"But I only wanted to use these coins for divination. Including this one, I now have six Special Coins in hand. Not bad at all. Come to think of it, I wonder what would happen if I used these coins in the Moon Bay Area."
By the time he left the black market, it was already past eleven. Thinking he was unlikely to find anything else in Coldwater Port, Shade could not be bothered to go looking for trouble with those occasionally appearing, foul-smelling Fishmen on the beach. So he ultimately went to the Pink Rose Inn, hidden deep in an alley of the dockside Slums.
This was where Shade had first met Demon Scholar Xiao En Asmon, and where he had heard the beginning of that demon's story. It was also here that he had won the suit card Moon 9, Demon · Soul Stealer Bishop, while playing cards.
The weather was damp, and even the inn itself felt damp. The indoor lighting was poor, so the stingy proprietor had lit Kerosene Lamps only on the tables occupied by guests.
There were not many people in the inn's 1st Floor tavern on Saturday morning. Aside from the customers, a few scantily clad women sat in the corners, waiting for clients.
Shade sat at the table against the wall where he had once Played Cards with the Demon Scholar. After ordering a glass of rum that he did not actually intend to drink, he had planned to sit there until eleven forty before going home for lunch. Unexpectedly, something truly unforeseen was waiting for him in this inn.
After sitting down, he unfolded that day's Delarion Daily, intending to see whether the advertisements in the back pages contained anything interesting. But before he could finish reading the second advertisement, for