When the plot-skips players into the game world

The bartender's face briefly flashed with astonishment, quickly disguised as an annoyance at seeing customers at this time.

"If you'd like a drink, old sir... and you, Inspector,"

The bartender, Mr., drew out his words wearily, squinting his eyes and speaking leisurely: "You've come too early. We haven't opened yet."

"Ah, just to let you know. Our bar's dishes are much more expensive than outside. Don't complain about the price after ordering... We don't do refunds."

For some reason, although it was the same elongated vowel sounds and numerous glides typical of an elf accent... Hayna felt that the bartender's voice lacked the elegance of Aiwass's butler.

Perhaps it was because some of his trills were too harsh, too clear, or perhaps it was because his throat had a raspy tone from long-term smoking, which gave off a seasoned, unsavory air.

"How much more expensive?"

Hearing this, Hayna instinctively asked.

But she quickly remembered that she was here to investigate. No matter how expensive the food was, she had to order it.

Instead, the investigation funds provided by Butler Oswald were meant to be used at times like this.

So she immediately changed her question: "What dishes do you have here?"

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"Heh..."

Aiwass, standing in front of her, couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

Investigating with such a novice was indeed a unique experience.

Despite the wild elf bartender's quick response, he couldn't fool Aiwass. He deliberately addressed Aiwass as "old sir," as if he hadn't recognized Aiwass's identity.

But that was impossible.

This elf who looked to be in his thirties in human years must be at least a hundred years old. As a wild elf, he lived among the urban riffraff; and the memory and perception granted by his elven blood were clearly superior to humans.

Even if Aiwass was wearing a fully covering cloak, his physique could never pass for an old man; just by observing the style of his shoes and the exposed part of his chin, he should have been able to identify Aiwass.

If Oswald, instead of Hayna, had come with him... he would have immediately noticed that the bartender was being excessively deliberate.

—Aiwass had visited the Pelican Bar a few days ago to meet those two "pen pals."

And he had been very conspicuous at that time.

"Pelican Bar" was the meeting place specially designated by those two pen pals. At that time, Aiwass was still able to move normally, was agile, fit, and wanted to keep secret his communication with the Demon Scholar, so he went to the meeting alone.

Considering he had never been to this place before, he set out almost two hours early and had the coachman bring him directly to the Pelican Bar.

To be honest, if Aiwass hadn't found a coachman, he probably would never have found the "Pelican Bar" — who could guess that the Pelican Bar was not named "Pelican"?

When Aiwass arrived, he was more than an hour early for the appointed time of five o'clock in the afternoon. But he had anticipated this and brought a book to read in advance.

It was a book on the Alchemy Cipher of the Star Antimony language. Those alchemists following the "Balance" path were very concerned that their knowledge leaking out would disrupt the world's equilibrium. Therefore, they used some mysterious language when writing books and communicating with peers that outsiders couldn't understand.

For example, "King," "Queen Consort," and "Queen" all indicated different things. Similarly, "The Sun" and "The Moon," "Toad" and "Flying Dragon" could all be alluding to something. And, based on the principle of "keeping secrets from the uninitiated," each alchemist had unique ciphers. There were no standard industry terms or common understanding among them.

They each had their own codebooks, secretly taught to their students for decoding; and if they were communicating with a sufficiently skilled peer, they could interpret the intended meaning from those hints.

It was the so-called "those who know, know; those who don't, wouldn't understand even if it's explained."

"Alchemy Cipher," this book, revealed several classic ciphers as examples. In the examples, the author demonstrated an alchemical process for making "Antimony Glass," a mildly poisonous emetic. With slight adjustments to the proportions, one could obtain "Mercurial Antimony," a sweet-tasting, thick, flowing deadly substance.

Not to go into details, this was knowledge for concocting a lethal poison!

This taboo knowledge struck right at Aiwass's excitement. In the noisy bar, he sat in a corner absorbed in his book, and in the blink of an eye, it was almost six o'clock. It wasn't until the two men slapped his shoulder to wake him up.

Originally, Aiwass only intended to meet with them and leave.

Not because he doubted them, but because the security in the Lohar District was indeed poor. If he lingered too late, even taking a taxi might not be safe — the Strangler Party had been stirring up fear recently.

But by then, it was mealtime, and as they drank and chatted, they grew merrier and more excited. Eventually, Aiwass casually used a White Coin to order a lavish meal on the spot, treating the two "friends" to an extravagant feast. He didn't even ask for the change, instead buying a round for the other customers.

—His two friends had assured him that it wouldn't matter if it was late, they would escort him home. And after dinner, they chatted for a long time. By the time they left the bar, it was already past ten o'clock.

"Midnight is the most suitable time for summoning demons."