As if he didn't notice the strange meaning contained in Duan Qing's words, the middle-aged nobleman named Tristan adjusted his red and black imperial official uniform and continued to speak. The voice once again echoed in this small and medium-sized city as before.
In the tavern, the leisure time on the afternoon of February 27th was also accompanied by a plain but informative conversation between the two people, slowly passing by along the arc of the setting sun. It seemed to be responding to the night.
With the arrival of the bartender, more and more guests came in and out of the tavern. After noticing this change, Tristan also stood up and saluted, and the last few guests
The words left with his own smile were left to Duan Qing: "In short, don't expect His Majesty the Emperor to let you go because of any relationship. After all, he is carrying the entire royal family and the Fleur Empire behind him. His prince Chris,
There are several other children whose futures we still rely on this Lion Emperor to arrange."
"I can't compare with my relatives, so I naturally need to compare with something else. I understand this."
"The matter between Marshal Red and the Gloria family will be handled by me. After all, I still have some sense of presence with Prime Minister Caldera. His status is somewhat the same as that of the current emperor, and he will not do anything for it.
With just a little money or words from the finance minister, he easily gives up his dominant position..."
"I can only rely on myself for the rest, right? If some disputes and contradictions within the royal family cannot be resolved, the problem hanging on me can only become a dead end..."
The discussion between the two people about the current situation still echoed in his ears. Duan Qing watched as Tristan, who had become an imperial nobleman, gradually disappeared outside the tavern door. The kind reminder and inexplicable warmth then disappeared.
It lingered in his mind for a while, and finally disappeared together with the groaning sound of him staying here alone. He boldly drank the last glass of boiled water in his hand, and the man in the gray-white magic robe quietly closed his door.
His eyes, as if he was trying hard to think about something, kept rolling in the deep voice, and finally opened again with a long sigh: "...Alas."
"So the problem is all your fault." He lowered his head and looked at his left arm on the table: "Don't you have anything to say yet?"
"..."
As if in response to his voice, Violet's figure appeared slightly in front of the table behind him for a moment, and her long translucent purple hair finally changed as she shook her head.
She shook it and placed it on Duan Qing's body with her doubtful eyes. Looking back at the untouched water glass placed beside her, Duan Qing's sigh became a little heavier.
The raised gaze then passed over the figure of the woman who had become transparent again, and landed on the bartender who came to the wine table: "You haven't paid the bill yet, sir."
"...Hey, that stingy guy." So Duan Qing grinded his teeth: "Didn't we agree that he would pay the bill?"
"If you mean Mr. Tristan, he has already paid your account."
Duan Qing was surprised when he said something in a calm voice. The calm-looking bartender caressed his chest and bent down to salute: "But he only paid for two people and hasn't paid the third one yet."
"..."
Duan Qing seemed to finally understand the meaning of the other party's words. Duan Qing put away the surprise on his face: "I see, where should I pay?"
"this way please."
With a weird smile on his lips, the bartender then stood up and pointed to the stairs sloping to the side of the bar: "There is someone waiting for you on the second floor."
Looking back at the air behind him, Duan Qing took a breath and straightened his clothes. Then he turned around while looking at the bartender and walked towards the second floor:
"That is to say...that note was sent by you, right?"
"Tristan just asked us to guide you here, but he didn't tell us the specific method."
In the scene where low-pitched replies were slowly heard, another man who looked like a bartender standing at the stairs on the second floor replied in a low-pitched voice: "The room number 201 on that note was indeed left by us without permission.
of."
"Then why didn't you admit it at the beginning?" Looking at the waiter's gesture pointing diagonally forward, Duan Qing tilted his head and asked, "What nonsense did you say that room 201 is a warehouse..."
"Because you didn't answer the code correctly."
Ruoyouruowu's aura came from the front where the bartender was pointing. Along with it, there was the scene of the door of the room moving automatically without any wind. Duan Qing, who walked to the front of the room without fear, also widened his eyes.
With his eyes, a man shrouded in black light and shadow and his hazy figure sitting in the center of the room were brought into his field of vision: "So we need some time to confirm."
"My identity as a candidate for the throne is already a matter of the previous generation."
After muttering these words in a low voice, Duan Qing walked up to the man shrouded in black energy with a warm smile: "Sorry, sorry, I just forgot the commission that Mr. Hank gave me, so I haven't found it here.
He just came, and he didn’t seem to give me any passwords or anything..."
"letter."
Ignoring Duan Qing's enthusiastic smile, the hazy black figure sitting in the center of the room seemed to tilt his head slightly, and the hands that were holding the front of him seemed to be folded together as he asked, covering the same
An unidentifiable long weapon in the black energy frightened Duan Qing's mind: "What...what letter?"
"The letter he gave you."
Feeling that the coldness suddenly spread again, Duan Qing involuntarily raised his hand to cover his face. The black envelope he had taken out before flew out of his cuffs with this movement.
Slowly falling in front of the man shrouded in black energy: "This is not only a letter of entrustment, but also a letter of introduction. Without this letter, you would never be alive to meet me."
"Uh... I forgot to ask you your surname." Duan Qing, who stood up straight, asked carefully: "Who are you?"
"I am Asa, the owner of Angela's Tavern." His eyes stayed on the surface of the black envelope floating on the table for a while, and then the mysterious man shrouded in black air answered loudly: "At the same time, it was also two hundred years ago.
, the person in charge of the Shadow Society who was stationed here by Glynn Fandral, then Lord of the City of Freedom."
"The name is good, it fits the style of this tavern...wait, another monster that has lived for hundreds of years?" Then Duan Qing widened his eyes: "How did you...uh, okay.
"
"Looking at the way you are showing off your power now, I can probably guess it." He waved his hand, and then sat calmly opposite the weird man shrouded in black energy: "But...
…Is it really worth doing to forcefully maintain one’s body in this way?”
"The light is always there and the shadow is forever."
After saying this calmly, the mysterious man who called himself Asa replied in a low voice: "What's more, a place like Redkar, the imperial capital, will suffer an catastrophe that will never be recovered if we let our guard down even a little bit. If I don't stay here,
, the shadow will last for thousands of years, and the empire’s foundation will be easily destroyed overnight.”
"As a descendant of the Twelve Thrones, I cannot sit idly by and ignore it."
The voice was like the sand and gravel rubbing against the wind in hell. The black shadow named Asa replied in a low voice. The pair of eyes that were gradually revealed between the billowing black mist also emitted a shining red light at this time.
The breath-stopping gaze stared in the direction of Duan Qing. As if he didn't feel any pressure at all from these eyes, Duan Qing waved his hand indifferently, and the respectful look on his face disappeared.
As this period of time passed, it disappeared and was replaced by an expressionless face: "I probably know the truth, so what do you want to do when you come to me?"
"Your arrival has caused ripples again, Mr. Linyuan Duanshui."
The scalp-numbing sound of friction paused for a moment, and then the harsh low laughter belonging to Asa sounded again in this small space: "Whether it is the departure of the Roland family or the return of the Romlia family,
None of them caused much shock in the empire, and the direction of the empire did not even change due to the emergence of these factors. Everything was within our expectations."
"But you are different. You have messed up the fate of this place." The pair of red lights in the black mist deflected and suddenly landed in a certain direction behind Duan Qing: "You have brought not only the fuse of destruction,
And the source of chaos."
"Well, it seems that the mere alchemy trick is not enough to hide it from your sight." Duan Qing gestured in the direction of Violet, who was following him in the air, and a wry smile appeared at the corner of Duan Qing's mouth.
: "But... her existence is not unacceptable, right? Is there any problem here?"
"Even if she is an existence that can be allowed by fate, she cannot appear in Redkar at this moment." Asa's voice was as heavy as rolling thunder: "Her name, and her past...those
There are too many causes and effects involved.”
"Sorry to ask a question." Duan Qing raised his hand and looked at the eyes shrouded in black mist with doubts: "Are you a destiny weaver?"
"Yes, and no." The hostility in those eyes did not change at all. Asa stared in the direction of Duan Qing and Violet with warning eyes: "But even if he doesn't care about the principles of the world at all,
The shadow will be there, and the consequences of her existence are something we cannot easily bear."
"So what are you going to do, chop off our heads?" Duan Qing pointed at his neck: "Or expel us from the city?"
"Drenir is staring at you and your men now, and the other imperial nobles will not let you go easily." The warning in the voice of the figure under the black mist became a little stronger: "If
If we erase your existence so easily, the result may not be better than now."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"We hope you will obey our arrangements."
He said these words without hesitation. The man shrouded in black mist moved his hands on the weapon slightly: "In the next time, we will have some actions. I hope you and your
My subordinates, and the 'outsider' behind you, can complete some of my instructions."
"It sounds like a very harsh suggestion." Duan Qing's body also leaned forward slightly: "What if I don't agree?"
The pair of red eyes in the dark mist suddenly enlarged in front of Duan Qing, accompanied by invisible forces that instantly intertwined with the burning murderous intent.
The sight of me showing no movement showed any sign of weakness, and the harsh sound that broke through the air could even pierce the chest of an ordinary person. The body sitting on the spot also showed no reaction. Duan Qing, who had a smile on his lips, looked at it like this
Following the intertwined invisible forces that instantly slashed the sword-shaped air shadow above his head, Peiran's magical energy was also gathered from Violet behind him, with an icy blue streak.
A crystal wall blocked his face.
clang!
A huge vibrating sound erupted from the gap where the air shadow and crystal magic energy met each other, rushing towards the surroundings of the room along the outline of the arc-shaped protective cover. The surrounding wooden tables and chairs also followed the energy.
It spread and began to show signs of disintegration, and even the back wall of the room began to show traces of cracks. Only the two confronting figures in the center that were still intact belonged to the gray-robed magician.
Then a confident smile appeared on his face. He reached out and touched the surface of the flawless crystal shield in front of him. After a while, he raised his head as the energy gradually disappeared: "The shadow will
I understand what I mean, and I hope you can also understand my position.”
"I don't have much strength to protect myself, and I don't have much confidence to sit here face to face with you." He stretched out his arms to indicate, and his eyes met the calming red light again.
Together: "I have another question."
"……explain."
"Hank's superficial identity in Tanzania City is still under the banner of an imperial organization. I wonder if there is any other cooperation between your Shadow Society and this guy that I don't know about?"
"He has been our rival since the beginning."
"Okay, I understand."
Nodding his head at the other party who answered decisively, Duan Qing then put down his serious expression: "I can promise you, but not as an order, but as a commission and request issued by you."
"..."
"After all, while I am a magician, I am also an adventurer."
Ignoring the mysterious man's silent reaction, Duan Qing slapped his body and stood up. The figure behind the gradually dissipating crystal shield began to get further and further away from the leader of the Shadow Society until he disappeared.
Outside the dilapidated room door: "Since you are an adventurer..."
"As long as it is a suitable entrusted task, we will naturally rush for the next one."
This chapter has been completed!