High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1145: Chapter 207 Absinthe

Beta Town, Pedestrian Street.

Wandering Bar.

In a secret meeting room on the second floor.

Mike Gold Cypress Plano stood behind the small bar and picked a bottle from the liquor cabinet behind him. The bottle contained a grass-green liquid that bubbled constantly, even without being heated.

The meeting room was not large, but it was fully equipped: a black date wood liquor cabinet, an exquisite bar, a glass coffee table, a large dragon skin sofa, a Persian long-fiber carpet, and high-quality fireflies hanging from the dragonblood vine on the walls and ceiling.

Compared to the fireflies outside the meeting room, these were not only larger and brighter but also quieter. They knew to stay put and suck on the vine’s juice, without crawling around the vine and affecting the lighting.

Mike Gold Cypress Plano was entertaining a guest.

That guest was the restless Arthur Ness, sitting behind the glass coffee table.

Although many in the school thought Arthur Ness was foolish—in fact, he was merely somewhat ’reckless’—it didn’t mean he lacked intelligence.

As a veteran of two years at First University, and an heir to a minor family, Arthur Ness might not have been gifted in magic, but he was extremely keen in certain aspects.

For instance, his self-awareness.

Admittedly, he sometimes saw himself as someone significant, but this confidence was primarily directed at those wizards who came from non-magical backgrounds, or those newcomers who had just joined the academy for over half a year. Even falling on his face twice in front of Zheng Qing didn’t diminish this confidence much.

After all, students like Zheng Qing were rare—how many students would be listed in the Great Arcana by their wands in their first year? None in a hundred years, before or after.

So, falling on his face in front of Zheng Qing was not shameful.

Arthur Ness had a very clear understanding of his place: better than some but not as good as others, a ’middle class’ of the Wizard World. To use a more vivid metaphor, he was somewhat like a ’village gentleman’ or ’petty official’ in an ancient feudal dynasty, who could leverage the needs of the ’ruling class’ to assert influence, yet was clearly not part of the ’ruling class’ himself.

This ’ruling class’, at First University, included names like Lei Zhe, Augustus, Three Heroes, Sir Friedman, and small clusters of students like Sepulano.

It was this ’awareness’ that made Arthur Ness so restless at the moment.

Because he didn’t know why the illustrious leader of the Auspicious Society, Mike Gold Cypress Plano, had called him into this meeting room. Logically, he had not earned the privilege to be a favored guest of Sepulano, let alone the privilege for Sepulano to personally prepare a drink for him. Maybe Sir Friedman could command such honor.

Furthermore, although both were students at Alpha Academy, Arthur had been Sir Friedman’s man from the start, a fact known by everyone at the academy.

What if Sepulano wanted him to betray the Duke?

Contemplating this possibility, Arthur Ness couldn’t help feeling a depressing and tangled sensation. On one hand, he was excited to have gained the ’favor’ of someone like Sepulano; on the other, he was terrified of his own capabilities. He didn’t see himself as the type who could play ’both sides’.

He couldn’t help but curse Kitano Gen in his heart; if it wasn’t for that wizard of the Ninja Family wanting to sell something in the Wandering Bar, he wouldn’t have come along and wouldn’t have been caught by Sepulano.

Thinking back, Arthur Ness vaguely remembered Kitano Gen had a brother named Kitano Kiri, who seemed to be under Sepulano’s command and owed a large debt to the Auspicious Society, causing Kitano Gen to also go through some tough times recently.

Could it be that Sepulano detained him here because of this matter? If so, he must clarify that Kitano Gen was merely his subordinate, and his debts had nothing to do with Arthur Ness, not even a single copper coin.

While Arthur Ness was busy with his thoughts, Mike Gold Cypress Plano behind the small bar was not idle either.

He poured the bubbling green liquid into two transparent glass wine glasses and then took a stainless steel strainer with a short handle from the cabinet, setting it over the glasses, followed by placing a white sugar cube in the middle of the strainer.

Then, the Fat Wizard pushed the two glasses underneath a tall glass dripper placed at the end of the bar, twisting open the two small faucets at the base of the dripper.

The ice water in the dripper, propelled by gravity, slowly dripped down, soaking the white sugar cube and gradually seeping into the glasses below. The bubbling blue liquor under the stimulus of the ice water started to form layers of fish-belly white.

”Do you know why I called you here?”

Sepulano’s slightly hoarse voice suddenly filled the small sitting room, startling Arthur Ness, who had been lost in thought, causing him to sit up straight immediately.

”I don’t have money!” he blurted out reflexively.

The Fat Wizard gave him a puzzled look, ”I’m not after your money... I just invited you up for a drink. And to listen to an elder from Alpha ramble a bit.”

Arthur Ness then realized what he had just said and felt profoundly embarrassed, firmly closing his mouth.

Sepulano tugged at the corner of his mouth and unbuttoned his collar, giving his neck a twist.

He felt the air in the room was a bit stifling:

”I do not like Green Bee, because it is too frivolous.”

”Nor do I like Amber Light because it is too precious... I am a vulgar man, a vulgar man who does not fit in with Alpha Fortress.”

”Although you are not a member of the Auspicious Club, as a sophomore veteran, you must know my ideals.”

”Blood Comrades need change, Alpha needs change, and our Wizard World needs change too.”

”Change is not the sweet and refreshing Green Bee nor the rich and fragrant Amber Light. Change is a cup of bitter, hard-to-swallow Absinthe.”

”This is also why I like this type of drink.”

The ice water in the dripper began to drop faster, and the Absinthe in the two glasses slowly turned milky white. Sepulano snapped his fingers, ignited the last cluster of sugar left on the spoon, and then, tilting the spoon, he stirred it directly into the milky white liquor.

”...actually, I prefer the rough way the Bohemians drink,” Sepulano pushed a cup of the prepared Absinthe in front of Arthur Ness: ”But since I am the host today, it naturally needs to be a bit more solemn.”

”I hope you don’t mind.”

Arthur Ness, holding the glass, shook his head frantically, fearing that any delay might make Sepulano think he minded.

The Fat Wizard tugged at the corner of his mouth again, removed the spoon from the glass, and casually tapped on the wooden surface of the bar, chanting rhythmically with the tapping:

”Abbeson, Abbeson, those green Sprites.”

”Dancing on ice, frolicking in the liquor.”

”Indulging their innermost desires and pursuits.”

”Indulging their inner passions burning like fire...”