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The party had ended.
After offering courteous farewells to the noble ladies with whom he had danced, Eli Walker returned by carriage to his residence in the West Borough. The opulent evening gown he wore was replaced by a loose black robe, beneath which he discreetly tucked a revolver. He accepted the white sandalwood cane handed to him by Martin and stepped into the mist-veiled streets of Sivellas.
The night fog lingered in layers, but the scarlet moon shone undeterred, its radiance piercing through the haze. The pallid glow left a molten-red shimmer upon Eli's palm—like a drop of liquid mercury from the heavens.
"Martin," Eli asked languidly, "do you suppose the Moon a thousand years ago looked just like it does tonight?"
His voice was faintly nostalgic, tinged with melancholy. At times like this, he could not help but feel a soft-hearted sympathy for his past self.
Surely, any elf in the Fourth Epoch who sought to 'lie flat' would have been exiled by overachievers.
"The Moon has likely remained unchanged, Young Master. Otherwise, why would every Trunsoest Emperor in history be called the 'Night Emperor'?" Martin replied thoughtfully. "If Intis is the Nation of the Sun, then perhaps we are indeed the Nation of the Moon."
"Praise the Goddess," he added, gazing reverently at the sky and drawing the sacred scarlet moon across his chest.
"Praise You," Eli echoed softly, his fingers moving in a practiced clockwise motion.
The Lord who created all… the Omnipotent and Omniscient God…
Eli offered a quiet prayer to the Ancient Sun God. Frequent prayer, after all, aided digestion of a Beyonder potion—something he was presently invested in.
The two continued walking beneath the glimmering moonlight. The fog parted as they neared Backlund Bridge, revealing a lone figure in a hood standing near the Intis Embassy's gates.
Eli halted, then raised a hand in an exaggerated greeting.
"Good evening, Light Supplicant—scammer of minors' allowances."
"Do you realize you're tarnishing the Sun with your nonsense?"
A sharp flash of light greeted him. For an instant, it was as if two blazing bulbs had burst to life beneath the hood. When Eli's vision returned, he found himself being yanked forward by the collar.
"Say that again?" the girl growled. "Our business is clean. A legal transaction made by mutual consent!"
"If you dare insult my Lord again, I'll hang you from a lamppost!"
Eli blinked down at the small but formidable girl—short-cropped golden hair, blazing eyes, a faint halo of light clinging to her like a divine ornament. She looked, regrettably, like someone who truly believed in her Lord's justice.
"Don't misunderstand. I wasn't blaming the Eternal Blazing Sun for the behavior of one Light Supplicant," Eli said calmly, brushing his sleeve. "Personal misconduct does not implicate divine will."
Her grip weakened.
"That's… reasonable," Alice muttered, her scowl briefly faltering.
But just as quickly, her eyes narrowed again. "Wait—don't try to distract me!"
"Miss Alice," Martin interjected diplomatically, stepping forward in a desperate attempt to de-escalate the situation, "please release the Young Master. This seems to be a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?" Eli scoffed. "Last year I was seventeen. How many times did you fleece me for potions and so-called holy relics?"
He adjusted his collar and gave her a look of tragic disappointment.
"You don't even feel ashamed. Worse—you're angry about it. Your character is appalling."
"Young Master, I beg you, please stop talking…" Martin murmured, already halfway between shielding Eli and holding Alice back. His voice had taken on a tone of despair.
This was their bodyguard for the evening.
Who opens negotiations by insulting the bodyguard?
"Move," Alice snapped, brushing Martin aside. She marched forward, but Eli remained unfazed.
"Shall we talk as we walk?" he said, pointing toward Backlund Bridge.
Alice ignored him. She instead leaned close and sniffed delicately.
"You… smell strange," she said with suspicion.
"Perhaps it's the scent of money," Eli replied mildly, taking a step back.
Alice snorted. But rather than protest further, she simply grabbed Eli by the robe and began dragging him across the bridge.
"Fine. Let's walk."
"And talk."
"You claim I scammed your money? Be specific—or I'll toss you into the river."
Her golden hair fluttered behind her as she marched onward.
Eli yanked his robe free. "Let's begin with potion ingredients. The main material for a Sequence 9 potion costs about 150 pounds. The formula's another 200 or so. You doubled it."
"You think it's expensive? Then don't buy from me," Alice shot back, arms crossed. "At least I didn't sell you fakes. You want fakes? Go see a charlatan."
"Also," she continued indignantly, "they were imported. Do you know what the tariffs are for specialty goods from Intis? You think I don't factor in shipping costs?"
Eli exhaled slowly. This one was really something.
This foolish noble boy—I gave him the formula, I gave him the ingredients, I even prepared it personally. He seemed decent—so I thought, why not bring him into the light?
And then he fed the potion to his hunting dog.
Fed it to a dog!
Fine. Beyonder pets were rare, but they existed.
But no—he thought the dog had been poisoned and had it buried.
Then came asking for a refund.
Eli rolled his eyes.
"Oh, by shipping costs, you mean buying cheap from the Intis Embassy and reselling it to me at triple the price?"
Alice froze.
He shouldn't have known that.
Which scoundrel broke the unspoken rules?
"Let's leave the potion aside," Eli continued with clinical precision. "Let's talk about Sun Holy Water. How much does the Eternal Blazing Sun Church charge for it? Ten pounds?"
"You sold it to me for a hundred."
"That's a tenfold markup. You might as well rob me at gunpoint."
"I… I was covering handling costs!" Alice stammered.
"Ten times the price?" Martin whispered, stunned.
He had thought the markup was, perhaps, twofold. He'd even admired Alice for her entrepreneurial spirit.
But this?
This was betrayal.
He stared at her in disbelief.
"You looked me in the eyes and charged me that much…"
Alice averted her gaze.
They had known each other for a year. He'd fetched the goods personally. And she still had the gall to swindle him.
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