Chapter 366: Karmic Ties
Chapter 366: Karmic Ties
Wait, I was just bluffing! How did they actually deliver it?
As he stared at the golden-threaded wallet handed to him, Lyon's mind went blank for a moment, and he immediately scrutinized the waiter from "Out of Thin Air" with a suspicious expression.
Could it be... that he thought I was asking for a bribe?
But that didn't make sense either. In his eyes, I'm a wealthy Duke who wouldn't ask for a bribe from a waiter. What could I possibly want?
Lyon, perplexed and unable to make sense of the situation, didn't take the wallet from the waiter. Instead, he frowned and waved his hand, saying, "You must have made a mistake. This isn't my wallet."
Huh? Upon hearing Lyon's words, Jacob, whose face was filled with relief, couldn't help but stiffen. Still, he tried to insist, "Why don't you open it and take a look? I found it based on the features you described, so it should be correct."
"I did say my wallet has a golden thread with a lion emblem, but that doesn't mean every wallet with a lion emblem is mine."
Taking the wallet from the waiter, Lyon flipped it over to reveal the lion emblem on the bottom. He pointed at the name embroidered above the lion's head and said, "Look, for example, this name. It's clearly..."
What's going on? Could this really be my name?
"Duke, it seems you might have mistaken it for yours."
Seeing Lyon's stunned expression, Jacob immediately relaxed, a smile on his face. "The lighting here is rather dim, so the color of the wallet may appear different from the outside. At first glance, it might not look like yours."
"..."
No, this isn't about whether I recognized it or not. My wallet is still lying in the Mirror World; it hasn't been lost at all!
"Well, it's hard to say if someone else has the same name as me."
Lyon's heart raced as he looked at the wallet embroidered with his name. He quickly opened the wallet, flipping to the section where the credentials were kept. He then argued, "If this is my wallet, there should be my portrait... and there actually is one!"
Lyon's mind went blank as he looked at the credentials section, where a photograph of himself, with a haughty expression, stared down at the camera. He recalled the words the Director had told him before coming, and instinctively became more alert.
Although it was a photograph instead of a portrait, and it wasn't exactly as he had described, it was still incredibly far-fetched. Could it be... that this building is actually some kind of anomaly that can make wishes come true or create things out of thin air?
"It seems you did mistake it for yours. This is indeed your wallet."
Jacob, the waiter, leaned over to take a look at the photograph, then heaved a sigh of relief. He regained his previous amiable expression and politely asked, "Congratulations on recovering your lost wallet. So, Duke, now that you've found your wallet, would you still like to go to the third floor for a drink?"
"No... that won't be necessary..."
Lyon's lips parted slightly as he noticed the curious gazes from those around him. He quickly closed his mouth again, considering that prolonging the discussion might draw unwanted attention. Reluctantly, he accepted the suspicious wallet that had appeared out of nowhere, his face stiff with tension.
"I plan to go elsewhere. Please escort me out."
"Of course, this way, sir."
Seeing the troublesome customer finally leave, Jacob heaved a sigh of relief. He quickly took the lead, walking ahead and respectfully escorting Lyon out.
Not long after the two of them left, a little golden retriever lying on the first-floor bar counter started to tremble slightly, then fell off the chair with a loud thud.
In the midst of his inebriation, the little golden retriever was helped up by an attendant who kindly inquired about his well-being. The retriever mumbled, "I'm not drunk," and then, as was his habit, reached for his waist. But...
"Hmm? Where's my wallet?"
Upon discovering the emptiness where his wallet should have hung, the retriever's intoxication subsided slightly. With the attendant's support, he stumbled towards the main desk near the entrance and raised his hand to pound on the counter.
"Someone, my wallet is missing! I need to report it lost!"
"Okay... Mr. Steven Lyon, is that correct?"
After taking a good look at the inebriated golden retriever before him, the registrar behind the main desk took out a notebook and asked gently, "May I ask what your wallet looks like?"
"My last name is Lyon, so what else could my wallet look like? It's obviously the same golden color as my hair, and on the bottom... it's embroidered with our Lyon family's lion crest!"
Leaning against the counter for support, the retriever, dressed in a military training uniform, slurred with bleary eyes, "And on the bottom of the wallet... it's embroidered with the name of the Duke I used to admire the most... and inside, there's a photo of him... Waaah... I'm so miserable!"
As he spoke, some strange switch seemed to be triggered, and the retriever, his face flushed from drinking, suddenly hugged the counter and sobbed, "You know, I admired the Duke so much, and he actually kidnapped me and forced me to pilot the power armor for him! You know, he attacked... well, I can't say who, but he forced me to pilot the power armor!"
Wooooooh... I just said that I'd rather die than help him escape, but now I have to pilot the power armor to help him run away. Everyone in the Armored Army calls me 'Iron-willed Steven' now. I'm famous in the entire army, and everyone laughs at me when they see me!"
The retriever seemed to grow more agitated as he spoke, banging his forehead against the counter and wailing, his tears flowing freely, "You know what? Everyone has been laughing at me since that day. I can't even show my face in the army barracks anymore. The secret police from the Secret Investigation Bureau know that I've been in contact with... well, they keep blocking the barracks and trying to interrogate me.
They've been blocking me from leaving, and after a few days of being cooped up, I finally managed to climb over the wall and escape. I just wanted to have a drink to cheer myself up, and now I've lost my wallet too... I'm so miserable!"
"Sir, please calm down. Your wallet might not be lost. I'll have someone look for it right away!"
The registrar, looking at the counter he had just cleaned, now smeared with snot, called over a colleague who was in charge of lost and found...
"What? Someone else claimed my wallet?"
Hearing that someone had claimed his wallet, the retriever wiped his nose and shouted with red-rimmed eyes, "Who dares to take my things? Tell me their name, and I'll beat them up today!"
"Um... the record shows that it was claimed by Lyon Lyon..."
"Who? Who claimed it?"
"Lyon Lyon."
After repeating Lyon's name, the registrar smiled and said, "We verified it. The badge the person had was genuine, and it was indeed the current Lionheart Duke himself. He had also lost his wallet, and the description matched yours, so we..."
"Um... Mr. Steven, why don't you try to remember again? Maybe you mistook the Duke's wallet for your own?"
"..."
"Waaah! I'm so miserable!"
(End of Chapter)
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