In the evening, the sweet shrimp tavern.

The hall of the tavern was full of people and a miasma of smoke.

Poor Billy was pressed against a wooden table by seven or eight of his colleagues, with a funnel in his mouth, into which a five-litre barrel of rum was being poured 'gurgling'.

Billy was already rolling his eyes, and the golden-brown liquor was spurting out of his mouth all over his body.

A group of cheerful policemen and sailors gathered around, or stood on wooden tables, dancing and shouting: "Drink, drink, drink...... Irrigation, irrigation, irrigation...... Keep drinking...... Keep pouring! ”

On the floor next to the wooden table, there were already five or six chubby policemen lying on the ground, drunk and in a half-dead state of fainting.

Unfortunately, even with the use of large tackle, Billy and his friends were in the bottom 10 of the afternoon's fishing competition.

The top 10 were all the original sailors on that large fishing boat. They have extremely rich experience in sea fishing, so it can be said that this is their ability to feed and support their families, how can they lose?

The dark-skinned sailors triumphantly hugged the flower-flowered maids, and laughed arrogantly in the crowd.

Billy, who rolled his eyes, looked desperately at the gradually shaking ceiling, his fingers spasming weakly, as if a drowning man wanted to grasp the last straw, but there was only a group of 'close colleagues' around him, and he couldn't find a single straw.

On the second floor of the Sweet Shrimp Tavern, in the private room with a view of the sea outside, Joe, who had a reddish complexion, sat at the square table, constantly burping.

Joe, who was steaming hot and full of wine, pointed to Sherlock on the other side of the square table and shouted loudly, "I, Joe Rong Wittu, have a strong ability to fish in the sea...... Today, it was just an accident, otherwise I wouldn't have caught a single fish. ”

Yes, I don't know what the reason is, maybe it's bad luck, maybe Joe overestimated his sea fishing skills, in short, in this afternoon's sea fishing event, he didn't get a single fish, not a single scale!

"But I'm not going to cheat. The last place is the last place. What's the deal with a small barrel of rum? ”

Joe's breath was a little short, and just as Billy was starting to be drunk, he drained a small keg full of rum as he had agreed.

Every breath he took made the wine in the private room a little stronger, even the sea breeze outside the window could not blow the wine away for a while.

After all, it was a five-liter bottle of high-grade rum, and Joe, relying on his current strong physique, drank the five-liter rum in one gulp, and he also felt a little dizzy and drunk.

But Joe's physique was so strong now that in just half an hour after he and Sherlock sat in the private room, the strength of the wine had dissipated.

Sherlock changed into his usual outfit.

A well-groomed tuxedo, polished leather boots, and oily, slippery, meticulous hair.

He looked at Qiao, whose face was slightly red, and nodded with a smile: "It can be seen that His Excellency Qiao is honest and trustworthy, and he is a real nobleman...... I've come to Loew Heights this time, and I've come to the right place. ”

Joe burped one last time, then sat up straight, his hands on the wooden table, and stared at Sherlock with his eyes: "So, it's not a chance to meet, you came to me on purpose?" ”

Sherlock smiled, a sincere and soft smile: "I hate fishing, and I think it's a senseless waste of life. ”

"However, because of my status, it is obviously not convenient for me to visit in public and directly. The plenipotentiary envoy of the Ice Sea Kingdom made a special visit to the family members of the chairman of the seven-member committee of Tulun Harbor, and there is no doubt that this will lead to too much over-interpretation, and doing so will cause a lot of trouble. ”

"If I use other ways to make a secret appointment with you, there is a saying in Donglu that makes a lot of sense, there is no impermeable wall in the world, and a secret appointment will obviously cause more suspicion and suspicion. Especially in the port of Tulum, this is already a place where the major powers have many eyes and ears and intrigues are endless. ”

"A courtesy dinner invitation triggered by a chance encounter on the sea because of fishing is very reasonable."

"It's very hypocritical, but you and I can say to anyone that this is a courtesy dinner invitation. You are the present 'landlord' of Loewgang, and I am a 'guest' who has inadvertently crossed the border, and such a gathering is in accordance with aristocratic etiquette and diplomatic etiquette, and no one can find fault with anything. ”

Joe slapped himself on the forehead, and he looked at Sherlock speechlessly.

"It's just a meeting, does it need to be that complicated? Do you need it? ”

Sherlock smiled.

He took out his little pipe, knocked it on the edge of the wooden table, took out a small pocket made of silk, twisted some of the tobacco and stuffed it into the pipe, lit it, and took two puffs.

"Sometimes, if you can save some trouble, just save some trouble." Sherlock smiled happily, and across the wooden table, he stretched out his right hand to Joe: "Introduce yourself, Sherlock Ther Springland, Count of the Ice Sea Kingdom, and some other idle positions. Of course, these positions are not important, and I have come to see you today...... My identity is that of the El Swordbearer. ”

Joe took Sherlock's hand and shook it gently.

Hearing Sherlock's self-introduction, Joe looked at him in amazement: "El sword-bearer? What is it? ”

Laprahi screamed in Joe's head, "Rich Crimson, I know what kind of being Al is...... Need any information from Al? Only a million gold marks, only a paltry million ......"

A million gold marks?

Joe's face twitched heavily, and he looked at Sherlock with strange eyes: "Honorable Lord Sherlock, can you tell me what is the El Sword Bearer?" ”

In Joe's heart, there was a little excitement and excitement, and even a little joy brought by a little revenge on Laprahi.

Intelligence worth a million gold marks?

Ho ho, esteemed Lord Sherlock, the 'wealthy' but 'stingy' Crimson Joe is ready to listen.

The palms of the two men parted, and Sherlock shifted his body to sit more comfortably. He leaned back in his chair, took a small puff of smoke, and said slowly, "Al is a mutual aid organization with a long history. ”

"Some say Al is Medland's biggest intelligence monger."

"Some say Al is Medland's most dangerous conspirator."

"Some say El is an evil heretic manipulated by demons."

"Some people say that El exists to destroy the world."

"If you know all these kinds of strange claims about Al, you will think that this is a dangerous, terrifying, filthy, shady organization."

"But as I said, it's just a very open, loose, spontaneous, inclusive, cooperative and mutually beneficial mutual aid group."

"There are many members of the El, either in Medland, or in the Eastern Continent, or in the Northern Continent, or in the Southern Continent, or in the Western Continent...... Or, in other more dangerous, more magical, more incredible, more indescribable places. ”

"They come from different backgrounds, they have different experiences, they have different races, they have different ethnicities, they have different skin colors, sexes, languages, cultures, they think and do different things."

"The only thing that is the same is that they occasionally act in the name of Al."

"I don't deny that there are intelligence traffickers among the El."

"I don't deny that there are ambitionists among the El."

"I don't deny it, there are alien demons among the El."

"I don't deny it, there are people in El who want to destroy the world."

"But there are more and more diverse people among the El...... The top chefs, the top blacksmiths, the top tailors, the top painters...... The wisest man, the wisest man, the mightiest man, the most wonderful man......"

"Because of their existence, because of their actions, the outside world's speculation about Al is becoming more and more complex and changeable...... Because of the mystery, because of the ignorance, in the minds of the outside world, the El is such an unpredictable and dangerous organization. ”

Sherlock shook his head and sighed softly.

He looked at Joe seriously and asked with a smile, "Do you know the meaning of the word 'Al'?" ”

Joe stared blankly at Sherlock, and he said a little annoyed, "Sorry, this is the first time I've heard this word in my life." ”

Sherlock's eyes flickered for a moment, and he quickly remembered the results of Joe's various subjects from his childhood initiation to his graduation from the judicial academy that he had investigated through some channels!

Very good, the one in front of me is a 'genius' who failed even the most basic "General History of the Mainland"!

With a dry laugh, Sherlock said in a deep voice: "'El', in the prophecy of the gods of the Golden Age, it represents perfection, it represents perfection, it represents truth, it represents order, it represents all visible and invisible existence!" ”

"The El organization, its philosophy is tolerance, freedom, communication, and mutual assistance...... He is detached from the state, from the nation, from the race, from most of the rules and precepts of reality......"

"The purpose of the El organization can be summed up in such a sentence - everyone for me, I for everyone, with 'fairness' as the only order, how much you give, how much you get."

Joe looked at Sherlock dumbfounded, and then he applauded softly, exclaimed with an exaggerated smile, "Wow, that's amazing, that's amazing, that's what makes my blood boil, and I want to get moving...... Oh, that's amazing! ”

With a smile on his face, Joe grimaced and looked at Sherlock with the eyes of an ordinary citizen looking at a crappy liar: "So, dear Mr. Sherlock, has the El Organization done anything earth-shattering that I've heard of?" ”

Sherlock stared straight at Joe: "The chapter of Wall was traded by us to the Deren Empire, and the reason why Rafa was seriously injured was because I beat him. ”

Joe's mouth slowly opened wide.

After being silent for a while, Qiao said in a deep voice: "So, you want to meet me at sea this time?" ”

Sherlock pulled out a delicate black card and gently placed it in front of Joe.

"I formally invite you, Joe Yung Wittou, to join the El Order and become my disciple!"