While, the Five elemental King, the chess piece are doing their job, Sam is sitting in the bar at the counter as he looked through the menu,
"Why are you taking so long to decide today?" She asked him casually.
"I didn't plan on coming today, but I just came in anyway. So, I forgot to decide what I should drink."
"Do you want me to recommend something?"
"Sure."
"Taste this one, you never tried this. Even though it might not be as good as the past ones you drank, you never tasted this. This would be good for a long drinking night."
"How do you know I want a long drinking night?"
"I don't know, I just guessed."
Sam smiled and replied.
"Then get me one of those."
Sam observed her actions closely as she prepared the cocktail. There is nothing wrong with her movements or the measurements. Everything is spot on. He couldn't find any mistake. But his instincts are not letting him rule out the possibility yet.
He wants to take a look at the whole process with energy vision and until then he wouldn't be satisfied, but the energy vision is a bit too eye-catching. So, after some thought, he pulled out the oldest trick in the book.
He took out a small formation disc and acted like he is tinkering with it and activated the energy vision.
As his eyes glowed she instantly focused her attention on him.
"What are you doing?" She asked in confusion, he then looked towards her with his eyes still glowing and said.
"Nothing much, I have been trying to inscribe a special formation into this disc for a long time, but it was failing. In fact, it is the reason I am here tonight. Since I am having a long drinking night, I figured I might as well try something in a drunken stupor. It might have a chance of working."
He said and he continued to check on the formation disc. He just worked on it with an inscription pen and scribbled like a kid and erased it again and again.
The bartender kept on making drinks and Sam used this opportunity to just look at her while she is making the cocktails. But he didn't find what he hoped. There are still traces of spatial energy over the cocktail shakers.
He spent a long time there and the bartender is even nice enough to open the bar overtime just for him.
He kept on observing her while drinking, but he couldn't find anything.
He went back with a lot of confusion and doubts still left in his mind.
By then, the Five elemental King already returned. The chess piece also went into hiding.
The Five elemental King got the sword from Gran's hands.
"I think they are not the same people. I even talked with Gran a bit as we were past adversaries. He just wanted to squash that enmity and even gave me a discount."
"I still feel like we are missing something that is right before our eyes." Sam said as he closed his eyes and thought of all the clues. But every clue he caught has a proper and viable alternate explanation.
The spatial energy might be a coincidence, the concealment might be a choice, the cocktail-less days might also be a coincidence. All the connections he made are a bit farfetched. After some thought, he finally put this idea aside.
"Let us just assume they are two separate people, which means we have to tail the gran separately."
"Tail him? That is an impossible task, isn't it? No one managed to do that in years. How are we going to do that?"
"We don't have to succeed. We just need to tail him. And I still want to confirm something, so Agar go and place an assignment and Saber Monarch, you go and meditate in the mountain north to the city for the next few days, keep your communication device on at all times, so that I could contact you."
"But what kind of assignment do you want me to place?"
"A special assignment which will give some information and confirmation."
Sam took out a paper and took out a formation disc.
He then slaughtered a bird for dinner and used the soul of the beast to create a soul imprint on the paper, before writing the assignment down.
When the three of them saw the assignment, they were shocked.
"Did you make a mistake or something?" The Saber Monarch asked him in confusion.
"No, that is what we are doing and we are doing. So, go and do your job tomorrow."
The next day, Sam went back to the bar after Agar dropped the assignment. Five elemental King and Agar stuck together and stayed in the residence after dropping the letter.
Sam sat at the counter and said.
"Do me a different cocktail today, I think I am getting closer to fixing this formation disc." He said as he looked at her.
The bartender didn't react and just did as he told her.
Sam closed his eyes for a second and searched for the soul imprint he left on the letter. It has only been a few minutes since Agar dropped it and it is still here and as he stayed there observing the letterbox and the bartender again and again.
The letters kept on accumulating and the bartender went on with her usual break in the afternoon.
"I will come back in the afternoon, then."
Sam left with those words. But he sat nearby in a restaurant and waited.
Right after the bartender left, he felt the letter changing position.
It didn't move normally, nor did it have a path, it just disappeared from this spot and reappeared somewhere to the south of the city.
Sam couldn't estimate the exact location from this far away, but he has a decent range in which the location would be.
An hour later, the bar opened once again and Sam entered the bar.
The bartender kept on doing more and more cocktails and Sam kept on observing her and kept track of the letter.
While he was drinking, and inscribing formations on the discs, the bartender suddenly asked.
"I am willing to buy the recipe for the beer. But I need some help with the wheatfield."
"Do you have the proper land? If you have it, it wouldn't be much problem. But you need people to guard it, if anyone wants to sabotage the business, all they would have to do is spoil the field. You are going to pay a lot for this."
"I will take you to the field this evening and you can decide whether it works or not. I can deal with my own safety."
"Alright then. I will take a look."
Sam waited till evening and he actually finished one formation disc that time. And even though he did it out of boredom, he did really do something with it. It is a small formation that does a holographic projection.
He just wanted to do something to pass his time here and used his light elemental energy and his new grasp at the light frequency to make an art piece and he actually made his own image in it and as he changed the orientation of the formation, it changed to another position and a faster orientation made his image walk, run, throw some fire bars. It is like an art show.
While he is playing with that, he waited for a long time. That evening she closed the bar early and both of them walked to the south of the city which made Sam feel amused.
It seems like his earlier suspicions were not completely groundless, particularly as he felt the imprint getting closer and closer.
And soon, they walked into a hidden valley behind a large hill where there is a decently fertile field.
"This is also part of the city's safe zone, but no one comes here for some reason. Is it a good place for growing wheat?"
The bartender asked.
Sam picked up some soil and started examining its contents, he did some tests and observations, but in actual fact, he is trying to take in the surroundings.
The letter is certainly here somewhere. But he doesn't know where.
"How do you know this place?"
Sam asked as he did some tests after wetting the soil.
"Just one day I happened upon this area when I was taking a walk here."
"This soil is not bad, just create some manure with these type beasts' feces and mix it with the soil after tilling it, then it shouldn't be a problem.
In fact, regularly using that manure as a fertilizer might help the wheat a lot.
If you want, I can give you a pair along with the deal. It is complementary."
"That would be great. I would pay you more if you help me with setting the plantation. I don't know how to do that."
"Sure, that is not a bad offer. But It would be better if we work on that in the morning."