Adrian yawned as he stretched out on the creaky bed. But resting wasn't in his fate as the moment he closed his eyes, someone knocked on his door. His eyes snapped open, and he groggily sat up, rubbing his temples.
"Who the hell is it?" he called out.
"Room service here with the free drinks you requested," came a smooth and rehearsed reply.
Adrian couldn't help but laugh. His request for free drinks was a mere sarcastic comment, and he did not intend to consume anything from their murky selection.
However, if the owner was going as far as accommodating his 'request,' it would be rude of Adrian not to 'entertain' the owner's kind gesture.
"The fucker is too nosy for his own good," Adrian mumbled.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, reaching for his hoodie on a nearby chair and pulling it to cover his face. Once done, he went for his sword, lying by the bed. After all, one could never be too careful of what could happen there.
Gripping the sword tightly, he swung the door open. Without thinking, Adrian swung his sword at the one behind the door, who turned out to be a girl.
Adrian immediately stopped the blade before any harm could come to the girl. The girl, dressed in ragged clothes, stood there without batting an eye on the sword, holding a tray with a bottle of misty liquor and a musty glass.
Despite the condition of her clothes, she looked exceptionally beautiful, her red hair slowing over her shoulders and her blue eyes locking onto his.
"Put this away first, can you, sir?" the girl asked while balancing the tray in one hand and pushing the sword with the other.
"Right, one can never be too careful," Adrian replied, quickly tucking away the sword. "Hope you don't mind the unprompted attack."
"Oh, not at all, sir," the girl cheerfully replied. "Believe it or not, it's not the first time someone swung their weapon at me. Where should I put the liquor?"
Adrian gestured to the wooden table, closing the doors behind as the girl entered the room. As the girl swayed her hips, walking inside, a thought crossed Adrian's head.
'A perfect distraction for shady assholes. She should work as an assassin... which she probably is. I better be careful.'
After setting the bottle and glass on the wooden table, the girl turned to Adrian, pulling a note from her cleavage and handed him a note.
"What's this?" he asked, feeling a bit annoyed.
"The owner asked me to deliver this to you," the girl smiled before walking towards the bed.
As he got busy with the note, Adrian didn't notice the girl undressing and making herself comfortable on the bed. How could he when the content of the note was so intriguing?
The gist was that the owner felt a bit bad for overcharging a client and, hence, had sent the girl and the best liquor he had to offer, hoping it would be enough to 'make up' for it.
'If you feel so bad, then give me the money back, balding asshole.'
While Adrian couldn't care less about the owner's feelings, the backside of the note caught his attention.
The Ravens were looking for suspicious people in the slums, so the owner requested Adrian leave for a while after the girl was done 'helping' him. While the owner wouldn't inform the Ravens about him, he couldn't say the same for the others who had noticed Adrian before.
'Seems the radian shard won over the owner,' Adrian smiled before tucking away the note in his inventory.
Adrian lifted his head, realising the girl was now posing invitingly on the bed. Temptation flickered in his eyes, but he knew better than to get entangled in such affairs.
First, he still cared about Sophia enough not to cheat on her, and secondly, he knew what the owner was after.
Despite being excellent secret-keepers, people like the pub owner didn't like it when they were kept away from secrets. Hence, when Adrian refused to give the owner a name or show his face, he must have piqued the owner's interest.
That's why he sent the girl to Adrian, expecting that the temptress might lead him to disclose his identity during an intimate encounter. After all, the combination of women and alcohol could make even the most guarded men become a blabbering mess.
Just like that, the owner's attempt to use the girl as a spy failed. Adrian had seen through the ruse. Instead of succumbing to the temptation, he took a couple of Lumen Shards from his pocket and tossed them to the girl on the bed.
"Your work is done here," Adrian stated. "Get dressed and leave. Oh, and tell the owner I enjoyed his apology."
The girl looked surprised and slightly offended, probably because no one had turned her down before. But then immediately changed her expression.
Much like the owner, the girl, too, found Adrian interesting as there weren't many men in that shady place who would miss the chance to jump on her.
"I was hoping to get to know the mystery man a bit more... intimately, but I guess these will do fine," The girl smirked, glancing at the shards. "My services will be available to you for free next time. I look forward to crossing your path again, 'sir'."
Adrian watched as she hastily dressed, walked up to the door, and blew him a kiss. But before she left, Adrian noticed the girl had left a piece of her undergarment behind with the name 'Lily' written on it.
"Hey, you forgot something," Adrian called, holding up the lacy garment with the tip of his sword.
Lily turned back, grinning. "Consider it a token of the time we spent 'together', bye~"
"Why do I always get involved with the crazy ones..." Adrian mumbled, rolling his eyes.
Without a second thought, he promptly threw them out of the window before jumping out himself. He didn't want to cross paths with the Ravens and thought it would be the perfect time to sell the loot and make some money.