Chapter 224: That Man

Chapter 224: That Man

Turning sideways to avoid a drunkard charging wildly through the crowd, Emlyn frowned and flicked his clothes, continuing to squeeze toward the bar counter.

Throughout that process, he seemed to do nothing, yet the surrounding drinkers always failed to touch him. Whether in speed, agility, balance, or bodily coordination, he had reached a rather terrifying level.

At last, Emlyn arrived at the bar counter. He bent a finger and knocked against the wood.

“Where is Ian?”

The bartender glanced at him and said nothing, continuing to lower his head and wipe a glass.

“…” Emlyn froze in place. He felt that he must have done something wrong and had therefore failed to receive the expected answer. This made him somewhat embarrassed and angry. He very much wanted to reach forward and yank the bartender out.

However, he believed that would be unbefitting of a gentleman, so he forcibly restrained his emotions. He looked left and right and discovered that everyone was drinking.

After thinking for a moment, Emlyn tentatively said, “A glass of Aurmir red wine.”

The bartender’s glass-wiping hand stopped. He lifted his head and looked at the handsome man before him with black hair and red eyes, his gaze strange.

“We don’t have that.”

That was one of the world’s finest red wines, and its price was astonishing!

Emlyn was not stupid. From the other party’s gaze, he realized he had ordered a drink he should not have ordered. After carefully recalling, he said, “A Southville beer.”

“Five pence.” The bartender finally set down both glass and rag.

Emlyn directly took out a one-soli note.

“Keep the change.”

“Thank you.” The bartender pointed to the left. “Ian is in Card Room No. 1.”

A smile immediately appeared on Emlyn’s face. He was both pleased and proud that he had solved a real problem. He did not take the Southville beer and directly turned, walking toward Card Room No. 1.

Knock, knock, knock! He politely knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a slightly youthful voice sounded from inside.

Emlyn adjusted his collar and pushed open the door, only to find the scene inside somewhat different from what he had expected.

In his mind, since this was a card room, there should certainly have been a group of people around a long table playing games like Texas poker. Who would have known there were indeed seven or eight people, yet no cards at all? Before each participant lay a sheet of white paper covered with some kind of messy record. Apart from those, only fountain pens and many-sided dice sat on the table.

Emlyn instinctively cast his gaze toward the youngest person inside. It was a clean-looking older boy who also had bright-red eyes and looked only fifteen or sixteen.

“Ian?” Emlyn asked in confirmation.

Ian nodded with a smile.

“Yes. Sir, what can I do for you? Or would you like to join our game?”

“Game?” Emlyn instinctively asked back.

Ian chuckled.

“Yes, a game. I don’t like playing cards, nor do I like billiards, but since I spend every day here, I need to find something to do. I found inspiration in Emperor Roselle’s biography. That is, organizing people to sit together and attempt adventures on paper.

“In this game, as long as you follow the rules, you can become anyone: a doctor, an adventurer who likes eating vegetables, a private detective who always carries a wrench and pipe, or an archaeologist fond of sudden flights of fancy. Then you all travel together to an ancient castle, search for stories hidden in history, and fight all kinds of monsters.”

“That sounds a little interesting.” Emlyn inexplicably felt that this kind of game suited him rather well.

“Haha, would you like to join? This time, we’ve become involved in a conspiracy and are about to face a powerful ancient vampire. He appears to have a handsome face, but beneath his skin are pus-filled blisters scorched by boiling blood,” Ian warmly invited him.

Sanguine, thank you! Emlyn’s cheek twitched almost imperceptibly. He said directly…