Lord of the Mysteries: Yao Guang

Chapter 181 Invitation to board the ship
Teyana Street No.19, "Tyana Cafe".

Mary the Bright Pearl twitched uneasily with her fingers at a brassy lock of hair at her temples, which she wore no turban today and pulled up in a small tufted high bun.

The man sitting next to Mary had a gray-black beard on his face, and most of his forehead was very shiny, only a circle of mottled gray hair survived from behind the ears to the back of his head.The man's eyes were oppressed and vicissitudes, and the bridge of his nose was covered with wide glasses that were as thick as the bottom of a bottle cap. He looked over 60 years old, quite old for the second officer of a pirate ship.

Most of the pirates who can live to this age will often "retire" after accumulating enough savings, return to their homeland to become a rich man, or simply find a small island to settle down, and no longer live a life where their spirit and body are washed away by the waves.

He was wearing an iron-colored classical robe, and he didn't look like he had withstood many winds and rains at sea all year round, more like an old scholar who should be sitting in a university.

This elderly gentleman is indeed holding a book in his hand, and he is concentrating on reading, his lips twitch occasionally. He reads the book very fast, but occasionally stops his fingers to flip through the book, and clicks on passages that need to be understood repeatedly.

Although there was a "Closed Door" sign on the door, Esther pushed open the front door of the cafe directly, and after nodding to the gentle lady behind the counter, she walked towards the two people at the corner table.

Until Esther walked across from the two, the elderly gentleman did not look up from the book. Esther glanced at the title of the book: "The History and Rebirth of Industrial Materials" - Portland Mormont.

Esther had a little impression of this name. When she was in the library in Backlund, she had seen the corresponding report of Professor Mormont—a professor of engineering at Backlund University and an academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences of the Kingdom of Loen. He was once awarded the prestigious "Mechanical Light" award in the scientific community for his discovery of alloy materials.

Portland Mormont's book... Judging by the name, this is a very professional manufacturing book. Is this gentleman really the second officer of the "Clover" and not some professor who came to Bayam for a vacation trip?
"Mr. Alexander . . . our guest has arrived."

The old gentleman raised his head only after Mary called out. The blackness in his eyes became more intense, but they were covered behind the lenses, and such a change was quite inconspicuous.

The old gentleman glanced at Esther, and stayed on her hair for a few seconds before recovering and nodding:
"Are you really a 'thief'? Very rare, they disappeared after the Fourth Epoch. Alexander, what do you call you?"

His Loen language had an obvious Intis accent.

"Hamel Brook, it's an honor to meet you." Facing this knowledgeable gentleman, Esther couldn't help but use a more respectful title.

After shaking hands with the old gentleman, Esther sat down opposite Mary.

Mary cleared her throat, and sitting next to the old gentleman made her feel extremely awkward: "Last night, Mr. Alexander and I contacted the captain. The captain agreed to let you board the ship, but you have to sign a contract."

"It's reasonable. After all, I boarded the 'Clover' as an outsider, so it's normal for you to be worried."

Esther's words are full of innuendo, using "one person" to express that she can't pose much threat, showing that the other party has nothing to fear at all, so as to dispel Mary's vigilance in this matter.

Esther blinked innocently at Mary, which made Mary's hands curl her hair more vigorously, and Mary spoke a lot faster when she spoke again: "I see you brought a box, but it's not necessary, because our plan is to--"

"We'll be leaving in the afternoon." Alexander suddenly interrupted Mary.

Mary stared at him dumbfounded, but didn't say anything, but got up in a panic: "Then I'll go upstairs to pack my things first!"

Esther looked away from Mary's hurried back, and met Alexander's strange scrutiny.

He put a dead leaf in the page he was browsing, closed the book in his hand, and looked at Esther again:
"Are you... are you carrying any Extraordinary items?"

Esther did not shy away from the fact that she was carrying a weapon, and she was willing to show her honesty appropriately. She pulled out "Logan's Claw" from the interlayer at her waist, and let it rotate twice between her fingers:

"Is that what you mean?"

Alexander stared at the claw knife for a few seconds and asked, "No, but can I take a closer look at it?"

"Of course, but be careful not to get scratched." Esther placed "Logan's Claw" flat on the table, and she didn't think the other party needed to grab such a thing.

Of course, this is also because Esther has the confidence to snatch it back easily.

Alexander took out a pair of black gloves from his pocket and put them on his callused and scarred hands. He focused on looking at the claw and blade engravings, and the glasses on the bridge of his nose slipped down as he shook his head:
"A novel shape that has never been seen before, but the style of creation is a bit rough, blindly pursuing power and saving materials. The Beyonder characteristics used for creation are not stable...Why didn't I notice its negative effects? There is a force that I can't detect that suppresses it."

"It has a very strong toxin effect, which can easily harm anyone who comes into contact with it, so I took a little mystic method to suppress this."

Alexander pushed his glasses and pointed at the bare handle of "Logan's Claw": "There should be something else?"

"Will be furry, and the full moon will be thirsty to kill."

Alexander did not speak, took off his gloves slowly, and stared at Esther's hair several times again: "Your hair seems a little strange."

Esther was a little surprised. This was the first time she had seen someone pay special attention to her hair. The old gentleman's observation ability probably came from his extraordinary way.

Esther put away the claw knife on the table again: "Is it obvious?"

Alexander sighed: "No, I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been able to identify it at such a close distance. In any case, it's very rude to stare at a lady like this, and I should apologize."

"May I ask, did you see anything when you identified it?"

Alexander considered his words for a moment: "It's hard to say, and it's hard for me to describe. Have you ever stared at the sun?"

"No... that would hurt the eyes."

"Yes, but after staring at the sun for a short time, there will be a dark shadow in your eyes," Alexander pushed down his glasses, "even if you look at other things, there will be traces of the same shape."

Esther was silent for two seconds, and smoothed her bangs guiltily: "Maybe this is something that cannot be identified?"

"That's what I thought too. If I probed further, I might lose control, so I stopped in time. Please forgive the curiosity of a former researcher." Alexander said with a smile.

Esther showed a gentle smile: "Anyway, thank you for your answer."

Alexander put his hands on the table and stared at Esther with burning eyes: "You don't sound like a pirate or an adventurer. At least until now, the young people on that boat have never used honorifics, not even Mary and Thomas."

"I'm not an adventurer either. My ideal is to be a musician at sea."

"Musician? Your ambition is really strange." Alexander smiled and shook his head, "Then I'll go and pack up a little bit, and we'll set off later. Do you need Ms. Schwartz to bring you something to eat?"

Esther's smile was quite sincere: "Can you?"

"Of course, please."

Alexander chatted with the gentle lady at the counter, left a few silver coins and walked up the stairs.

Soon, the lady brought a fruit salad and hot Earl Gray tea with two crispy croissants, a very light match.

After Esther finished her breakfast slowly, Mary rushed downstairs with the suitcase in her arms, followed by the elderly gentleman, holding a roll of parchment besides a white suitcase in his hand.

Alexander spread the parchment on Esther's table: "This is the contract we want to sign, take a look. If there is no problem, put your hand on it and swear based on this text."

Esther put down the warm teacup, grabbed the parchment and browsed it quickly, and then put her palm on it trustingly:
"I will not intentionally bring any danger to the 'Clover' and will not harm any of the crew of the 'Clover'. During the landing on the 'Clover', I will reach a commission to help Captain Aaron clean up the contamination of the items, and help the 'Clover' survive any major crisis that may sink."

After Esther's voice fell, a dazzling and fiery light appeared on the paper, and the mystical symbols after paragraphs disappeared, and the paper returned to blank.

Esther glanced at her palm, and the sun-like symbol on it disappeared in an instant.

Then, Alexander took out the pen out of nowhere, and quickly wrote down the handwriting on the parchment again. Then he also stuck his palm and read the newly written oath:
"I will not maliciously harm any guest who is about to board the 'Four Leaf Clover'. I will not deliberately frame, frame or blackmail this guest of the 'Four Leaf Clover'. When on board, respect the wishes of this guest and be responsible for the 'Four Leaf Clover'."

After the parchment returned to calm, the same symbol was printed on Alexander's palm, but the process of dissipating was much longer than Esther's. When he rolled up the parchment, Esther could see that the trace of the symbol remained.

"Is that all right?" Esther moved her right hand and picked up her suitcase.

Mary wrapped her black turban and covered the wig with it: "What else? This notarized oath has special mysticism, even if you don't want to abide by it."

Alexander walked in front and opened the door of the cafe first: "If you violate it, it will often cause unbearable results for the individual. Trust me, you won't want to know what it is."

(End of this chapter)