At noon, No. 23 Hmington Street, Sule District, inside Arno's Exquisite Tailor Shop.
"Kersus... you've almost finished digesting your Rank 1 [Vicious Dog] potion..." Inside the shop, Arno leaned over the table looking somewhat despondent, teasing the chin of the black cat in front of him with one hand. "Even a cat can digest [Vicious Dog], but I can't touch a single drop..."
"Meow~"
The black cat let out a cry, seemingly comforting Arno.
"Should I really keep doing this useless work?" Arno sighed deeply, talking to himself, "I might as well just go back to..."
Suddenly, a figure caught in the corner of Arno's eye made him shut his mouth instantly. He pulled the black cat into his arms and looked toward the door with some confusion.
A black trench coat, a silver raven-beak mask... Miss Silver Crow? Why would she come here? There are clearly six days left until the next gathering.
Under Arno's gaze, Miss Silver Crow reached out and pushed open the door.
This time, the door's restriction was successfully triggered. The ringing of the bell at the entrance immediately made the black cat in Arno's arms bristle its fur.
"Good boy, Kersus." Arno reached out to soothe the black cat, then stood up, looked toward Silver Crow, and asked with a smile, "Miss Silver Crow, it's a pleasure to see you again."
The person who pushed the door open was Syl, who had just recovered not long ago after her new card went berserk.
"Good afternoon," Syl nodded, looked at the cat in Arno's arms, and continued, "I'm here to pick up my clothes."
"Oh... the clothes..." Arno finally remembered. Yesterday, Miss Silver Crow seemed to have left a long black trench coat for him to repair.
But Arno didn't know how to repair clothes at all, and he had almost forgotten about it. After a pause, he said:
"I'm sorry... the clothes aren't finished being mended yet. I'll urge the seamstress to hurry up."
It seemed he could only take that damaged coat back and have the maids at home mend it.
"Mm." Syl nodded, but she didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
Seeing this, Arno also gathered that the Miss Silver Crow before him hadn't come for the clothes.
What does Miss Silver Crow want with me?
She was able to accept Miss Monster's commission alone, which shows she has a deep background or reliable companions... As for what I have here, besides connections, it seems to be a large quantity of Rank 1 potions and some fancy transcendent weapons. Except for the Church's holy medicines which can't be smuggled out, I've almost gathered all the Rank 1 potions.
Could Miss Silver Crow have come for this?
Arno's mind raced, and he quickly said:
"By the way, Miss Silver Crow, I have some potions and transcendent items I've collected here, and I'm worried about how to dispose of them. Do you have any suitable channels to recommend, Miss Silver Crow?"
"Of course, after the deal is done, there will definitely be a commission for you."
After Arno finished speaking, he waited somewhat anxiously for Miss Silver Crow's answer, fearing he had misunderstood her intentions.
After all, not being able to see the expression under Miss Silver Crow's mask was quite nerve-wracking.
However, what he didn't know was that Miss Silver Crow in front of him was momentarily stunned after hearing his words.
"Mm..." Syl nodded and said casually, "I don't mind earning some extra money. You can make a list for me, and I'll go ask my friend for you."
"[Divine Art: Creating a Friend from Nothing] ^^D"
The system popped up a skill notification box as if it were real, making Syl's mouth twitch involuntarily.
"Oh! That would be truly appreciated!" Arno looked as if he had been saved, rummaging through a cabinet for a piece of paper and a pen. "Please wait a moment, I'll list them down right now."
Syl silently watched Arno lower his head to write the list. She suddenly felt that her actions were too easily seen through by others.
Especially this man named Arno; he had guessed her true intention for coming almost within a minute of her entering.
"It seems I must be more cautious in the future... I shouldn't treat everyone else as NPCs." Syl silently warned herself in her heart.
Arno, leaning over to write the list, thought of another matter.
"By the way, Miss Silver Crow, please forgive my mistake..." Arno seemed to suddenly remember something, looking up at Syl. "Last night, Kersus seemed to have fished a small dose of wine out of your trench coat, and it even drank the wine..."
As he spoke, Arno reached into a drawer and pulled out an empty long potion bottle. It was already empty, with only a tiny bit of wine-red liquid remaining at the bottom.
Arno looked at Syl apologetically:
"I'm truly very sorry. If you don't mind, next time you come to pick up your clothes, I'll bring you a few bottles of fine wine as compensation."
After hearing Arno's words, Syl looked down and glanced at the black cat in Arno's arms through the glass lenses of her mask.
Can cats drink alcohol? Won't they get poisoned?
"Kersus once stole a bottle of [Vicious Dog] potion and picked up a bad habit of loving wine... To be honest, I didn't expect it either." Arno shrugged somewhat helplessly.
"It doesn't matter." Syl shook her head gently.
When she had changed her trench coat earlier, she had taken out her tool kit and such, but she hadn't taken out some wine bottles because there wasn't enough room to put them.
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Silver Crow. I thank you on behalf of Kersus." Arno first offered his thanks, then asked seemingly casually, "Miss Silver Crow, are you a doctor? I've seen many doctors use wine for disinfection before."
Syl just looked up at Arno and didn't answer his question. In fact, Arno's probing behavior had already made Syl feel a bit of dislike.
Arno also noticed this and quickly explained: "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your identity. I just remembered a recent commission."
"Commission?" Syl asked flatly.
Arno put down the pen in his hand and said:
"Yes... Many of the friends in my circle know that I know some people with miraculous abilities, so they occasionally find me to post tasks, asking me to find someone to help solve things they can't handle."
"And after seeing that small wine reagent, I suddenly remembered an unsolved commission from a long time ago."
"It's a commission about helping a noble's daughter restore her original appearance—she was hit by some unknown curse that caused the features on her face to be displaced, making even eating a problem. It looks quite eerie..."
Speaking of this, Arno's expression showed some lingering fear, as if he had also gone to see that young girl before.
"Oh~" A pleasant smile appeared on Syl's face under the mask, "It seems she needs a little help."
"Uh... little? Wait, Miss Silver Crow, are you saying you can solve it!?" Arno's expression was one of shock, and this wasn't faked.
He had previously looked for Mr. Tucker and Miss Monster. Although they both said they could remove the curse, they were powerless against the already completely deformed face and body.
"It just needs a simple minor surgery." Syl said in a light tone, "Perhaps I can take this commission."
It seemed the surgeon's addiction to surgery had been completely piqued.
"Really? That's wonderful!" Arno snapped his fingers excitedly. "Old Bonsandi's daughter is finally saved. I really felt for that poor girl."
Hearing a name she shouldn't have heard, Syl's expression instantly froze.
She stared at Arno, her entire being radiating a dangerous aura:
"You are one of the noble's people?"