"I've heard much about you," Klein said calmly. "However, I'm more interested in knowing why you've asked for me, Ms. Nelisa."
Nelisa set down her wine glass, her gaze settling on Klein.
Under the candlelight, her eyes glinted with an eerie luster, reminiscent of some bioluminescent creature from the deep sea.
"There's no rush," she said with a hint of a smile. "We have the whole night to talk."
She paused, turning her gaze toward Ophelia.
"And I think we'll find our conversation quite pleasant."
Nelisa's smile didn't reach her eyes.
Klein could sense it was a meticulously crafted mask—elegant and polite, yet isolating all genuine emotion. It was like a layer of ornate glass: hard and cold.
Pleasant? Hardly.
Nelisa was a person who got straight to the point, but that didn't make her appear sincere.
On the contrary, her excessively composed demeanor only made Klein feel she was deeply calculating, like an unfathomable abyss.
He didn't ask how she knew his name or how she had tracked his and Ophelia's movements.
Those questions were meaningless and would only make him seem insecure.
In Silver Scale Harbor, the Silver Scale Chamber of Commerce was the uncrowned king.
Nelisa didn't intend to explain either. She simply placed her wine glass back on the table with an elegant click, the sound acting like a prelude to the conversation.
"The Silver Scale Chamber of Commerce is also investigating the songs heard recently on the sea," she said directly, her tone as flat as if stating a fact that had nothing to do with her. "After all, those missing sailors and wrecked ships are the chamber's property."
She paused slightly and added, "Every accident means a loss."
Klein's fingers tapped lightly on the sofa's armrest, producing a dull thud.
Property. Loss.
The president's choice of words was cold. In her mouth, human lives were reduced to quantifiable numbers.
"So, if needed, we can provide some... conveniences for Mr. Klein and Ms. Ophelia." Nelisa's gaze swept over the two before finally resting on Klein's face.
It was clear she knew Klein was the one in charge.
"Since you are being so generous, President, there are indeed some things I need."
Klein didn't refuse. He was already worried about the lack of alchemy materials he had brought.
The few vials of potion he had refined from Karen's blood this afternoon were unsatisfactory in both quantity and effect due to material constraints.
This president was truly... providing help when it was most needed.
Of course, Klein knew this "help" wasn't free; it might even be hot enough to burn his palms.
There was no such thing as a free lunch, and the president of the Silver Scale Chamber of Commerce wouldn't make a losing deal.
"Please, go ahead," Nelisa said with an impeccable gesture of invitation.
Klein wasn't polite and listed a long string of materials on the spot, his voice clear and steady.
"Sea moonlight stone powder, at least fifty grams, ground to over three hundred mesh."
"Deep-sea sinking silver, also in powder form, the finer the better."
"And glimmer algae extract. I need the freshest, no more than an hour out of the water."
...
He listed over a dozen rare alchemy materials, each of great value, most of which were deep-sea specialties unique to Silver Scale Harbor.
These materials were not only core to making potions against mental pollution, but several were also necessary for his research into ancient magic runes. He took this opportunity to restock them all.
The waiter standing behind Nelisa couldn't help but twitch his facial muscles, clearly shocked by the value of the list.
Klein looked at Nelisa calmly, discreetly observing her reaction.
This was both his requirement and a test.
Hearing Klein's requests, Nelisa was slightly taken aback at first, then covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief and let out a silver bell-like laugh.
The laughter echoed in the quiet room with a mysterious quality, as if she found Klein's actions very amusing.
"Of course," she said, putting down the handkerchief, the smile in her eyes deepening. "Mr. Klein is truly... a practical man."
She turned to the waiter and instructed, "Prepare everything Mr. Klein needs and bring it here as quickly as possible."
"Yes, President." The waiter bowed and left the room quickly, his movements efficient.
Klein remained silent, but his mind was racing.
Nelisa's reaction exceeded his expectations. She had agreed too quickly and too decisively.
It was as if he hadn't asked for priceless alchemy materials, but a cup of cheap ale.
This could only mean two things.
Either the Silver Scale Chamber of Commerce was unimaginably wealthy,
Or the trouble they faced was far more expensive than these materials.
Klein was absolutely certain it was the latter.
'Sigh... if I'd known, I would have charged her even more.'
Having handled Klein's requests, Nelisa turned her gaze to the silent Ophelia, her voice softening slightly.
"And what about you, Ms. Ophelia? Is there anything we can help you with?"
Ophelia shook her head.
"No."
Her answer was clean and concise, without a hint of hesitation.
She was only here to protect Klein; she had no interest in anything else.
A flicker of appropriate regret appeared on Nelisa's face, but it vanished instantly. "That's a pity."
She was about to continue speaking to maintain the rhythm of the conversation.
Just then, the sitting Ophelia suddenly furrowed her brows.
An extremely subtle tremor, undetectable to normal people, pulsed through her left arm—the one corrupted by the power of sea monsters.
Almost as an instinctive reaction, Ophelia stood up abruptly.
This sudden movement caused the relaxed atmosphere in the room to snap tight like a bowstring.
Nelisa, who had been smiling calmly, instinctively recoiled, a small crack appearing in her composed expression.
It was the most primal reaction to an uncontrollable danger.
The two guards standing beside her immediately stepped forward, their hands gripping the weapons at their waists, their eyes sharp as blades.
But Nelisa quickly regained her composure and raised a hand to stop them. "Stand down."
The guards exchanged looks, hesitated for a moment, and then returned to their positions.
Ophelia ignored the tension in the room.
She wasn't about to attack anyone.
She simply walked straight to the window, her golden eyes reflecting the night outside.
The large floor-to-ceiling window faced the harbor, offering a view of most of Silver Scale Harbor's night scene.
Klein's heart tightened, and he immediately followed her gaze outside.
What he saw made his heart sink.
The previously calm sea was now churning with restless waves.
The waves crashed against the embankment, the sound no longer a gentle concerto but a dull, heart-pounding thud, like a giant beast beating an uneasy drum in the deep sea.
Above the sky, the bright full moon had somehow been stained with an ominous thin layer of red.
As the waves grew more violent, the color of the moon changed eerily.
The red grew deeper and thicker, spreading rapidly like ink dropped into water.
Finally, it looked as if a bucket of thick blood had been violently splashed across the night sky.
The full moon was being completely consumed by a strange, ominous crimson.
At the moment the blood moon formed, a faint song drifted into the room with the sea breeze.
The song was melodious, like a warm sea breeze blowing in.
Rate on N.U.
