As night falls, at No. 75 Hailin Avenue, West District.
Even as she sat in the living room of Odis's residence, Bernadette still couldn't believe that she had accepted Odis's invitation to taste the meat of a mutated flamingo.
She had completely forgotten when she last acted so freely.
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Bernadette thought to herself that she was somewhat interested in Odis's invitation, perhaps because the afternoon's discussion had been so profound.
Since she was already there, she stopped thinking about it and got up to look at the artworks in the living room, only to find that they were all high-quality replicas.
Bernadette smiled knowingly. This was quite similar to what she knew about Odis. According to her recent observations using "invisible servants," Odis spent almost all of his income on mystical research.
With his income, he could easily buy a horse-drawn carriage, but he is still taking public carriages!
These exquisite handicrafts are displayed on the shelf by the wall; they must be the most valuable items in this room.
Bernadette saw models of steel warships, models of people wearing strange armor with an industrial aesthetic, and models of things like trains and flying castles.
The top row of the shelf contains two photos.
One of the photos is a portrait of Odis, wearing a top hat and a tuxedo, looking to the left front, as if he sees his future or is looking into the distance.
The photo on the right is a picture of Odis standing in front of a herbalist's shop.
At that moment, Odis called out from inside the restaurant, "Dinner is served!"
"Okay." Bernadette arrived at the restaurant, where the table was already set with food.
There was roasted meat, meat soup, fried meat, and stir-fried meat with chili peppers, but all of these meats were from mutated flamingos.
Because a total of 45 mutated flamingo leg bones were needed to carve the magic array on the "Flaming Arrow," 23 mutated flamingos were killed.
This spiritual creature, with its long, thin legs, liver, blood, and seven long feathers at the tail, is made of spiritual material with fire attributes.
But the other parts are just ingredients that are rich in spiritual energy.
Of course, Odis wouldn't waste such good things. Besides leaving two for old man Anriel, he gave two more to his friend Kena, kept five for himself, and sent five more to Max.
The remaining nine were sent to the "Nanmu Ballroom" as gifts for socialites to present to nobles.
Those nobles were discerning; of course they knew this was a good item.
Of the five that Odis brought back, four were used to cook dinner that evening.
He also made a vegetable salad, cut a fruit platter, bought some desserts and bread, and a bottle of red wine.
And so, this sumptuous dinner came about.
Bernadette looked at the dishes: "They look pretty good."
It smelled delicious, so she cut off a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. The meat was a little dry, but it tasted very fresh.
Odis also picked up his knife and fork: "I've always been curious, do highly extraordinary beings like you eat like ordinary people?"
"I don't necessarily eat it at every meal," Bernadette replied. "Most of the time, eating is more of a psychological comfort."
She said, "You seem to really enjoy taking pictures?"
Even in Backlund, taking photos is a relatively luxurious expense.
Odis smiled and said, "The camera is quite fun."
Actually, he mainly wanted to experience what it was like to take photos in this era. By then, there were already box cameras, which looked bulky, but taking a decent-looking black and white photo was not a problem.
"As you continue to advance in your career, you'll discover even more fun things." Bernadette smiled, put down her knife, and snapped her fingers into the air.
Odis immediately saw a sketchbook and a paintbrush appear on the side of the dining table. These two items were suspended in mid-air, and an invisible force was controlling the paintbrush, which was writing and drawing rapidly on the paper.
Just a dozen seconds later, the paintbrush stopped, the canvas turned, and it faced Odis and Bernadette.
Odis saw that it was a realistic painting depicting two people having a meal.
Despite using only one paintbrush throughout, the painting was in color and incredibly lifelike, almost like a color photograph.
This made Odis exclaim, "How incredibly convenient!"
Hearing Odis's somewhat surprised remark, Bernadette smiled and snapped her fingers again. An invisible hand took the painting down and handed it to Odis.
"Thank you." Odis took the painting. "I'll buy a frame and keep it as a keepsake."
Bernadette, however, didn't seem to care much and said, "It's just a painting."
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
As they ate and chatted, Bernadette asked again, "I've always wondered why you go to so much trouble to build your own intelligence network?"
The Mysticism Research Society has built an intelligence network in the Extraordinary Realm of Backlund. Although it does not have information on the important figures in the Extraordinary Realm, Odis can know about any developments in the Extraordinary Realm immediately.
The "Nanmu Ballroom" is an intelligence network among the nobles of Backlund. Odis knows many of the nobles' secrets very well, and he can use this intelligence to create huge profits when he needs it.
"The reason is simple." Odis raised his glass, took a small sip of wine, and said, "Intelligence is a valuable, yet relatively safe, 'commodity'."
"For example, if you need some information about Backlund, you'll most likely buy it from me rather than arrest and torture me."
Bernadette also raised her glass: "If you happen to encounter lunatics like the Aurora Society, they might kill you and then use psychic abilities to obtain information."
"That's why I'm cooperating with the Church of the True God," Odis said with a smile. "The Aurora Society is an exception. No matter what I do, it's dangerous to run into the madmen of the Aurora Society."
Bernadette then revealed her true purpose: "I understand that there are members of the Aurora Society among the parties you organized."
"They are indeed dangerous, but if you understand their needs, you can use them," Odis said. "Of course I know it's dangerous, so I've kept them from finding me."
As for divination and similar searches, the "wilderness of knowledge" will naturally help block them, so there's no need to worry about being found by these lunatics.
Odis laughed and said, "But I can find them."
Bernadette nodded slowly, as long as there wasn't too much connection with the Aurora Club.
After that, their conversation became more relaxed, mainly discussing plays, operas, anecdotes about Backlund, and so on.
Around 9 p.m., after having a full meal and some tea in front of the fireplace, Bernadette took her leave.
Odis had intended to deliver it to her doorstep, but Bernadette disappeared in front of the fireplace.
He stretched, but instead of resting immediately, he began preparing for tomorrow's occult research meeting.
Hugh Deercha will attend the meeting tomorrow as a new member.