Chapter Fifty-Four: The Tavern Owner Is Truly Imposing

In an instant, a revolver was pressed against Xie Jing’s temple. Kelly, with a cheerful smile, brushed Xie Jing’s hand aside and lightly tapped his chest.
“Oh my, I didn’t expect Mr. Edward to be so unruly! If you like someone, just admit it, but don’t get handsy, alright?”
Kelly was a denizen of the Celestial Realm, well-versed in machinery. After gaining fame, she volunteered to join the Arden Highlands Guard and became a renowned firearms expert in the lawless lands.
Anyone hoping to get close to her without real skill was simply daydreaming.
“Kelly, stop it!” Galandis, a little upset, rushed to Xie Jing’s side, forcefully pushing down the revolver pointed at him.
“You’re always like this, bullying people! Put the gun away!”
“Oh, Galandis is angry! Looks like you really care about Mr. Edward!” Kelly never truly intended to fire. Her reaction stemmed from instinct whenever anyone touched her, and with Galandis intervening, she gladly let the matter drop.
She holstered her revolver and shot Xie Jing a challenging glance, to which he merely responded with a smile.
Xie Jing respected Kelly’s strength, but he had confidence in his own as well.
With Galandis’ arrival, the atmosphere regained its liveliness. She introduced Xie Jing to everyone. Fortunately, he was fairly familiar with these faces and, after a few exchanges, easily slipped into the group as if he’d always belonged.
On the way to the tavern, the gentle and lovely Celesia quietly leaned toward Xie Jing and murmured in his ear,
“You bear the presence of someone from another realm, Mr. Edward. Whoever you are, I hope you don’t bring harm to this world.”
Xie Jing was startled.
Had his identity been discovered? But the system had arranged this identity for him!
Suddenly, Xie Jing remembered some information about Celesia and snippets from fan works.
As the beginner’s guide in the game, Celesia possessed vast knowledge, knowing all of Arad’s history from ancient times to the present, though even she didn’t know the reason for her omniscience.
Some players speculated that Celesia was likely the thirteenth Apostle—“The One Who Knows All”—for her character settings matched too well.
What sort of being was the thirteenth Apostle?
Simply put, Apostles could break through the constraints of other worlds, enter the Demon Realm, and wield immense power.
Like the seventh Apostle, Anton, currently stirring up chaos in the Celestial Realm’s energy center—no one could defeat him alone; only adventurers and the Celestial military could barely hold their own.
In other words, among everyone present, the true old monster might well be this petite, adorable girl, Celesia.
However, Celesia didn’t seem to possess much combat strength for now and was often being captured and imprisoned by handsome goblins.
Reflecting on Celesia’s words and sifting through his memories of DNF’s lore, Xie Jing found himself unconsciously following the group to the Moonlight Tavern.

Inside the tavern, warm orange light glowed. Many people sat at the bar or around round tables, quietly chatting over their drinks.
Behind the bar, an elegant woman in red leaned on the counter, savoring a glass of crimson liquid.
She was Soxia, the Moonlight Tavern’s owner and the last descendant of the elves.
Her golden hair was piled high, her figure curvaceous, her whole being exuding an intellectual beauty.
Compared to her, Kelly seemed hardly mature.
“Oh? Newcomers?” Soxia lazily raised her glass, her voice tinged with a languid allure.
“This is Mr. Edward Shett!” Galandis, evidently familiar here, scampered over to Soxia and introduced Xie Jing.
Soxia straightened up, her slender waist supporting an ample bosom—he almost feared it might snap.
“Welcome, Mr. Edward. What would you like to order?”
Xie Jing, not standing on ceremony, walked over and gazed at the dazzling array of bottles behind her. “Any recommendations?”
“Oh? Heh, what an interesting little fellow,” Soxia laughed, her charm dazzling.
Little fellow?
Well, considering Soxia was an elf and about five hundred years old, to her, he probably was just a kid.
“I recommend the finest oatmeal beer brewed from Arad’s best oats, if you like that. Or perhaps a glass of my special Elven Nectar?”
“I’ll have the Elven Nectar!” Xie Jing grinned. “I’m just a country lad, never tasted Elven Nectar before.”
“Alright, thirty thousand gold coins a glass.”
“Pocket change!” Xie Jing glanced at the endless string of zeros in his account and waved it off. “Drinks are on me for everyone here tonight! Drink to your heart’s content!”
Soxia’s eyes sparkled, her smile blooming even brighter.
Hearing Xie Jing’s generous announcement, not a single person refused. All raised their glasses to him in thanks.
Soon, a glass of vibrant red Elven Nectar was placed before him.
The aroma was truly exquisite—fresh, with a lingering essence of nature, full of character.
He took a careful sip. An instant, unique sensation filled his mouth, laced with a subtle sweetness that left a lasting impression.

“Do you like it?” Soxia leaned forward, resting her head on her hand as she watched Xie Jing.
Draining the glass in one go, Xie Jing nodded earnestly. “It’s wonderful!”
“Really? I thought human men, except for Aganzo, didn’t care for sweet drinks like this.”
Aganzo?
Xie Jing instantly caught the significance of the name.
To players, this was a legendary NPC—one of the Four Sword Saints, a master of the greatsword. While investigating the Screaming Caverns, his girlfriend Luxie had unsealed the Ghost Hand to save him; with that power, she defeated their foes, but lost her life in the process.
Their tragic love story was universally known, immortalized by a long, specially illustrated cutscene in the game.
So Aganzo liked Elven Nectar? Perhaps it was in memory of his lost lover, Luxie—after all, she was a dark elf.
Glancing around, Xie Jing noticed a man with black hair and a giant sword on his back sitting alone in a corner, quietly savoring a glass of Elven Nectar.
Xie Jing wanted to introduce himself, but after some thought, decided against it.
Galandis and Celesia sat together with the other women of Dark City’s streets, each with a glass in hand, laughing happily as they chatted about something amusing.
Other tables were either occupied by women alone or clusters of men gathered together.
In this game world, he had to admit—there were basically no unattractive women. Each was beautiful and striking in her own way.
Without hesitation, Xie Jing headed for Galandis’ table.
Why sit around with a bunch of rough men? Weren’t the women beautiful enough, or their legs not fair enough?
As a proper man, Xie Jing naturally preferred the company of women.
Of course, this was reality, not some harem novel. NPCs had their own personalities and feelings—winning their hearts would not be easy!
Besides, Xie Jing’s thoughts still lingered on Akane Kamiji; he wasn’t a heartless harem protagonist.
How could he fall for every girl he met?!