The black sun hangs high

Chapter 14 People Who Keep Their Word

When the sunlight streaming into the bedroom began to slant noticeably, Hughes finally saw his "guest" off from Ernst's old house.

It's time to change my clothes again.

During his time alone with Verain Ernst, he broke out in a cold sweat time and time again.

Part of the reason for the cold sweat was that this lake-level magic advisor was very difficult to deal with. Although Hugh had tried his best to gain the upper hand in the conversation, the pressure she exerted was real.

It's hard to imagine how a young girl my age could show such a terrible side, while I can only earn a living by submitting vulgar literature. It's truly infuriating to compare yourself to others.

Another reason that made Hugh break out in a cold sweat was that, in the process of piecing together information and intelligence, he gradually discovered some terrifying possibilities.

The female mage, Vilin, was very trustworthy. She meticulously explained to Hugh the two unusual missions she had received and frankly admitted that she did not have the usual authority in this mission. That is, like the other Stream-level and Raindrop-level mages of the Law Committee, she could only act as an "uninformed executor" in this incident.

This candor made Hughes very uneasy.

Based on their interactions over the past half-day, Hugh was fairly certain that Vereen Ernst was a law committee member who was very rule-abiding and liked to follow the rules. However, she had now abandoned her previous principles and habits and was stubbornly trying to extract more information from Hugh, which was an abnormal phenomenon in itself.

Hugh returned to his desk, pulled out a blank sheet of paper, picked up his old magic ink pen, and began to write rapidly on the paper.

"Firstly, it's not surprising that the mission order received by Verin Ernst was issued by the Legal Committee's branch in the Kingdom of Wotel. After all, Seren City has a special geographical location. As a vital transportation route connecting the Lovi Plateau and the Goddess Plain, Seren City's importance will only continue to increase with the popularization of magical steam vehicles..."

"Secondly, if the Legal Committee is indeed neutral and doesn't take sides as they claim, then the first mission Vera received is very strange. Transporting a batch of obviously high-risk magical creatures or something else to the vicinity of the main road of Seren City—what is this all about? Moreover, even a Lake-level magic advisor isn't allowed to know the details, which further indicates that the mission itself is suspicious!"

"Thirdly, I originally thought that the changes in Seren City might be led by either the Kingdom of Wotel or the Kingdom of Delan, but now it seems that this is probably not the case. In the shadows that people cannot notice, these two behemoths have already begun to act... and the ceasefire celebration in 7 days will probably be the moment when this conflict completely erupts."

"Fourth, besides the two great kingdoms, other things have probably also gotten involved in this mess, including my cheap family and the reckless Peace Newspaper..."

"Fifth, judging from today's experience, there probably won't be a completely safe place in Seren City. Since magical creatures like shapeshifters can move freely through underground pipes, who knows what other situations might arise."

Hugh quickly wrote down a long string of his thoughts and guesses on the manuscript paper. After confirming that he had not missed anything, he helplessly tossed the magic pen aside.

The city's residents were naturally unaware of what was about to happen in the city.

Some people feel they have everything under control and even think they can profit from it, but in reality, when things happen, they themselves find it difficult to escape. Editor-in-Chief Philip is a typical example.

Some people think they have foresight, but in reality, they can't see their fate at all.

A pale, gloomy face was reflected in the glass. Hugh stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar reflection and couldn't help but sigh.

"Persistence in struggle is a human instinct; now is not the time to give up."

He muttered to himself, then roused himself, changed into new clothes, took out a somewhat old trench coat and put it on, and went downstairs.

After verifying the information with Verin Ernst and having a serious discussion, Hughes was no longer optimistic about the situation in Seren. A sense of tension weighed heavily on his heart, and now he had to find more ways out for himself.

Hughes temporarily set aside the matters concerning Philip and the Peace Newspaper, and with his "windfall," he quickly headed to old Schubert's beer hall.

There weren't many customers at the beer hall in the afternoon, so Sally had time to relax. When Hugh entered the beer hall, she was busy chatting with several miners who had come down from the nearby crystal mine on vacation.

If anyone values ​​the truce celebration the most, it would undoubtedly be the miners. As a group that toils in the mines year-round, these miners living in Seren look forward to this festival the most each year, because at this time, they can legitimately get a chance to rest.

These miners were regulars at the beer hall, and they were also very familiar with Hugh, the young man who spent all his time writing in the pub. When Sally greeted Hugh with a smile, the old men immediately burst into teasing laughter.

"Miss Sally, I've come to return the money."

Hugh placed a small, pre-wrapped pouch in Sally's hand. The girl didn't open the pouch to count the items, but gently tossed it twice. Then she asked in surprise, "It feels heavier than 20 silver coins!"

"Yes, there are two extra ones, since I still owe them money here."

"Then I'll give it to your uncle for you!"

Sally smiled and carefully put the silver coins away, then returned to Hugh: "Is there anything you'd like to drink? It's on me today."

Hearing her ask that, Hugh forced a smile: "What, suddenly so generous?"

"Ha, Mr. Ernst, would you dare say I wasn't generous before? You and Putrin certainly got a fair amount of beer from me!"

With that, Sally smiled and went behind the bar, took out two large glasses, and began to stir the sour beer that was unique to Seren.

Sally looked very happy at that moment, her smile almost overflowing. Because of her long time working as a bartender, her movements in handling drinks were elegant and agile. In the process, she was also able to chat with the customers not far away. Her voice was clear and pleasant, revealing the sweetness and sincerity unique to girls her age.

"Boom!"

Soon, a glass of sour beer with ice and syrup was placed in front of Hugh.

Hugh smiled and shook his head, then reached out and took the glass: "Thank you, Miss Sally."

Those who keep their promises deserve to be rewarded!

Sally raised her glass and clinked it against Hughes's with a smile: "To your royalties, and to the upcoming armistice celebration!" "Sally, you've been sneaking a drink again! We'll tell old Schubert!"

The miners nearby burst into laughter at the two young men. Hugh had a good impression of these hardworking men, so he turned around, raised his glass to them, and this action immediately earned him a series of strange greetings.

"Homage to your words, Master of Joy!"

"Homage to the 'Midnight Dawn' of Serenity!"

"..."

The short and pleasant break passed quickly as the sour beer in his glass was emptied. Hugh put down his empty beer glass, his smile fading, and asked Sally beside him, "By the way, Miss Sally, I remember you used to work odd jobs at Mrs. Smalls Shopping Street for a while?"

"Yes."

Sally blinked, and as she put away Hugh and her own empty wine glasses, she replied, "What? Is our great writer planning to change jobs? Or do you want to go there to gather material?"

"No, I just want to buy some incense ingredients."

Hugh said, half-jokingly, "The Peace Newspaper increased my article fees, so I can buy some incense. But the prices of incense in stores are usually too high, so I wanted to ask you if the store where you used to work could offer some small discounts?"

"Ah, so that's what you wanted to ask..."

Sally put down the wine glass that she had already washed and wiped, wiped her hands quickly on a cloth, and then said, "I used to work at the 'Alchemy Thief' shop. The owner is an acquaintance of my uncle. Come on, I'll take you there. For my uncle's and my sake, you'll definitely get the discount you want!"

"It's getting late, things will be getting busy here soon, won't they?"

Hughes frowned: "If you leave now, be careful old Schubert might cause you trouble."

"It's just for a short while, it's alright."

After saying that, Sally came out from behind the bar and, without waiting for Hugh's consent, pulled him out of the beer hall.

……

Old Schubert's beer hall wasn't far from Mrs. Small's shopping street, and as the two chatted, Sally soon led Hugh to the smaller street he had walked down the night before.

Here, Hugh immediately spotted the pool he had leaned against last night, and he even identified the shop from which the shapeshifter had made its noise last night—its name was "Earth Dragon's Horn," and it was open for business as usual.

The "Alchemy Thief" that Sally mentioned is located diagonally opposite the "Horn of the Earth Dragon." The shop's decor is quite interesting. Just like its name, the "Alchemy Thief" uses many playful and interesting decorative elements. The shop's door is even deliberately carved into a circle, and the colorful colors on the door frame suggest that the shop's owner is likely from the Kingdom of Delan.

On the side of the door frame was nailed an image of a giant-eared goblin with a veiled face. Everyone in Vaan knew that giant-eared goblins always represented cunning and stinginess. Hugh felt genuinely worried about the shop owner's aesthetic sense and preferences for using such an image to represent his shop.

The "alchemist thief" was very quiet at this moment. In the dim light, Hugh saw a uniquely shaped incense burner. It was clearly different from the incense burners commonly found on the market. It was made entirely of metal, and its surface was inlaid with several magical crystal minerals. With the help of the magical glow, Hugh could see the constantly moving metal structure inside.

"Waltel's new product, what, interested?"

A somewhat hoarse voice came from the darkness. Hugh turned his head and then noticed that a wall in the store suddenly moved.

Hugh was stunned. He looked closely and realized that it was not a wall at all, but an unusually large person. His body was so fat and huge that when he sat motionless in the darkness, he looked like a wall.

Sally walked over with a smile and waved at the figure: "Mr. Gerald, this is my friend, Hugh Ernst... well, a writer."

“Shug Ernst, ah, that old bastard Schubert mentioned that name to me.”

The deep voice came over, and then Hugh saw the black "wall" tremble. With heavy footsteps, Mr. Gerald lifted the curtain in front of him with his fat hand, walked up to Hugh and Sally, and then reached out to light the magic lamp on the wall.

Gerald's face was revealed, and unlike what Hugh had imagined, the shopkeeper had a rather soft and handsome face, which even looked somewhat effeminate. Such a face paired with such a figure was indescribably eerie and strange.

"Hmm, Ernst... Ernst?"

Gerald lowered his head and stared at Hugh: "So, you're the current owner of the Ernst mansion? Ha, I've tried to buy it several times, but I've never been allowed to."

Looking at the effeminate face, Hugh replied, "The Ernst family values ​​all their mansions highly. You should have heard that they believe selling family properties indiscriminately will bring misfortune."

At this point, he shrugged: "Well, I think there's something wrong with their heads."

"That makes sense; large families always have their quirks."

Gerald let out a low laugh, seemingly quite pleased with the "joke" Hugh had told him.

Just then, Sally interrupted the conversation between Hugh and the other man, saying, "Mr. Gerald, my friend here wants to buy some incense ingredients. You know, writers always need these things."

"I have everything here."

Gerald tilted his head back and said with considerable pride, “No shop on this shopping street has a more complete selection than mine… Well, little Sally, I know what you’re going to say. For your sake and old Schubert’s sake, I’ll give your friend a discount.”

(End of this chapter)