Gun of Ashes

In the back kitchen of the tavern, three people and a mouse sat in a circle, like a mysterious gathering, preparing for a vicious ritual.

Lorenzo looked at the slightly messy setting here and couldn’t help but recall the scene when he first met Heracles. It was also in a tavern, also in the back kitchen. He began to wonder if this tavern might be one of Heracles’ properties, and it seemed that this business was doing quite well, with a chain store in Reindona.

Heracles held his face in pain. Moments ago, Lorenzo had excitedly embraced him, then directly ripped off Heracles’ big beard. Although it was a disguise, it was stuck tightly to his skin, and he felt as if a layer of skin had been torn off.

Eve curiously observed Heracles, the stranger, while holding the furry Polo. This big mouse was quite adept at dealing with people, and sometimes Heracles even suspected that if enemies came to the door one day, this pesky rat might just pounce into their arms.

”Although I knew you were alive, seeing you so lively is still somewhat unbelievable.”

Heracles slightly raised his head. He let go of his hand, revealing half of his face, now red.

”It’s just my good fortune, but I’m quite surprised you weren’t caught by Arthur.”

Lorenzo and he started complimenting each other, looking very much like good brothers.

During that storm, the Reichenbach crashed on the ridge, causing a great upheaval. To investigate how Lorenzo managed this, Arthur invited Lorenzo’s good friends for tea; only the sly fox Heracles escaped.

”I’m different from those two guys, Oscar is Nordro’s man, Selyu is a Duke, and me, me!” Heracles began recounting his journey of escape, ”Alright, actually, I made quite a bit of money with my exceptional brains, but it’s only money. I am just rich, without power. If Arthur caught me, who knows what might happen!”

Heracles’ clever mind had imagined many of his own endings. These terrible scenarios included all his assets being confiscated, and himself being locked up in a madhouse, waiting to be dissected.

”I’ve seen you had quite an interest in demons before. If Arthur invited you for tea, you might have had the honor of visiting the most advanced institution against demons in the Western world.”

Lorenzo expressed disdain for Heracles’ behavior like the Duke who liked dragons.

”With the luck to visit, but no chance to leave, I’m somewhat clear about Black Mountain Hospital. They might directly slice my precious brain.”

Heracles stood up, casually mixing something from the bottles and jars on the table.

”What would you like to drink, ma’am?”

”Just call me Eve,” Eve replied, feeling a bit restrained with this stranger, ”Anything, same as Lorenzo.”

”Is that so? Then Lorenzo is really lucky; I didn’t plan to invite him for a drink.”

Heracles gritted his teeth.

Lorenzo’s final actions had involved these good friends in trouble. It felt like they had planned a bank robbery, only for Lorenzo to crash the car into the Platinum Palace instead.

Obviously at most a life sentence, suddenly it became a death sentence, who could stand that?

”This guy can’t mix drinks, would you dare to drink?” Lorenzo asked Eve.

”To be precise, I can only mix one kind of drink, which I call ’Random’.”

Heracles spoke and placed two glasses filled with strange liquids, some thick, others clear, in front of them. To Lorenzo, it seemed Heracles had scooped up a cup of crude oil.

”Rest assured, the essence of mixing drinks is just random mixing; as long as it doesn’t kill.”

Heracles also prepared a cup for himself and fearlessly took a sip, then maintained a serious expression, as if slowly savoring it.

”You guys give it a try too, tell me your thoughts.”

Eve hesitated for a moment but still reached out, bringing the glass to her lips. Even before drinking, the heavy alcohol aroma almost made her dizzy, but she steeled herself and took a sip.

Surprisingly, the taste was somewhat odd but not unacceptable.

”It feels like drinking a cup of laundry water mixed with engine oil.”

Lorenzo drained his cup and let out a loud burp.

Ignoring Eve’s amazed expression beside him, Lorenzo looked at Heracles and smiled.

”So what do you plan to do this time, Mr. Holmes?”

The meeting entered the main topic, and Heracles became serious. As an intelligence dealer, he had to maintain his professionalism.

”I need your help with something, but it’s a bit dangerous and very important. However, you’ve passed my test. If you’re willing, we can start right away.”

Lorenzo showed no attitude of asking favors, behaving like a big shot.

”Test? Are you referring to the scattered messages?”

Heracles pulled a poster from the corner: the opening poster for Winchester Law Firm.

The rats had always lingered by Lorenzo’s side, never leaving.

Though Heracles was no longer in Old Dunling, he still controlled the rat horde, with intelligence constantly flowing in until Lorenzo actively made contact.

A prepared letter had been passed through various channels, finally arriving at Heracles’ desk, detailing time and place, though without the content of the matter itself.