bookandnovel Chapter 23 A Visit
Chapter 23 A Visit
Before long, the carriage brought Evan to Vlad Street in the eastern part of Tingen.
Evan paid the fare but didn't let the driver leave, because he wouldn't be staying there for long.
Evan counted the houses and found the shop at 18 Vlad Street, with a sign that read "Rosen's Folk Herbal Shop".
After confirming that everything was correct, Evan took his cane and squeezed into the small shop.
The shop was small, filled with the aroma of various herbs. An apprentice was processing different medicinal materials, while a man who looked to be about thirty or forty years old, with short black hair and a round face, dressed in the attire of a rural shaman embroidered with many symbols, was idly fiddling with the herbs behind the counter.
Seeing a guest enter, the village witch doctor knew at a glance that a big client had arrived, and immediately straightened his posture. He took the initiative to inquire:
"Distinguished guest, welcome to our shop. How may I help you?"
In fact, Rosen knew as soon as Evan came in that the customer had been indulging in excessive sexual activity lately, but he couldn't say it outright. After all, these wealthy people were quite concerned about their image, and if they were exposed and became angry, the business would be ruined.
Looking at Rosen's somewhat lewd smile, Evan asked in return:
"You're the boss and the pharmacist, don't you know what medicine I need?"
Sure enough, upon hearing Evan's words, the boss, Rosen, chuckled, didn't even glance at it, and directly took out a packet of herbs wrapped in black paper from under the counter, saying:
"Based on my professional diagnosis, you definitely need this. Rest assured, it's genuine and guaranteed to satisfy you and your female companions."
I'll tell you this in secret, but don't tell anyone else: it contains mummy powder. Nobles and wealthy merchants in Backlund use it, so you can imagine how effective it is!
Legend has it that Emperor Roselle maintained his virility because he ate this every day.
How about that? Just 20 pounds is enough to give you ultimate pleasure without any side effects. If you want a larger portion, I can give you a discount—10% off, how about that?
After patiently listening to Rosen's explanation, Evan gently shook his head and said:
"This herb is good, but it's not what I want."
"So what do you want?" Rosen asked, somewhat puzzled. He looked Evan up and down, then continued, "You're very healthy, much healthier than the average person. You've just been playing a bit too much lately. I don't see any other problems with you."
"Whether I'm sick or not, I know it perfectly well. I'm here today mainly to ask you if you have any intention of opening a shop in Backlund."
Hearing Evan's words, Rosen tensed up. He sensed that Evan had ill intentions, so he decisively shook his head and said:
"I'm sorry, sir, I'm perfectly happy here and have no intention of going to Backlund to make a living."
"Hmph, if you don't want to make a living in Backlund, why did you leave the shop to your apprentice and run away on your own?" Evan thought to himself.
"Mr. Rosen, don't be nervous. I have no ill intentions towards you. It's just that in the mysterious world, having more friends means having more options. Although you've hidden yourself very well, there will always be times when you need help, such as with the 'Medullary Crystal of the Fairy Spring.' Perhaps I can help with that."
Upon hearing Evan's words, Rosen was even more shocked. He had been searching for this material in Tingen for a long time, but he just couldn't collect it. If he still couldn't collect it after a while, he would prepare to go to Backlund.
But to my surprise, the person I was meeting for the first time found out about my collection of this material.
Everyone else had investigated him thoroughly, while he remained completely unaware. Thinking about this, Rosen broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing that Rosen didn't immediately deny it, Evan knew he had a chance, so he continued:
"If you've thought it through, just publish a notice in the Backlund Post about Rosen's herbal shop looking to collect herbs, and then go to the Brave Ones bar in the East End the next day to wait."
After saying that, Evan turned to leave, but just as he was about to step out the door, he suddenly turned back and asked:
"Am I the first person to come to us because of your fame?"
Rosen, who was quite wary, thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth:
"The 15th one."
"Then wait until the 17th one before leaving; it will be better for you that way."
After saying something inscrutable, Evan left the pharmacy.
After confirming that Evan had left, the round-faced Rosen breathed a sigh of relief, put the medicine bottle back in his hand, and wiped the sweat from his brow.
He originally intended to close the door and leave Tingen, but remembering Evan's profound words, he ultimately didn't dare to leave.
"After treating the seventeenth patient, we will leave Tingen immediately."
After leaving the herbalist shop, Evan boarded the carriage again. This time, he was going to Greenhull Asylum to meet with Dr. Dust Guderian.
The main reason Evan contacted these people was to leave a loophole for future events.
Evan met Rosen because he knew that Rosen was actually Darkwell, who had a fairly frequent appearance in Lord of Mysteries. Darkwell later adopted a sarcastic owl, and they tormented each other, participating in the mission to escort the unique path of destiny—the Dice of Fate.
More importantly, Darkwell was actually under the watchful eye of Will Oncetin, the Angel Serpent of the Fate Path Sequence, otherwise he wouldn't have had the chance to transport the Fate Dice with Klein.
Evan mainly wanted to test whether the big shot was interested in investing in him. Judging from the interactions between Him and Klein in the original work, this angel was quite easy to talk to.
If this person is willing to invest in me, then things will be much easier for me in the future. After all, this person is the real deity who controls "good fortune," unlike some "false god" who only has the word "good fortune" in his name but is himself very unlucky.
As for Duster Guderian, Evan only wanted to take the opportunity to get to know him. He wouldn't expose Guderian's identity, nor would he reveal his own. He just hoped to become acquainted with him.
As for the reason for contact, it's easy to find one: just say that you've had suicidal thoughts recently, so you went to see a psychiatrist.
In the future, Klein will recruit Dust Guderian as a Night Watch informant. When Klein 'dies' and his identity is reset, he can try to take over the relationship without any trouble.
Because the mental hospital was located far from residential areas and the city center, it was quite a long distance away.
By the time Evan left the mental hospital, it was almost dark, and his face was starting to look sore.
Because of the suppression of the "viewers" by the "Golden Gaze," Duster did not realize that Evan was faking his illness at all, and even thought that Evan was a rare early-stage mental patient, so he was unusually excited.
Because people often don't admit that they or their family members have mental illness for various reasons, doctors usually only come into contact with patients who are completely insane or close to being completely insane. Doctors rarely see patients in the early stages of mental illness.
So for the entire afternoon, Evan was excitedly studied by Duster Guderian, making Evan regret that he had pretended to be a patient.
In the end, Evan declined the doctor's earnest invitation to stay, citing his need for medical treatment in Backlund as the reason.
Even so, when Evan left, Duster Guderian was still somewhat reluctant to part with him, and even the nurses who had long been in contact with mental patients were disappointed that Evan, a patient who was not so crazy, had not been hospitalized.
They had already encountered too many mentally ill people, and it was rare for them to meet someone who could make them feel happy, including a handsome man with mental illness, but he didn't choose to be hospitalized, which they naturally regretted.
Feeling strange, Evan eventually asked the coachman to take him to 2 Narcissus Street, Klein Moretti's house.
Since it was his first time visiting a classmate's house, it wouldn't be appropriate to go empty-handed, so when Evan passed by "Boss Cake Shop," he bought a cream cake as a gift.
After Evan rang the doorbell, a young, beautiful, slender girl with a somewhat pale face opened the door.
Evan knew in his heart that this girl was Klein's sister, Melissa Moretti.
Before Melissa could even ask, Evan spoke up first:
"Excuse me, is this Klein Moretti's house? I'm his college classmate, Evan Horn. I heard you moved, so I came to visit."
"Evan? What brings you here?"
Before Melissa could speak, Klein's voice came from inside the house. He was surprised, not expecting that Evan would actually come to his house to find him.
At the same time, Klein was also very nervous. He was worried that Evan might not know the rules of the Night Watch and might talk about Extraordinary beings with his brother and sister, so he was prepared to grab his coat and take Evan outside to talk.
Klein's brother, Benson, had obviously heard the commotion at the door, and came over, saying:
"Since you're Klein's classmate, please come in. My family used to be too small to entertain guests, so I never brought my classmates home."
Evan took off his top hat and handed it to Melissa, who reached out to take it. He then handed the cake to Klein, and while taking off his coat, he said to Benson:
"It is extremely impolite to visit without prior notice, but the matter was sudden and I made the decision to visit on short notice."
Since this is my first time visiting, I didn't know what you all liked, so I bought some cakes when I passed by the bakery. Please accept them.
"You're too kind."
Benson was clearly pleased that Klein's classmate had come to visit, and upon learning that Evan had not yet had dinner, he invited Evan to join him for dinner.
Evan knew at a glance that dinner tonight was cooked by Klein himself; the familiar taste almost brought tears to Evan's eyes.
The chefs at the Earl's mansion are all exceptional, and their cooking is delicious, but it can never compare to the taste of home. Being able to taste the flavors of home in a foreign world is truly a blessing.
After dinner, everyone shared the cake that Evan had brought and chatted happily together.
Evan and Benson discussed the political situation in Rune and satirized politicians who were worse than curly-haired baboons. Evan and Melissa talked about advanced mathematics and mechanical innovation. Overall, everyone enjoyed themselves.
When it was time for Evan to leave, Benson and Melissa personally saw him off at the door, clearly having a good impression of him.