“Mr. Bristol, why aren’t you helping with the festival preparations?”
The Eastern beauty tilted his head, his eyes full of curiosity.
Bu Jingjue had actually wanted to ask about the festival. He had no idea what kind of festival this little town called Beckwell was holding, and his attempts to contact 0725 had gone unanswered.
But he was afraid of giving himself away. It was better to be cautious and not alert anyone.
So unreliable… Bu Jingjue began to wonder whether he could unbind from the system as soon as he finished his first mission.
“Me? …Well, I’m sponsoring this year’s festival. I’m paying for most of it, so technically speaking, the boss doesn’t have to work, right?”
Asa made a joke, putting on a show of trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t suit his polished, refined appearance at all.
“Have you lived in Beckwell for a long time, Mr. Bristol? Doesn’t that mean you have to contribute every year?”
“Of course. Beckwell is a lovely place, and I’ve always lived here. But I have plenty of assets, not just in Beckwell but in other cities too, so I can afford this little expense.”
“What, don’t I look like I can?”
Asa teased Bu Jingjue, his playful tone carrying an unmistakable hint of flirtatiousness.
Bu Jingjue laughed along, quietly watching Asa’s eyes behind his glasses.
The carriage rattled along. The country road was bumpy, but Bu Jingjue noticed that Asa’s carriage was a high-end one. Even on this rough stretch, it barely shook.
He pressed his fingers into the soft seat and studied its elaborate embroidery, privately marveling that Asa really was rich.
He reached over to lift the curtain and pointed at the dark mass in an open area up ahead.
“Mr. Bristol, is everyone over there?”
They were in the carriage, and the conversation had been relaxed and pleasant, so Asa had long since taken off the glasses perched on his nose. At Bu Jingjue’s question, he put them back on before following the direction Bu Jingjue pointed.
“Yes, that’s where they are. The festival requires a great deal of supplies, so the bulk cargo has to be brought in from all over. The merchants need to check the quantities out here in the countryside first, then have their employees escort everything to the shops in town.”
What? There wasn’t a single flaw in that explanation.
Bu Jingjue kept an innocent smile on his lips, but in his mind he was poking holes in this man called Asa Bristol.
Was he really nearsighted, or was that just a disguise for a nobleman, or some member of the bourgeoisie?
He seemed to know Beckwell well, too… In any case, nothing about him seemed out of place.
But Bu Jingjue knew Asa was nothing like the witty, considerate man he appeared to be. He could clearly feel the malice in the way Asa looked at him…
Or perhaps it was more like…
A chill running down his spine?
…
The wagons carrying the goods were parked by the roadside, and the merchants were talking with the farmers.
Asa took Bu Jingjue by the hand and helped him down from the carriage. The sight of such a carriage, understated but still unmistakably expensive, immediately drew everyone’s attention.
The conversations stopped. One enthusiastic merchant even called out to Asa.
“Mr. Bristol! Oh!”
Bu Jingjue made a dazzling entrance. He attributed it to his own too-young, too-fresh face and his two long legs, which he didn’t know what to do with.
Bu Jingjue felt his face burn. Acting this young when he was a mature adult was so embarrassing.
Just when he thought that was enough, his nerves got the better of him. He slipped and fell straight into Asa’s arms.
Asa caught him securely, but Bu Jingjue wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and hide.
Help, what was going on? Was this really him?
“Are you all right?” Asa asked with concern, tightening his arm around Bu Jingjue’s shoulders.
He turned slightly, blocking most of the onlookers’ view of Bu Jingjue.
For some reason, though, Bu Jingjue suddenly started coughing.
“Cough, cough… Thank you, Mr. Bristol. I think I’m all right.”
The sky had grown dim. The sun sank lower by the moment, and orange-red light spread across the heavens as the distant calls of birds returning to their nests drifted over.
Perhaps he was cold, Asa thought. He glanced at Bu Jingjue’s bare legs, then fetched the long coat Bu Jingjue had left in the carriage and draped it over his shoulders.
As if that weren’t enough, Asa took off his own coat and offered it to Bu Jingjue as another layer.
Bu Jingjue couldn’t help finding it funny. He waved it away, but at Asa’s disapproving look, he had no choice but to drape the slightly heavier coat over his shoulders too.
It made him look like a child who’d stolen an adult’s clothes. Clothes made for a man as broad-shouldered as Asa were bound to look ridiculous on Bu Jingjue.
He tugged at the hem of the coat, dissatisfied.
Still a child, Asa thought, smiling without realizing it.
They headed toward the crowd. Only then did Bu Jingjue notice that there were three young people among the merchants and farmers.
Like Bu Jingjue, who was wearing suspenders and shorts, they were dressed in clothes that didn’t quite fit the atmosphere of the town.
Bu Jingjue’s outfit could at least pass for British-inspired. He forced a smile as he looked at the young man in a modern windbreaker, resisting the urge to comment.
“With an outfit like that, you wouldn’t happen to be a ‘player’ too, would you?” A young woman poked her head out from behind the man in the windbreaker, looking at Bu Jingjue with open curiosity.
She had delicate features and makeup that matched her clothes. Bu Jingjue noticed her ornate, heavily pleated skirt and suddenly felt envious.
They were both “players,” so why was her outfit so warm? Bu Jingjue frantically called out to 0725 in his mind, but still got no response.
“Xiaoyuan, can’t you see his coat? He’s so close to that NPC. He might actually be a local from this dungeon.”
The other young man was dressed like an artsy type. With the painting board on his back, Bu Jingjue was certain he was a painter.
So what was the windbreaker guy’s excuse for looking so out of place in this world?
But Mr. Windbreaker looked cool and aloof. He gave Bu Jingjue a cold glance, then looked away and fixed his gaze on Asa, lost in thought.
Bu Jingjue carefully glanced at Asa and saw that he didn’t seem to have heard the three young people talking. Instead, he was chatting merrily with several merchants.
Every one of the merchants looked at Asa with admiration, which struck Bu Jingjue as odd.
But when he remembered Asa’s identity, some of his wariness faded.
It wasn’t strange for merchants to admire Mr. Bristol, a wealthy man with deep pockets, especially since the generous millionaire sponsored Beckwell’s festival every year.
“I am!” Bu Jingjue mouthed to the three of them.
The girl called Xiaoyuan stared at him in surprise, but the young painter caught her by the sleeve, stopping her from going over to greet him.
Mr. Windbreaker glanced at Bu Jingjue without a flicker of expression, then went back to watching Asa.
Bu Jingjue noticed how the three of them reacted, but didn’t go over to make contact right away. Instead, he went to Asa and stood quietly behind him, waiting for the conversation to end.
Seeing the unfamiliar face approach, the group stopped talking. The merchant who had been especially friendly to Asa asked eagerly, “Mr. Bristol… and this young man is…?”
Asa smiled. “A tourist who came all this way for the Festival of All Origins. He’s a kid, and a rare visitor from the East.”
The merchants pointed to the three young people behind them, then looked at Bu Jingjue.
“An Easterner! That’s a rare sight. We have a few visitors from other cities here. We came across them in the forest. They’d gotten lost, so we brought them back with us.”
“Come to think of it, the Eastern visitors appeared rather suddenly this year. I don’t remember seeing any in previous years!”
A more elaborately dressed merchant burst out laughing, speaking with a smug air.
“Haven’t you heard? It seems they’ve recently gotten another batch of Easterners from somewhere ‘over there’… Haven’t you noticed that these three look at least a little mixed? Besides, they aren’t exactly dressed like paupers…”
He gave the three young people a haughty, disdainful look, then turned to Bu Jingjue with undisguised leering interest.
Asa stepped in front of Bu Jingjue, keeping his polite smile, though his voice had turned cool and carried an undeniable edge.
“We should be more polite to Beckwell’s visitors from afar, Weir.”
Were those Easterners slaves? Mixed-race? And what was with that suspicious “another batch”? Bu Jingjue paid Weir’s contempt no mind, but still pretended to hide behind Asa, even reaching out to pinch a bit of fabric at the back of his coat.
Xiaoyuan, who had listened to the whole “argument,” looked intrigued.
“This guy’s impressive. He’s already worked his way into the NPCs’ circle, and he’s even got one defending him. He must know a lot of information we haven’t found out yet. Besides, it doesn’t sound like he arrived in the forest with us.”
Bu Jingjue kept his expression neutral and lowered his head slightly, wondering why the locals never reacted when the word “NPC” came up. Did this world automatically smooth over the settings and patch its bugs?
Or was this something that existed outside the boundaries of the “game rules”?
He wasn’t interested in what those supposed NPCs meant by “over there.” It might be hidden information, but he had no desire to investigate it.
All Bu Jingjue wanted was for 0725 to wake up and explain the background and rules of this world to him, and… what exactly his mission here was.
Since they kept bringing up the festival, did that mean tomorrow’s Festival of All Origins was the key?
“Do you know them?”
Asa looked toward the three young people and asked.
“Yes. I think I’ve seen them before. We might be staying at the same inn?”
Bu Jingjue lied without a trace of guilt. Now that he knew who the three of them were, there was no need to pretend he had nothing to do with them.
“Angel’s Cottage? It’s a nice inn. I haven’t been there in a long time. As it happens, it’s one of my properties too.”
Asa looked at Bu Jingjue as he spoke, his tone mild. Bu Jingjue had no idea how Asa knew the name of the inn he was staying at, especially when he himself didn’t know it.
Bu Jingjue couldn’t help wondering just how many assets this rich man owned. Could he have a hand in every kind of business in town?
“But I still need to discuss something with Weir and the others. They just told me there’s a problem with the wine for the festival, so I may have to take care of it.”
“I’m sorry I can’t keep showing you around. Why don’t you go back with these three? It’s late, and the countryside can be dangerous.”
“What about your coat, Mr. Bristol?”
Bu Jingjue tried to take it off and return it to Asa, but Asa stopped him.
“Would you mind wearing it back? It’s cold, and I’m perfectly healthy, so I’ll be fine. You, on the other hand, should wear more when you go out, kid.”
Asa gave Bu Jingjue a very gentle smile, but Bu Jingjue sensed there was something more behind it.
“Tomorrow. I’ll come find you tomorrow, all right? You can return my coat then.”
It was almost as if something had set its sights on him.