The Deceitful One

The Transcendents in the gathering continued to sell more items for a while. Following that, people who required certain items or resources placed their orders publicly, hoping to buy them at the next gathering.

Soon, the gathering turned quiet as no one else had anything to buy or sell. Noticing this, the man in white cloak stood up from his seat on the podium and announced, "The gathering is now concluded.

Each of you will take one of the exits in your vicinity, one at a time, and leave in an orderly manner. The next individual or group shall exit in 10-minute intervals."

'I see… so that's how they prevent any altercations from happening between Transcendents.' Bryan thought inwardly.

Throughout the gathering, he was wondering about how the people who had brought certain items or were thought to have a lot of wealth on them left the place without attracting the greed of others.

If each person or group was given a ten-minute head start, then this would effectively solve the problem to the greatest extent.

Bryan, Andrew, and Elijah who were sitting near the entrance they had come from got up from their seats and were among the first batch of people to exit the secret gathering.

The trio silently left the construction site, took a few detours, and headed toward the alleyway where Andrew had hidden his duffel bag.

While they ran through the secluded streets and alleys, Andrew turned to look at Bryan and smiled, "So, how did you find it?"

"Very interesting!" Bryan grinned.

"Haha, good. Then you can take this secret code and visit this gathering in the future, should you wish to go alone." Andrew took out a small folded paper from his pant pocket and handed it to Bryan.

Bryan swiftly took the paper from him and kept it inside his vest pocket.

"Also, if you happen to find any good metals in the gathering, bring them to me. I'll help you upgrade your bracers. Studying your bracers in the last two weeks has given me quite a lot of ideas. So this is the least I can do to repay." added Elijah.

Bryan turned to look at him and smiled, "Sure thing!"

The trio soon reached their destination. Andrew took off his black cloak and mask and put them inside the duffel bag, which he had now grabbed from behind the dumpster.

Bryan and Elijah also did the same as they handed their cloaks and masks back to Andrew. After putting everything inside the duffel bag, Andrew asked, "It's not even 9:30 pm right now. Shall we have dinner somewhere?"

Both Bryan and Elijah nodded as they too were feeling quite hungry.

"There's this really good cafe nearby and they shut at 10:30 pm. So we have a lot of time to eat. You guys wanna go there?" Bryan suggested.

"Does it serve good food?" Elijah inquired.

"Trust me, it's delicious." Bryan nodded with a smile.

Andrew chimed in, "Sounds like a plan! Let's go then."

…

8th Day Cafe, Laurent Avenue.

The trio entered the coffee shop and found a place to sit. As all three of them were good-looking young men and also wearing clean three-piece suits, they garnered the attention of most of the ladies inside the cafe.

One lady, in particular, was the most surprised as her breathing quickened. She was a middle-aged lady with blonde hair and light blue eyes.

This middle-aged lady was wearing a purple dress that had a built-up neckline and long sleeves that covered the entirety of her arms, all the way up to her wrists.

She was currently sitting with two other ladies around the same age as her and having dinner. The moment she saw Bryan enter the cafe, she just couldn't get her eyes off of him as she subconsciously slid her right hand down to her nether region.

Noticing the gaze, Bryan turned his head and looked at the middle-aged woman who was looking at him with an entranced gaze ad was slightly taken aback. It was Lily Dyke!

He nodded and smiled politely at Lily causing the latter to snap out of her daze and smile back. This interaction, however, could not escape the keen eyes of Andrew.

He dubiously looked at Bryan and seemingly asked casually, "Oh! That's one fine lady. Do you know her, Bryan?"

"Yep, we are acquaintances. That's Lily Dyke, wife of the Damascus Daily's editor, William Dyke." Bryan replied as he looked at the food menu.

'Heh! Acquaintances? You can't fool these eyes, punk!' Andrew rolled his eyes as he thought inwardly.

The trio soon gave their orders to the barista and started chatting amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Lily and her friends had just gotten up from their seats after paying the bill.

Lily turned to look at her friends and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, ladies but I have some work to do. I will have to leave separately. I will see you all day after at my vacation house."

Her friends nodded and bade their farewells as they left the coffee shop. Lily, however, stayed back. She took a few deep breaths, calmed down her emotions, and approached Bryan's table with an amiable smile decorating her lips.

"Good evening, Mr. Lombardi. It has been a while." Lily greeted as she stood next to Bryan.

Bryan got up from his seat and bowed in a gentlemanly manner, "Good evening, Mrs. Dyke. You look as lovely as always."

Lily giggled coquettishly as she covered her mouth. She then added, "By the way, Mr. Lombardi, I have something I wish to consult with you about. Would you mind if we spoke privately in my carriage?"

"Of course not! Please lead the way, madam." Bryan gestured with his right hand and then exited the cafe after Lily.

Thought out this whole conversation between Bryan and Lily, Andrew simply observed them from the side as a skeptical light shone in his eyes.

"Eli, are you carrying the fly with you?" Andrew nudged Elijah with his elbows as he watched Bryan and Lily entering a black horse-drawn carriage, through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Huh? Uh, yeah I am. What do you need it for?" Elijah asked back in puzzlement.

"You see that woman with Bryan. I suspect there's something going on between them. Let's find out, hehe." Andrew chuckled playfully.

Elijah hesitated, "Let's not do it, Andrew. We should respect Bryan's privacy."

"Just trust me! Bryan's not the type to mind. Moreover, if this is what I think it is, I'm sure you don't want to miss out." Andrew urged as he continued to convince Elijah.

Elijah shook his head but in the end, he acquiesced to this perverted friend of his.