Gunshot Wound in the Back

Iver checked and found that the receptionist wasn't lying to him—there really wasn't any hot water in the room.

There was no hot water, and we couldn't even boil water. There was no stove in the room, and no place to take a bath.

... After all, it was Avalon sixty years ago, so it's reasonable.

Judging from the fact that they can provide hot dishes, at least the kitchen can still boil water. It's just that they don't serve it to guests... most likely they're still using firewood.

Iver realized with a deep understanding of what great good Queen Sophia had done—without the widespread use of alchemy, the facilities in the towns and villages of Avalon were no different from those in the Middle Ages.

There were no lights, no telephones, no hot water... the guest rooms didn't even have gas stoves. And the price of fireplaces simply wouldn't come down.

Fortunately, the body Iver was using was quite sturdy, and they wouldn't be staying overnight. So there was no need to worry about catching a cold or fever.

Fortunately, there were clean towels in the room.

Iver tried to use the Illumination Spell to heal Daya's body.

As expected... Wei Zhe's ritual was indeed very demanding, Iver couldn't use the Illumination Spell at all. Or rather, he simply didn't have any magic power within him.

... Tsk.

That's true; if he could use the Illumination Spell, the quest wouldn't have required him to find medicine.

However, Iver was not worried. He had only recently acquired his Extraordinary Ability and had not yet developed a habit of relying on Extraordinary Ability.

Unlike seasoned superhumans who are used to the existence of Extraordinary Ability, this might be considered Iver's strength.

He first dried his "daughter" Daya's hair, then let the drowsy, listless girl get into bed to rest. He then dried himself, wringing out the water from his hair. Afterward, he put on his underwear.

He had already checked when he entered the room, and there were no pajamas provided either.

"This shabby inn has absolutely nothing..."

Iver complained that there wasn't even hot water to drink—but he did find a barrel of low-alcohol wine.

This greatly surprised Iver.

He turned the tap, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it all in one gulp.

Iver smacked his lips.

Surprisingly, even by Iver's standards of culinary taste, the wine was quite good—considering the poor service provided by the inn, it was the best thing they had to offer.

"Let's just deal with it like this for now."

Iver made up his mind.

He drank two more glasses and felt his body slowly warming up. Although he knew it was just an illusion caused by the alcohol, at least he felt better—he hadn't had water in a long time, and his throat was parched. Using low-alcohol beverages to quench his thirst was better than drinking plain water.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should give Daya a little wine.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

Just ask the front desk for some hot soup. Besides, I might be leaving this floor soon anyway...

However, if you're going out, you'll still need to find some clothes.

"... Do I really have to wear these clothes?"

Iver frowned, looking at his soaked clothes and feeling a bit overwhelmed.

He glanced at Agni's Travel Bag. It was also soaked with rain, and he had no idea what was inside.

Logically speaking, no one would bring a change of clothes on a day trip... but let's take a look anyway.

But when he opened the Travel Bag, Iver was quite surprised to find that there was actually a set of neatly folded clothes inside.

They have shirts and sweaters. The styles are quite exquisite, and the materials are also good.

Because it was folded up, the edges were a little damp, but it's still better than wearing it directly on my skin. At least it shouldn't be a problem if I wear it close to my skin.

"...Um?"

But when Iver unfolded the clothes, he discovered something amiss.

Both garments had bloodstains and a small hole in the back center.

Iver reached out and touched it, holding his finger in front of him. A red mark was clearly visible on his fingertip.

I don't know if it's because the Travel Bag got wet from the rain, but the bloodstains still look a bit damp.

Iver immediately became serious and reached behind him to touch his back. He found that his back was completely unharmed.

"So that means..."

Iver muttered to himself as he turned the Travel Bag upside down, spilling everything out.

Inside the bag were neatly folded trousers, which looked to be the same coat he had worn to protect Daya; a large envelope from which stacks of brand-new White Crown Coin peeked out; and a beautifully designed silver pocket watch.

Iver snapped the pocket watch open.

The pointer is pointing to 5:11.

It should be around 5 p. m., Iver thought.

Moreover, if that's the case...

Iver carefully rummaged through the bag. He quickly pulled a gun out from under his neatly folded trousers.

...really.

He put on his clothes and pants first, and felt his body gradually warm up, so he breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down and began to examine the gun.

It was a rather exquisite revolver with a five-round magazine. The grip and outer casing were decorated with silver engravings, intricately engraved with Elven Language runes.

In his dream Iver couldn't access his character panel or see the equipment's attributes. He also knew nothing about alchemy. However, relying on his knowledge of Ritual Studies and demonology, Iver managed to deduce... that this seemed to be a specially made firearm used for hunting demons. It could deal more damage to Dark Attribute phantom demons.

How could a teacher possibly have such a thing? He swung the wheel to the left and found that a bullet had been fired, leaving behind a disc-shaped brass remnant.

Iver seemed lost in thought, turning the wheel one notch at a time. He was deep in thought.

"... recalling his true identity."

Iver remembered the quest "The Real Me" and his brows furrowed slightly.

My memory... no, I should say Agni's memory is malfunctioning? He stared at the gun in his hand, then suddenly heard a very soft voice behind him: "Dad...?" "...Why aren't you dressed?"

Iver turned around and tucked the pistol into his waistband.

Daya had already opened her eyes and was looking at him from under the covers.

She was a little girl with delicate, soft brown hair and blue eyes. She was shy and looked very cute.

He said gently, "Are you feeling better, Daya?"

"Hmm. My head doesn't hurt as much anymore..."

The girl spoke timidly.

"You still need to rest for a while. Don't get out of bed, I'll go get you some hot soup."

As he spoke, Iver stuffed his clothes into his bag. He shook his leather coat vigorously, splashing water all over the floor. Then he put the coat on, covering the hole in his back, and concealed the gun at his waist.

Then, Iver pushed open the door and left the room.

By this time, it seemed that quite a few people had already arrived at the inn. When he went out, he saw that there seemed to be an argument next door... They were even arguing with the door open, and a young woman was standing in the doorway, arguing with the people inside.

The argument stopped immediately when they saw Iver come out of the door.

The woman looked at Iver with a mixture of wariness and distance, then immediately went into the room and locked the door.

Iver raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

He stood quietly at the doorway for a short while, his tall figure casting a silent shadow. But there was not a sound from inside the room, not even a whisper.

--interesting.

Iver grinned, a silent sneer escaping his lips. Then, with an air of nonchalance, he strode downstairs.