Chapter 48: Routine

"Ribbit!?"

Muji's eyes widened in shock as he instinctively denied it, stammering, "Ribbit, what... what are you talking about? What recording? No, nothing of the sort."

"The reason I brought you here today is to let you know that my perspective is quite open-minded. You can keep today's conversation if you like; after all, there wasn't anything overly disrespectful said, so it wouldn't matter even if it leaked," Xia Xiu said, squinting as he looked at the fidgeting Muji.

"...Ribbit..." Muji felt as though he were sitting on pins and needles.

Seeing the travel frog suddenly fall silent before him, the corners of Xia Xiu's mouth curled up. With a playful glint in his eyes, he chuckled at Muji:

"Would you like to know how I knew you were recording?"

"Ribbit! How could you possibly know? I didn't use any lineage abilities, nor any transcendental powers—it's just a mundane, everyday technological product..." Muji's voice trailed off into a whisper.

The blonde teenager's upturned lips and immensely mocking gaze had already provided the answer.

Sure enough, the boy's next words struck like a sharp arrow, effortlessly breaching his psychological defenses.

"I was just guessing. You're the one who admitted to the recording yourself. Come on, Muji, we're friends! Why are you so lacking in candor? Why don't you trust me?" Xia Xiu looked at the petrified Muji with an expression of profound disappointment.

*Ribbit!*

Damn it, I don't want to stay with this bastard anymore! This is way too terrifying. Is his race actually the kind with horns on their heads and bat wings on their backs?!

"Why so silent, my dear friend?"

"Ribbit... Ah, haha, this is a little gadget developed by a mundane company invested in by [Dimensional Express]. Look, what do you think of this?" Muji pulled a rectangular voice recorder out of the pocket of his suit.

"Oh ho, a dimensional-scaling pocket. The formal suit you're wearing must also be the work of a master craftsman," Xia Xiu said, staring at the recorder as it expanded in size, continuing to smile at Muji.

"......"

*Ribbit! I swear—*

"Ribbit, you like it? I'll have a custom set made for you," Muji offered tentatively, trying to smooth things over.

"Oh, then I'll trouble you. But I shouldn't let you break the bank; just buy me a [Constantine-style Exorcist Trench Coat]. Having a custom [Dimensional Formal Suit] made is too expensive—I really couldn't let you spend that much on me," Xia Xiu said as he reached out to take the recorder from the table, adopting a tone that suggested he was entirely looking out for his friend's wallet.

*RIBBIT!!!*

Hugh Abraham, go to—you mother...

"...Ribbit, no problem. I'll place the order for you immediately. The company should still have some stock in inventory. Hahaha, people from the Heavenly Kingdom really do love this trench coat," Muji forced a laugh.

***

Inside, however, his heart was bleeding.

*Ribbit, my money!*

"Now, let's talk business. About the *Breath of the Heavenly Lock* breathing technique that I requested," Xia Xiu asked nonchalantly, lowering his head to operate the recorder and delete the previous audio file.

"Ribbit, the people up top have already tracked it down. The breathing technique is currently kept in the Governor's Mansion of the Falan Knight Guard, and we've already sent people over to negotiate the acquisition," Muji said with a stiff smile. At this point, he simply couldn't muster a genuine expression anymore.

"When is it expected to arrive in Three Portlands?" Xia Xiu pressed on.

"Ribbit. It should arrive within the week. Very soon," Muji replied.

"Within a week? That is indeed fast."

Xia Xiu nodded in satisfaction. As he spoke, he very naturally slipped the voice recorder into his own pocket, causing the travel frog watching the act to experience a violent twitch in his eyelids.

"Oh, right. The trench coat you're getting me should also arrive within this week, shouldn't it?"

"...Ribbit, yes." Muji nodded mechanically.

"Splendid. Then this bill is on me."

"Quinn, check, please!" Xia Xiu raised his hand and summoned the velociraptor Quinn.

When Quinn trotted over to their table, Xia Xiu fished his wallet out of his pocket, pulled out three 100-denomination Central Bank notes, and placed them in the dinosaur's hands.

"Keep the change as a tip for that lizard band over there. Their music was fantastic."

"Ooh, brother, you seem to be in an exceptionally good mood today."

"Mm, just closed a big deal."

"........." Muji stared at the brilliantly smiling Xia Xiu and sank into a state of utter depression.

*Mama, the outside world is full of套路 (tricks). I want to go back to the clan.*

After paying the bill, Xia Xiu looked earnestly at Muji and said:

"Brother, tell the people up top that I am a man of my word. Once I get the breathing technique, I will definitely keep my mouth shut. Besides, I'm not a greedy person. Tell them not to worry about me using this matter to thr... to negotiate with them in the future. I value my reputation immensely!"

*Of course, I can't guarantee that one hundred percent, naturally,* Xia Xiu mentally added a silent caveat.

"I'll be off then. Enjoy your drink."

As Xia Xiu sauntered away whistling a cheerful tune, twirling the freshly pocketed voice recorder between his fingers, our poor travel frog was left stranded in place, lost in a daze.

***

This was his second meeting with Hugh Abraham. During their first encounter, he and the lineage behind him had been swindled out of a breathing technique by the other party.

During their second encounter, he had been swindled out of his entire life savings.

The atmospheric pressure around the travel frog right now was so abysmally low that not a single person dared to approach him.

"What's wrong with that frog?"

"Who knows? Judging by the look on his face, he probably got cuckolded."

"How pitiful."

.........

Terra Calendar 1589.3.7

Deer Courtyard · Wing C (Second Basement Level): Mundane Studies Lecture Hall

Classroom 13.

"The [Dimensional Formal Suit] is a special attire that swept across the entire transcendental realm of Terra starting from the Middle Ages. The dimensional-scaling pockets attached to the garment allow large objects to be shrunk down and stowed away inside, and the weight of the stored items is also reduced to one-twentieth of their original mass." Professor of Classical Studies, Tom Humphrey, was introducing the history of Terra's formal attire to the students.

Sliding his finger across the holographic projection screen before him, Professor Tom pointed to a subdued black trench coat displayed above and continued:

"This trench coat is named [Constantine], a name that can be traced back to the Middle Ages and the most famous [Hellblazer] among the Exorcists, one of the twenty-six professions of the Heavenly Kingdom's Lineage."

"The designer of this outfit hails from the Edisi Federation in the Far West. Furthermore, this attire is deeply adored by the Heavenly Kingdom's Lineage, and every year they receive massive orders from them."

"The Heavenly Kingdom's Lineage is the group on all of Terra that is most obsessed with formal wear, and the majority of the formal suits they purchase come from the Far West region of Edisi. Therefore, in the underworld slang of Terra—'Suit-wearers,' 'Men in Black,' 'Formalwear Perverts,' and the like are all code words referring to the Heavenly Kingdom's Lineage."

"I've heard that the gangs in the Braga and Moldova regions wear black formal suits simply because they admire the absolute violence of the Heavenly Kingdom's Lineage, making their gang members mostly thugs dressed in black," Professor Tom lectured on to his students.

*Ding-dong—*

The bell signaling the end of class rang right as the professor finished his lecture.

"Alright, my dear students, today's lecture ends here. Class dismissed."