This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 44

Ambrose had no desire to get involved in someone else's domestic affairs, but the Headless Knight was his guest, and he felt obligated to offer a few words of caution. He waited until the patrons were happily sipping their free drinks before squeezing through the crowd to the Headless Knight's side.

"Yo, brother Tiga, you're here for a drink too?" The Headless Knight enthusiastically slung an arm around Ambrose's shoulders and introduced him to the lioness-like female orc. "This is my brother."

The female orc adopted a bashful expression and said to Ambrose, "Master Tiga Ultraman, I've heard your name. The last time you were here, you swindled a paladin from the Ryan Empire out of several thousand gold coins with just three sentences. A truly impressive feat. I'm the owner of this bar, Ona Hellfire."

Hellfire. Ambrose seemed to recall hearing that surname before. It was likely a rather famous clan among the orcs.

As expected, another rich woman.

Ambrose politely greeted the bar owner, then pulled the Headless Knight aside and asked in a low voice, "Brother, what have you been up to these past few days? You're a married man!"

The Headless Knight let out a boozy burp and said nonchalantly, "So what? I haven't done anything. I just came for a drink. Can't a married man come out for a drink? By the God of the Undead, I don't even have a head. Don't I have the right to drink?"

"Just a drink? You've drunk that female orc to the point where her eyes are practically undressing you!"

Ambrose didn't buy the "just a drink" line for a second. Anyone with eyes could see that Ms. Ona Hellfire wanted to devour the Headless Knight whole.

"Ona... she's a good woman. But, I only see her as a sister."

What a classic scumbag line. Back where Ambrose came from, people who said things like that were liable to get stabbed with a kitchen knife.

"Gareth, I have no opinion on your love life, but you have to consider what will happen if your wife finds out. It could very well lead to war."

The fury of a young bone dragon mistress was something the City of Alchemy would have to deal with at full strength. One misstep and half the city could be reduced to ruins. Ambrose's own domain might even be turned to ash.

At the mention of his wife, the Headless Knight poured himself another drink and lamented, "I'm starting to think this marriage might have been a mistake."

Ambrose offered no response. This was a topic he was in no position to discuss.

After his transformation into a lich, Ambrose's heart no longer beat, nor did it produce the hormones that muddled one's thinking. His past emotional experiences had faded into faint impressions under the erosion of hundreds of years. He had traded joy and sorrow for a lonely eternity. It wasn't necessarily a bad deal, but Ambrose was slowly beginning to feel the side effects. Like right now, he could only stand as an observer, analyzing the situation with pure logic.

Ambrose couldn't even comprehend the situation between the Headless Knight and his bone dragon wife. They weren't just both undead; they were entirely different species with a massive size disparity. That they could get married at all could only be attributed to the magic of love.

Perhaps there was a story between them that he knew nothing about.

But before the Headless Knight could complain to Ambrose about his married life, the tavern door was suddenly pushed open. A man in a gold-and-red robe entered, followed by two all-metal automatons, the constructs of the City of Alchemy.

At the sight of this man's attire, everyone in the bar put down their drinks and watched him nervously.

The gold-and-red robe was the uniform of a Justicar of the City of Alchemy.

Thanks to the Alchemists' Council's focus on academia, the administrative structure of the City of Alchemy was simple. From top to bottom, there were only Council members and Justicars, all of whom were alchemists.

The Justicars were responsible for all practical matters, including civil affairs, administration, military, and law. Only those within their ranks could tell who was in charge of what; to outsiders, they all looked the same.

But everyone in the City of Alchemy shared one consensus about the Justicars: their appearance never boded well.

Alchemists preferred to hide in their labs, tinkering with their flasks and beakers. Whenever they had to work outside, they wore a scowl, as if everyone owed them millions of gold. And unless absolutely necessary, a Justicar would rather remotely operate an automaton than appear in public.

Now, this Justicar had walked into this bar with a dark expression on his face. It was clear that a matter troublesome enough to require a Justicar's personal attention had arisen.

Ninety percent of the patrons present were adventurers, and ninety percent of adventurers had broken the law at some point. So, upon seeing a Justicar, everyone became tense, afraid he was there for them. Two Drow had already begun to sidle toward a window, preparing to climb out.

The Justicar held his head high, completely ignoring the stares of the patrons. He walked straight to the bar, produced two magical potions, and said to the orc bartender, "I'm here today to investigate a missing person's case. This bottle on the left is a potent truth serum. Drinking it could cause brain damage, turning you into an idiot. This one on the right is a lie detection potion. After drinking it, if you lie, your internal organs will be corroded. Choose one."

The orc bartender looked at the two strangely colored potions and cast a pleading glance at his boss.

Ona Hellfire stood up and walked over to the Justicar, saying in a placating tone, "My lord, we've always operated a legitimate business. If you want to investigate something, you can just ask. We will certainly cooperate. There's no need for such drastic interrogation methods."

The Justicar was only as tall as Ona's shoulder, but facing the lioness-like female orc, he remained cold and indifferent.

"This is an official diplomatic incident raised by the Ryan Empire, concerning the relationship between our two nations. There is no room for leniency. Choose a bottle and drink, or I will have you all thrown in prison for obstructing a Justicar's investigation."

The Justicar's words were absolute, causing Ona's fierce face to scrunch up.

The Headless Knight put down his mug and said to the bar owner, "Ona, need my help?"

Ona gave the Headless Knight a gentle smile and said, "It's alright, Gareth. I can handle it."

The Headless Knight shrugged helplessly, while Ambrose breathed a sigh of relief.

This Justicar was lucky. He had been a hair's breadth away from being turned into meat paste.

Ona said to the orc bartender, "Tell the truth. Don't hide anything." This meant he should choose the lie detection potion. As long as he didn't lie, he should be fine.

The bartender was helpless, but he could only grit his teeth and drink the lie detection potion.

After he finished the potion, the Justicar finally spoke. "A few days ago, did a paladin by the name of Alan Watson come here?"

Hearing that question, Ambrose also put down his mug.

Diplomatic measures? So that's how they wanted to play it?