Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 109 Dead Dog Tavern
Black Street is a small street in the northern part of the residential area. It was originally called Fog Street, but because it could not supply enough kerosene, the whole street was dark and was called "Black Street".

So when Arthur was asking around the residential area about "Black Street, Black Street," no one gave him an answer. Instead, quite a few people watched him warily and then quietly disappeared.

After asking around without success, Arthur found a quiet corner and closed his eyes in silence.

Silence enveloped him, darkness lurked all around, and fear and unease gripped him.

He really hated quiet and silence. The emptiness that appeared almost drove him crazy, but unfortunately, he awakened this talent.

Captain Logan once said that a knight's talent often stems from his personality, passions, and struggles—the very place where his spirit is most concentrated.

But Arthur was very unlucky; his talent was closely related to his problems.

In the silence, he heard sounds, smelled scents, and distorted geometric structures expanded in his mind before settling into a certain outline.

"The Thrifty Penny Grocery Store is anything but thrifty... its pork is getting more and more expensive!"

"This tea comes from the East..."

Good afternoon, how's the weather today?

"Don't just stand there! Quickly put up the posters! We need to make sure the whole city knows about our new furniture!"

No... that's not it... what else...?

His senses expanded again, extending in a two-dimensional form. Countless sounds flooded into his mind, and extreme silence and noise intertwined in his brain. He clutched his brain tightly, and the veins on his muscular arms bulged.

"You think a penny for a glass of wine is too expensive? Then go drink the dog pee outside the door, that's free!"

"Look, it's a halfling!"

"Ms. Cynthia, I'd like to see my fortune for today..."

"Hmm, toad leg..."

found it!
Arthur abruptly withdrew his power, collapsing to the ground gasping for breath, his face covered in cold sweat and drained of all color.

Suddenly, a girl rounded the street corner and came to his side, seemingly startled by his appearance.

"Hello... sir, do you need any help?" she asked cautiously.

Arthur forced a smile: "It's okay, I just need to rest for a bit."

“You look… a little bad,” she said softly.

Arthur leaned against the wooden wall and smiled, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Miss."

But the girl suddenly revealed a playful expression: "No need for that, but if you've rested enough, please come with me."

Alarm bells rang in Arthur's mind, and he quietly gripped the gun at his waist: "What do you mean? Who are you?"

She dropped her pitiful facade, smiled, and bowed: "Aren't you looking for Black Street? I'm a waitress at Dead Dog Tavern."
-
"Hey, why are you holding a gun the whole time? I was just testing you." The girl pouted, looking annoyed, and led Arthur towards the dark street.

“We noticed you asking around on the street. We don’t welcome police officers there, but Ms. Selena said you’re a knight of the church and can come over, so she sent me to pick you up.”

"I thought you were acting suspiciously in the corner, so I wanted to see if you were a good person."

Arthur asked helplessly, "So you can tell I'm a good person now?"

She grinned and said, "I didn't realize, but he's quite polite, so I'll reluctantly accept it."

As they talked, they arrived at the entrance to the Black Street.

The residential area is very large, and Black Street is located on the northernmost edge, surrounded by walls and mud. Even the heating is no longer warm here, and the temperature is only in the single digits.

The densely packed buildings are huddled together, mostly three or four stories high, forming an impenetrable barrier, leaving only a narrow, dark street in front of them, where the barking of dogs can be heard at the end.

There are kerosene lamps here, but these things cost money. Usually, the owners pay for someone to light the lamps and add oil. But who owns this street? Nobody knows. Anyway, they've never paid for maintenance. They only collect rent, which is very low. Most of the owners are poor and can't afford to light lamps.

As they entered the dark street, darkness gradually enveloped them, and the last light faded behind them, growing ever more distant.

Arthur saw a toothless old man tending a general store, a burly man with a full beard sitting behind a butcher shop, and several deserted, dilapidated storefronts. Halfway through his journey, he finally spotted a candlelight.

Through the murky glass window, it was like a bright light in the darkness.

The sounds of revelry drifted from afar, the barking of dogs and the rustling of the wind against the door echoing. The sign for "Dead Dog Tavern" hung on the iron bar outside, swaying back and forth in the wind and striking the wall.

Arthur swallowed hard, recalling dark taverns from horror stories, where people ate disgusting, bizarre food, their eyes glowed green, and they turned into skeletons and zombies, never to emerge again.

Just as he hesitated, the girl grabbed him and kicked open the tavern door.

She yelled at the top of her lungs, "The police dogs are here!!!"

There was a moment of silence as people looked at Arthur.

In that instant, he broke out in a cold sweat.

But the silence lasted only a second, and then people burst into laughter!
Laughter that shook the roof echoed throughout the tavern, oak beer glasses clinked together, and someone shouted, "Give the church comrades a strong drink! My treat!"

Another person immediately pulled him off: "Get the hell out of here, it's my treat!"

The girl grumbled as she slammed two shillings on the counter: "I've got my order, give us one each!"

Arthur was still in a daze when the enthusiastic people pulled him into the table and started chatting with him about this and that.

"How's that case going?"

"How is Miss Tess?"

"Hey, I'm the one who found the information about the hazelnut tree!"

Is working at the police station tiring?

"When will the Knights be able to recruit again? I almost made it last time, I was so close!"

People asked him enthusiastically, and the girl came over and slammed a ceramic cup filled with whiskey in front of him: "Drink! After you finish this, we're brothers!"

The people around cheered wildly, and someone even shouted, "Zula, do you have a crush on this guy?" But the girl immediately kicked him.

Arthur looked at the whiskey in front of him and sneered.

When it comes to drinking, the people of Monte Heights have never been afraid of anyone!
Amidst the commotion, he gulped it down in one go, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and drank it all in one go.

"Bravo!" People applauded wildly, while Zula downed his drink in one gulp and slammed the cup on the table.

Arthur pulled open the high collar of his blue tuxedo, revealing a sweat-soaked shirt, and drank heavily among the crowd, chewing on rough bread as he answered their questions.

"Miss Tess is in the hospital. The bishop visited her. You can go if you want, but don't come together, it'll be too noisy!"

"The police station? If you want to work, you'll be tired; if you don't want to work, you won't be tired."

"Hey, I don't know when the Knights will recruit again. You can just ask the bishop. Just go out the side door of the church and knock on the door about 20 meters away."

"I'll give you a toast!"

"Haha! You looked so nervous when you came in. How could we possibly harm anyone from the church!"

People sat with their arms around Arthur, talking excitedly with flushed faces. A few men got carried away and started singing and dancing. Arthur clapped loudly and encouraged them to wear Northland kilts to dance.

Surprisingly, they actually did have them. So you could see several burly men with hairy legs, wearing plaid knee-length skirts, dancing leisurely in the tavern, singing the fierce folk songs of the North in their deep voices.

Arthur regretted his terrifying fantasies before entering the room; he really shouldn't have imagined these enthusiastic people in that way.

People trusted him, supported him, helped him, and protected him.

He seemed to vaguely sense a sense of security, as if as long as he wore the Messianic Cross, he could get help from people anywhere in Speyside.

His safest time is when he is among the people.

(End of this chapter)