The Invitation!

The afternoon sun shone brightly on the White Rose Restaurant's glass windows, making them gleam all the more brilliantly alongside the lavish decorations-fresh white roses were hardly cheap in South Los. They had to be purchased from specialized estates outside the city.

Moreover, rumor had it that the restaurant's head chef came from the Inner Bay's largest restaurant, Clark’s Diamond.

With credentials like these, the White Rose Restaurant naturally drew the attention of passersby on West Merck Avenue.

People cast curious, searching looks at the newly opened restaurant, but looks were all they offered.

As for going inside?

That was out of the question.

The White Rose Restaurant's prices matched its lavish decorations, and the chef's recommended specialties were especially daunting.

I wonder what those dishes taste like?

They must be delicious!

No!

Exquisite!

Every passerby outside the White Rose Restaurant thought much the same thing.

Suddenly-

Ding!

The wind chimes rang as the White Rose Restaurant's door swung open, and a figure dashed out under the eyes of several passersby.

Of course, that was not what drew the most attention.

What truly caught their eyes was the way the figure placed his takeaway food in a roadside beggar's arms.

"Who was that?!"

"What a waste!"

"No!"

"That's generosity!"

"What a generous gentleman!"

Amid the exclamations behind him, Arthur covered his mouth and ran faster and faster. He feared that if he slowed down, he would be unable to resist killing the head chef and blowing up the White Rose Restaurant for good measure.

How could anyone make a sheep's stomach stuffed with offal and minced mutton taste so awful?

The overwhelming organ smell was bad enough, but they had not even cleaned the offal properly. With the sheep's intestines still filthy, they actually had the nerve to call it all-natural?

Fuck you, you crooked bastard!

Arthur cursed inwardly, his expression dark.

When the Haggis had first been served, Arthur could still fool himself with the excuse that it might taste good despite its unappealing looks. But once the sheep's stomach was cut open, spilling offal and minced mutton mixed with sheep fat, and he took a bite, that excuse no longer held up.

It tasted far too awful.

Worse than his own cooking.

At least he knew to clean offal thoroughly and season it heavily.

Of course, none of that mattered to Arthur now.

What mattered was that Arthur still had a mouthful of that so-called Haggis in his mouth.

He wanted to spit it out, but felt he should not.

Yet swallowing it felt unbearable.

Keeping it in his mouth was even worse.

In the end, he steeled himself...

And spat it out.

Breaking a good habit he had maintained for so long darkened Arthur's expression further. Almost involuntarily, he turned to look at the White Rose Restaurant behind him, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

Arthur had never called himself a good person.

He would swallow anything except a loss.

He had clearly been ripped off this time, and now the White Rose Restaurant was firmly etched in his memory.

He intended to repay them properly.

But not now.

There were too many people around.

Besides, he did not have enough time.

The lunch hour was nearly over, and he remembered that Malinda Julius Caesar would send her coachman with his real reward.

Without lingering on West Merck Avenue, Arthur wisely avoided Aivor's mobile food stall and returned to Kirk Street through another alley.

Following his memories of the butcher's, bakery, produce shop, and cheese shop, Arthur visited each to buy the food he needed. Normally, this was unnecessary. One only had to give a shop assistant a list in the morning, and the food would be delivered at lunch, dinner, or another specified time. Bills only needed to be settled monthly, and longtime Kirk Street residents like the Creados family could even pay quarterly.

Carrying a basket borrowed from the bakery, Arthur sorted the food into the cupboards, then returned the basket to the bakery assistant waiting at the door.

He also gave him two Los.

That was a tip for running errands. One Los would normally have sufficed, but today had been an exception. The newly enrolled bakery apprentice had covered quite a distance accompanying him on his shopping trip.

So, following his predecessor's memories, Arthur gave him an extra Los.

"Thank you, sir. You're so generous."

The bakery apprentice, who was probably from an ordinary family in South Los's old district, looked thrilled. After thanking him profusely, he took the basket and skipped away.

Ordinary families in the new district were wealthier and more willing to send their children to positions in the Shire District that required more education. Learning a skill like bookkeeping would be ideal.

Only ordinary families in the old district chose apprenticeships involving hard physical labor.

And even that was considered a decent outcome.

At least they had scraped together the apprenticeship fee.

And those who could not?

Most would follow their fathers to the docks, using their physical strength to save enough money to pay for an apprenticeship for someone in the family.

Of course, that might have to wait until their sons' or grandsons' generation.

Or that day might never come.

South Los offered more opportunities than other places, but it was also far crueler. One misstep could bring about the very thing people dreaded most.

A single accident or illness could tear an apparently comfortable family apart.

Good luck!

Arthur watched the bakery apprentice's jubilant retreating figure and silently wished him well. Then his gaze shifted to the end of Kirk Street that led to Dale Lane.

A familiar Lada Carriage appeared there.

Arthur left the door open and stood in the doorway to wait.

The coachman, Edwin, clearly spotted Arthur too, and immediately flicked the reins to pick up speed.

"Mr. Credos, sorry for the wait."

Far more polite than he had been that morning, Edwin jumped down from the carriage and jogged over to Arthur. He bowed slightly, then presented an invitation with both hands.

Glancing at the visibly more respectful coachman, Arthur knew perfectly well that this was the result of his earlier shot at Chief Lark.

It was not a matter of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

It was simply the intimidating effect of daring to shoot a chief dead.

Even if that chief had deserved to die.

Naturally, many people would consider him young and hotheaded.

But was that not exactly the impression Arthur wanted to create?

Being young and hotheaded makes it easier to act!

With that thought, Arthur looked at the invitation.

It was wrapped in pitch-black silk, with a wax seal bearing a moon motif pressed over the opening. Anyone with even a little standing in South Los knew what that represented.

The Lady of the Long Night!

Arthur accepted the invitation without the slightest resistance.

For one thing, it suited his identity as Arthur Credos.

For another, he believed he could gain more XP there.

"There's a gathering this Saturday. I'll come to pick you up then!"

"We look forward to your arrival!"

"Also... the stolen valuables that were difficult to sell have already been found in a secret room in Lark's house!"

After speaking, Edwin bowed again but did not linger. He merely explained that he needed to report back to his mistress, then departed.

Mistress, not employer?

Is she nobility?

Arthur was more interested in this lady than in the now-former chief.

But then he shook his head.

For now, none of that had much to do with him. What he needed was more XP.

Anything else?

That could wait.

With that thought, Arthur prepared to close the door and cook.

But just then, Arthur felt someone watching him.

Without betraying anything, Arthur glanced over from the corner of his eye.

His heart immediately tightened.