Seeing that they were finally getting to the heart of the matter, Furen completely abandoned his slouching posture; he slightly straightened his upper body from the soft sofa where he had been slumped.
As for Quvedo, he stopped laughing and joking. He stood up, looking delighted as if it were finally his turn to go on stage. With exaggeratedly light steps, almost like a ballroom dance, he skipped to the back of his seat. Then, adopting an operatic tone, he declaimed: "Gentlemen, allow me to guide you through the extraordinary world I have explored."
I've attended five or six Beyonders gatherings, large and small. Of course, most were just gatherings of amateurs… but I did indeed set foot in a real Beyonders gathering.
This gathering can be found nowhere else but here in the Hoshino district. On Hawthorn Street, there's a tavern whose basement houses a vast and extraordinary market. And upstairs, there's a very large hall where the real gathering takes place.
"The organizer is a Sequence 7 Beyonder, a Mid Sequence Beyonder. Oh, Karl, I forgot to tell you something: Sequences 9 and 8 are low sequences, Sequences 7 to 5 are mid sequences, and Sequences 4 to 1 are high sequences. Mid Sequence Beyonders are much more powerful than low Sequence Beyonders. So this gathering is pretty reliable."
"In short, do you have any questions? And when would you like to go with me?" Quvedo concluded with a noble accent of Intis.
Karl, with his arms crossed, had listened to the presentation as if he were watching a show. He finally asked calmly:
"And when exactly does this Beyonders gathering take place? I assume it's not an everyday occurrence."
Quvedo seemed annoyed by his own habit of forgetting things and let out an impatient click of his tongue.
"Well... there isn't really any specific announcement. You can only find out if there will be a gathering today by going there every day."
Karl narrowed his eyes and, in a somewhat unsure tone, asked:
"So, according to what you're saying, your 'Beyonders gathering' is just an impromptu meeting, a completely informal place? Nothing like a serious gathering."
Quvedo seemed even more embarrassed. It was clear that this kind of event, without rules, without structure, without high-sequence Beyonders, seemed unreliable. But he still tried to save face:
"It's not as bad as you describe... Actually, there's quite an amazing market downstairs, and there's practically a gathering there every day. The first floor of the tavern has three or four people organizing meetings, so in practice, yes, there are some every day. Hahaha... well..."
Erich then asked him a pointed question:
"So, out of all these gatherings, you only selected one? The other organizers don't meet our criteria?"
Even more embarrassed, Quvedo admitted:
"Yeah... that's true. Most of the other organizers are only in sequence 8. Even if they don't officially announce their sequence, I can still guess, hehe. Anyway, this is the only gathering we can attend for now. And then... we can always go check out the others when our sequence is stronger, no need to completely rule them out..." His voice became increasingly uncertain.
Furen's lips twitched slightly. For a moment, he almost revealed the existence of the Beyonders' gathering at the "Flame Axe" tavern. But he quickly changed his mind: now was not the time. His situation was far from secure; the demonic sect was watching him, and the organizer of that tavern, the Order of the Iron Cross, was clearly not to be trifled with. If he led them there too soon, he risked compromising the secret that he might belong to the Abraham family.
He thought for a moment and decided it was best to remain silent until everyone was at least sequence 8, or even 7. Only then could they access a higher and vaster mystical world.
Then, returning to the conversation, he asked Quvedo:
"And what's the name of this tavern?"
Quvedo, delighted to finally escape the icy questions of Karl and Erich, replied briskly:
"Ah! So... the tavern is called 'Chez Papa Sage'. It's very easy to spot on Hawthorn Street. There you go, hehe, any other questions?"
He puffed out his chest, finally regaining his initial confidence.
The constant shifts in expression on this "Scholar" left Furen somewhat bewildered. Since the beginning of the day, Quvedo had alternated between being dejected and bursting with energy. Such a capacity for bouncing back was difficult to grasp… almost enviable.
As for his three new friends: none of them were really "normal".
Karl Green was naturally cold.
Erich had become so rational as to be detached from reading so much.
And Quvedo… seemed to have stepped straight out of an anime, like a shōnen protagonist.
Furen, on the other hand, could only feel ordinary in comparison.
"Good! Listen to me: tomorrow there will be a gathering of Beyonders. Do you want to go?" Quvedo suddenly asked aloud.
Furen touched his forehead, checking that his vein hadn't popped. Quvedo's sudden outbursts were truly annoying. No shōnen hero behaved so loudly; they, at least, were just naive, whereas Quvedo, according to Furen, was far from stupid.
Furen hesitated. There were two gatherings tomorrow: the one at the "Flame Axe" tavern and the one on Hawthorn Street. It was a tough choice… He scratched his head lightly. Well, he might as well start with the one at Hawthorn. He'd deal with the other one later.
While he was thinking about it, Karl and Erich had already agreed.
Furen quickly replied, "Of course I want to go."
Quvedo immediately felt invigorated, radiating satisfaction not out of pettiness, but out of genuine joy at the idea of sharing something with his friends.
"Perfect! So it's decided: tomorrow, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we'll meet here in this café. I'll take you there afterwards. Heh heh... I'm really looking forward to tomorrow!"
(End of chapter)