Klein sat down at the bar and slammed his fist on the table:
"A glass of Southville beer."
Behind him, several guards hesitated, wondering whether to come over and warn him or pretend that no one had fired a gun.
The bartender winked at the guards, picked up a glass, and chuckled:
Why not have a ' Sweet Lemon '?
"Our boss once went to Trier to learn bartending, mastered many of the cocktail categories left by Emperor Roselle, and created Oravi's most popular ' Sweet Lemon '."
Klein remained unmoved and calmly replied:
I only drink beer.
"Alright." The bartender didn't rush to take the Southville beer, but smiled and said, "Sir, are you an adventurer?"
Klein nodded but did not answer.
Without hesitation, the bartender smiled and said:
"Perhaps you should meet our boss. He's always very friendly to new adventurers, happy to buy them drinks, and it might help you in other ways as well."
Klein had originally planned to buy the " Marionettist " auxiliary materials here, did not refuse. He took out a brass penny, flicked it up, and caught it steadily.
He placed the penny on the bar as a thank you to the bartender for the reminder, then slowly stood up and followed a guard up the stairs to the second floor, entering the room at the other end of the corridor.
The room was covered with thick, soft, brown carpet and filled with the faint smell of burning high-quality coal, mixed with the aroma of smoking cigars.
A middle-aged man with neatly combed blond hair sat back in an armchair, smoking a cigar and reading a newspaper, surrounded by more than six bodyguards.
Although Klein was not Beyonder in the " Spectator " realm and could not judge the characteristics and strength of those bodyguards from the details, nor did he belong to the " Mystery Pryer " or " Monster " path, which allowed him to see certain Concealment and discover things that others could not, his Spirituality intuition made him believe that there must be Beyonder among those bodyguards, Beyonder could pose a certain threat to him.
The middle-aged man put down his newspaper, adjusted the collar of his black shirt, slowly stood up, and extended his right hand, saying:
Welcome to Oravi, my adventurer friend.
His azure eyes held a hint of a smile, making him appear quite sincere.
Klein also extended his right hand and lightly touched it with the other person's, without saying a word, waiting for the other person to speak.
The middle-aged man pointed to the sofa opposite the armchair and chuckled:
"I am the owner here Bilt Brando."
"I used to be an adventurer, and I was pretty good at it, at least enough to survive until now and make a lot of money."
He was very confident in his abilities, which was why he dared to express himself so directly... Klein sat down without any hesitation, leaning forward slightly, and waited expressionlessly for Bilt to continue.
Seeing that the adventurer opposite him did not respond, Bilt sat down again, took a puff of his cigar, and said leisurely:
"To be honest, I do have my own reasons for meeting with every new adventurer."
He pointed to the nautical chart on the desk in the room and described it in a very magnetic voice:
"Eastward from the Rorsted Archipelago, the seas become increasingly chaotic, and the military and church forces dwindle, sometimes only able to protect their own ports."
"This sea area is a paradise for pirates, which is very disadvantageous to us adventurers. Therefore, I hope to organize everyone and establish a loose alliance so that we can unite when facing danger."
"This alliance won't be very binding. You can choose to stand by and watch when other adventurers are in danger, and no one will punish you. However, if you encounter a similar situation later, you don't need to expect help."
"Furthermore, I can promise that adventurers from this alliance will receive near-bottom prices when purchasing items from me, and will earn at least the market price when selling their spoils."
After the introductions were finished, Bilt looked at the new adventurer opposite him with a smile and chuckled:
"So? Interested in joining this loose alliance? Don't worry, there won't be any extra expenses. Our only principle is to help each other when we encounter pirates."
Klein nodded and said:
"Sounds pretty good."
"Haha, I think so too. I once wanted to name this alliance ' Adventure Brotherhood,' but then I felt that the word 'brother' was too forceful, so I changed it to ' Adventurers' Mutual Aid Society,'" Bilt chuckled self-deprecatingly.
At this point, he lowered his hand holding the cigar, smacked his lips, shook his head, and chuckled:
"Sorry, I forgot to ask your name."
Klein remained in his position and replied in a deep voice:
" Gehrman Sparrow."
" Gehrman Sparrow..." Bilt's eyelids twitched, and his smile instantly became somewhat stiff. The bodyguards around him tensed up abruptly, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Bilt quickly regained his composure, not bothering to find out if it was the real Gehrman Sparrow or an imposter, and chuckled:
"Is there anything you'd like to buy? I have a lot of good stuff here."
"The water of the Sonia Golden Spring," Klein said calmly, but cautiously.
He didn't mention the bark of the dragon-patterned tree, since that material is readily available in herbal medicine shops.
Bilt Brando inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief and smiled:
"Simple.
100 ml for 30 pounds.
"Believe me, even if you go to Sonia Island, it will only be a few pounds cheaper. Those Barbarian in Feysac have blocked off every spring; it'll be very difficult for others to get there."
"Deal." Klein had a general understanding of the price of Golden Spring and knew that 30 pounds for 100 milliliters was indeed quite cheap.
Having completed the transaction, Bilt was about to speak when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.
After receiving his permission, a guard came in, leaned close to his ear, and whispered a few words.
Bilt's expression immediately darkened, and he became unusually cold, exuding an indescribable murderous aura.
Sure enough, his strength was quite impressive. He must have been a famous adventurer or a well-known pirate before... He should be in the Mid-Sequence... Klein looked at the other party and calmly made his judgment.
Bilt turned his head and forced a smile as he said to Klein:
"Mr. Sparrow, I have some things to take care of."
Let's have a drink sometime.
"Okay." Klein slowly stood up, showing no intention of interfering in the other party's affairs.
Of course, this doesn't mean he wasn't curious, but curiosity alone wasn't enough to change his behavior.
After leaving the " Sweet Lemon " bar, Klein returned safely to his rented hotel.
City of Silver, a "daytime" filled with frequent lightning.
After practicing the extraordinary abilities of the " The Sun High Priest," Derrick Berg walked along the edge of the training ground towards the Twin Towers.
After many Tarot Gathering, he gradually figured out the pattern and knew roughly how many alternations of high and low lightning frequencies would occur before he would be pulled into the Gray Fog by Mr. " The Fool ".
And now, that final "day" has arrived.
That's why he's going to the library to look up historical materials related to the ancient gods so that he can offer them to Mr. The Fool later.
As he passed the partition of the training ground, Derrick subconsciously glanced inside, where a group of exploration team members were resting. They were the exploration team members led by Colin Iliad, the chief elder of the Council of Six!
They recently concluded their exploration based on the little boy Jack's description and returned to City of Silver, where they are currently in quarantine.
Derrick withdrew his gaze with a slightly heavy heart, walked up to the spire, went up to the third floor, and entered the library.
As he was about to walk toward the bookshelf displaying mythological materials and ancient classics, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
She was a fair-skinned and beautiful woman in her thirties, wearing a black robe with many mysterious purple patterns, and her silver-gray hair was slightly curled and draped down.
She is Lovia Tiffany, the Council of Six has been imprisoned for a long time!
As the other person's pale gray eyes swept over him, Derrick felt as if his soul had been pierced, and he froze for a second, unable to suppress his reaction.
"Best wishes, Elder Lovia." He quickly lowered his head and pressed his hand to his chest.
Lovia walked over and nodded gently, saying:
"I have been released from quarantine."
She finished speaking calmly, then turned and left, as if making a declaration.
Derrick stood rooted to the spot, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
How could she have been released? Had the Council of Six already determined that she was innocent? Derrick thought with unusual tension.
Monday afternoon, above the Gray Fog.
Klein rested his elbows on the armrests, his hands clasped together as he watched the deep red lights illuminate and then fade into blurry figures.
Then, he heard Miss Justice's cheerful greeting:
Good afternoon, Mr. The Fool.
P. S.: I caught a cold after returning from the vigil and the mountain visit, mainly due to a sore throat. I endured it for a few days without medicine, but eventually couldn't take it anymore and had to rely on medication. I'm much better now, but because of the medication's effects, I only wrote one chapter yesterday, so I'm out of drafts and this chapter is shorter. Also, please vote with your monthly tickets! There's only a little over a day left in January, it would be a waste not to vote!