Chapter 67 Tarot Club Suspicion
Estimating that his trip would not take more than four hours, Angel did not tell Clement where he was going. He just said goodbye to Daly and left the Silver Bullet Detective Agency.
She had originally planned to go to the location of the "craftsman" provided by the "Hanged Man" to find out the purpose of the revolver in her hand that had inexplicably absorbed extraordinary characteristics. However, after learning from Daly that the Nighthawks had set their sights on the "Tarot Club", she decided to find out more about it first.
The port area was close to the steam train station and not far from the Night Watchers' base, but Angel was not familiar with the streets of Enmat Port, so he did not try to walk there. Instead, he found a hired carriage as he did when he came here.
This time she asked the price in advance.
Nibbling on the fish cakes she bought on the street before getting on the bus, she looked out the window at the street scene speeding past. The aroma of fried fish paste mixed with potatoes in her mouth and the salty sea breeze blowing into the car from outside the window reminded her of her hometown.
As the second largest port city in the Kingdom of Loen, Enmat Port undertook a large amount of maritime transportation. As the carriages passed through the Golden Apple District and the Oak District and gradually entered the port area, roadside warehouses and processing plants gradually replaced residences and shops.
Of course, there are also busy workers and mountains of goods.
If it weren't for the spectacular coastline that appeared before Angel's eyes, she would have almost thought she was back in the dock area of Tingen City.
Unfortunately, the offshore water is not the elegant indigo blue, but a gray-green color mixed with various floating objects, oil and excessive growth of microorganisms.
If you are here to see the Heiligenmatt Harbor, you will definitely be disappointed...
Looking at the chaotic port terminal, Angel shook his head in disgust, got out of the car, paid, and walked towards the "Carrion Bird" bar.
Compared to the various bars hidden in the dark corners of Tingen City, the practitioners in Enmat Port were obviously much bolder. The "Carrion Bird" booked an entire three-story building, with almost all the windows on the first and second floors open. Undisguised shouting and yelling came from inside, but most of the windows on the third floor were covered with curtains, which was out of tune with the environment downstairs.
Perhaps because they often receive tourists from all over the world, the guards at the door are dressed quite formally. Their tuxedos and top hats make them look more like waiters in a high-end club than gate guards.
The "servant" opened the door and welcomed Angel in. The noise that was already quite clear outside the door suddenly merged into a wave of sound and rushed towards her.
The entire first floor of the "Carrion Bird" had been opened up, transforming it into a single, large room. Dozens of tables and chairs were arranged haphazardly around the central bar. It was mid-afternoon, a break from work, and the tables and chairs were about 70% to 80% full. There were port workers in work clothes, locals in casual attire, and tourists from other parts of the country dressed in exotic styles.
A fenced area was set aside in one corner of the room, seemingly for boxing matches. However, this sport was not very popular in Port Enmat. Instead, most of the tables were covered with playing cards, and "card friends" were drinking beer while playing games of various rules, and more or less cash was bet.
It seems that this place is more like a "casino" than a "bar"... and they don't like gambling games like dog and rat or boxing matches, but are more popular with "national" games like cards.
Angel glanced over the gambling tables and took a quick look around. Not finding anyone or anything of interest, he walked towards the bar in the center of the venue.
Several bartenders were busy refilling empty glasses brought back by the waiters or mixing cocktails for customers sitting at the bar. One of them saw Angel coming up, looked up, and asked casually:
"What would you like to drink? The prices are posted outside the bar. Anything not marked off is left. If you want a cocktail, you'll have to wait."
He reached across the bar and tapped the outside, indicating that Angel should check the price himself. Then he retracted his arm, picked up two wooden cups, bent down and started to add wine.
"I'm going to the underground market to buy something. Which way should I go?"
Angel didn't look at the price list, but instead asked directly about the location of the underground trading market as Daly told her.
"Hmph, next time if you don't want to buy alcohol, just tell me earlier... Next to the back door, go up the stairs, it's on the third floor."
The bartender was quite dissatisfied with the failure of the sales pitch and complained before answering Angel's question.
"Thanks."
Angel could understand his feelings, took out two pennies and put them on the bar. After successfully influencing the bartender with his kindness, he walked straight to the back door of the bar.
The back door was locked with an iron chain. On the left were several separate bathrooms, and on the right was a carpeted staircase against the wall.
It's a strange arrangement, probably a later addition.
Going up the stairs, there are two corridors extending to both sides on the second floor. Red carpets cover every corner. Beautifully decorated wooden doors are opening or closing, and the noise coming from inside is no less than that on the first floor.
Not paying attention to these "boxes", Angel continued to go up to the third floor.
The "underground market" located at the highest point of the bar also occupied an entire floor, but perhaps because it was not yet the traditional trading time at night, there were not many people on the third floor. She counted around and found less than 20 people, most of whom were setting up stalls or placing items on the table for sale. A few visitors who had the same purpose as Angel walked among the goods, asking for prices from time to time.
Two guards stood at the stairs, yawning, and seemed to think that this small number of people couldn't cause any big trouble.
Compared to the unconcealed entrance, the curtains were drawn on the surrounding windows, making the room look a little dim. The faint light emitted by the gas lamps on the walls and supporting columns cast a layer of mystery over the people busy trading.
Looking around the entire trading market with the help of dark vision, Angel did not find Miss Justice.
After several exchanges with the Tarot Club, even with the mysterious gray fog separating them, she had memorized the height, body shape, and hairstyle of "Justice" and "The Hanged Man." Although they had never formally met, she was confident that she would recognize them as long as they appeared in front of her.
Maybe the other party was not really "waiting in the market all day" as rumored, and he just happened not to meet him... Angel stood by the stairs and thought for a moment, then decided to find someone to ask clearly.
She walked towards a merchant selling various common materials, squatted in front of the stall, pretended to be interested in the goods, picked up a bottle of light yellow powder, and asked:
"What is this powder?"
The stall owner is a middle-aged woman. Time has left many marks on her body. When she saw a customer coming to her stall, she forced a smile on her weather-beaten face.
"This is mummy powder. I got it from Backlund. It's popular among the nobles there to take potions containing it. Whether male or female, as long as they use it, they'll... well, you'll know when you try it. This bottle is 10 grams, and it's only 10 pounds."
The price is almost catching up with Star Crystal, which is the main ingredient of potions and can also be used to make various ammunition and talismans with special effects.
And from the stall owner's description, this thing seems to have some special effects...
Suppressing his curiosity, Angel put down the glass bottle of mummy powder and picked up a few scales tied with a rope beside it.
"Is this the scale of a glowing lizard? How much is it?"
…
After asking about prices several times, Angel almost understood the price level in Port Enmat.
Some items that can be used to make talismans or for various rituals have a large circulation volume, so their prices are almost the same as those in Tingen City's underground trading market. Some rare items are priced almost arbitrarily. Some are so cheap that she is tempted to resell them, while others are so expensive that it seems as if she has no intention of selling them at all.
The middle-aged woman had become a little impatient after her repeated inquiries. Seeing this, Angel paid for the glowing lizard scales and asked casually while she was helping him pack:
"I heard there's a young woman here who calls herself 'Justice' and likes to buy some weird and wonderful things. I have some good stuff I want to sell. Is she here now?"
"'Justice'...ah, that girl you mentioned. She's definitely bought a lot of things from me, and she never haggles...but she's not here today. If you want to see her, you can leave a message on the blackboard. She'll see it and reply, and we can arrange a time to meet up."
Following the middle-aged woman's outstretched hand, Angel discovered a blackboard about three meters wide hanging on the wall on one side of the room. About two-thirds of the area was covered with words. Some of the handwriting was elegant, while others was rough, obviously from different hands.
After thanking him, she walked to the blackboard and read the words on it.
"Using a large quantity of various herbs, price negotiable, long-term cooperation is possible, Sunday evening at 10 o'clock."
"Two bottles of aphrodisiac for sale, five pounds each. Guaranteed effectiveness. Available every afternoon."
"Does anyone know where &#￥ is? A reward of twenty pounds is offered for any information leading to his whereabouts. Go to the 'Brave Weapons Shop' on Pitts Street and see the manager." The name part of the message had been erased.
…
It seems that this blackboard is similar to the bulletin board of the entire trading market. Any content that needs to be publicly searched for buyers, sellers or solicited for clues can be posted on it. Leaving a message with the time or place will also make it easier for interested people to find each other.
After reading all the information one by one, Angel finally found what she was interested in.
"(Please don't erase my message again) I'm buying 'Star Crystal' and 'Blood of the Lava Octopus'. Any quantity is acceptable. Price is negotiable. Please leave a message to contact Miss 'Justice'."
The familiar name of the material made Angel's breath hitch.
When Old Neil prepared the "Fortune Teller" potion for Klein, she memorized its complete formula, and the two main ingredients were listed on the blackboard.
This made her doubt the identity of "Justice" again.
Miss Justice of the Tarot Club had successfully taken the potion a week ago and became a spectator. This was a fact confirmed by Mr. Fool.
Then would she be the one looking to buy the fortune teller's potion in the trading market of the "Carrion Bird Bar"?
Or maybe "Justice" got another potion formula from other channels and is helping others find ingredients for the potion?
Angel hesitated for a moment, picked up the chalk next to the blackboard, and wrote a sentence on the blank space:
"Selling a small amount of 'Star Crystals', Friday evening from 8 to 10."
Today is really gone...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
