The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 151

"Sir? Sir? Are you alright?" asked a woman who worked at the tavern.

Her coworker, a man with thin-framed glasses, responded to the remark.

"I think he's exhausted and fell asleep before he could eat his meal."

The female employee looked at him.

"So, what about this food? Should we throw it away or just leave it?" she asked in confusion.

The man named Flolim let out a short sigh.

"Just leave it. He did order the food here, after all."

Flolim quickly headed back into the tavern, leaving his coworker behind as he chose to finish his work before the establishment closed.

The woman shook her head and frowned at her friend.

Her pupils widened the moment she shifted her gaze toward Zavi.

"Eh, sir!?"

She stood there dumbfounded for several seconds.

'Am I hallucinating or something?'

The woman stared at Zavi with raised brows as she watched him calmly enjoying his meal while reading a newspaper.

Zavi immediately glanced at the woman, who had been staring at him the entire time.

"Eh, Miss? Why are you staring at me like that?" Zavi asked, a piece of meat on his fork paused in front of his mouth.

"Well, I don't even know what I was just doing myself," the woman replied in confusion while adjusting her glasses.

She lowered her head and said awkwardly:

"I'm sorry for being rude and staring at you."

Zavi looked at the woman carefully as though something about her made him hesitate.

'She's pretty too, isn't she?'

He smiled inwardly.

"Relax," Zavi said calmly, setting down his fork. "Sorry for falling asleep here earlier."

"..."

The female employee laughed awkwardly while fidgeting with the edge of her blue apron.

Then she hurried back into the shop in uncontrollable embarrassment.

Zavi shrugged slightly before continuing with his food and drink.

After finishing everything, he headed toward the last location where his clone had hidden the red ring and skull necklace before fading away when Zavi raised his head.

Not knowing how long he had been carrying out this act, Zavi pulled a pocket watch from his suit pocket.

Click...

'Past ten o'clock, huh? It's getting late, and it seems I'll be wrapping all of this up soon.'

His steps quickened as his body gradually disappeared into the night's fog.

Still in Ource, specifically on Dolly Alley, Zavi had retrieved the blazing red ring and the black skull-designed necklace.

Not knowing whether the man who had hired him was inside the bar, Zavi continued forward cautiously.

Upon arriving at the bar, he found the man named Luis.

"Ahem, ahem. May I begin this conversation?" Luis said, surprised by the arrival of James Moriarty, who had bid him farewell only a few hours earlier.

James Moriarty smiled faintly and extended his hand.

"This might help move the conversation along."

Luis accepted the red ring and skull necklace with a caught breath.

"Have you dealt with them already? In just a few hours?" Luis spoke in a broken tone as he realized just how dangerous the man he had hired was.

James Moriarty nodded indifferently.

Luis's gaze swept across the surroundings, observing the people searching for someone to handle their personal affairs.

'A crazy killer! If they knew about this bamboo-hatted man, they'd definitely try to hire him as their bodyguard.'

It was only Luis's hypothesis. Nothing more than that. Yet there was some truth to it when he asked an important question.

"What is your name?" he asked while staring sharply at him.

James Moriarty remained indifferent. He stared at Luis for two seconds before speaking in his slightly heavy voice:

"...James Moriarty."

Luis slipped the ring and necklace into his suit pocket before falling silent for a few seconds.

'I don't know who he really is. Whether he's a trained operative from GreyHeaven or a native of Nature, known for their extreme survival methods because much of that region is covered by humid rainforests filled with Chalog Type 4 creatures fighting for dominance.'

After muttering to himself, Luis looked at James Moriarty, who was waiting for him to continue.

Luis closed his eyes for two seconds, sighed to ease the tension, and said, "James Moriarty, huh. I already introduced myself earlier, but it would be rude if I didn't repeat it."

He bowed his head slightly and quickly added:

"My name is Luis. Just call me Luis."

"Nice to meet you."

James Moriarty extended his hand, not for a handshake, but to receive what was owed to him.

Luis chuckled softly and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, I can't keep my promise."

He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out several banknotes worth forty-five Pace, which he had spent two weeks gathering to pay him.

Not wanting a misunderstanding to continue, Luis immediately added:

"Mr. James Moriarty, don't worry. If you're willing, how about those five Pace you..."

The sentence was never finished.

"Spend it on something here, right?" James Moriarty interrupted calmly.

'I know. He still has some money saved at this bar.'

James Moriarty nodded, recalling a habit he often had back in high school.

Luis blinked in confusion while scratching the back of his head.

"Mr. James Moriarty, I didn't expect us to share the same habit," Luis said with a small laugh.

James Moriarty shook his head briefly, happily accepted the money, and placed it into his suit pocket.

"No. It's because they don't have enough change."

Luis, who had just started walking toward the staircase on his left, froze after hearing that statement.

"Eh?"

"..."

"Is that true?" Luis asked curiously.

James Moriarty nodded coldly before following Luis toward his destination.

The two walked one step apart, heading toward the left side of the bar until they found a wooden door with decorative carvings in the far-left corner.

"Please, come in, sir." Luis opened the door wider from the inside, showing exaggerated respect toward James Moriarty.

"Thank you."

The door closed. They entered the room, which had a completely different atmosphere from before.

'What kind of place is this? A secret room, or a gathering place for important people?'

Luis glanced behind him, his brows furrowing as he observed James Moriarty's cold and intimidating expression, as though this corridor was not frightening in the slightest.

The corridor was lined with a soft red carpet that barely produced any sound beneath their footsteps, as though every noise was being absorbed into the ground.

After several seconds of walking, the two stopped before the final door at the end of the corridor. Luis looked at the door hesitantly before gathering the courage to knock and turn the handle.

Click...

"Welcome... my beloved Luis!"

A woman in a luxurious red dress with a slit running up her leg greeted Luis cheerfully, her face flushed red.

"Are you drunk again?" Luis asked with a frown.

The woman let out a high-pitched sigh.

"I'm not drunk, am I?" she replied in a voice mixed with teasing and sighing as she glanced at the man wearing a tailcoat and vest standing beside the long table where bottles of liquor, soda, and beer remained neatly sealed.

The man in black sunglasses inside the room tilted his head back.

Luis looked at the five people gathered in the room, which was dominated by bright red due to its walls.

He glanced behind him, looked at James Moriarty for two seconds, and said quietly, "My apologies, sir, if this makes you uncomfortable."

"..."

James Moriarty fell silent as the woman stared at him intensely.

'Why is she staring at me like that?'

The woman's expression was difficult to describe, making James Moriarty uncomfortable with her presence.

"Evelina, could you act a little more mature?" Luis muttered with a sigh.

"I know that." Evelina's voice turned heavier. "You, who exactly are you? Why are you with my beloved Luis?"

James Moriarty looked at Evelina indifferently while thinking.

'Sould I just kill that woman? Looking at her already annoys me.'

A blackish-purple box jellyfish wrapped in a grayish-white aura instantly appeared, floating silently beside Evelina's neck, its tentacles ready to inject venom.

However, that never happened when Luis suddenly felt a chill crawl up the back of his neck.

"Evelina," Luis said in a raised voice. "He's my guest. Could you act like a normal person for once?"

James Moriarty reacted with a blink, causing the box jellyfish to vanish instantly. Meanwhile, the other five people, including the man in the tailcoat and vest who served as this place's guard, focused their attention on Evelina.

"Don't mind her, Mr. Bamboo Hat," said a woman in a black lace dress and a wide-brimmed hat decorated with black roses.

James Moriarty searched for the source of the voice.

"Even though she's a noble, she behaves like a street thug," the woman continued while swirling red wine in her glass.

Evelina reacted immediately upon hearing that and approached the woman with heavy steps and a hiss through her teeth.

"Quetheylia, cheap whore of the Theroyhel family. Do you remember me ever being afraid of you?" Evelina muttered, the corner of her lips curling upward.

Quetheylia did not move from her seat even after those sharp words were spoken.

"I'm not afraid of you either," she replied calmly.

The other four people, including two of her subordinates, sat silently with lowered heads while glancing toward Evelina.

On the other hand, Luis felt uneasy after witnessing his friend's strange and irritating behavior toward James Moriarty.

He slowly turned around, looking at James Moriarty's indifferent face while his heart pounded rapidly.

"My apologies, sir, for my friend's behavior."

James Moriarty lowered his bamboo hat with his thumb.

Luis still hesitated to continue as he glanced behind him.

"Come, sir. Let's sit at the seats by the table, and you may order whatever you'd like."

James Moriarty nodded, following Luis from behind, and the two finally sat down.

The man in the vest suit, a bartender, lifted a glass and wiped it with a clean cloth, waiting for an order while watching the two men with a deep gaze.

"Pure Spirit with lemon," James Moriarty said coldly after considering a suitable drink.

The bartender nodded in understanding and immediately set down the rock glass he had cleaned before dropping several medium-sized ice cubes into it.

A pale yellow, naturally cloudy liquid filled the glass.

Thud..

"Here you go," the bartender said calmly.

"..."

James Moriarty nodded without a word.

And not long after he took several sips of the lemon-mixed Pure Spirit, Evelina dragged her feet toward them and sat on the high stool beside Luis.

Luis initially didn't want to speak to her, but to restore the atmosphere, he had no choice.

"Finished fighting?" he asked in surprise.

Evelina shook her head. Her cheerful expression was gone as she said softly, "Sorry, Luis. I got too carried away with my role."

"Ah, it's fine. But..."

Evelina immediately understood what he meant when Luis repeatedly glanced at James Moriarty, urging her to apologize.

Letting out a sigh while remaining seated, Evelina agreed.

"Um... sorry about what I said earlier."

"..."

James Moriarty finished his drink and glanced at Evelina with a dark face, like a living corpse that had risen from its grave after being buried for several thousand years.

"Luis, he's not answering," Evelina whispered.

"Sir, that's just how he is, but he's actually a good person."

"How do you know?" Evelina whispered, repeatedly glancing at James Moriarty.

"A few hours ago," Luis answered uncertainly.

"What did you say? A few hours ago?" She was shocked, knowing that Luis often brought complete strangers into this place.

"So, what's that man's name?" Evelina asked in a whisper.

"...James Moriarty," Luis answered with an indescribable look as something cold once again stabbed at the back of his neck.

Evelina's pupils widened.

'Impossible... James Moriarty is here?'

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