"Villainous Bartender"

The bartender's astonished expression flashed by, quickly masked by an annoyance at seeing customers at this hour.

"If you want a drink, old man... and this inspector."

The bartender drawled with a weary tone, squinting as he spoke slowly: "It's too early to come here. No one's around at this hour."

"Ah, let me state this in advance. Our bar's dishes are much more expensive than outside. Don't complain about the price after ordering... no refunds."

For some reason, even though it was the same kind of drawn-out elven accent with plenty of glides... Hai Na just didn't feel the same elegance in the bartender's voice as in Iver's butler's.

Perhaps it was because some of the transitions were too stiff and clear, or perhaps because his voice had a hoarse quality from long-term smoking, giving it a distinctly roguish feel.

"How much more expensive?"

Hearing this, Hai Na subconsciously asked.

But she quickly realized that she was here to investigate. No matter how expensive the dishes were, she had to order them.

Rather, this was exactly when Oswald the butler's investigation funds were meant to be used.

So she immediately changed her words: "What dishes do you have here?"

"Heh..."

Iver, in front of her, couldn't help but chuckle.

Investigating with such a novice was truly a unique experience.

Although the wild elf bartender reacted quickly, he couldn't fool Iver. He deliberately called Iver "old man," as if he hadn't seen through Iver's identity at all.

But that was impossible.

This elf, whose appearance was roughly that of a human in his thirties, should be at least over a hundred years old. As a wild elf, he lived among the common people; and the elven blood gave him a memory and perception significantly stronger than humans.

Even if Iver was wearing a full-coverage cloak, his build couldn't possibly resemble that of an old man; just by observing the style of his shoes and the exposed chin, he should have been able to recognize Iver.

If it wasn't Hai Na who had come along, but Oswald... he would have immediately noticed that the bartender's behavior was too deliberate.

—A few days ago, Iver had come to the Pelican Bar to meet with those two "pen pals."

And he was very conspicuous at the time.

The "Sinister Hub Pelican Pub" was the meeting place specifically designated by those two pen pals. At that time, Iver could still walk normally, was agile and physically strong, and wanted to hide his contact and communication with the Demon Scholars, so he came alone to the appointment.

But considering that this was a place Iver had never been to before, he set off nearly two hours early and had the coachman take him directly to the front of the Pelican Bar.

Honestly, if Iver hadn't hired a coachman, he might not have been able to find the "Sinister Hub Pelican Pub"—who would know that the Pelican Bar wasn't called "Pelican"? When Iver arrived, it was more than an hour before the agreed-upon time of five in the afternoon. But he had already considered this, so he brought a book to read in advance.

It was a Stibium Language occult book, Alchemical Cipher. Those alchemists of the "Equilibrium" Path were very worried that their knowledge would be leaked and affect the balance of the world. Therefore, when writing books and communicating with colleagues, they would use some obscure ciphers that outsiders couldn't understand.

For example, "King," "Queen," and "Queen" indicated different things. Similarly, "Sun" and "Moon," "Toad" and "Wyvern" could all imply something. And based on the basic principle of "keeping it secret from outsiders," each alchemist used different ciphers. There was no unified consensus or common industry terminology between them.

They each had their own codebooks, which they secretly taught to their students for decoding; and if they were excellent enough colleagues, they could also understand what he wanted to express from the hints.

That is, the so-called "those who understand, understand; those who don't understand won't understand even if you explain it."

The book Alchemical Cipher cited and revealed several classic ciphers. In the examples, the author demonstrated an alchemical process for making "Antimony Glass." It was an emetic with slight toxicity. And by slightly adjusting the proportions, one could obtain "Mercury Antimony," which was a slightly sweet, thick, and flowing highly poisonous substance.

Putting aside everything else, this was knowledge of synthesizing highly poisonous substances! This kind of forbidden knowledge hit Iver's excitement point. In that extremely noisy bar, he sat in the corner reading with great concentration, and in the blink of an eye, it was almost six o'clock. Until those two patted him on the shoulder and woke him up.

Iver originally only intended to meet them and leave.

It wasn't that he suspected them, but the Lloyd District really wasn't safe. If he stayed out too late, even taking a cab wouldn't necessarily be safe—the Strangulation Gang had been causing panic recently.

But by then it was already dinnertime, and they were drinking and chatting, getting happier and more excited as they talked. So Iver simply used a White Coin to order dinner on the spot, treated his two "friends" to an extremely lavish meal, and didn't take back the change, instead buying a round for the other patrons.

—Because his two friends assured him that it didn't matter if it was a little late, they would escort him home. And after dinner, they chatted for a long time, finally leaving the bar after ten o'clock.

"Zero hour, zero minutes, is the most suitable time to summon a demon."

The bald man said, "The ritual takes about an hour. And now it's just that time... why don't you try it yourself?"

...Around that time, he had already discerned Iver's burning desire to touch the forbidden through those few hours of conversation. Knowing that Iver would definitely not refuse this invitation.

Looking back now... they must have deliberately arranged to meet here, and deliberately arrived late.

Since it was already dinnertime, and they were hungry, and there were other customers ordering food around them. Naturally, they wouldn't bother looking for another place to eat.

So, the two Demon Scholars from the "Noble Red" society specifically asked him to meet at the Pelican Bar, and even prevented him from taking them to other places... could it be understood that they believed only here was absolutely safe?

Moreover, a young man from the upper class, with an extremely handsome appearance and decent attire, was in a cheap bar in the Lloyd District, full of laborers and sailors, reading a book motionlessly for two whole hours with a less than half-liter of light beer.

—In that case, wouldn't a bartender with a good memory remember him? Even if he wasn't a Wild Elf, but a human bartender... he would at least remember such an outrageous thing for a whole month. And he would use it as a topic of conversation, frequently bragging or mocking him to others.

Not to mention that the Pelican Bar doesn't have a high traffic of people, with less than thirty customers a night.

So, there's definitely something wrong with this bartender.

His act of pretending not to recognize Iver proved his inner timidity. Because Iver came wearing a cloak, intending not to be recognized by others. So he followed Iver's intention, trying to help him hide his identity.

This was to lower his vigilance and temporarily stabilize him; at the same time, it was also hoping that Iver would accept this identity.

If Iver really wanted to hide his identity, he would pretend to be an "old man" according to the bartender's words.

Then he couldn't clearly talk to the bartender, and there would be no communication between them for the time being.

—Thus, he could delay time.

"Mr. Ademar, is it?"

As a result, Iver, wearing a hood, suddenly said, "Are you waiting for someone?"

This was the bartender's name he heard from other customers last time he came.

"...What?"

Hearing this, Hai Na turned her head in confusion: "Do you know him?"

But she glanced at Iver, but couldn't see any special reaction from him.

And when she turned her head back, she saw obvious astonishment and hesitation on the bartender's face.

In that instant, her heart stirred. She vaguely felt that she had grasped something.

Before she could ask, Iver chuckled lightly. As if confirming something.

"Hai Na."

Iver's voice was extremely soft, like his superior, or like a teacher. Not only did he not politely address her as senior as before, but instead directly called her name like a superior.

But perhaps it was precisely because of this that Hai Na, who was used to obeying orders, perked up in an instant.

"Yes!"

She instinctively focused her attention, stepping forward and diagonally half a step from behind Iver, vaguely protecting Iver behind her, concentrating and waiting for the next order.

"Draw your sword—"

Iver ordered.

Although she didn't understand what was happening, Hai Na didn't hesitate to obey Iver's instructions. In an instant, she drew the elven sword from its sheath.

The blade slid out of the sheath like a living thing, and pure white light shone from the sword.

A dazzling white light illuminated the already bright environment of the Pelican Bar at noon.

In Hai Na's original lake-blue eyes, silver-white halos gradually lit up. That was the resonance with the Path of Authority.

The power injected into her blood was gradually being activated, and the abundant power poured into her limbs. A wave of air roared and spread around her, and the bottles on the liquor cabinet swayed, making a chaotic and crisp tinkling sound like wind chimes.

The few customers present were immediately startled, and one after another left their seats and ran towards the door.

Seeing this, the "Villainous Bartender"'s expression suddenly changed, and he was shocked.

—Am I exposed? Why? He was horrified and puzzled.

In this critical situation, he chose not to sit still and wait for death.

He took a deep breath, and something bulged under his skin as if worms were moving.

Purple lines started from under his eyelids and spread across his entire face. Like bulging and discolored veins, they covered most of his face in a net-like pattern. Only a circle around his mouth and chin—that is, the part of his skin where a beard should have grown—was not covered by purple lines.

As he inhaled deeply, the purple lines on his face became brighter. Each time he inhaled, they became brighter, and when he exhaled, they slowly dimmed.

These lines spread quickly across his skin like a curse, extending from his cuffs all the way to the tips of his fingers.

"Demon Scholar—"

Hai Na recognized his identity. Or rather, she roughly recognized it.

Transcendents can use mystical arts and various casting materials to use their transcendent powers in non-combat situations. But if they want to get serious, mobilizing the power of the Path to release those powerful transcendent skills out of thin air, they must resonate with the Path.

Everyone's resonance characteristics are different, but the common point is that there will be light effects of the corresponding Path color.

Just as white is the color of the Path of Authority, purple is the color of the Path of Transcendence. The former symbolizes diamonds, and the latter is amethyst.

Although she really didn't know what the specific profession of this wild elf was, he belonged to the Path of Transcendence after all.

The Path of Transcendence is illegal! Then just assume the other party is a Demon Scholar—

—Mr. Iver really found him! She was overjoyed.

Although she didn't know how Iver had identified the other party's identity, because she hadn't seen any flaws in the other party's identity at all.

But once she entered a combat state, this was her professional field! And looking at the wild elf "Villainous Bartender" whose skin was covered with purple spiderweb patterns... Seeing such obvious characteristics, Iver finally recalled the other party's identity.

Ademar, the old one of the "Sinister Hub Pelican Pub"! In his memory, the strong man with arms as thick as warhammers, hunched over and bare-chested, with deep purple glowing lines all over his upper body—

His image gradually overlapped with the wild elf who was gradually swelling up like an inflated balloon.

Iver had only intended for Hai Na to scare him a little, to give him some pressure.

He didn't expect that he really couldn't handle the pressure, and with just a little pressure, he directly transformed! Now, he's directly found the right person!