The door that had been left open was closed by Huoersi.
In the room, only Yilin, Huoersi, Abi Robbs, and four other knights under Yilin's command remained.
Abi Robbs said softly, "It seems Count Caspar's urgency to see us isn't as pressing as he claimed in his letter."
"Could it be a trap?" Huoersi asked.
"It's possible," Abi Robbs replied offhandedly.
After a brief silence, Yilin pursed her lips and said, "If he's not on our side, it'll be very disadvantageous to us. Regardless, we should make every effort. The key is that we don't have much time; once the celebration ends, the King will act."
"Then if he doesn't summon us tomorrow, should we take action?"
"No, we take action tonight."
"Yes!" With a clang, all five knights present, including Huoersi, struck their breastplates heavily.
...
Just as Yilin was at her wit's end at the castle, Gray, our Lich Knight, had just arrived at an inn separated from the castle by only a moat and two streets.
Organs, flutes, drums—the inn echoed with cheerful music under the dim red firelight.
The bartender busied himself with a courteous smile, burly men with bare chests drank heartily with mugs in hand, prostitutes batted their eyes in the laps of their patrons, and peddlers who had closed their stalls gambled fervently in the corners. In another corner, a bard sang bawdy songs, mixed with occasional dirty jokes that made the patrons laugh uproariously.
The inn, though not large, was packed with all kinds of people, noisy beyond measure.
Gray was dumbfounded; at a hundred and fifty years old, he had never seen such a scene.
"Wow, why do they all look so happy?"
"Because they've had too much to drink."
"Too much to drink? Is it that water they're drinking? I guess it's some kind of potion."
"That's alcohol, a common thing in the Human World. You really have no common sense."
"Isn't it normal to lack common sense? I see. They're drinking alcohol; this is an inn, so they come here to drink this stuff?" Gray picked up a mug from someone else's table to examine it closely, then put it back, instantly drawing some looks.
This Lich clearly had no concept of laying low.
"Probably... maybe, that's possible."
"So what should I do now?"
"Find a place to sit."
Gray mimicked others and found an empty table to sit at.
The bartender looked at him and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Then what?"
"Order a drink and a fish."
"Why a fish too?"
"Because I'm hungry!"
"Alright, how do I order?"
"This is insane... do I have to teach you how to order a drink? Fine, see that bartender? The one in black. Raise your hand and tell him you want a drink and a fish. Hurry up, I'm starving... haven't eaten all day."
"Okay."
Gray obeyed, raised his hand, then said to the bartender, "A drink, and a fish."
The bartender nodded silently and turned to prepare the fish.
Gray continued to sit blankly, happily observing his surroundings.
For some reason, seeing a group of people laughing, his mood improved as well. Even though he hadn't drunk any alcohol, which would have no effect on him anyway.
Gradually, he noticed that people around were also glancing at him intentionally or unintentionally.
The drink and fish were served.
"Throw the fish inside, throw it into the armor! Quick!"
"Oh." Seizing a moment when nobody was looking, Gray tilted his head back, half-covered his face with a hand, and dropped the entire fish into his armor. The Black Cat happily started eating. Then, the Lich and the cat chatted intermittently.
"This sound is lovely, I've never heard it before."
"It's called music, you idiot. Don't you even know music?"
"There's none of this underground. What is that person in red doing?"
"She's dancing, there's no dancing underground either?"
"No, there isn't."
"Alright. By the way, isn't being a Lich interesting? Although they're immortal, they don't listen to music, eat food, enjoy fine wine, or need women... what's the point of living? Don't you find it boring?"
"Well... I guess it's okay."
"What do you do every day?"
"Research magic and conduct experiments. Bruto says the meaning of a Lich's life is to seek the ultimate truth of magic."
"Ha ha ha ha, the ultimate truth of magic, can you eat that?"
"Probably... not."
From a distance, a young red-haired man in leather armor stood up, holding a wooden mug, and walked drunkenly over to Gray.
His group of burly men, also in leather armor and armed with swords, watched from afar.
"Hi, I'm Pas, from the Red Scorpion Mercenary Group. May I sit down?" Pas asked.
"I guess... sure." Gray stammered.
"You guess?" Pas chuckled, placing his mug on the table and sitting down directly, stretching his legs onto the table and lounging back in the chair. "You're an outsider, right? What brings you here?"
"I'm a knight," Gray emphasized.
"I can see that, you're wearing knight armor. But where's your badge? You're not taking off your helmet, and you have no badge?" Smiling, Pas looked at Gray.
The Black Cat quietly hid in Gray's helmet, peeking out from a slit in the visor, and whispered, "Don't talk too much, so you don't reveal yourself." Then it crawled back into Gray's abdomen to continue enjoying its meal.