Lex sized up the old man beside him for a moment, then tapped the bar: "I need a quiet room."
Sanchi said softly, "The card room isn't being used tonight."
Lex stood up and said to the old man, "Do you mind if we change locations?"
The old man finished the drink in his glass, put on his hat, and said, "Please lead the way."
Arriving at the card room in the tavern, Lex closed the door and went straight to the point: "You're the seller of the 'Devil May Cry'?"
"That's right. I've owned it for a while. Not to mention its three Beyonder abilities, just its unique appearance captivated me for a long time."
The old man took off his coat and hat, exposing himself to Lex's view in an unguarded manner.
Lex pulled over a chair and sat down: "Since you like it so much, why are you selling it, and at such a low price?"
The old man smiled and said, "Before I answer that question, please allow me to introduce myself."
"I am Osweld Kevin, one of the commissioners of the Antiquities Protection Society. Our society is engaged in the collection and protection of antiquities."
The old man, who called himself Osweld Kevin, spread his hands: "Our members are spread across the North-South Continent, and even the Rorsted Archipelago and Gargas Archipelago have our branches and workstations."
"By collecting ancient documents from various places, and combining local legends with historical elements, we have discovered many ancient ruins and recovered various valuable antiquities from them."
"We recover, we protect. This is the original intention of our society's establishment, and we have always adhered to it."
After a pause, Osweld smiled and said, "Do you mind if I smoke?"
"Suit yourself."
The old man took out an exquisite iron box, opened it, revealing a row of cigars. He looked at Lex: "Would you like one too?"
Lex shook his head: "I don't smoke. They affect my judgment."
"Very professional."
Osweld picked up one of the cigars and took a tool, commonly known as a 'guillotine' cigar cutter, from the box.
After cutting off the cigar cap, the old man lit it with a match and took a puff. Throughout the process, his movements were orderly, smooth, and elegant, perfectly embodying the image of a Loen gentleman.
"Usually, when excavating ruins, we hire locals as labor, but as you know, some ruins often contain dangers. At such times, professional individuals are needed for exploration."
Osweld shrugged: "But old guys like us simply don't have the strength for that kind of work. So, society commissioners like me usually hire three to five capable professionals."
"I'm referring to Beyonders."
"Just recently, one of my very capable subordinates, due to carelessness, never returned. So, I need to replenish my ranks."
Hearing this, Lex Admirally understood, but he raised another question: "If that's the case, why not recruit openly instead of going through such a big detour, practically giving away the 'Devil May Cry'?"
"Because we are not welcome."
Osweld said with a relaxed smile: "Neither the authorities nor certain organizations like us to possess so many antiquities, especially when some of them are powerful sealed artifacts."
"Under these circumstances, if we were to recruit publicly, I would already be in a grave. Perhaps a beautiful girl would shed a tear for me, but more people would be happy to see me as a corpse."
Lex said calmly, "You're very humorous."
Osweld sighed: "When you reach my age, you'll be just as humorous. Otherwise, the dullness of life will suffocate you."
Lex was not yet at an age to empathize with an old man; he returned to the main topic: "So, selling the Devil May Cry is an unconventional form of recruitment?"
"You could roughly understand it that way," Osweld said, exhaling a smoke ring. "Although I urgently need to replenish my ranks, I don't just take anyone."
"First, those in this line of work need to have common ground, so that getting along will be more pleasant, work efficiency will be higher, and you, as 'employees,' will also be more proactive."
"Therefore, a love for antiquities must be a priority. So, I bribed the appraiser at that gathering to conceal the detailed information of the 'Devil May Cry', only mentioning the elements of 'antiquity' and 'magical item'."
"Two thousand one hundred pounds is not a small sum. If one were only after a magical item, with unclear detailed information, very few people would likely buy the Devil May Cry."
"Only those interested in antiquities and passionate about this kind of collection would be willing to pay a high price."
The old man chuckled: "Of course, merely being interested in antiquities isn't enough. I also need 'employees' to be Beyonders, so after you bought that item, I immediately began investigating you. If you were just an ordinary person, I would quickly buy it back from you, at a rather attractive price, of course."
"But I was very surprised; the investigation results showed that not only are you a Beyonder, but your 'achievements' are remarkable."
"This is the main reason I am here now."
"So, are you interested in joining us?"
Before Lex could answer, Osweld said in a casual tone, "Oh, by the way, while I was investigating you, I found that some other people were also collecting your information."
"So I took it upon myself to give them some misleading information. I hope you don't mind."
I don't mind at all!
Lex said in a deep voice, "How did you know I was here?"
He had the black night embrace on him, and the evil bandage could interfere with divination and psychism. He shouldn't have been so easy to find.
But this old man had actually found his way to Enki Town, which made Lex extremely cautious.
Osweld showed a proud smile: "First, I am very rich. In this world, money can accomplish many things. Second, I have connections. In every industry, every city, I have channels for information."
"So you see, with money and good intelligence, finding a person isn't particularly difficult."
He wasn't found through Beyonder powers!
"Don't worry, I've already blocked the information about your current location and made some arrangements. If someone tries to find you using the same method, they'll probably only end up searching the Sea."
Osweld, like an old fox, enticed him: "As long as you join, our society will provide you with similar services free of charge."
"We will also open up promotion channels for new members. You can accumulate contributions to exchange for items, knowledge, and information within our society. And when your contributions are sufficient, you can be promoted and have the opportunity to become a commissioner like me."
"By then, you won won't need to take risks; you'll just need to sit at home and make money by lounging."
Tsk, you guys sound so much like a pyramid scheme.