Chapter 96: The Mayor’s Plan

Theodore woke with a start, his gaze immediately falling upon Theresia.

He cleared his throat twice before speaking. “My opinion is that we should proceed cautiously for now. Our sudden appearance must have caught them completely off guard.”

“At this moment, we can respond to all changes by remaining unchanged. After all, everything that needed to be done has already been accomplished.”

“Don’t forget, the true purpose of our dangerous journey here is to find out who is behind all this, not to capture a few small fries to vent our anger.”

The others considered Theodore’s words, finding them quite reasonable.

However, they were far more curious to know why he had been staring at Theresia so intently moments before.

Theodore knew that due to a peculiar condition, Theresia’s mind was incredibly lucid, yet she had no control over her body.

This meant that if someone were to do anything to Theresia right then, she would be acutely aware of every sensation but utterly unable to resist.

Back in the Elf Capital, Theresia had given him some rather ‘special’ books for his perusal.

Those books had opened Theodore’s eyes, broadening his horizons and introducing him to certain ‘practices.’

Theresia’s reasons for this were twofold. One was simply to share ‘good things’ with her comrades.

The other was a more pragmatic thought: when the time came for her tribulation, and she needed Theodore’s help in case of failure, she hoped his knowledge of certain techniques would make it less painful.

Of course, as events proved, that latter reason was entirely superfluous.

Nevertheless, it had certainly benefited Theodore immensely.

So, at that moment, his mind had naturally drifted to the scenarios depicted in those books, and he found himself unable to control his emotions.

Heaven knew, he used to be such an innocent youth. Before he learned he needed to help Theresia through her ‘fever period,’ his boldest fantasy was merely to become her close companion.

Noticing his teammates still scrutinizing him, Theodore struggled to maintain a neutral expression.

He quickly offered another suggestion. “Let’s check out the bar. It’s sunset, so it should be the busiest and most lively time there.”

Theodore took Theresia’s hand and began to walk forward.

Given Theresia’s current condition, she was not good at walking and required someone to assist her.

As for why Theodore, and not Lola, was the one assisting, it was simply because Theodore had very naturally taken on the task.

And Theresia had just as naturally placed her hand in his.

Watching the pair walk away, the others responded with a devoid-of-emotion, “Oh.”

****

As it turned out, Theodore was right, though only partially.

The tavern was indeed teeming with people, but each one of them was sprawled about, groaning in utter exhaustion.

The floor was littered with empty bottles and medicine vials.

The distinct label of ‘Wastrel’ seemed to hover faintly above their heads.

He would sooner believe Theresia had accepted his marriage proposal than believe his group had been intercepted by these sorry figures.

However, the appearance of strangers immediately drew everyone’s attention.

They all stared at Theodore, their eyes first showing confusion, then wild joy, before they swarmed around him, shouting, “Where’s the wine?! Where are the medicines?!”

Evidently, they had mistaken Theodore and his companions for delivery people.

Though Theodore wasn’t sure what ‘medicines’ they were referring to, he certainly had wine.

And quite a lot of it.

****

In the tavern’s basement, the owner was leisurely sipping his privately hoarded fine wine.

Unlike the ‘moonlight clan’ upstairs, he was a hoarder. The wails from above were the perfect accompaniment, a testament to his ‘hamster’ life.

Yet, for some unknown reason, the wails of the people upstairs mysteriously transformed into fervent revelry.

The tavern owner, utterly bewildered, decided to go up and see if they had lost their minds.

Though he wasn’t even sure if their existence allowed for such a function as ‘losing one’s mind.’

Upon arriving, the tavern owner witnessed a breathtaking sight: a crowd of drunkards cheering around Theresia and her group as if they were emperors.

On the tables, bottles of high-end liquor he had never seen before were proudly displayed.

The moment the tavern owner saw Theodore and the others, he was utterly astonished, frozen in place.

‘Who are these people?’ he wondered.

He grabbed the nearest drunkard and asked, “Who are they?”

The drunkard, looking confused, replied, “Them? They’re the wine delivery guys! Don’t you recognize them, huh?”

The tavern owner disdainfully pushed the drunkard away. ‘Nonsense,’ he thought, ‘of course I recognize the wine delivery people!’

But they were certainly not Theresia and her group!

However, the tavern owner decided not to alert them. Considering the ‘wastrel’ state of the patrons inside, exposing these mysterious newcomers would likely be useless.

Thus, he quietly slipped out immediately.

His intention was to go to the mayor’s castle to find the mayor, but he had barely walked a few steps when he saw the mayor rushing toward him.

Before the owner could even report, the mayor asked first, “Are they in your tavern?”

The tavern owner, seeing that the mayor knew of their presence without even asking, finally felt his anxious heart settle. “Yes, those people are in the tavern, bribing the drunkards with wine.”

“I was worried they might disrupt important matters, so I came to report to you, Mayor.”

A glint flashed in the mayor’s eyes. On his way over, he had already devised a foolproof plan, and confidence radiated from him. “No need to rush; everything is under control!”

Meanwhile, Theodore’s group, thanks to these wine-addled drunkards, had gleaned quite a bit of information.

For instance, they learned the town’s name was Wilted Leaf Town, located in the Deathly Wilderness.

They also discovered that their purpose in this town was simply to indulge themselves.

Furthermore, they all pledged allegiance to a common figure: the legendary Lord Clown.

Despite this, Theodore remained quite disappointed.

No further intelligence was forthcoming.

Who exactly Lord Clown was, where they worked, what their specific tasks entailed, or how they became Lord Clown’s subordinates—all these details remained vague.

There was only an intense, almost fanatical loyalty to Lord Clown.

Theodore quietly asked Lola beside him, “Have these people been brainwashed?”

“No, it’s just that their very existence is… strange,” Lola replied, her brow furrowed.

She opened her mouth several times as if to say more, but in the end, she remained silent.

Aesop was equally disappointed.

He had learned from these drunkards that they only ate snacks meant to accompany drinks, and even those snacks were merely pre-packaged meals.

Alicia was also deeply disappointed.

These were merely villains who had willingly fallen into depravity, utterly incapable of proper verbal communication. Even physical communication would likely fail to clear their minds.

Larkin, too, was incredibly disappointed.

The drunkards kept circling the same few topics, leaving him no opportunity to employ the debating skills he had learned from the church and his father.

He had hoped to perhaps trick a few of them into joining their side.

As for Theresia, her disappointment was even greater.

These drunkards showed absolutely no sign of being a threat. She had been hoping they would overturn the tables, giving her a reason to unleash a grand display of power.

They had noticed the tavern owner leaving but hadn’t stopped him.

It was simple: continuing to entangle themselves with these drunkards would only be a futile effort.

They needed someone who could communicate normally, someone of a higher rank, who could accurately answer their questions.

Not these… beings, whose existence even left Lola silently baffled.

Just then, the tavern’s main door was pushed open once more.

Theresia and the others all turned to look at the entrance.

A balding, middle-aged man in rather opulent clothing walked in. His eyes lit up when he saw them, and he strode directly over.

“Greetings, adventurers. I am the mayor of this town. Once you’ve had enough to drink, please leave quickly. Don’t cause a ruckus here and bother my guests.”

Though the unruly drunkards’ faces showed reluctance, they obediently put down the precious wine they held as if it were their lifeblood.

One by one, they filed out of the tavern.

This display of discipline utterly baffled Theresia.

Because of her innate talent and the constant influence of the Old Patriarch, she was well-versed in managing and leading a team.

Therefore, she understood even more clearly how incredibly difficult it was to make a group of people, who had clearly abandoned personal emotions, leave in such an orderly fashion.

This required a manager with extremely high prestige, the kind etched into their very bones, or else these people were being controlled by some invisible magic.

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