversation between the two to serve two more drinks.
As a best-selling Author with many years of writing experience and a travel writer with her own column in newspapers, the stories, legends, customs and customs of various places in Fors's mind are by no means comparable to Alesu, which has never been published in this city. She quickly helped the other party design some supporting characters and storylines that seemed cliché to her, but were refreshing to Alesu.
Looking at the newcomer Author who was writing furiously with his notebook, Fors felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment with Apprentice.
Alas, I hope to see his masterpiece in the newspaper instead of an obituary... Well, Mr. "World" and "Empress" Miss will not be so cruel. At most, they will ask him to cough up part of the royalties, and then they are not allowed to write some special plots, such as chaotic emotional relationships... Fors Seeing Alesu, he closed his notebook, gathered his thoughts and said:
"It's your turn now."
"Okay, okay," Alsu nodded sharply, "I'm very curious. Most outsiders are interested in Yanan's food and special customs, such as the 'Fool's' church opposite the square, or the weekend music parade... You are the first to know the terrifying legends at night."
Music Parade? What is that...Fors muttered, shook his head and said:
"My hobbies are quite special."
Alesu smiled with an understandable expression and said:
"There are only two terrifying legends about Yarnam City, and they are all misunderstandings and rumors from outsiders..."
Seeing that Fors did not show any disappointment, he continued:
"The first one is that some tourists who get lost in the night will find themselves lying on a strange street or in an empty building the next day. They think that the city is haunted, and the ghosts have taken control of their bodies and brought them to dangerous locations...
"But in fact, they all unconsciously went to sparsely populated areas after being drunk. After losing consciousness, they were discovered by patrolmen and helped to the roadside to avoid being run over by carriages at night. Or they walked into unlocked houses for rent and slept there until dawn... Of course, appropriate mysterious legends are helpful to the tourism industry, so residents will not take the initiative to refute rumors."
It turns out that this is the case. The situation is similar to the cities on the islands that I have been to. The rumors of tourists and the little thoughts of local residents have combined to form terrifying legends... Fors was a little disappointed in his heart, but he did not show it on his face. Instead, he asked:
"Where's the other one?"
"The other..." Alesu took a sip of the cold beer that was served and took a breath. "The other legend is even more illusory. Some outsiders will find the surrounding Yarnam City people falling into a state of sluggish expressions and Slowing movements at night. It usually doesn't last long, a few seconds or minutes, but it's also scary enough..."
"Imagine that the driver who is driving you suddenly holds the reins with both hands and stops moving, and the horse stops motionless in the middle of the road. The surrounding environment becomes quiet, the pedestrians on the roadside keep walking, the waiter in the window is lying on the window edge with a rag in his hand and looking at the sky. The only sound in the whole street is your heavy breathing and the companions around you..."
His voice was low, with a vibrato that aroused other people's emotions. Both Fors and Xio held their breaths, imagining the state described by the other person, like slowly sinking to the lakeside on a winter night, and their whole bodies became cold and stiff.
Suddenly, Alesu's expression became dull, the hand holding the wine glass tilted to one side, the beer in the glass sloshed and spilled a little, and the smell of low-quality alcohol entered Fors's nasal cavity.
This is... the terrifying legend he told?
Fors's heart tightened, and he subconsciously touched Xio's hand, and quickly moved his eyes to look around...
Other guests behaved normally.
"Haha... ha, did it scare you?"
Alesu in front of him suddenly burst out into a burst of harsh laughter. He adjusted the wine glass in his hand with an exaggerated smile on his lips, obviously very proud of his own prank.
At that second, I did have the urge to take Xio and escape from here... But the main reason was not that Alesu's acting was real, but that I had encountered "The World" and "Empress" before, which gave me an unexpected expectation for the hidden problems in this small city... Fors explained his reaction in his heart, and responded with a smile on his face:
"So, this second legend is also a rumor?"
With the example of "possession by evil spirits" just now, she was even more looking forward to the other party's explanation of this legend.
A collective prank on the part of all the local residents? Some kind of genetic disease caused by diet and water? The influence of a certain Sealed Artifact will make the people around you fall into a period of sluggishness?
She had already thought of several possibilities in an instant.
But Alesu's answer stunned her.
"No, it's not a rumor. The young man smiled and replied, "In fact, all locals in this city, and even some outsiders, will appear in the state I mentioned from time to time... and those who do not fall into a sluggish state will be regarded as aliens." "
As he spoke, he no longer concealed the smile on his lips, and extended his gaze to look at the bartender and other guests behind Fors.
The latter subconsciously looked up and found that the drinkers who were making a lot of noise just now stopped what they were doing and all looked this way.
They all have the same smile as Alesu.
Get out of here... Fors immediately made a decision, and grabbed Xio's wrist with his right hand, and was about to use "Teleportation" to escape from this weird city.
But at this moment, she noticed that her friend had made no movement since just now, as if he had turned into a doll that could only listen to her conversation with Alesu.
Even the wrist she was holding was extremely stiff.
Stiff...
Fors looked down and looked at Xio Derecha sitting next to him.
This "foreigner" also smiled exactly like Alesu and the surrounding drinkers.
"If you tease her like this, be careful the whole Marionette Town will be destroyed by her..."
Angel, who had long brown hair and was wearing a knee-length tight skirt, a women's shirt and a small coat, buried her entire body on the soft single sofa, admiring Fors's panicked expression in the huge decorative mirror on the wall, and kindly reminded Klein beside her.
Of course, it is not the body of Klein hidden in the church Underground Area, but "Wandering Magician" Merlin Hermes who is one of Marionette.
The latter was leaning next to the sofa, adjusting the ancient ceremonial hat. Hearing this, he smiled and said:
"Don't worry, even if she really summons the meteorite recorded by you, you can take over Catastrophe to minimize the loss, and other Demigod abilities, even Sea God's Scepter's Lightning can destroy the bar at most, and except for herself, even the 'Judgment' Miss is my Marionette, and will not hurt innocent people, and the losses can be controlled within a reasonable range.
"And when her friend's life or death is uncertain and her whereabouts are unknown, it is unlikely that 'Magician' Miss will escape the city alone. She will first find a safe place and try to interrogate Marionette 'Judgment', or perform divination and seek help from 'Fool' to find the real Xio, and then leave or destroy this place."
As he spoke, the scene in the mirror also changed. "Secrets Sorcerer" Fors used the recorded "Mind Deprivation" Intimidation to overwhelm everyone around him, took "Xugh"'s arm and left directly Teleportation to an open space on the outskirts of Yarnam City.
Of course, Marionettes have no minds and will not be affected by this "Spectator" ability, but Klein still manipulated them into making similar reactions.
Looking at Fors who used "Shackles of the Abyss" to trap Marionette "Xiu" and began to pray to Mr. Fool without hesitation, Merlin Hermes nodded, very satisfied with her performance.
This Saint who mastered the ability of "Secret Keeping" never found himself in a Marionette Town, which means that Yarnam City has formed a corresponding area in Spirit World, and even divination, prophecy and other abilities are difficult to distinguish between true and false.
That's right, "Magician" Fors Wall and Xio Derecha have fallen into Klein's sight since they set foot on Partis Island, and became their guinea pigs to test Yarnam City, this Marionette Town.
Judging from the results, his promotion to "Mystic Seer" has almost been completed.
It won't be long before I can really surpass her... Merlin looked at Angel who was looking at the mirror intently. Marionette The owner's inner thoughts were unabashedly revealed in his eyes.
"I'm going to answer the prayer of 'Magician' Miss to prevent her from doing something drastic."
He said softly, and at the same time, Klein underneath the church moved his mind, and Spirit Body was about to ascend to Gray Fog and enter the kingdom of God of "Fool".
At this moment, Angel asked in confusion:
"Speaking of which, when did you separate the two of them?"
"From the moment the steam train arrived at Yarnam City, the two were transported to different locations by 'Grafting'. Each was accompanied by a Marionette. They arrived at the same place at a staggered time and had almost the same experience."
What a bad taste... Angel murmured, reaching out to "Merlin"'s waist and exerting slight pressure on his two fingers.
"Most wishes are possible, but hiss... not even God can grant all wishes of everyone."
Wandering Magician Merlin, wearing a robe and top hat, was sitting in a crowded restaurant and said with a smile, but suddenly he grinned and took a breath, leaving Xio in front of him confused.
She secretly glanced at her friend next to her who was not very interested in street magic, hesitated for a moment, and said:
"Then the second one, Magic Mirror Divination, do you need me to provide a mirror?"
PS: It's still a two-in-one pinch today. I've been tired and busy these past few days... I guess it will take the weekend to return to normal.