All that flashy stuff basically means, “I decide, you eat.”
It felt like a pure intelligence tax.
Still, Samuel casually closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter. “Two of the 8-yur meals, but no seafood or river fish, and especially no fish. You can add a little lobster, thanks.”
He was too lazy to think, so he was willing to pay the intelligence tax.
“Very well, I’ll arrange that for you.” The waiter bowed and took the menu. “Before your companion arrives, or while you wait, would you like any pre-meal drinks? We have a very refreshing aperitif cocktail, or a glass of chilled champagne?”
Seeing Samuel shake his head, the waiter took his leave with a bow. “Very good, sir. I’ll go prepare your meal and your companion’s meal.”
An 8-yur main course was not cheap, even in Reins, the capital of Liastan, and it certainly wouldn’t be a pre-made dish, so it would still take some time.
Samuel leaned back in his chair, propping his head with one hand, sitting by the window and glanced outside.
But after a few minutes he pulled his gaze back in boredom.
“So boring…” he muttered.
He always felt uncomfortable when idle like this; he wanted something to do.
His eyes scanned the tastefully decorated restaurant interior and finally landed on the stage area not far away.
Even though it wasn’t dinner rush, and there weren’t many people, Flora still echoed with soothing music.
A well-maintained, mirror-smooth grand piano stood quietly on a slightly elevated small stage. A man with short, slightly wavy brown hair had his back to Samuel, fingers lightly pressing the piano keys.
Samuel watched the pianist; this was a perfectly ordinary background scene in a high-end restaurant. Yet his eyebrows suddenly rose.
From the moment he’d entered the restaurant he’d been feeling a vague sensation.
Only when he saw the pianist did Samuel suddenly realize why.
The pianist had short brown hair with slightly curled tips, wore a black tailcoat, and white gloves on his hands.
He lifted his right hand, hooking a finger lightly.
Hum…
It seemed as if an invisible thread in the air had been plucked, and the pianist, without even noticing, slightly tilted his head.
Samuel seemed to have formed some sort of connection with the back of the pianist’s neck.
Beneath the skin there was, fused in place, a strand of Samuel’s hair.
“Ah—.” Samuel made a tiny exhalation.
That pianist was the same strangely attractive man Samuel had seen waiting for the public carriage that morning.
Not only had the man changed into an outfit far more lavish—clearly mismatched with his earlier look—but he had also carefully applied a layer of some fine-textured foundation to his exposed neck and the backs of his hands, masking the originally rougher deep skin from labor.
Dressed in at least a 198-grade appearance and with Samuel’s initial inattention, Samuel hadn’t recognized him at first.
“Hiss… wow.” Samuel found it amusing.
This place had been recommended to him by Priest Ethen, not chosen by him.
However, he didn’t think that man could influence the priest; after all, even influencing his current small duplicate had been difficult.
So he guessed the strand of hair he’d implanted in the man’s neck had strengthened some kind of connection.
“What is—this?” he elongated the final syllable, letting it follow the piano melody as he said the words, “hmm…”
He opened the Travel Guide, flipping it to a blank page in the middle.
“Do you know which Law this is?” Samuel asked softly.
After a few seconds, a reply appeared on the page.
“Theoretically, any could.”
“According to official records, each Law could achieve similar effects; it mainly depends on the person.”
“But given the current situation, I lean more toward the Elysium Law.”
“Elysium.” Samuel repeated the word, “Why?”
A loading icon appeared on the blank page, and after about a minute, a rapid stream of information burst forth, one Chinese character after another jumping out.
[2-031 Level Two Archive: Speculative contents concerning the various Laws.]
[Archive title: Orlis Institute preliminary assessment summary on main Law tendencies’ manifestations and danger levels (non-public discussion draft).]
[Security classification: Level Three and below strictly prohibited from viewing. Level Three and above must submit a formal written application and be approved before viewing in designated areas; any form of recording, copying, or verbal dissemination is forbidden. Violators will be handled according to the Special Incidents Confidentiality Regulations.]
[The following content originates from the Orlis Institute, updated to July 21, 1339.]
[Important notice: The following assessments quantify only the inherent risks that each Law poses to initial contactors and low-level Law Seekers (Law Contemplators and below) in terms of “cognitive contamination,” “existential distortion,” and “loss of control” (Danger Levels: Extremely Low/Low/Medium/High/Extremely High/Prohibited). This assessment is primarily based on controlled laboratory contact feedback, historical loss-of-control case statistics, and indirect observation inference from high-ranking existences. The core consideration is the Law itself and does not include additional risk multipliers from the Law Seeker’s personality, subjective malice, mental stability, or external environmental triggers. In other words, the danger level represents only the inherent risk of contacting the Law’s power itself, not the actual threat a Law Seeker may pose externally. The assessment is time-sensitive and limited; the Institute does not guarantee absolute accuracy.]
[Pure Law · Symbolism: purity, beauty, whiteness, flawlessness, sanctity, purification.]
[Danger Level: Extremely Low.]
[Currently the safest known Law, with intrinsic purification and self-improvement functions; very low contagion.]
[Constraint Law · Symbolism: restraint, control, balance, justice, order.]
[Danger Level: Low.]
[Contamination follows patterns and broad ranges but is fairly obvious and relatively easy to guard against; once rules are clear, danger drops sharply.]
[Absurdity Law · Symbolism: absurdity, joy, childlike fun, inversion, chaos, meaning.]
[Danger Level: High.]
[Contamination is highly penetrative and covert, often mistaken for inspiration or bursts of humor.]
[Silence Law · Symbolism: silence, hollowness, death, stillness, quiet, void.]
[Danger Level: Extremely High.]
[Seekers of this Law have high incidence of depression; contamination is irreversible and spreads. One of the highest-risk Laws.]
[Elysium Law · Symbolism: Elysium, sharing, splitting, connection, unity, wholeness.]
[Danger Level: Medium.]
[Emphasizes individual assimilation into the whole, shared perception and existence. The risk lies in the seductive sense of belonging that dilutes or erases individual consciousness. Danger is not extremely high and is relatively easy to detect.]
[Solipsism Law · Symbolism: solipsism, mind-only, spirit, dimension, soul, fantasy.]
[Danger Level: High.]
[The core issue is maintaining boundaries between “self” and “reality.” Easily leads to self-inflation, arrogance, and pride. Law Seeker stage lacks the risk of dimensional elevation/demotion due to loss of control.]
[Upstream Law · Symbolism: upstream, time, space, fate, flow, insight.]
[Danger Level: Medium.]
[Intrinsic risk is higher, but Law Seekers rarely access fate-pertaining abilities; only limited foresight or teleportation might appear, which reduces practical danger. Basic risks are manageable.]
[Ultimate Wisdom Law · Symbolism: ultimate wisdom, intellect, knowledge, quest, observation, computation.]
[Danger Level: Low.]
[Dominated by rational thought and relatively stable. Loss-of-control manifests as headaches from excessive computation or obsessive accumulation of useless knowledge, or excessive rationalization leading to loss of humanity. If severely out of control, the Seeker can be sent to the Orlis Institute. Not highly dangerous.]
[Fallacy Law · Symbolism: fallacy, error, paradox, confusion, mystery, distortion.]
[Danger Level: Extremely High.]
[Contamination is strongly misleading and incomprehensible; exposure often leads to permanent confusion and madness.]
[Calamity Law · Symbolism: calamity, war, natural disaster, destruction, decay, entropy.]
[Danger Level: Extremely High.]
[Not inherently malicious but causes reality-level destruction. Tends toward ruin and disorder with accompanying strong destructive impulses and disaster omens. Contamination is severely destructive and contagious; one of the highest-risk Laws. It can annihilate itself while causing massive damage to surroundings.]
[Nature Law · Symbolism: nature, harvest, altruism, life, decay, disease.]
[Danger Level: Medium.]
[Emphasizes life cycles, altruistic symbiosis, and natural balance. Risk is not high; contamination forms are obvious and easy to detect.]
[Decadence Law · Symbolism: decadence, indulgence, desire, chaos, freedom, disorder.]
[Danger Level: Extremely High.]
[Highest danger; contact is prohibited. Tends toward total indulgence and chaos. Exposure brings strong addictive temptation and collapse of rationality. Contamination is highly addictive, irreversible, and terrifyingly expansive; strictly off-limits.]
[Note: The above contents are not absolutely verified and may change. Current as of July 21, 1139. Presented as relatively accurate.]
“You… where did you steal this archive from?” Samuel’s eyes skimmed the content rapidly. There was no reproach in his tone, only curiosity.
Ink slightly blurred on the page, then quickly re-converged into a new answer: “The archive room on basement level one of the Reins Security Bureau. The seals there are weak; breaching them takes only twenty seconds.”
Samuel smiled. “Okay, fine, that’s good.”
He skimmed through it, glanced again toward the pianist, and nodded.
Indeed, according to this assessment, the pianist fit the Elysium Law description better.
Connection, unity, wholeness — when manifested in reality, this naturally becomes a unique kind of attraction.
He closed The Lunatic’s World Travel Guide; the pages made a soft snap that was not jarring in the quiet restaurant.
Some time passed again, and another person came in from outside: black hair, black eyes, wearing a black overcoat and cream-colored gloves.
It was Samuel’s primary body.
Led by another waiter, he came to the table and sat down.
“Good afternoon, Celt.” The primary spoke cheerfully to the duplicate.
“Good afternoon.” The duplicate replied in the same upbeat tone.
Because their minds were connected, the duplicate immediately understood the primary’s plan.
From now on, the primary would call the duplicate Celt, and Celt would call the primary Samuel.
With the party now assembled, the waiter who had ushered Celt in came over again, pushing a small cart neatly arranged with several ice-filled metal buckets on the top shelf, each with a bottle slanted into the ice.
The bottles had different labels: deep red for wine, pale gold for champagne, and some ornately labeled liqueurs. The lower shelf held delicate porcelain plates and small bowls with colorful appetizer bites, plus a dozen small glass bottles containing various seasonings or sauce pairings with wooden stoppers of assorted shapes.
The cart stopped and the waiter first set ceramic plates and silver cutlery in front of Samuel and Celt, then placed several small dishes between them while softly introducing them as he set them down:
“Gentlemen, these are your appetizers. Four slices of aged Konda cheese drizzled with a touch of local wildflower honey; and two slices of garlic baguette toasted to crispness, spread with herb butter. Since you requested no fish, we omitted caviar and salmon and prepared two plates of Rossini foie gras jelly, served with fig jam and toasted croutons.”
The dishes were tiny and the portions pitifully small.
“Gentlemen, would you prefer wine, sparkling wine, a cocktail, or something else as your pre-meal drink? Or anything else I can change for you?” The waiter leaned slightly forward, hands folded politely, his gaze moving between Samuel and Celt.
“Champagne is fine.” Celt nodded.
“Very good. Shall I open it for you?”
After Celt agreed, the waiter selected a bottle of champagne from one of the buckets. He wrapped the bottle with a pristine white napkin, steadied the cork with one hand, and slowly twisted the base with the other.
With a soft pop, the cork came out perfectly, not a drop spilled.
He leaned forward and poured the champagne into Samuel and Celt’s glasses.
“Please enjoy. The main course is being prepared and will take about twenty minutes. If you need anything, please signal.” The waiter returned the bottle to the ice bucket, stepped back, bowed slightly again, then left the champagne and pushed the cart with the remaining bottles silently toward the back of the restaurant, disappearing behind the velvet curtain leading to the kitchen.