The Body in the Club

After greeting and shaking hands with Iver, Arun turned his gaze to Lily behind Iver: "I think this must be Miss Lily, right? Are you also joining our club?"

"... Huh?"

Lily let out a soft "hmm," somewhat puzzled. But she still politely returned Arun's greeting.

Iver suddenly understood why he had been so polite to him and Lily.

To confirm her suspicions, Iver asked on her behalf, "Do you know Lily too?"

"Of course. I think the news of Isabel hosting the two of you last night has already spread throughout the entire capital."

A rare smile appeared on Arun's lips, a subtle hint of amusement on his usually stern face. "I remember Master Agnes was involved in that banquet... After that, His Highness gave you the key to 14 Ronin Street."

He rarely smiled, so when he did, his smile looked unusually stiff, and his normally handsome face now appeared exaggerated and somewhat comical.

Lily couldn't help but think of the old butler Oswald —his smile was just as stiff and terrifying, so Lily couldn't help but smile slightly. If she hadn't been pursing her lips, she would have laughed out loud.

Upon hearing this, Angela looked at Iver with some surprise, and then at Isabel.

She seemed to suddenly understand something, as if she had just realized something.

Angela out and gently tugged at Aiden's sleeve. Aiden only reacted after being tugged twice, but he hesitated for a moment, glancing at Iver before silently shaking his head at her.

The blue-haired girl glared at him with exasperation and tugged at his sleeve. Aiden still didn't react.

Anyway, we already told President Arun that they were the introducers...

Thinking this, Angela simply pulled another person away first. She couldn't wait to share the juicy gossip she'd just heard with the other classmates—no wonder Princess Isabel had come specifically to see Iver! Aiden was left standing there, somewhat out of place in the atmosphere of their conversation. Because he was the only one who genuinely needed Iver's help.

Meanwhile, Isabel, who had been thinking hard for a long time, finally remembered Arun's identity. "I've seen you before... you're Carter's son."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Arun was somewhat surprised that Isabel recognized him, but still replied respectfully, "The last time I saw you was about ten years ago. Your memory is still so outstanding."

"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Arun."

Isabel also addressed the other person as "Mr."

She then leaned closer and whispered in Iver's ear, "He's the Minister of Justice's son, he should know about us... and the painting."

No wonder he recognized me and Lily, and no wonder he called me "sir" instead of "classmate," Iver thought to himself.

Or rather, Arun didn't actually know Lily. But he did know that the personal maid Iver had taken to the royal banquet was named Lily.

... But there's nothing shameful about our relationship, is there? There's no need to be so quiet...

While they were whispering, President Arun simply opened a drawer and handed over three badges, placing them on the counter. He didn't directly approach Iver and the others, but maintained his distance.

"I will have someone come and process your membership documents later. There's no rush for the membership fee; I will send the fee invoice along with the membership book to your home later. Please make yourself at home."

Arun smiled, revealing a friendly smile, and said smoothly, "You can order any drinks you like here. We'll have them delivered right away—here's the drink menu, and here's the snack menu. There's also a set in the private rooms and on the tables upstairs. If you have any other requests, just tell the students who deliver the food. All of these things are free; the cost is already included in your annual membership fee. Please feel free to take them, don't be shy."

"Also, please don't mind if you see any advertisements or flyers on the table. We do not prohibit members from engaging in personal promotion."

This weak and powerless Half-Elf guild leader was clearly very perceptive.

That was a style completely different from that of Hai Na, who was also a chief.

He knew that Iver and Isabel's sudden joining of the White Shoes Club must be because they were invited or had something planned. Therefore, Arun did not approach them to curry favor or ask what they wanted to do.

Instead, they tried to save their time as much as possible, intending to skip all unnecessary procedures as a gesture of goodwill, and not to inquire at all about why they were there, in order to maintain a comfortable and safe social distance.

This way of handling things does indeed make people feel more comfortable. Even the exceptionally sensitive Isabel wasn't provoked to any particular reaction by it.

Isabel walked over, picked up the three badges on the table, and handed them to Iver and Lily respectively.

Arun explained, "This badge is our membership identification. You can wear it whenever you come and no one will stop you. It's also a piece of special equipment; if you accidentally slip, it will prevent you from getting hurt or getting your clothes dirty."

The badge looked beautiful; it was made of White Crystal.

It is a white, inverted isosceles triangle with rounded edges and a slightly slender, tall shape, somewhat resembling a slightly square, inverted teardrop. It also has shallow, crisscrossing indentations like a fishing net.

It looks a bit like the marks left on a steak.

... I got the official member badge right away? That's pretty cool.

Iver took it without making a sound.

A screen of light suddenly appeared before his eyes: [Crystal Dance Shoes]

[Exceptional Jewelry (Blue)]

[Jewelry - Badges]

[Spell: Regroup (Once per day, 1/1)]

[Required: Any 1]

[Immediate, contact, and immediate effect]

"I might be able to save you if you stumble once in a while, but I can't help you if you fall."

While it may not mean much to Iver, who now drives around in a wheelchair every day, it's a good thing for Lily and Isabel.

This is the "Badge" accessory that players can most easily obtain during the early stages of the game.

The badge is an extremely rare piece of equipment, usually serving as identification for a particular superhuman organization.

Compared to rings, necklaces, and bracelets, badges have one major drawback—they don't come into direct contact with the skin.

This means the user must touch it with their finger to activate the magic stored inside. Therefore, it's much more cumbersome than a ring.

Because this method of use makes it inconvenient to infuse mana into the badge, the spells stored there are usually only a small amount of mana, allowing for instantaneous energy infusion to complete the casting. Given the limited energy consumption in the design, its effectiveness is inevitably poor.

The greatest significance of this extraordinary equipment, which is complex in its craftsmanship, expensive in its materials, and not very effective, is to increase the cost for others to counterfeit it through this complex alchemical process.

However, not all organizational identification is in the form of badges that can be worn openly. For example, the Noble Red Society's insignia is a ring, which is more discreet, effective, and convenient to use.

Due to the influence of the "Balance" path, only one of each type of equipment can be equipped at a time. Therefore, a badge with a practical effect is even rarer.

For organizations like the "White Shoes Club," you need to raise your reputation to Friendly before you can access the reputation shop to buy items. Many players, even at levels 30 or 40, still only have the "Crystal Dance Shoes" available.

Because the badges dropped in dungeons are usually not as useful as these.

"Regroup" is a very basic Law Spell in the Path of Authority. It's a fairly practical low-level spell, the kind that's a bit of a waste for Law Mage. Its effect is to immediately remove external force and restore balance when one is unbalanced, staggering, or falling, thus quickly returning to a normal posture.

For example, if you are thrown over someone's shoulder, step on something slippery, or lose your balance due to a failed block, this spell can be triggered immediately to save your life or even turn the tables.

It's a classic and practical free crowd control removal item in online games. However, it only removes soft crowd control effects.

The message attached to this badge is also quite meaningful.

It seems to be referring to the equipment... but it also refers to the nature of the "White Shoes Club" organization.

The club appears to be an alumni association, but it is actually a loosely structured political association.

If you get into minor trouble, everyone can help you out and share some resources; but if something serious happens, the club definitely won't help you.

—It is true that a separation statement was issued in advance when joining the membership.

Seeing that Iver and the other two had finally completed the procedures and successfully joined the club, Aiden finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Please come with me, Iver... please!"

He quickly clasped his hands together and earnestly pleaded, "She should be on the second floor... just like you said on the way. Please tell her for me! Thank you, Iver! To be honest, after class this afternoon, I forgot everything you said this morning!"

On their way there after class, Aiden had already explained to Iver what had happened on his end.

Although his pathetic attempt to ask for outside help drew unanimous ridicule from his classmates, they also congratulated Aiden on "finally finding someone he likes."

Isabel was also hesitant, because she also wanted to go with Iver, but she wasn't sure if she would cause trouble.

Taking Princess who could die at any moment to meet complete strangers is putting far too much pressure on her.

"You stay here for now," Iver gently advised. "I'll help Aiden with his relationship problems first..."

His main concern was seeing what kind of nasty woman Aiden had gotten himself into this time. Was she the one he remembered?

Isabel breathed a sigh of relief and agreed.

It's also quite difficult for her to interact with strangers.

But just as the group was about to part ways, gasps from the crowd and the abruptly stopped violin music interrupted their conversation, causing them to all look in the direction of the sound.

Someone was seen struggling and falling from the second-floor railing.

It wasn't a student of similar age to Iver and his group, but a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, holding documents in his hand and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

The man fell heavily, but without uttering a sound. There was only a dull thud, and the papers in his hands scattered on the ground like snowflakes.

It was only on the second floor, yet the man only made a few muffled sounds, his body convulsing violently before falling silent. Black blood slowly oozed from his mouth and nose, and a tiny, thin, dark gold dagger was stuck in his back.

That thing was more like a needle than a dagger. It was about the size of a nail file and didn't even have a handle.

It easily pierced through the clothes and plunged into the back of the middle-aged deceased's heart.

Iver frowned and abruptly looked up at the second floor. But he didn't see anyone suspicious.

Something's not right.

This was a plot that had never appeared in his memories of his Previous Life.

The key question is... what did Iver do that caused the plot to change here?