The din of the crowd and the clinking of glass wineglasses receded from his ears like a tide.
The group passed through a deep corridor hung with all kinds of abstract paintings.
Walking slightly behind and to the side, the waiter secretly sized up Bai Zhou,
wondering if this was the relative of the mysterious owner who was said to never show his face at the restaurant...
The man was dressed casually. Two buttons on the upper half of his white shirt were undone, and his ill-fitting trouser legs still bore mud stains that could not be brushed off.
He looked as though he had just returned from planting rice in the fields.
But perhaps this was exactly how a great figure who had returned to simplicity dressed.
The person driving the Maybach might merely be his chauffeur...
Someone in oversized shorts and flip-flops, with a large bunch of keys jingling at his waist, might well be a true young master!
Yet now, walking across an expensive carpet and passing one authentic masterpiece after another bought at auction—
this mysterious man had a vacant look in his eyes, as though his soul had wandered elsewhere and he could not be bothered to care.
But from time to time, he revealed an eerie smile. His origins were impossible to discern, yet his killing intent was intimidating.
—Oh no!
The waiter's heart lurched. Could he be holding a grudge?
"..."
Bai Zhou tried to maintain a smile in front of them. It was best not to embarrass Ya...
But because his smile looked far too stiff, it inexplicably seemed somewhat murderous.
—In truth, he was thinking of nothing at all. He simply was not used to being the center of so many people's attention.
...Could this also have been within Ya's expectations?
Was that why she had not come along?
It seemed to have been the same at the Special Management Department.
Although people hid everything related to the Mystic World behind the scenes of the world,
they were always extraordinarily superior and fond of the feeling of being the center of attention.
Bai Zhou was different.
For now, he still preferred the feeling of making money quietly.
Mice were pretty good. Mice lived longer and ate more.
—Since ancient times, people had constantly applied the wisdom and philosophy of mice.
"Tap..."
At last, the manager led Bai Zhou to a dark wooden door that blended into the wall.
The door was decorated with an ornate, intricate pattern: a star wrapped in thorns, with "L'Étoile Voilée" written above it.
—It meant Veiled Star.
Or perhaps, a star hidden behind a veil.
The manager cautiously took out a brass key, turned it in the lock, and pushed open the wooden door.
"Welcome, honored guest!"
As the wooden door slowly opened, a silver-gray private room came into view.
The fragrance of incense mingled with the scent of ancient wood and filled his nose. One wall was made of enormous one-way floor-to-ceiling glass,
while the opposite wall bore a gigantic painting—
a black crow painted in wild yet romantic strokes.
Bai Zhou looked at the crow in the painting,
and something suddenly stirred in his heart.
So today, he had actually walked through the city where Ya had lived, visited the restaurant Ya often frequented,
and sat in the private room that had once belonged exclusively to her...
Had he experienced Ya's life?
What did she like to eat? When she sat in the private room, what would she think about and do?
What kind of role had she once played in this city? Had she been famous?
...The mysterious Ya rarely mentioned her past.
—But this time, a corner of Ya's iceberg
seemed closer to him than ever before.
"The owner of this painting—or rather, the true owner of this private room."
Bai Zhou looked at the manager and asked tentatively:
"What was she like, in your impression?"
"Huh? She..."
The manager opened his mouth, but suddenly stopped.
Confusion appeared in his eyes, then quickly vanished.
—In the end, he merely looked at Bai Zhou in bafflement:
"The owner of this private room..."
"Isn't that you?"
"Although this is our first meeting, I've long admired you."
As he spoke, he sighed with emotion,
"Before you gave the password, I practically couldn't believe my ears."
"This private room has finally welcomed its true owner for the first time."
"...?"
Bai Zhou focused on the manager. "Are you... new here?"
"What?"
The manager's face flushed slightly, suspecting that Bai Zhou was questioning his professionalism.
"I took over as the manager of this establishment fifteen years ago... Why would you say that?"
"No, it's nothing."
Bai Zhou waved his hand and hurriedly apologized.
But his heart turned grim.
—That was impossible!
Ya could not possibly have never come here. When she mentioned the restaurant, she had even recommended the dishes with great familiarity.
The wild crow portrait was the best proof of all.
Bai Zhou could even imagine her in the spacious private room, her back to the enormous crow painting, elegantly and expressionlessly savoring a plate of Handmade Wandering Cherry Blossom Low-Sugar Snow Mochi.
As for why it was Handmade Wandering Cherry Blossom Low-Sugar Snow Mochi...
That was of course because it was the fanciest food Bai Zhou currently knew.
But...
The manager seemed to have no impression of Ya at all, as though he had never seen her.
Or as though Ya had never existed...
It was exactly the same as with the Major from the Special Management Department.
He had thought he had approached a corner of the truth, only to discover upon drawing near that it was actually shrouded in even denser fog.
The haze of doubt enveloped Bai Zhou, and he temporarily suppressed it deep in his heart.
"Our restaurant is famous throughout Tinghai for the Western Federation's signature French cuisine, combined with the creative innovations of our contemporary chef..."
Listening to the waiter's endless introduction and looking at the menu filled entirely with French, Bai Zhou expressionlessly nodded.
Yes, he could not understand a word.
But he understood one thing:
the chef's skills were superb, he was adept with all kinds of ingredients, and he could turn decay into something miraculous.
In Bai Zhou's understanding, that meant... he could cook anything!
Even shoe insoles would taste delicious!
And so, with a "slap"—
Bai Zhou closed the menu and began ordering:
"Then..."
"Bring me a bowl of Hu-La Soup first."
When tense and exhausted, he wanted a bowl of spicy, invigorating Hu-La Soup.
Things he had once hated and resisted suddenly became things he missed.
"...What?"
The tip of the waiter's pen paused as he recorded the order, thinking he had misheard.
"Is that not allowed?"
"Of course it is! Absolutely!"
The waiters all shook their heads.
They simultaneously regarded the mysterious man before them with solemn respect.
Sitting in the most mysterious private room in all of Tinghai, using priceless silver tableware, and having a renowned French chef of immeasurable worth personally cook for him...
Only to drink a bowl of Hu-La Soup?
Great figures truly were impossible to fathom!
"Are these people not leaving..."
Bai Zhou remained expressionless, somewhat troubled.
The waiters' attentive service, constantly bringing tea and water, was instead a burden to Bai Zhou.
With them watching...
How was he supposed to retrieve the "Pocket Money" hidden in the private room?
Fortunately—
Before Bai Zhou could worry for long, the din and cries of alarm from the crowd suddenly came from outside...
Among them, he vaguely heard the sensitive words "on fire."
"A guest is on fire!"
From the manager down to the waiters,
everyone's expression changed.
There was a fire outside, so why had the alarm not gone off—
No, it was not the outside that was on fire?
—What did it mean for a guest to be on fire?!
"Crash, crash..."
The waiters hurried out to help.
"Whew."
Bai Zhou was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Although he did not know what had happened,
the crisis had been resolved!
He immediately closed the door and checked his surroundings.
Bai Zhou carefully lifted the tablecloth and looked at the dark oak floor beneath his feet.
"At the floor seam beneath the table leg was an inconspicuous little scratch, as though it had been made by a chair leg."
Recalling Ya's instructions, Bai Zhou began searching around,
"Align yourself with that scratch and strike it hard three times."
"Then move left by half a finger's breadth, find another scratch, and press down hard."
Half-crouching on the floor, Bai Zhou cautiously followed the instructions one by one.
At the same time, he kept an eye on the sounds outside.
"Click—"
With the sound of machinery turning, the floor tile at the scratch suddenly sprang upward.
A box rose up, pushing the tile aside.
There it was!
"Thump, thump..."
Bai Zhou's heartbeat quickened.
With a "click"—
the box opened.
The objects buried there for who knew how long finally saw daylight again.
There were six pieces of equipment in total.
...A folded Black Thin Trench Coat.
It seemed to be the same model as Ya's.
It kept its wearer warm in winter and cool in summer, cleaned itself without washing, and, when necessary, activated its internal mechanism to transform into a glider.
...A rather flashy Electronic Watch.
It kept precise time, contained a Ritual, and automatically changed time zones in the Reflection Ruins Realm.
...A simple silver necklace and a pair of Gold Wire Black Frame Glasses.
When used together, they lowered one's presence and allowed the wearer to appear on electronic surveillance as another inconspicuous passerby.
...And a Black Folding Umbrella as straight as a short blade.
It contained hidden mechanisms and could be used in both sunny and rainy weather.
Five items, each with its own ingenious use—they were truly the perfect tools for killing and escaping by night.
—But that wasn't all.
"..."
Bai Zhou's heartbeat missed half a beat.
His gaze was drawn to the final item.
A handgun.
It was a large revolver, but its lines were as smooth as a sculpture of gold. Its body was forged from a special blackstone that seemed capable of drinking in light, presenting a black deeper than shadow.
The grip was covered in a warm white reminiscent of ivory fossil.
Against that white base, black-and-white piano keys had been carved in a strange pattern.
Black and white, light and shadow—their contradictory interweaving formed a subtle harmony.
...Strangely, it had no hammer, and there was no way to open the cylinder.
—Because it was an Extraordinary Weapon.
[Light and Shadow Harmony]!
"'The Arbiter-300' is decent enough. Too bad you aren't a sharpshooter, and you have no ammunition supply."
Before they left, Ya introduced the equipment in "Pocket Money" to Bai Zhou:
"Mass-produced standard-issue iron blocks won't help you... You need some special items that aren't on the records."
"—[Light and Shadow Harmony], an Extraordinary Weapon that chooses its owner."
"Every time you play a 'piano key,' you wield the balance between light and shadow."
"But be warned: it will continuously draw upon your will to replenish its ammunition..."
"Only those with sufficiently firm wills can play the melody!"
"..."
When his hand touched the revolver's warm grip, Bai Zhou faintly sensed a living, breathing rhythm.
The instant his fingertips touched the "piano keys"—
"Ding-dong!"
A searing sensation of absorption surged through him. In his ear, Bai Zhou seemed to "hear" the deep, melodious echo of a piano.
Its lingering notes filled the air.
...Only when the firearm's peculiar scent faintly drifted into his nose
did Bai Zhou abruptly return to his senses.
Then...
He lowered his head and glanced at himself, before sweeping his gaze across the six pieces of equipment in the case. He slowly let out a breath.
"...Where's the bathroom?"
What was he waiting for?
—It was time to change.
"Whoosh—"
Carrying the case, Bai Zhou had just stepped out of the private room when he heard the commotion of the crowd outside.
Then he saw, at the center of the crowd, a...
A girl about Bai Zhou's age, perhaps even a little younger.
Objectively speaking, she was absolutely a delicate and adorable beautiful girl, but her clothes and makeup were inexplicably at odds with her natural air.
More specifically, she looked like a girl who was still a student but had stolen her mother's evening gown to wear.
She was clearly youthful and radiant, yet insisted on pretending to be mature... That was probably the feeling.
What was more, she seemed to be alone, with only a circle of attendants around her. It looked rather strange, and pitifully so.
—But none of that was important.
What mattered was,
the reason all the diners were watching her and whispering among themselves...
the reason the anxious attendants were crowding around her...
—was that this girl was opening her mouth and panting while puffing out flames!
Genuine flames!
Not only that, even part of her hair was burning!
—Just like a Hiccuping Little Fire Dragon.
Smoke and fire filled the air as cries of alarm rang out.
"What a fiery girl!"
Bai Zhou, passing by, was also left dumbfounded.
Was she the one who had successfully helped him out of trouble by drawing everyone's attention away?
Bai Zhou was deeply puzzled...
Could Extraordinary beings already perform supernatural abilities openly in front of the public?
Yet after careful observation, the girl didn't seem to be an Extraordinary being.
So did Blue Star's so-called "creative French Cuisine" also include "eating fire"?
Fortunately, he had ordered Hu-La Soup...
Bai Zhou felt profound respect for this brave girl who dared to "eat fire."
But he had no intention of meddling, nor any desire to investigate what was going on.
—He couldn't waste the time Super Burning Beautiful Girl had won for him!
Carrying the case, Bai Zhou hurried toward the bathroom.
Unfortunately, in such an upscale restaurant, the private room didn't even have a bathroom.
Perhaps it was because the building had been established too long ago, or perhaps because the special private room had been reserved solely for Bai Zhou.
...Fortunately, the bathroom in the main hall was completely empty.
What else would one expect from an upscale restaurant?
Even the bathroom carried the refreshing fragrance of fruity black tea.
After finding a stall and closing the door, Bai Zhou began to change.
Rustle, rustle.
Before long, Bai Zhou, dressed in the Special Management Department's Suit Uniform, disappeared.
—Bai Zhou in a Trench Coat matching Ya's had made his grand entrance.
He probably still wasn't suited to overly heavy formalwear like suits. Once he put on the Trench Coat, he seemed like an entirely different person.
At the very least, Bai Zhou felt much more relaxed.
"..."
Finally, with a watch on his wrist and a revolver at his waist,
Bai Zhou slowly put on his Gold Wire Black Frame Glasses while facing the narrow, closed stall door.
Picking up the black umbrella, he couldn't wait to go look at himself in the mirror.
He opened the small bathroom door.
—Then,
he decisively shut it again with a bang.
"?"
Cold sweat inexplicably beaded on his forehead, as though he had seen some terrifying presence standing outside.
But he then spent a while thinking it over inside the bathroom, inexplicably glancing down at the toilet bowl.
That wasn't right?
So Bai Zhou opened the door again.
"..."
The Hiccuping Little Fire Dragon, her hair tips singed and dressed in an awkward evening gown, was crouching by the door and crying torrents of tears.
With her lips pursed, she raised a hand and traced circles on the tiles in front of her. Bai Zhou had no idea whom she was cursing, but she was clearly utterly aggrieved.
Only in the bathroom could she cry in secret...
The girl had always believed that.
At that moment, a gust of wind swept past outside, and the neon lights from the neighboring street shone in.
The fluttering hem of a Trench Coat appeared before her.
The girl looked up in surprise.
A clean-cut young man in a black Trench Coat and an expensive wristwatch stood expressionlessly before her, wearing Gold Wire Glasses.
He looked like an assassin.
His Trench Coat was grim and austere, his expression cold. He stood there with a dashing air, more unfathomable than the passing wind.
Yet his presence also made people inexplicably feel close to him. Light spilled down from above onto his body—
like a little sun.
Warm and radiant.
...The girl blinked as she examined Bai Zhou.
She suddenly felt that her aggrieved, sorrowful mood had inexplicably improved quite a bit.
When you cried loudly, when you called for help, would someone come to save you?
The "Super Burning Fire Dragon Girl" had stopped having such beautiful dreams since she was ten.
—But this mysterious man in black, expressionless as he descended from the heavens,
when had he arrived?
It should... be a dream too, right?
She vaguely felt that something was wrong.
...But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure it out. Her eyes simply blinked and blinked.
"Um..."
Only after Bai Zhou had remained silent for quite a while did the necklace at his neck sway twice.
This Trench Coat Man, who had suddenly made his mysterious entrance in the girl's eyes,
turned his face away, lowered his eyes, and reminded her gently:
"—This is the men's bathroom."
Before you continue