Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

Without any delay, the traveler set off almost immediately for the Lombard Tavern.

*

At this time, the tavern had just opened, far from the busiest times of the day, such as lunch, dinner, and evening drinks.

The entrance was deserted; the night shift bartender I'd encountered before, when business was booming, was nowhere to be seen.

She pushed open the heavy wooden door, and a unique aroma of a morning pub, a blend of the lingering smell of last night's alcohol, freshly baked bread, and spices, wafted out.

The store was still dimly lit, with only a few beams of colored light shining through a few stained-glass windows.

Most of the tables and chairs were still neatly upside down on the tabletops, clearly indicating that they were not yet ready to open for business.

The space was unusually deserted, with only a few early risers sitting in the corner, whether they hadn't left all night or wanted to have an early drink to perk them up.

Al-Hysen's signature gray hair was, of course, not among the sparse guests.

The owner, Lambad, a tough guy who seems to never need enough sleep, is standing behind the bar, slowly wiping the glasses with a clean, soft cloth.

He looked unwell, wiping the cup while letting out a long, silent yawn with his mouth wide open, tears welling up in his eyes.

Let's not go in, we'll just wait at the entrance.

The traveler didn't feel hungry; standing at the door would make it easier to meet him.

She remembered clearly that at this point in the "previous cycle," Al-Hysen should have arrived at the tavern earlier than her and was sitting alone in his innermost seat reading a book.

It shouldn't be too long...

Her gaze was still fixed on the dimly lit scene inside the tavern, her mind preoccupied with how to start the conversation and how to elicit information.

Just then, a very slight, almost negligible change in airflow came from behind.

Someone appeared silently behind her...

Are you waiting for someone?

The voice was calm, with a unique clarity that seemed to penetrate all noise.

It's Al Heinz's voice.

"Oh!" The traveler was startled and turned around abruptly, his heart pounding in his chest.

"You scared me!" He made no attempt to hide his anger.

Why do they all like to stand behind people and scare them?

However, the next second, an even deeper chill crept up my spine.

Ok?

Would this guy... take the initiative to talk to a "stranger"?

Al-Hysen was an absolute rationalist; socializing was an inefficient and wasteful activity for him. He would never waste his breath unless there was a clear purpose or a need to exchange information.

Ok?

Going a step further... would this guy willingly share a table with a "stranger"?

Recalling that scene in the tavern in the "previous cycle"... Elhesen wanted to share a table. At the time, although I thought it was a bit strange, I just assumed that he was doing some kind of research project for the Order of the Church, or simply wanted to find a quiet corner.

But now it seems...

I had previously categorized all his unusual behaviors simply as "completing some task".

If... if he is also someone unaffected by the cycle of time... then...

In his "last reincarnation"... was he waiting for me here on purpose?

How does he know I'm not someone affected by time? How does he know at what time I'll appear at the tavern door?

Al-Hysen stood opposite the traveler, his grey-green eyes as calm and still as a deep pool, watching her quietly, as if patiently waiting for her to sort out her chaotic thoughts and put the chain of logic together.

The leaf pendant hanging from his waist refracted a crystal-clear luster in the sunlight streaming through the door frame.

In the traveler's mind, countless fragments of clues began to piece together.

His early arrival here was no accident.

He knew I would come.

He knew... time had been reset.

He knows I've retained my memories!

How did he find out? Was it from here?

In other words, the last reincarnation... wasn't the first reincarnation at all!

So... he already knew me before the last reincarnation!

So… his “chance encounter” at the tavern in the previous cycle was all meticulously planned! Was he waiting at the tavern beforehand? Or perhaps… bribed those mercenaries? Colluded with the tavern owner, Lambad? To create that seemingly coincidental situation?

All of this, just so that... I could sit next to him?

Another encounter?

But... why don't I remember anything?

Where are my memories? What happened in the previous cycles? What caused me to lose my memories in the previous cycles but retain them this time?

He must know why I lost those memories!

Since he had already gone to great lengths to arrange all of this, why didn't he just tell her the truth during the last reincarnation? Why didn't he tell her that time was looping?

Instead, you should act like a riddle teller, revealing half the answer and leaving the other half unsaid, waiting for me to discover the clues myself.

Countless questions churned in her mind, almost bursting out of her throat.

She looked at Al-Hysen's calm, almost indifferent face, all her emotions frozen into a silent question, conveyed through her eyes.

Elhesen seemed to understand her meaning completely, maintaining his ever-calm expression, and simply said in a tone devoid of any emotion, "I don't usually come to the tavern during the day."

Before he could finish speaking, without giving the traveler any time to process what he had said, he turned around without hesitation and walked straight to the side of the street.

"Hey, Elheisen, wait for me!" The traveler jogged after him.

Although I didn't expect the person in front of me to slow down to accommodate me, the seemingly indifferent figure in front of me actually slowed down.

As the traveler walked alongside him, Elhesen broke the silence first: "What do you want to ask?"

"If I ask, will you tell me?" The traveler turned his head to look at his sharply defined profile, his tone full of doubt.

Al-Hysen's gaze remained fixed on the bustling street ahead, his tone undeniably "ruthless": "That depends on your question. I won't answer stupid questions. Otherwise, it would be condoning the questioner."

This guy still wants to be the Riddler, right?

"How can I tell which questions you consider stupid and which don't?" the traveler couldn't help but retort. "Isn't this entirely up to your subjective judgment? And what are your standards?"

"..." Elhesen let out an extremely soft sigh, barely suppressing the urge to refute.

That was him, a scholar with a touch of helpless frustration.

The traveler decided to put aside these metaphysical arguments for the time being and deal with the emotional issues that bothered her the most.

"First of all, can you please be a little nicer? Stop acting like I've done something terribly wrong. If you keep this up, I'm not talking to you anymore!" she protested, with a touch of childish threat.

Elhesen didn't respond immediately, turning his head slightly away: "I understand."

Why are you acting like a sulking child?

This guy's personality is really... awful and weird!

"Your attitude is still terrible!" The traveler didn't let him off the hook.

Elhesen suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Under the traveler's slightly surprised gaze, he bent down somewhat awkwardly and clumsily, as if performing an extremely unfamiliar operation, until his line of sight was completely level with the traveler's.

Their eyes met, and the distance between them suddenly closed.

The traveler could clearly see his own reflection in his gray-green pupils.

"Ahem..." He seemed a little uncomfortable with this eye-to-eye gaze, and cleared his throat. Then, on that face that had been frozen for tens of thousands of years, the muscles at the corners of his mouth lifted up in an extremely unnatural way...

That wasn't a smile at all; it was more like a forced, awkwardly distorted arc that tried to express "friendliness."

"I understand." He maintained that awkward bent-over posture and that even more awkward "expression," and repeated it again, his voice seemingly a little "gentler" than before.

……

You're not... faking a smile, are you?

Please don't do this, the uncanny valley effect has occurred!

Alright, alright, considering how hard you've worked... I won't hold it against you!

"Where are you taking me?" the traveler asked, getting back to the main point.

Elhesen straightened up and answered the traveler's question in a calm tone: "Go see the demon god."