Chapter 315

Sweeping both the coin and the banknote under the counter, the bartender looked around nonchalantly. Seeing that no one was paying attention here, he opened the bar flap to let the two in. Afterward, he pushed open the back door inside the bar that was almost integrated with the wall, and when the two were about to enter, he gave each of them a mask:

"You know the rules here; keep an eye on your new companion."

"Understood."

Miss Pulin said in a low voice.

Behind the wall was also a tavern. Except for the lack of conspicuous doors and windows, the decoration and tables and chairs were almost exactly the same as outside, only the space was slightly smaller, and there were very few guests.

On the way here, Miss Pulin had introduced this place. The back of the Seven Brooms Tavern was specifically used to entertain Ringed Shushi, and one could only enter through the introduction of an acquaintance. Compared with the relatively single-function Old John's Pawnshop, the Black Raven Library, and Mr. Corpse's Night Shop, the functions of the Seven Brooms Bar were extremely rich.

Trading of spellcasting materials for Ringed Shushi, exchange of book knowledge, sale of relics, and even gatherings of Ringed Shushi could all be realized here.

Tobesk of course also had similar places, but none were particularly safe. And compared to the Pearl of the North, it was only in Coldwater Port, where the atmosphere of freedom was relatively strong, that such a large-scale gathering place for Ringed Shushi could exist.

The "freedom" here refers not only to the relatively loose municipal management of the Coldwater Port dock area, but also to the chaos of the dock area. As the most important port on the west coast of the Old Continent for heading to the New Continent, Coldwater Port is completely different from Tobesk.

The owner behind this tavern is a local 9th-ring Ringed Shushi. Although Miss Pulin could not say the other party's name, a high-ring Ringed Shushi was enough to deter people who dared to cause trouble here, so if Xia De intended to have a fixed trading channel in Coldwater Port City, this tavern was quite good.

Most of the Ringed Shushi in the tavern were wearing robes or relatively loose coats, gathering in twos and threes at tables, talking in low voices. There was also a bar here, and behind the bar stood three men. Two of them were ordinary people wearing bartender uniforms and wiping cups, and the other was a bald, burly man wearing a sailor's shirt with anchors tattooed on both arms; he was a Ringed Shushi.

Miss Pulin brought Xia De to the bar:

"I have brought a newcomer; he wants to become a regular here."

"1 pound."

The burly bartender said, raising his eyes to size up Xia De, who was wearing a mask.

This was another new expense, but this money could not be saved. So after Xia De paid, he received a crimson coin. The coin was an ordinary item; as a token to enter here, its size was about two-thirds of a one-pound alloy coin, and neither the front nor the back had any patterns printed on them.

With this coin, Xia De could freely enter and exit the gathering place for Ringed Shushi at the back of the bar. Although the fee was somewhat expensive, he thought it was very worth it.

"Is there any news today?"

Xia De was checking the coin when the blonde girl with ruby earrings tapped the bar counter and asked.

The bald, burly man in the sailor's shirt shook his head and answered in very standard Delarion common language. His job was probably very boring, so he spoke listlessly:

"Still the same old news. That Sage-level relic has made people panic; now everyone is worried about accidentally touching the curse. The church is still looking for that deep-sea mermaid who can use firearms, but it is said that there is no progress; the other party seems to be directly linked to an evil god."

Xia De reacted for a moment before realizing that "deep-sea mermaid" referred to himself.

"Speaking of which, have you heard how many mermaid statues the church has recovered now?"

This was the bartender asking Miss Pulin.

"As of yesterday, the news I received was about 13, but the total number of that batch of statues is 20. I also remember hearing a few days ago that the church had already discovered at least 30 curse-infected people."

"Your news is outdated."

The bartender shook his head:

"The number of statues recovered is 15, and the unlucky fellows who were cursed are 72. The remaining five statues are nowhere to be found. Now even we are forbidden from trading items of the statue category here; who knows if there will be some lunatic who, after being infected by the curse, thinks that by letting more people get infected, they can force everyone to find a way to break the curse together."

The bartender said, then carefully sized up the two's attire, as if worried that they might be hiding a statue under their clothes and suddenly pull it out to give him a surprise:

"Last week we were still laughing here at how the Ringed Shushi in Tobesk had bad luck; I didn't expect it to be our turn so soon. But if you ask me, it's fortunate that there was that matter in Tobesk, otherwise wouldn't Coldwater Port have become the most unfortunate city in Delarion this summer?"

He said with some schadenfreude, then poured two glasses of ice water and pushed them to the two. Like the news about "72 people" just now, this glass of ice water was also free of charge; in this way, the 1-shilling entrance fee could be considered worth it.

"This kind of Sage-level relic cannot have only the curse as its characteristic. If this matter is not solved immediately, something big will definitely happen later."

Xia De also participated in the conversation; he did not want to talk about how unlucky the Ringed Shushi in Tobesk were.

"Who says it isn't? But there is very little news about the relic; even the Zhengshen Sect cannot find a way to deal with it for a while, and can only contain the statues as much as possible."

"However, I heard that the Sage-level relic 【Mermaid's Dream】 is related to a ritual called 'Sea Sending Back,' and the church is working hard in this direction."

Miss Pulin said unexpectedly, and the bartender frowned slightly:

"Are you sure? I remember 'Sea Sending Back' is a local folk song of Coldwater Port."

"I just heard someone mention it; the church should know it too."

The blonde girl said. Knowing that Xia De was not familiar with local folk songs, she hummed in a low voice:

"The mermaid's song drifts over the harbor,

Even the bleeding pirate ship lowers its sails.

The red ocean rises in waves,

That beautiful girl walks toward the deep sea."

Although it was just humming, Miss Pulin's singing voice was extremely pleasant; she must have received professional music theory training.

As for this nursery rhyme, it sounded like people describing the appearance of a mermaid and bewitching pirates. It was not strange for such a nursery rhyme to appear in this kind of port city. But this reminded Xia De of what he saw this morning in Lemeier's safe house regarding "pirates."

The bartender sighed:

"Oh, I would rather believe that this is really a clue to solving the curse. However, no matter how bad things get, it shouldn't be like Tobesk, where an evil..."

He paused abruptly, then raised his hand and slapped himself:

"Pah, pah, pah!"

He spat a few times into the bar in a very unhygienic manner, then explained:

"People at sea believe that one must absolutely not mention those dangerous things casually; the more they are mentioned, the more likely those dangerous things are to happen."

"Ridiculous superstition."

Miss Pulin mocked dismissively, but Xia De very much appreciated this view.