Chapter 60: Mutual Understanding and the Night's Watch

"Thud!" The sound of a thick wooden mug hitting the wooden tabletop echoed, a strangely relaxing tone.

Some ale spilled out of the mug and splashed onto the table.

"To be honest, I didn't expect the Edge of Night to have such perks! The ambiance of this tavern is completely different from the noisy ones outside!" a slightly slurred voice came from a rather unruly fellow making a ruckus in this otherwise quiet tavern.

"If you know this place is different, then stop being so loud and ruining the atmosphere!"

Edward sighed helplessly as he looked at Charles, who was downing a mug of ale with gusto.

"Hey, don’t change the subject! Are you drinking or not? Don’t be such a bore, haha!"

"What's so impressive about drinking ale?" Edward rubbed his forehead, wondering why he was even arguing with him.

"So, are you drinking or not? If not, you're not a real man!"

"Fine, fine, I'll drink! As if I'd be scared of you!"

Watching Edward retreat under the table after just three mugs of ale while Charles laughed hysterically beside him, Wang Yu continued eating his tender steak and crispy grilled fish.

"Hey, keep it down!" The stern voice of the tavern owner came from the bar, where he was mixing drinks without pausing his work.

"Yes, sir..." Charles immediately stopped laughing at Edward, who was now under the table cuddling the tavern owner’s black cat with a silly grin.

Wang Yu bit into a piece of steak, savoring the fresh, juicy flavor as he closed his eyes in satisfaction. This place truly was something special.

Unlike the noisy and chaotic taverns outside, filled with fishy-smelling bread and over-seasoned meat, this place was a haven of sophistication and tranquility.

The atmosphere here was serene, the decor tasteful. On the central stage, there was even a charming young elven girl softly singing a melody.

Wang Yu couldn't deny that this tavern felt closer to a modern establishment back on Earth than anything he’d seen in this world.

This was the Echoing Hearth, affectionately nicknamed Home Sweet Home by the Nightblades. It exclusively served them.

The proprietor was a retired Nightblade himself, and had wanted to give back to the organization.

Looking at the seasoned soldiers quietly enjoying fine meals and drinks, their battle scars and weariness evident, Wang Yu could see how this tavern served as a rare sanctuary.

For many of these fighters, this was their only chance to wash away the fatigue of intense combat and grueling patrols.

A private tavern like this was a rare luxury in their lives and did wonders for their mood.

Originally just a private venture, the Echoing Hearth quickly drew the attention of the Nightblades' members and leaders.

Now, the tavern served as a multipurpose venue where the Nightblades could exchange information, receive assignments, and relax—a sharp contrast to the chaos of the world at large.

Most of the patrons had seen enough of that chaos. They weren’t here for indulgence or wild revelry.

They were here to enjoy affordable and delicious drinks, some quality food, and the soothing songs of the elven singer. That was all they needed.

This quiet harmony was why the Echoing Hearth had become a beloved haven—and why Wang Yu's table stood out like a sore thumb.

Between Edward, who was drunk under the table, and Charles, laughing like a fool, their antics were completely out of place.

Even Wang Yu, who was just enjoying his meal, seemed a little odd considering the towering stack of plates in front of him.

Although the food was both affordable and excellent, most patrons weren’t here just to indulge. They came for the atmosphere, the sense of peace.

But Wang Yu had come purely to eat.

"Are you really not going to drink?" Charles pushed a mug of ale toward Wang Yu.

"Don't bother. My constitution means I can drink the strongest stuff here like water and still not feel a thing."

Accepting a freshly squeezed orange juice from the bartender, Wang Yu nodded his thanks and took a sip, completely satisfied.

"Plus, I just don’t like drinking. I don't see the appeal of getting drunk, and my body usually doesn't allow it anyway."

"Tch, you're just scared. A man who doesn't drink isn't a real man," Charles said, rolling his eyes.

"Do you really want me to expose you?" Wang Yu kneaded his forehead.

"What's the matter?"

Wang Yu's hand moved so fast it almost seemed to leave afterimages behind. He pulled something out from under Charles' mug.

"Let me see... the World. I wonder what it does?" Wang Yu flipped over the tarot card in his hand, smirking as he watched Charles freeze in place, stunned.

"Uh... well..." A bead of cold sweat rolled down Charles' cheek.

"Relax, I'm just messing with you. Using spatial magic for something like this is really a waste of talent, though." Wang Yu casually flicked the tarot card back onto the table, where it spun before landing in front of Charles.

Charles awkwardly retrieved the tarot card.

He had been using the tarot card to effect spatial teleportation, absorbing the ale into the card.

Though he seemed to have been quaffing mug after mug of ale, he likely had only taken a single sip, if that.

After all, a magician's constitution was far weaker than a knight's. If he really had been drinking the ale, he would likely have collapsed under the table before Edward did.

Charles rubbed his nose and began to boast again, clearly having recovered from his embarrassment.

"Well, what can I say? I am a genius, after all. Spatial magic only took me two or three years to get the hang of!"

"Sure, sure, you're amazing." Wang Yu waved a hand dismissively.

Didn't Avia learn spatial magic too? And it had only taken her half a year...

"Can't you sound more excited?" Charles grumbled.

"You didn't actually spike Edward’s drink, did you?" Wang Yu decided to change the subject. If he followed Charles' train of thought any longer, based on what he’d learned about the guy over the past few days, he'd be talking about nonsense again in no time.

"No way! I'm not interested in drugging him." Charles scowled in disgust.

"Isn't that strange? Edward should have the constitution of an advanced knight-in-training. He shouldn't have gotten drunk so quickly..." Wang Yu glanced at Edward, who was still under the table, grinning stupidly while petting the cat.

"Who knows? But this guy does seem a bit..., doesn't he? Is he really the son of the Grand Duke of Lionheart?"

"Naive, you mean?" Wang Yu filled in the blank.

"Exactly!"

Edward did have that vibe. He didn't quite fit the image of a general's son—he seemed far too inexperienced and immature.

By contrast, Charles, who came across as an unreliable jokester, seemed to have gone through much more in life.

"Maybe the Grand Duke of Lionheart sent him here precisely to toughen him up."

"What a strange father. Why not teach him himself, rather than have us do it?"

"What about you? What are your circumstances?"

"Let's not speak about the past..." Charles suddenly adopted a wistful expression, three parts nostalgia and seven parts melancholy.

"...Alright, I won't ask, then." Wang Yu wasn't particularly curious about others' pasts, at any rate. It had just been a casual question.

"You're not even going to press a little?" Charles scratched his head, feeling a bit thrown off by Wang Yu, who refused to play along.

"Nope."

"Fine, well... actually, my dad got sick of me lazing around all the time and sent me off to find something to do. After all, he's a count," Charles said, shrugging with a helpless look on his face.

"Uh huh," Wang Yu responded, though he clearly didn't believe a word of it.

How would a lazy youth have become a full-fledged magician at such a young age? And being sent off to the Nightblades' special ops team just for "something to do"?

It seemed obvious that his colleagues had more complicated backgrounds than they let on. But since Charles wasn't inclined to share, Wang Yu didn't push the matter.

"What about you? What's your family like?" Charles asked, now curious about Wang Yu.

"I'm a commoner, without family connections to speak of," he replied. It was clear Charles was asking about which noble family he belonged to.

"You're not a noble?" Charles stared at Wang Yu, genuinely stunned by the revelation.

"Is that so strange?" Wang Yu countered.

"Of course! Do you even know what kind of organization the Nightblades is like?" Charles seemed to be losing his mind.

"I have no idea," Wang Yu answered bluntly. He truly had little knowledge about the organization's inner workings.

That said, he was aware the Nightblades had the authority to override standard privileges of nobility when it came to their missions. Perhaps it was related to that?

"Good grief, how can someone like you actually make it into the Nightblades' special ops team...?" Charles raised his voice, only to lower it again after receiving a sharp glare from the tavern keeper.

In a quieter tone, he added, "But you definitely don't act like a noble. A lot of them are arrogant and insufferable, and the older ones are even worse. Ugh, disgusting."

As Charles shook his head and clicked his tongue in disdain, Wang Yu felt an urge to point out that Charles himself didn't remotely resemble a noble either.

In fact, he looked more like a hooligan from the streets—if you ignored his exceptionally handsome face.

Just then, the tavern door creaked open. Wang Yu didn't pay much attention at first, but when he heard footsteps approaching his table, he turned his head.

"Hey, Wang Yu!" Sieg, dressed in casual attire, greeted him with a wave.

"Good evening, Professor," Wang Yu replied in kind.

Sieg walked over to their table, pulled out a chair, and took a seat.

He glanced briefly at Edward, who was still sprawled out on the floor in a daze, but refrained from commenting or even looking at him further.

Reaching into his pocket, Zieg pulled out a small item and placed it in front of Wang Yu. "Here, take a look. Are you satisfied?"

Wang Yu picked up the object. It was a finely crafted figurine.

The statue depicted a dignified lady with her face veiled in black, obscuring her features. She sat on an antique-style wooden chair, dressed in an elegant black gown that exuded mystery and grace.

Studying the figurine, Wang Yu was astonished to find it bore a striking resemblance to the Lady of the Night, whom he had seen in his mental space. How was that even possible?

Noticing Wang Yu's surprise, the Professor chuckled. "I commissioned the organization's artisans to craft this based on the image of the Lady of the Night I found in the Selwyn texts. It's little wonder it resembles what you've seen."

"I see. Thank you!" Wang Yu couldn't help but think Sieg was perhaps the most reliable of his colleagues. He was knowledgeable and dependable.

"No need to thank me. This is a topic I've always wanted to study. After all, it's rare to encounter a deity as 'weak' as this one."

"Of course, someone like you who can directly communicate with such entities is even rarer. If you don't mind, could you make me a copy of your records when you spread the Lady of the Night's faith? That would be incredibly valuable for my research."

"No problem," Wang Yu agreed readily.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Sieg would gain valuable data for his research, and Wang Yu, in turn, could rely on Sieg's expertise to ensure the Lady's teachings were spread without any mishaps.

"What's this?" Charles, as expected, leaned over with curiosity.

"It's a statue of a deity I'll be spreading the faith for. Interested in joining? You could gain some remarkable powers," Wang Yu said, pointing to the figurine of the Lady of the Night on the table.

"Isn't that rather irreverent? It feels like your god's going to smite you—but I kinda like it. What powers are we talking about?"

"First off, I don't worship her myself. I just promised to help spread her faith. As for powers..."

Wang Yu briefly described the two divine boons associated with the Lady of the Night: concealment and shadow teleportation.

"Not bad at all. These abilities would definitely be popular with the wanderers' and the assassins' guild..." Charles mused.

"But they're not suitable for me. It's a shame, but I'll pass—she's quite the beautiful goddess."

Charles shook his head. He was uninterested in pledging himself to the Lady of the Night.

It wasn't a surprise to Wang Yu. Charles constantly invoked the god of light in casual speech, but like Wang Yu, he was a staunch unbeliever.

Still, he wasn't entirely wrong. Wang Yu had indeed identified rogues and thieves as the primary target audience for the Lady of the Night's faith.

Carefully pocketing the figurine, Wang Yu thought that he would be able to craft more duplicates of the statue rather easily with his wizardry abilities and the single copy before him.

"What brings you here today, Professor?"

Wang Yu turned back to Sieg as he pulled Edward—now somewhat sobered but still dazed—up from the floor and seated him at the table.

"Now that you've all completed your first mission and seen what we're up against, I assume you've gained some understanding of the situation."

Indeed, all three of them had witnessed their captain's battle against that twisted entity. It was an awe-inspiring sight, a battle on a scale so massive that the three newcomers couldn't hope to intervene.

"No need to worry. Calamities of this magnitude are exceedingly rare. Your usual job won't be to handle such things. Instead, you'll serve as night watchmen of the capital."

"Watchmen?" Wang Yu mulled over the term, recalling the captain holding a lantern as he patrolled the city on their first night in the royal capital. Was that what being a watchman entailed?

It seemed likely. When Captain Hugin passed by with his lantern, both Avia and Wang Yu had felt the eerie presence around them dissipate entirely.

"Precisely: watchmen. What I'm about to explain is the shadowy side of the capital—threats not just from the void, but also from the material world at large. Our job is to confront the darkness lurking beneath the capital's veneer. We stand between light and shadow in our capacity as the watchmen of this city."

As he spoke, a ripple of spatial energy shimmered through the air. The ring on Sieg's hand glowed faintly.

Reaching into the ripple-like distortion that appeared before him, Sieg pulled out three lanterns.

"These will be your tools. Take them and serve in your new roles."

"What's the pay like?"

"Generous..."

"Then count me in."

"..."