NOVEL NEXT Chapter 154: Murderer
"Hey, you—go call your boss. Tell him the City Lord wants to have dinner in his restaurant," said one of Richard's soldiers to a waiter who happened to be stepping outside.
Hearing the soldier's words, the waiter immediately rushed back inside to fetch his boss.
A moment later, a plump man wearing a hat hurried out, approaching Richard in a fluster.
From the looks of it, he was just a weak Magus. Richard assumed he was merely the restaurant's manager, not the actual owner.
"City Lord, what an honor to have you visit our restaurant. Please, come in—I've already prepared a private room for you," the man said respectfully.
Richard dismounted his horse and replied, "No need for a private room. Just serve me all your best food and drinks."
With that, he strode into the restaurant first, followed by his soldiers.
Most of the patrons weren't locals but noble adventurers passing through.
Richard climbed the stairs to the second floor, which was slightly more exclusive, with larger tables, and chose a seat by the window that happened to be empty.
From there, he had a clear view of the cityscape.
While waiting for his meal, he naturally glanced around, occasionally looking at some of the restaurant's patrons.
Everything seemed peaceful.
He didn't have to wait long either—the waiters soon arrived, carrying dishes of steaming food.
Roasted meat was the main course, accompanied by a variety of spiced soups and a chili sauce that looked incredibly hot.
Its aroma was rich and savory, making Richard's stomach growl with hunger.
He began to eat, but since he was in public, he maintained a noble's dining etiquette—graceful and composed.
Many eyes were on him, full of curiosity.
They clearly recognized him but were only now seeing him in person.
(Boy!)
A sudden voice echoed in his mind, startling him.
How could it not? It was the voice of the Fire Spirit Queen.
Instinctively, he looked around—but she wasn't there.
(My Queen, are you here?) Richard asked, sensing a faint connection through his Sixth Sense linked to the Fire Spirit Queen.
(Yes. I came because you were nearly killed by a Ruler.)
Richard: "…"
So someone really did come for me, he thought.
(I've already captured him, so you don't need to worry.)
(Who was he?)
(I don't know. I already killed him. You can see for yourself—I threw his corpse into your castle. I'll be returning now.)
(Don't go back yet. Help me investigate who put that bounty on me—with a Tier 7 weapon as the reward.) Richard ordered.
(Boy, that bounty's been spreading everywhere. Even in your tiny village! Where do you expect me to find its source?) The Fire Spirit Queen sounded annoyed by his demand.
(Come on, my Queen, I know you're capable of many things.)
(Hmph!) The Fire Spirit Queen scoffed coldly before cutting off the connection.
She seemed to have left immediately.
Richard preferred asking for her help since her loyalty to him was absolute.
If she weren't so far away, he would've relied on her from the beginning.
But who was that Ruler? Richard wondered, eager to see the body—but his appetite hadn't left him yet.
Because of that, he finished his meal a bit faster.
Once he felt full, he stopped eating.
"How much is it?" he asked, standing up and turning to the plump manager.
"City Lord, it's an honor for us to have you dine here. There's no need to pay," the manager said with a wide smile.
"Alright…" Richard didn't refuse.
"But don't expect any tax exemption," he added before walking away, leaving the manager with his mouth agape.
Richard quickly returned to his castle.
When he arrived in the living hall, he saw Sister Lisa standing beside a corpse lying on the floor, looking both uneasy and disgusted.
Richard's eyes shifted to the body—it was an old man, dead with his eyes and mouth wide open.
One of his legs was missing, and his heart had been pierced clean through by a long blade.
"Richard, this suddenly appeared here," said Sister Lisa.
"I know," Richard replied with a light nod.
He couldn't identify who the old man was, but at least he remembered his face—he could ask someone well-connected, perhaps the Empress or Sophia.
He then stored the corpse inside his Storage Artifact.
He couldn't tell Sister Lisa that this man had been a Ruler sent to assassinate him. If she knew, she might never feel safe again.
"Sister, everything's fine," Richard said calmly.
Sister Lisa still looked unsure, but since Richard had said so, she kept silent.
Some time later, Arthur arrived, informing him that the Red Bear Tribe had prepared everything he requested. However, they asked him to come to their inn instead.
It seemed they didn't want to bring several valuable artifacts into the castle—perhaps fearing Richard had set a trap.
Since he wanted to fill his Aether anyway, Richard didn't refuse.
Together with Arthur, he set out for their inn, which turned out to be on the outskirts of the city.
Of course, inns on the outskirts were rather shabby—but perhaps the tribes felt more comfortable there.
They had rented out the entire building.
Inside, Richard saw not only members of the Red Bear Tribe, but also several from other bear-related tribes—the Blue Bear, Black Bear, and Brown Bear tribes.
The oddity of their tribe names wasn't something Richard bothered to dwell on.
He was invited into a room where he found several elders from other tribes along with the Red Bear Chieftain.
All of them stared at Richard intensely, as if they wanted to devour him alive.
"Chieftain, how is it?" Richard asked.
He didn't see any artifacts lying around.
Of course, he was sure they weren't trying to deceive him.
"You can sit here and absorb the Aether," the chieftain said.
Richard slightly furrowed his brows at that, but then nodded and sat down.
He suspected they were unwilling to reveal their artifacts directly. However, it was possible that while he absorbed Aether, they would channel it to him from those artifacts.
Once seated, Richard closed his eyes.
With Arthur standing right behind him, he felt no unease absorbing Aether in front of those wild tribesmen.
Sure enough, his guess was correct—massive streams of Tier 3 Aether began flowing into his body, immediately bringing a smile to his face.
At this rate, his Aether would soon be completely full.