Chapter 18: Pervert Clown

"Here's your drink, sir. Enjoy," a young man said as he placed the drink in front of a black-haired man, who took it contentedly.

"Thank you. Have a nice day." Adryan smiled a little as he watched the waiter leave to serve someone else. He looked down at the concoction before him.

It was served in a soft brown glass that resembled a lectern. The liquid in the 'podium' was a soft dark orange and bubbled gently, the ice swirling slightly.

This was a drink of apple cider mixed with a little cinnamon and various other mild spices. The aroma was a little spicy with a hint of sweetness.

While the aroma was quite pleasant, the odd glass shape caught the red-haired man's attention. He picked it up and admired it for a few moments.

'It wouldn't be bad to have one of these at home... How much would one cost?' Letting his mind wander a little, a feeling of nostalgia struck him, and for a moment, his heart ached.

'Mum would love this. I wonder if she still collects rare glasses?' Sighing inwardly, Adryan lifted the beautiful glass and took a good sip.

The sweet, fruity taste of apple was accentuated by a spark of cinnamon that his sensitive tongue caught. The spices added a warm, complex note, enveloping the palate with a subtle hint of autumn.

"Not bad." Smiling to himself, the dark-haired man looked up and glanced around.

He was in a bar now, and compared to the last one he had been in, where the smell of cheap beer and sweaty drunks had been a bit overwhelming, this one smelled classier. There was no strong smell of filth; on the contrary, the smell of flowers and cinnamon prevailed.

The tables were well-kept, and the drinkers were all good-looking and even elegant. The noise level was quite low, considering the number of people in the bar.

One thing Adryan had noticed since his arrival in Azshara was that he had yet to meet a person who was overweight or did not take care of their appearance.

This was because the people of Lemburg believed that knowledge and a sharp mind are power and that these two things can only work if one has an equally healthy body.

As a consequence of such an upbringing, you would have to go to a very ugly part of the country to find 'ugly' people.

But he hadn't come here to look at people. He had come to get information.

And there are few better places to do that than a bar.

Raising his now empty glass in the air, Adryan looked at a free bartender who was finishing cleaning a recently empty table and called to him with a quiet smile.

"Gentlemen, a moment, please."

Another waiter, an older man in a brown waistcoat and white shirt, the first three buttons undone, revealing a bit of chest hair, the sleeves rolled up.

"I see you ordered an Autumn Apple; I hope you enjoyed it. Would you like a refill? Or would you like to try something else?" The man asked, smiling as he took Adryan's glass.

"If you would be so kind, although I actually called you for another reason, I have a question, and I need a little help answering it." Resting his chin on the palm of his hand, Adryan consulted with doubt in his voice.

"And what exactly would that be?"

"Apex Financial Solution."

When the name was mentioned, the man's expression turned sad and melancholy. He lowered his glass and said deeply.

"Ah, yes. The Smicht deal, a tragedy."

"You seem familiar with it," Adryan said, noticing that the man suddenly looked a little depressed.

"Most of us in this bar are. Some of us lost a lot of our savings, and others used to work there. I lost about 5000 sassem on a bad deal there, half my savings... But many others have managed to dig themselves out of the hole. Of course, that was when Mr Smicht still ran the company.

"Mr Smich... That would be the grandfather, wouldn't it? The previous owner."

"Yes, that would be him. An exemplary man." A small smile appeared on his face. "He inherited the business at the same age as Dieter, but unlike his grandson, he ran it as if he had always done so. Since young Dieter had been raised by him from an early age, we thought he could do the same.

"Sigh... It's clear we were wrong."

The waiter looked at him more closely and said, "If you have a business to invest in, I suggest you look elsewhere."

Smiling, Adryan gave a small nod. "I'll keep that in mind."

Then he lifted his empty glass and held it out to the waiter. "A refill, please."

...

Repeating the same action as before and going to other bars and the occasional diner, the black-haired man spent most of the afternoon gathering information. The picture that he had of his future company and what he could expect tomorrow became clearer and clearer.

The sun was almost gone, and the crimson moon would soon reign over the dark night ahead.

Gently stirring the latte he had ordered to go at his last dinner, Adryan took a quiet sip, his gaze a little deep.

"This Dieter is quite interesting. It's rather odd that after being raised by his grandfather, he failed so badly at running the company after inheriting it, and we can't use the lack of schooling either; he has 2 university degrees...

"Mind control?" Adryan asked calmly as he walked through the streets of Nexus, his stride relaxed and his back steady. His gaze passed by the visible policemen on horseback or walking along the pavement, their dark blue uniforms standing out from the bright colors of the citizens.

"That may be. But considering that it's a well-known company and the fall was quite thunderous, I'm sure the Wise Owls have already investigated and found nothing unusual."

"If that's really the case. Then Dieter is more useless than they say, to fail so badly that they even think there was an outside force... That's quite a talent."

And Adryan thought that he had understated that a little.

It was virtually impossible that what had happened to the Apex Financial Firm had not reached the ears of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.

Unlike any other country, Lemburg had no royal family. The country was ruled exclusively by the Church, with no attempt to have a royal figure who held all the power.

In short, Lemburg was a theocracy.

Their police forces answered only to the Church, so it was obvious that they would contact the Church to investigate if they found anything unusual.

Flora huffed, "But that works in our favor. Although it is a company that could be considered popular, the expected ridiculous price one would have to pay to acquire it is very low due to its ruined reputation."

Adryan nodded discreetly, "But we will keep our guard up, not because the Church has failed to find something doesn't that means there is no danger. We must be careful."

Flora snorted, "Thank you, Princess of the Obvious. When was the last time we took the Church's judgment as fact and didn't question it?"

A small smile formed on his face, "Never."

"Fufu~ Exactly. Why should we start now if we never have?" Flora said mischievously, a worthy Marauder.

His smile grew and sharpened to show a bit of his teeth. "That's why I love you, Miss Worm."

A soft, sweet laugh reached his ears, "I know. I love me too."

...

"Following you into this, I never thought I'd have to babysit." Fors complained to his friend who had just arrived from her new job.

The writer was wearing a simple white shirt with floral detailing, simple slippers on her feet, and a tired look on her face. She was lying on the bed in her room, leaning loosely on her arm.

A notebook and fountain pen lay abandoned on the floor next to the bed, along with the light blue sheet.

Xio sighed in exasperation as she placed her police cap on the wardrobe.

To ensure her friend got up on time and didn't sleep all day, she had started leaving her clothes here. That way, she could wake her up every time she got up for work.

"You make it sound like you're taking care of her all day, every day. Jerry stays most of the time with Miss Sasha and Miss Opera; you only had her for two hours while they finished their work".

Fors complained, "But Xiooo-"

"And most of the time, you were lounging around." Xio cut her off with a flat look as she took off her blue vest.

"I WASN'T JUST SLEEPING. I WAS SEARCHING FOR INSPIRATION IN MY DREAMS!!!" Fors blushed and stubbornly defended herself.

"What, don't you know that writers work better after a few good hours of sleep?!!!"

Xio kept a flat expression on her face the whole time Fors was talking, and without a word, she took off the belt that held the holster with her revolver.

The sight of such a weapon made the young writer tremble a little. Ignoring her friend's reaction, Xio drew the revolver and turned around, placing it on her shelf.

After a few long seconds of silence, Xio said, "I never said you were asleep."

"... Oh..." With a white face, Fors looked to the side.

"You need to get your sleep schedule straightened out, Fors. You can't sleep all day and stay awake all night. You're not a bat." Xio, now dressed only in a white T-shirt and dark blue pants, advised with some concern.

Sigh

Fors bent slightly, her now blonde hair covering her eyes. She gathered her legs and hugged them.

"I know... It's just..." Her voice was low, and she could not finish the sentence, but the message got through.

She was scared.

Tap tap tap

A sudden weight on the bed made it sag to one side, causing Fors to fall a little, but she didn't mind because the next second, small but strong arms were wrapped around her.

"..."

"..."

Neither said anything; they were enjoying the embrace and letting their actions express what they wanted to communicate.

"You haven't bathed yet, have you?" Xio asked, her cheek resting on her friend's blonde hair. The smell of cigarettes, coffee, and bed made her nose wrinkle slightly.

"No." Fors sank her face a little deeper into her friend's chest, her arms still wrapped around her legs, but the desire to return the embrace grew stronger.

At her words, the writer felt Xio nod slightly. A hand began to make small, soothing circles on her back. Fors couldn't help but sink deeper into the warmth of her body.

They remained silent for several minutes; the sky was already black, and the moon was almost at its highest point.

"In a few days, the moon will be full," Fors said suddenly, breaking the silence and temporarily making Xio tense.

"When is your interview?"

"Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m, according to what Mr Kenway told me."

"Mhm..." Xio murmured to herself, sighing and hugging her friend a little tighter. "It's going to be alright."

"I hope so..." Raising a hand, Fors grabbed the sheriff's forearm and squeezed it a little. "Because I don't know what else to do."

Xio said nothing more, just hugged her silently, and closed her eyes. She let go of one of her hands and grabbed the edge of the light blue sheet that still lay on the bed, covering herself and Fors.

They would sleep together again tonight.

Unknown to both women, someone witnessed their intimate moment.

"This is the last time I do this at this hour," Klein muttered, somewhat embarrassed, as he looked at the projection generated by the crimson star.

The clown decided to check on Mr Chariot's companion, fearing that the moon's ravages might attack her. He refused to let anyone die for his ineptitude in caring for her.

Although the moon was not yet full, the clown felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

So he had touched the crimson star and watched the whole interaction since the small woman had entered the room.

Feeling that he had seen too much and that he was already invading the privacy of two ladies, Klein broke off the connection with a flushed face.