Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 332 Serres's Aesthetics of Pleasure

Padma followed the gaze and saw that the man named "German Sparrow" did not appear to be acting alone. He even had accomplices.

His accomplice was a short-haired man who looked like a beggar, with a red cloth covering the side of his head and a struggling stray cat in his arms.

"So this is how they see Boss Serres?" Padmon's gaze passed over the stray cat that clearly didn't look like herself and looked at the homeless man.

“This… should at least be cleaner…” Klein looked at the homeless man’s dirty clothes.

“It seems we don’t need to worry about it.” Klein looked away. “I feel that Serres really fits the characteristic of ‘every word spoken must be known’.”

“I feel that Boss Serres wouldn’t mind if someone else played him,” said Padmo.

“No, actually I still mind a little,” Serres’s voice rang out. “At least we should find another handsome guy to play me.”

“Boss Serres, you should be aware of your own appearance,” Pado Meow interrupted.

"I'm clearly a normal person, okay?" Serres muttered incomprehensible words like "anime," "artist," and "NPCs are all better looking than normal people."

"Heh." Klein chuckled, leading Padma to sit at the bar, bypassing the swindlers, and slammed his fist on the table.
"A glass of Southwell beer."

The bartender glanced at Klein and the cat on his shoulder, then at the mask hanging on the side of Serres' forehead, gave a wink to the security guard beside him, picked up a glass, and chuckled:
"Why not have a 'Sweet Lemon'? Our boss once went to Trier to learn bartending, mastered many of the cocktail categories left by Emperor Russell, and created Olavi's most popular 'Sweet Lemon'."

Klein nodded calmly: "Okay, then add another sweet lemon, and... a glass of juice."

“Okay.” The bartender glanced at Padmon, not rushing to take the drink Klein had ordered, and said with a smile, “Sir, are you an adventurer?”

Klein nodded but did not answer.

Serres suddenly reached out and stopped the security guard who was about to walk towards the swindlers.

"No need for that, I'll go."

With a smile, Serres stopped the security guard and, under the watchful eyes of Klein and the others, walked towards the group of swindlers.

The two security guards exchanged a glance and then retreated to the corner.

On the other side, the green-eyed man took a sip of strong liquor, slammed the glass heavily on the table, and said, "Whether you refuse or agree, I don't care, but I hate it when people make me wait."

The beggar with a red cloth hanging from his head, holding a cat, chimed in, "Do you want to be like the 'eloquent ones'?"

The cat struggled slightly in the beggar's arms, but it couldn't escape once it was held.

A young man opposite him spoke somewhat fearfully, "I know you are a powerful adventurer..."

"So?" the green-eyed man interrupted the other person.

Just as the beggar was about to feign a fierce demeanor to cooperate, his shoulder was pressed down.

Just as the beggar was about to turn around and angrily rebuke him, he heard a frivolous voice behind him.

"Good afternoon, my friend. What a coincidence, you're also called Serres."

The beggar froze instantly, for he saw the astonished expressions on the faces of the others.

"It seems not." The beggar felt a hand patting his shoulder.

Then, another hand reached out from behind, grabbed the cocktail glass in front of the beggar, gently crushed it, and then brought the shards of glass to the beggar's mouth.

"Come on, liars will have to swallow a thousand needles."

"Don't worry, you won't die. Most people who have offended me don't die. See how merciful I am?" Serres spoke gently, as if chatting about the weather with a friend.

The beggar's eyes turned fierce, and he swung his arm forcefully, elbowing Serres behind him.

Klein looked away, no longer glancing at what was happening behind him.

Padma sighed: "It's actually a very small matter. All you have to do is swallow the needle properly."

When the bartender heard Klein's cat speak, his last shred of hope vanished, and he looked away, simply smiling at Klein and saying, "Perhaps you should go see our boss. He's always very friendly to new adventurers and happy to buy them drinks. Besides, it might be of other help to you."

Klein, who had originally planned to buy the "Master of Puppetry" auxiliary materials here, did not refuse. He took out a brass penny, which bounced up with a snap and was then caught steadily.

Serres returned at this moment, still clean, without a trace of dirt or blood, and sat down next to Klein.

"Finished playing?" Klein asked. Although he didn't turn around, he could basically sense what was happening behind him.

In his perception, those people suddenly disappeared.

“Hmm.” Serres picked at his ear. “But it’s not fun.”

"Where did you throw them?" Padmon asked, jumping onto the table.

“I sent them to see the Mother of all spiritual life,” Serres said, blowing on his finger.

The bartender then brought over the drinks.

Beer, cocktails, and juice were placed in front of Klein, Serres, and Padmon, respectively.

But Klein pushed the cocktail to Padmon, the beer to Serres, and picked up the juice as if nothing had happened.

“Sometimes I feel like Boss Serres acts like a little kid.” Padmon licked the cocktail in the glass bottle.

“Isn’t that great?” Serres rested his chin on one hand. “After all, children are pure enough, which means I’m forever young.”

“Cerris, I’ve always been curious, what exactly is your aesthetics of pleasure?” Klein put down his juice and asked Serris.

The closer Klein got to "pleasure," the more curious he became about how the "Pleasure Envoy" viewed pleasure.

“I can probably guess what you want to know, but I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you.” Serres shook the bottle of beer. “I haven’t been in the world of pleasure for very long, and my understanding of pleasure is nowhere near that of the old-timers.”

"But if you just want to hear my opinion on pleasure... ah, wait for me to make one up on the spot."

I knew it.

Klein looked up at the ceiling.

"Serres thought for a moment and said."

"Many people see 'pleasure' as clown behavior, as meaningless attention-seeking. But I think you've already realized that this is completely worthless slander."

Klein nodded, agreeing with Serres's words.

"I was a self-destructive person, though only for a few seconds. But you should know that everyone who can break free from nihilism is either an optimistic warrior or a joyful madman."

"In that brief moment of self-destruction, I saw clearly what I truly wanted. Pleasure is not the goal, but the result. Not a clown seeking attention, but creating infinite joy in a limited time. For myself, and for others."

"Just like Pado said, I think I can be quite childish sometimes. Because I never consider right or wrong when I do things, I prioritize my feelings over right and wrong."

"I've been a member of the Annihilation Gang, a Cremator, and even joined the Antimatter Legion. I've also been a Nameless Traveler, a Sea Patrol Knight, and even a Pure Beauty Knight. So, I have a very clear understanding of what's 'right' and what's 'wrong.' It's just that I don't care."

"But my mood is easily influenced by my existing values."

Serres spread his hands: "So, this is my aesthetics of pleasure."

"If you make me happy, I'll make you even happier and more comfortable. If you make me unhappy, I'll make you even more unhappy and uncomfortable."

"That's it, what do you think? Isn't it quite different from the high-class 'aesthetics of pleasure' you imagined?"

“This is indeed very different from what I expected.” Klein finished his juice in one gulp.

"Is it much worse than you imagined?" Serres asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“No,” Klein placed a few pennies on the bar as payment for the drinks, “it’s better than I expected.”

"What kind of person do you take me for?" Serres combed her hair.

Klein smiled and slowly stood up, placing Padma, who had only drunk a few sips of wine, on his shoulder, and followed a guard up the stairs to the second floor, entering the room at the other end of the corridor.

Serres remained in the lobby on the first floor, watching the person and the cat leave.

As Klein disappeared, Serres suddenly grinned happily.

"Pleasure aesthetics? Haha."

He believed it, he believed it.

(End of this chapter)