The lobby on the first floor of the White Bank Hotel.
Charlotte sat awkwardly on the sofa in the lounge area.
Thanks to the reminder Elias had given her earlier at home, the inexperienced younger sister had finally abandoned the idea of rushing up to knock on the door.
She didn't want to interrupt Ms. Cecil's work.
Moreover, she actually had no idea what Ms. Cecil's exact room number was.
Thus, after arriving at the hotel, the two of them could only ask the lobby waiter to go up and announce their arrival.
At this moment, they were waiting for Ms. Cecil to arrive, or rather, waiting for a response.
Elias sat opposite Charlotte.
He wore a deep black derby hat on his head, the brim lowered just right.
Beside him, a cane inlaid with a quartz head leaned casually against the edge of the coffee table.
This attire made him look exactly like those decent gentlemen of status seen on the streets of the Central District.
Provided, of course, that one didn't look down.
Charlotte's gaze had been fixed on Elias's feet.
It was a pair of slightly worn leather boots.
This pair of boots, placed alongside the decent outfit on his upper body, created a sense of disconnect.
Inevitably, this also caused Charlotte deep confusion.
She couldn't help but peer under the table with her eyes.
Those leather boots looked like they had once been a very beautiful pair of shoes.
She really couldn't understand why her brother, who dressed so decently on top, had to be so stingy with his feet.
Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't have a pair of shoes that looked decent.
But Elias couldn't care less about that.
After all, staying alive was more important.
Just as they reached the hotel entrance earlier, he had keenly noticed a detail.
A two-story building with a sign that read "Mester's Treatment Room" was located right across from the White Bank Hotel.
That should be the psychological treatment room Arthur had mentioned.
He was now almost certain that Ms. Cecil was definitely investigating the incident that happened to Brian.
Thinking of this, Elias breathed a secret sigh of relief in his heart.
For him, this was definitely not a bad thing.
At least it saved him from having to wade into these muddy waters himself.
He could preserve all his strength and energy to protect himself and the naive sister beside him who knew nothing.
Furthermore, even if some uncontrollable accident really occurred...
Elias leaned back slightly against the sofa, his fingers inadvertently brushing past his waist.
This time, his preparations were more than sufficient.
One could say it was comforting to the extreme.
In addition to The Roaring Cane placed on the coffee table beside him, a small arsenal was hidden under his coat.
On his left waist, he had the carapace husk hand-axe tucked away.
And on his right waist, he had the revolver that he had used so smoothly on the island.
An axe in the left hand and a revolver in the right.
This once gave him the sense that he was a gold-medal hitman for the mafia.
He only lacked a cigar in his mouth and a pair of sunglasses.
In terms of ammunition, twelve pure silver armor-piercing rounds were neatly lined up in the dedicated spare belt for the revolver.
In addition to that, there were a total of six extremely expensive elemental bullets.
There were three rounds each of special ammunition: thunderclap bullets, acid bullets, and cloud bullets.
The thunderclap bullet was a type of ammunition that emitted a strong sonic boom upon firing, instantly knocking back nearby enemies.
In terms of combat effect, it was identical to the function of The Roaring Cane's resonance explosion.
As the name suggested, acid bullets could cause extremely terrifying corrosive effects after hitting a target.
This thing was particularly effective against enemies wearing metal armor.
Finally, there were the three cloud bullets.
Their purpose was singular: to create a large amount of thick smoke to block vision.
As the saying goes, throw smoke and run; it was an essential remedy for home and travel.
However, he hadn't brought the alchemical bombs he had purchased on the black market this time.
On one hand, it was because those things were simply too heavy.
On the other, it was because those round, old-fashioned iron grenades were too bulky.
If he carried a few of those iron turtles on him, his trench coat pockets would definitely bulge like a pregnant woman.
Nevertheless, he had brought a bottle of alchemical fire just in case.
The shape of this thing was similar to a Molotov cocktail from his previous life.
But there was no visible combustible material inside the transparent glass bottle.
Only under the refraction of light could one faintly see the warding glyphs engraved on the bottle wall.
Under the cover of the glyphs, a kind of liquid fire seemed to flow silently inside the bottle.
Elias curled his lip inwardly.
Although he hadn't tried it, he was certain that this thing wouldn't be as effective as the whale oil on the island.
Finally, there were the charms he had personally made before leaving.
In his inner breast pocket, a stack of charms made from silver plates was neatly arranged.
Among them, warding charms were the most numerous, with a total of three.
After all, staying alive was always the top priority.
There were two repulsion charms to deal with sudden close-range attacks.
And two link charms, kept for emergencies.
One of them had already been secretly tucked away on Charlotte's person.
He could determine her range at any time.
Besides those, there was another very important thing.
Dreamlily powder.
For a transcendent, making this powder effective required corresponding complex rituals, specific holy emblems, and the coordination of other objects.
However, if it was used against ordinary people, it wasn't that troublesome.
If the dosage was large enough, an ordinary person would fall into a state of incapacitation after inhaling just a little.
In common terms, they would black out instantly.
To prevent Charlotte from seeing something she shouldn't.
He had to be on guard at all times.
If all else failed, he would just shove a handful of powder in her face, force her to sleep, and then take her away.
Compared to having a mental breakdown and becoming a lunatic, sleeping was clearly a better choice.
Just as Elias was repeatedly playing out various contingency plans for sudden situations in his mind.
A crisp sound of leather shoes came from the lobby stairs.
The lobby waiter from before walked over quickly, a professional and impeccable smile on his face.
"Hello, Miss."
The waiter looked politely at Charlotte and said softly.
"Ms. Cecil has already gone out and is not in her room."
Hearing this, the expectant look in Charlotte's eyes instantly dimmed.
"Alright..."
Seeing the obvious look of disappointment on Charlotte's small face, her bright eyes drooping.
Elias felt a bit bad for her, but he was much more relieved.
It was good that she wasn't there!
Not being there meant no face-to-face socializing and no getting involved in unknown trouble!
Elias quickly put on the expression of a caring brother and comforted her earnestly.
"See, I told you Ms. Cecil is here on business, she must be very busy."
"We shouldn't cause her any trouble."
Charlotte listened silently and nodded obediently at his words.
"I'll go to the restroom first, wait for me."
She stood up.
"No problem."
Elias agreed readily.
Watching Charlotte's back as she walked toward the restroom, Elias leaned back against the sofa again.
The next part of the itinerary was clear.
In a while, he would send Charlotte home and then return here lightly armed.
He would scout out whether this place was cordoned off by the Seventh Agency.
That way, one task would be settled.
After that, he would head to the Golden Rose Hotel to deal with Crowley's business.
A perfect plan, delightful.
This schedule was so packed that even a pack mule would weep.
Elias was planning his next steps in his head.
Suddenly, a somewhat abrupt voice called out from the lobby lounge area to his side and rear.
"Mr. Batman?"
Elias was slightly stunned.
Wow, there really was someone named Batman in this wretched city of Velen?
Then he must be an extremely righteous fellow.
"Mr. Batman?"
The voice didn't seem to get a response, so it was raised slightly.
"Hey!"
Elias subconsciously turned his head.
Holy crap, it was Finn!
Rate on N.U.
