Chapter 744: High‑Speed Drama

After a while, the somewhat plump restaurant owner finally looked back at Dareir and asked:

"Sir, what breakfast would you like?"

The owner's expression seemed restrained, and his tone no longer held the politeness he had maintained earlier.

Dareir blinked, snapped back to his senses, and pointed at the young man eating breakfast, saying, "Just the same as him, a standard set."

"Alright, please wait a moment."

The plump owner hurried to the back of the restaurant, and Dareir felt his retreating figure hinted at a hasty escape.

He shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and prepared to sit down for his breakfast; during that moment, he happened to glance at the man quietly eating, whose movements suddenly froze.

Because of the angle, he caught a full view of the other's face, which matched almost exactly the portrait he had once seen on a newspaper.

"Ge Erman Spalo!" he couldn't control his emotions and exclaimed in shock.

The young man eating breakfast suddenly stopped, gave Dareir a cold sideways glance.

He seemed to feel a terrifying pressure like a raging storm, and fell back onto the chair behind him, his frightened expression frozen on his face.

Leimeng lifted the glasses perched on his nose, glanced at Dareir, and chuckled:

"You're not a pirate, and you have no bounty; why are you so scared of him?"

"He's the most infamous mad adventurer across the Five Seas, having slain more than one pirate general."

Dareir swallowed the saliva in his mouth while trying to explain, but his words halted; he looked at Leimeng in disbelief and murmured:

"You recognized him right away?"

He paused, recalling their earlier odd behavior, then seemed to realize something and asked again, "Do you… know him?"

The middle‑aged gentleman Xia Er gestured as if pressing an invisible button in front of him, indicating Dareir to sit, then smiled and said:

"Who hasn't heard of the strongest adventurer across the Five Seas? In Nan Yinti, piracy is becoming a burgeoning profession—it's every young adventurer's dream."

"Why?" Dareir asked, playing along.

"Because Princess Beiernadai, the eldest daughter of Emperor Luosai and our Grand Princess of Nan Yinti, is the 'Mysterious Queen' of the seas, and our First Duke Nasite, who is also the King of the Five Seas."

"Such principled pirates are revered by everyone in Nan Yinti; which young person doesn't want to join the Dawn or the Black Emperor?"

The plump restaurant owner answered Dareir's question with vigor, holding a wooden tray in one hand, looking proud.

By the time he finished speaking, he had placed two identical breakfasts in front of Leimeng and Dareir.

Steam and the scent of roasted food filled his nostrils; Dareir felt his stomach rumble again. He stopped small talk, and regardless of whether the man was truly a mad adventurer, he grabbed a pancake from the plate and took a bite.

The crisp, tender bite and the well‑seasoned meat filling made Dareir's eyes light up; he took two more bites, and while eating, exclaimed, "This is definitely the best pie I've ever tasted!"

"Haha, of course. This is my exclusive secret recipe, created by blending Dixi pies with the local signature roast meat."

The plump restaurant owner heard the praise and laughed heartily along.

At the other end of the table, the middle‑aged gentleman Xia Er, who hadn't received his breakfast yet, was unhurried, a hint of a smile at his mouth as he turned to the owner with another question:

"Old man, does your Utopia also belong to Nan Yinti?"

The plump owner nodded repeatedly, "Of course, the Judgment Hall is right in the city center. If you have time, you can visit—it's the most splendid and grand building in all of Utopia."

"We will," Xia Er nodded, then asked familiarly, "Besides the Judgment Hall, what else would you recommend? Our steam train broke down, so we'll probably stay here one or two days."

The restaurant owner thought for a moment and replied, "You can go to the dock's tavern for a drink; if you're lucky, you might taste Sunia Blood Wine."

"As for other things, Utopia is just an ordinary small town; there isn't much famous or special there."

"Alright, seems I had too high expectations," Xia Er sighed, then added, "You don't have any extra staff, do you? You're chatting with me here—aren't you going to prepare my breakfast?"

Dareir, a little bewildered, glanced at the gentle‑mannered middle‑aged gentleman Xia Er, then at the unhurried manager, feeling they were friends chatting rather than a customer and a manager.

Out of Dareir's sight, a figure resembling Ge Erman Spalo—named Craine—sat at the table, expressionless, and addressed Xia Er and Leimeng, "Why did you two come here on the steam train?"

The person now looking like middle‑aged gentleman Xia Er, Luosai, smiled and said, "Doesn't your Utopia lack outsiders? We're two high‑quality citizens." Craine expressed his speechlessness with his face.

After a moment of silence, he continued, "Don't tease my secret partner."

With that remark, his figure faded quickly and vanished from the restaurant.

As Craine left, the scene from minutes earlier dissolved and Dareir returned to reality, absentmindedly rubbing his belly, feeling a bit full from the breakfast.

He hiccuped, "Wow, so full—feels like I ate two breakfasts by myself," he muttered to himself, glancing around and noticing that the mad adventurer Ge Erman Spalo had vanished sometime earlier.

He paused briefly, then, hesitantly looking to his left at the middle‑aged gentleman Xia Er, asked aloud:

"Mr. Xia Er, when did that adventurer, Ge Erman Spalo, leave?"

"Just now. If you chase him now, you might still see him at the corner."

As he spoke, Xia Er rose from the bench and walked toward the doorway, saying as he went:

"Let's head to the dock. It may not match Ormil Red Wine, but tasting Sunia Blood Wine isn't bad either."

Dareir scratched his head, puzzled, and asked, "Huh? You're not having breakfast?"

"Haven't we already finished?"

Xia Er smiled at Dareir and retorted, leaving Dareir even more bewildered; something felt off, but he couldn't articulate it.

He muttered softly, straining to recall, and indeed remembered a scene of three people sharing breakfast, with the middle‑aged gentleman Xia Er enjoying a deluxe set.

"When did my memory get this bad?" he hesitated in his mind, then quickly set his lingering doubts aside, ignored the disharmony along the way, and gladly agreed to Xia Er's invitation.

At Utopia's dock, a massive sailing ship drifted slowly toward them, its towering sail painted with a sleeveless eye surrounded by four clustered stars.

Just as they reached the dock, before they could locate a tavern, the three of them instantly spotted the striking ship.

Dareir stared, dumbfounded, at the approaching vessel, then, as if returning from shock, declared, "This is the Star Queen's Future!"

"I've seen news about this newly‑emerged pirate ruler in many Lu En official newspapers; it's said she became a pirate queen during the previous Yinti‑South continent war."

"There are rumors she's already joined Nan Yinti, so her fleet's appearance here isn't that odd. Still, are we just unlucky—having breakfast with a mad adventurer, then at the dock meeting the Star Queen's Future docking?"

Leimeng, wearing brass‑rimmed glasses, smiled and said, "Perhaps it's a chance encounter, just like those biographical novels describe."

Dareir chuckled, adopting a seasoned tone, "Haha, you meticulous scholars also read biographical novels? Those stories are just the authors' imagination, not to be taken seriously."

As they talked, the Future completed its docking; a brilliant starlight burst from its deck, spreading to the dock and forming a radiant, transparent bridge of light.

Dar Lei Er was shocked by this scene and couldn't help muttering: 'Is this the means of the Pirate King?'

The middle-aged gentleman-like Xia Er casually glanced at the not-so-distant 'Future', speaking in a tone without much fluctuation:

'Of course not, it's just a long bridge condensed from starlight; it's still far from the Pirate King, nothing to envy. Once your Sequence is high, you too can possess the means to control ice and fire.'

'Sequence? Indeed, you who know Ge'ermán·Sīpáluó are also extraordinary ones.'

Dar Lei Er let out a sound of surprise, though not too shocked, and quickly accepted this fact.

He paused, then hesitantly asked: 'It sounds like you know which pathway I am an extraordinary one of.'

Xia Er raised his right hand, extending three fingers, and said at the same time:

'First: Your steps are very light, not at all like an adult male; you look even more delicate than an underdeveloped little girl.'

'Second: You habitually place yourself in the shadows or near them, a habit only assassins have.'

'Third: Your eloquence is good, giving people a sense of reliability and approachability, which perfectly matches the traits of an Instigator.'

'In short, we can easily tell you are a Sequence Eight Instigator, and you have a poor grasp of the potion.'

(End of chapter)