An Unknown Meeting

At Fragrant Manor, just as Ebner Bryan returned from Darkwill's folk herb shop and was about to continue studying and analyzing Closfia's revised setting for "Doctor Strange," he received news that Sea Serpent Weaver had come to visit.

—Sea Serpent Weaver was his agent at Amyris Leaf Bar and had already advanced to a Sequence 9 Hunter.

This surprised Ebner a little, as he had explicitly instructed Weaver to avoid coming to the manor frequently to prevent unnecessary attention.

Although he wasn't particularly afraid of having their connection exposed, trouble was best kept to a minimum whenever possible.

"Because of the contract, he wouldn't disobey my instructions… Hmm, he's probably here to report progress on the task I assigned him?"

With this thought in mind, Ebner instructed Helene to escort Weaver to his study.

Once inside, Weaver first greeted Ebner respectfully before handing over a document to Helene, who then placed it on Ebner's desk.

Glancing at it, Ebner saw that it was a list of potential items for tomorrow night's Beyonder gathering, along with a corresponding list of requests.

To improve the success rate of transactions, Weaver had modified the gathering format, incorporating elements from auction houses. He had set up a public mailbox at the bar, allowing attendees to anonymously submit the items they wanted to sell or buy.

Then, Weaver and his people would leak selected rumors in advance, allowing interested buyers to prepare accordingly.

Of course, since deals might be completed before the gathering, or some rumors might have been deliberately planted to mislead others, Amyris Leaf Bar would never confirm or deny any of them.

Frowning slightly, Ebner looked at Weaver and asked, "You didn't come here just to deliver this, did you?"

"Sir, of course not… The list was just an excuse for my visit. I personally delivered it to several other important clients as well…"

After this brief explanation, Weaver glanced at Helene standing beside the desk, hesitated for a moment, then vaguely said, "It's about the matter you asked me to investigate last time… regarding the 'Doctor.'"

The so-called "Doctor" referred to the man who had disrupted the last Beyonder gathering and was subsequently killed by Ebner. He had been a notorious independent assassin within the Rorsted Archipelago, with his most notable achievement being the assassination of a local gang leader in Bayam.

Of course, the real reason Ebner had ordered Weaver to investigate him was that this "Doctor," despite being only a Harvest Sacrificer, had possessed hybridized seeds of an entirely new plant species.

And those two plant species bore an uncanny resemblance to the "Peashooter" and "Sunflower" from a casual strategy game he had played in his past life…

So it really is about that… Ebner nodded slightly but noticed Weaver's hesitation. The man kept glancing at Helene, clearly reluctant to speak in her presence.

Ebner was puzzled—after all, Helene was far closer to him than Weaver, even if her position as a "maid" was forced upon her.

Moreover, Helene had been present at Amyris Leaf Bar when the incident occurred—she was already aware of Doctor's investigation. If Weaver refused to speak now, wasn't he asking for trouble later?

While Ebner was silently roasting Weaver in his mind, Helene had already noticed his discomfort. With a calm expression, she said, "I still have some accounting work to complete… I will take my leave first."

After offering a polite curtsy, she ignored Weaver completely and left the study.

Seeing this, Ebner gave Weaver a sympathetic glance, cleared his throat, and said, "Alright, you can speak now."

Weaver forced a bitter smile, gathered his thoughts, and reported:

"After extensive investigation, my men finally traced the 'Doctor's' movements before the gathering—he had been hiding in the Winsto tribe…

"There's also evidence that Tansenka was hiding there as well. Doctor took the job to disrupt my gathering because of him…"

"Tansenka?" Ebner interrupted.

As for the Winsto tribe, he had heard of them before—they were one of Bayam's native resistance factions. Or rather, they were a relatively moderate group within the various rebels, not entirely rejecting outsiders.

This was probably why an obvious Loenese-looking outsider like Doctor had been able to hide among them.

"Tansenka is one of Strongman Ozil's trusted subordinates. He happened to be away on a mission during the Heaven's Punishment, so he escaped the disaster…

"Later, he competed with me for control over Amyris Leaf Bar but lost, so he's been holding a grudge ever since…"

When Weaver mentioned the phrase "Heaven's Punishment," he couldn't help but cast a look of deep reverence at his employer.

After the incident, he had secretly investigated the ruins of the destroyed villa at the dockside district and knew exactly what kind of unimaginable power it took to cause such devastation! In his opinion, even if the legendary "King of the Sea" from the Church of Storms had personally taken action, the result wouldn't have been much different.

What Weaver didn't know was that the original version of the charm Ebner Bryan used that night did originate from the King of the Sea—it might have even been personally crafted by him.

Understanding the situation, Ebner nodded slightly and said thoughtfully, "Continue."

"My men, after infiltrating Winsto, quickly discovered something odd—

"It seems that after one of his trips outside, Doctor returned with severe injuries… And not long after, he insisted on moving out of his original residence, choosing instead to live in seclusion near a cliff southwest of the tribe.

"The Winsto natives didn't necessarily hate him, but they weren't particularly welcoming either. When he announced his decision to move, they were so thrilled that they even offered to help carry his belongings—but he flatly refused..."

At this point, Weaver paused for a moment, then lowered his head slightly and continued,

"Just as my men were trying to figure out exactly which cliff he had moved to… he was captured."

"Captured?" Ebner raised an eyebrow.

"Yes… And according to his account, the person who caught him was a young woman—very beautiful.

"Unlike the Winsto natives, her features and clothing were completely different from theirs… Yet, the tribal elders treated her with unusual respect.

"My subordinate also said that the girl used some kind of ability—he couldn't resist at all. Without even realizing it, he completely revealed his identity and background…"

At this point, Weaver glanced cautiously at Ebner before adding hesitantly,

"And before letting him go… that young woman told him that she was your 'friend' and invited you to meet her at Winsto tonight."

My 'friend'? Who could that be?

Wait… how does she even know that Weaver works for me?

Under the binding of our contract, Weaver cannot disclose my identity to his subordinates.

Could this be a trap?

Did she secretly follow Weaver to see who he'd report to?

As these suspicions flashed through his mind, Ebner directly asked the question aloud.

At the same time, he activated his Pure White Eye and used the rituals he had set up around Fragrant Manor to thoroughly scan the surroundings—only after confirming there was no one else nearby did he breathe a little easier.

"I initially thought the same thing…" Weaver admitted, "But then she gave my subordinate a letter—with your name clearly written on it."

Saying this, Weaver pulled out a delicate envelope and handed it to Ebner.

Taking the letter, Ebner immediately noticed the elegant handwriting—it looked familiar.

After a brief moment of thought, he suddenly realized—

This was Roman's handwriting!

But Roman was just a regular student… How could she possibly be involved with a native Bayam tribe?

That doesn't make sense at all…

Wait!

No—this isn't Roman's handwriting.

It's the handwriting Judy used when she disguised herself as Roman!

So, the one inviting me is… Judy?

If it is her, then it makes sense—she knows my abilities, and if she had heard the details of the last Beyonder gathering, it wouldn't be difficult for her to deduce that I was the one behind it. From there, she could easily guess that Weaver was my subordinate.

And besides… she has a mother who probably knows even more than I do.

But if she wanted to meet me, why go through all this trouble?

Why not just come find me directly?

Contemplating this, Ebner turned to Weaver and asked, "Did that girl give your subordinate her name?"

Weaver, skilled at reading expressions, noticed Ebner's thoughtful look.

At the same time, he felt relieved—his gut feeling had been right.

Earlier, he had sent Helene away because he feared that this was simply some old lover of his employer asking for a late-night rendezvous…

If that had been the case, he didn't want to risk offending his employer by accident.

But judging by Ebner's reaction now, his assumptions were correct.

It really was an "old acquaintance" coming to meet him…