Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

William, who was prepared, looked up at Anna, but the harsh and unreasonable words he had expected did not come out of her cherry-colored lips. Instead, what William had never imagined was what happened next.

Anna averted her gaze, as if in fear, her eyes lingering on William's face for a few seconds before instantly looking away. She twirled and played with her hair with one finger, and took a small step back, as if she were about to hide behind Candy.

"Anyway, it's a candy selection, so it's like a gift from my brother to his sister. Hurry up and give it to me." Trying to remain calm, Anna arrogantly stretched out her right hand.

However, her eyes were closed, and William, facing Anna, could clearly see her trembling eyelashes.

“It was Mr. William who chose it; I only offered some suggestions.”

“Ah…he picked it out himself…humph, his taste must be terrible, I’m not so excited anymore.” Anna’s eyes were half open as she glanced at William out of the corner of her eye. “Hurry up and take it out, it’s mine.”

William felt uneasy about Anna's behavior. Had the leopard mother become a vegetarian? With these mixed thoughts in mind, William didn't retort but honestly presented the gift he had chosen.

A pendant, its diamond shape edged with four black scales outlining red patterns, features a central image of a woman's head with closed eyes—a beautiful demon woman wearing a crown of thorns, her features a blend of flowers and swords, her beauty imbued with a fierce spirit. Strangely, the demon's head bears a striking resemblance to the succubus Anna in her angry expression. This is why William chose it; originally intended to mock the ever-temperamental demon. But now, William is somewhat worried that she will discover his true intentions.

William's fears did not come to pass. Anna looked at the pendant, feeling neither joy nor resentment. A calm, like a rain cloud on her face, remained.

"Miss Anna? Are you... alright?"

"Thank you, I really like it." The succubus grabbed the pendant in her hand. William, whose gift had been taken away, looked at his empty hand and couldn't feel happy at all at Anna's expressionless thanks.

The stiff atmosphere shut out the boisterous sounds coming from the bar, creating a world of its own. Candy grabbed the succubus's arm.

"Sister, do you recognize this pendant?"

"I don't know him, but I know the person on the pendant."

"who is she?"

“Angelina Warbringer, a deceased queen of a demon race. A very powerful female demon, she is my idol.”

Candy tilted her head. "But I've never heard my sister talk about her."

"Because Candy doesn't need to know. Her people don't have a base in the City of Wanderers, so Candy won't come into contact with them."

Anna smiled again and gently patted Candy's head.

"Stop overthinking, it's work time now, get to work, waiter."

Anna paused for a moment before disappearing into the neon lights of the bar's sign.

"There's still a lot of work waiting for you. How much longer are you going to stand there like a goose at the door?"

“William.”

"Okay, okay." With a look of utter disbelief, William walked into the Bloody Rose Bar.

The bar's lights were always a vibrant pale pink.

Chapter 281 William's Work

Blood Rose's nights are always frozen in revelry, with dancing figures, meaningless but pure laughter, and an air thick with alcohol and hormones. Staying sober here is not easy.

Candy went backstage to change into a maid outfit and started working as a waitress, while the succubus Anna, with a smile far brighter than ever before, emptied the customers' wallets.

It was time for William to get to work. He combed his sideburns behind his ears, tied his ponytail tightly, straightened the wrinkles in his work clothes, took his wand from his leather bag, and walked to the center of the ballroom's high platform.

Not far away, the Stick Insect Band stopped their previous performance. Amid the guests' confusion, the Stick Insects began to slowly beat their drums, gradually increasing the tempo, like the prelude to the performance.

William smiled and nodded to Mr. Green Horn, the band leader.

Yes, this is a performance, a performance by William.

William changed cleaning, and cleaning changed William.

Under the expectant or puzzled gazes of the crowd, William stood on the high platform, in the most conspicuous spot in the bar. Like a conductor, he raised his wand and began to dance to the beat.

William wasn't conducting music, but rather the elements.

From the buckets, water seemed to peek out like living creatures, cleaning agents bubbling like soda within their bodies. Miniature vortexes, like dancers reveling on a stage, swept past the customers' feet, stirring up grime and dust, much to their amazement. A serpentine stream of water, dazzling yet deadly under the colored lights, snaked through every corner of the bar. Even the lingering alcohol in the air, drawn by the moving water, gathered in William's palm.

One by one, bubbles from the water serpent's body rose from the surface, emerging from the crowd. To the rhythm of the music, and with the waving of the magic wand, they danced like balloons played with by the wind. The bubbles surrounded William, forming concentric rings as the rising vortex swirled around them. The water converged at William's feet, its heads rising, swimming upstream to join the eddies in the air.

Solidification. The cyclone entering the water ring dissipates, the invisible water flow transforms into tangible ice blocks, and the cold creates white mist in the air. The vortex remains still in the air, its overlapping and intersecting layers resembling a work of art.

With a series of cracking sounds, the ice sculptures shattered, turning into scattered fragments. A beautiful ending is never quite what one desires.

Magic is with me, like my natural limbs, which I can use to create beauty.

With unwavering conviction, William's face revealed an arrogant, aristocratic air. He waved his wand again, and the falling ice blocks formed birds that circled above his head, eventually returning to their nests and back into the bucket.

The dust was swept away, the pungent smell in the air disappeared, and a cool breeze returned. The stick insects finished their music, and the applause from the audience formed the final melody belonging to William.

William smiled and bowed, taking with him the last vestige of admiration. People looked at the platform as if he were still there, they were awestruck; they realized that cleaners could work in such a way.

Some impactful moments don't lose their power with repeated exposure.

Candy moved closer to the succubus, who was completely entranced.

"Sister, isn't Mr. William, who cast the spell, very handsome?"

“Yeah…” Anna finally snapped out of her daze, blinking a couple more times as she looked at the stage. Her face, though not flushed under the lights, didn't glow. Turning to Candy, who was beaming, she immediately changed her tune, “Yeah… so what if it is!!!”

Candy blinked her big eyes, just like Anna's.

"Sister, aren't you going to pursue Mr. William? Mr. William will just go after the elf."

"I'm not going." Anna's head drooped, her cheeks almost touching Candy's head, and her small voice carried a hint of guilt, "He has someone he likes."

"So what? Isn't stealing someone else's lover a succubus's normal job?"

Anna shook her head. "He's different."

"Sister, just treat her like a normal person."

“No, I can’t do it, and William won’t be seduced.” Anna shrugged, like a guilty succubus who had failed to meet her standards.

"Then, big sister, go confess your love!"

"No!" Anna's voice suddenly grew louder, startling the guests who were resuming their revelry. She whispered in Candy's ear like a thief, "If you fail to seduce someone, you can laugh it off as instinct. But if you get rejected, it's too embarrassing. I'm a succubus."

"What's with this innocent succubus act? Sister, haven't you already taken care of a lot of customers? Please show your usual work mode!"

"How could that be possible? Succubi falling in love? I've never heard of that before. I guess I should just give up on this feeling that makes me uncomfortable!"

Candy gripped Anna's arm, looking anxiously into her eyes.

"Mom, sister, you said that Mom is a loving succubus. Did Mom say anything about that?"

“Mom…” Anna looked at her anxious younger brother, uttering the word, and the annoyance on her face vanished in that instant. She cupped Candy’s face in her hands, looking into his bright eyes. “Candy, Mom said that having you is enough for me.” Anna hugged Candy tightly, mimicking how the woman in her memory had held her.

William emerged from backstage, smiling and greeting several customers along the way. The staff at Blood Rose had a very relaxed lifestyle; after completing their daily tasks, they could also be part of the bar's revelry. Because of his excellent cleaning skills, which were good enough to be part of the show's cleanup, he was already off work.

Ms. Betty was still in that familiar corner, the spot where William usually chatted with her about Fanila.

Ms. Betty was an elf with short, light gray hair and regular features. Her face mostly showed impatience, but she seemed more amused with William. After the incident at Blood Rose last week, the staff had accepted William.

Ms. Betty still wore the enormous object she called the Dream Elf Ornament around her neck. It resembled a huge necklace, starting at her neck, the golden mesh spreading across her skin like a spiderweb, concealing her breasts. At her chest, a large jade emerald sat within the golden net. The strange emerald shimmered with light; William didn't know what it was, but its surface exuded a magical aura.

That thing must be quite inconvenient. At least, Ms. Betty wouldn't wear something so cumbersome when she's working. I don't understand why she would bother wearing it. Apart from that first time, every time William talks to her, he sees that thing that looks like a captivating emerald.

Good night, Ms. Betty. You are as radiant as ever.

Betty smiled and said, "Mr. William's performance was excellent as always. I'm sure your performance will touch Fanila's heart."

Thank you for your blessing, I hope so.

Chapter 282 Hero Saves the Beauty?

Just as William was about to start talking, Betty squinted, looking at his side. Or rather, she was using William's presence as a pretense, watching a specific spot in the bar.

“They’re still here, still watching you, William.”

“I know, Ms. Betty.”

Seated in the guest seats were two men clad in deep purple robes, their wide hoods embroidered with the symbol of the Arcane Eye, their faces completely camouflaged by magical shadows. Disguise was common in the Light and Shadow Zone, but even the most audacious outlaw wouldn't impersonate the masters of this mobile city. They were from the Council of the Secret Realm, the city's enforcers. In the gray area of ​​the Light and Dark Zone, arcane mages typically didn't linger; they knew how much the inhabitants disliked them in this place where they turned a blind eye. Moreover, the liquid in their glasses remained unchanged, making them conspicuous anomalies in the crowd.

"They seem to have their eyes on me? Has my smuggled identity been exposed?" William recalled that he had once given them a fake identity document from the demon race for testing.

“That’s nothing, William. A crime of illegal immigration is like dust compared to the crimes those dancing people carry.” Betty rolled her eyes. “If you don’t have anything else that offended them, then it’s probably just your magic.”

William breathed a sigh of relief. "Whatever, good or bad, life goes on as usual. That's what I learned in the circus."

Betty let out a hearty laugh, like morning light filtering through the leaves. "Is pursuing Fanila also part of your life?"

“Yes, it’s an important part of my life.” It could also become my future. William wanted to say the next sentence, but Anna’s angry face flashed through his mind, and the words stuck in his throat.

When Betty heard William's reply, her body trembled involuntarily. She crossed her hands on her lap, one steady hand pressing down on the trembling other.

"Miss Betty, are you alright?" William noticed Betty's unusual behavior and held up one arm to indicate that she was fine. However, she took the opportunity to quickly move her other arm up and cover her face.

This was a recurring bad habit of Ms. Betty's; her body would occasionally become uncoordinated during conversation, a ailment she claimed stemmed from childhood. William thought to himself, "Miss Betty must have it very hard. She has to pretend to be normal all the time, without giving any indication of it. She must have practiced secretly for a long time."

“I’m fine, please continue, Mr. William. What information do you want to know about Fanila today? I am one of her people, and I will tell you everything I know.”

William took the white jade bracelet out of his pocket.

“I’ve prepared a gift for Fanila, but it’s not finished yet. I plan to carve a lucky charm on the inside of the bracelet and give it to her. Can you take a look, Betty, and tell me if she’ll like it?”

Betty took the bracelet, her eyes shifting between shyness and teasing, her voice filled with joy and a barely perceptible tremor.

"Have you investigated the elves' preferences, William?"

"Yes, I invited Candy to come with me; he's a reliable friend."

“A very sincere gift, William. Every elf would love such a gift, and Fanila would too.”

"That's wonderful. I'll give it to her in person when we meet next time."

William's face lit up with genuine joy, and Betty's face also broke into a happy smile.

“William, I don’t quite understand. According to you, you and Fanila only traveled together for a short time. Why would you like… like this elf you only met once?”

"To be precise, we met twice. The first time we met, I was simply amazed, like seeing moonlight in the dark. She made a very deep impression on me, although for special reasons, I felt a sense of worry and fear towards her."

"Perhaps that unusual sense of shame was the basis for the fermentation of my emotions."

"Our second meeting was at Hamlet, where we went on an adventure together."

"It was supposed to be an adventure, but I wasn't really involved much. I just woke up from a hazy sleep."