Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1836: The Bar

Ning and Larissa arrived at the bar with their photographs. Despite it still being the afternoon, many men and women were already in the bar.

As they walked in, some of the men turned toward Larissa and started whistling at her. Ning looked around, his lack of any particular features making him attract not a single bit of attention.

Larissa, however, stood out with her red skin she had inherited from her Imp father. Imps were quite rare after a majority of them were killed during the war centuries ago, and their population hadn’t jumped back up like the others had.

So, she was quite the sight to see.

Larissa did her best to ignore their words, knowing full well that nothing good would come out of it if she returned the slightest bit of attention toward them, positive or negative.

She walked straight to the bartender, placing her parchment on the bar.

The fat satyr next to him turned, a grin on his face.

”Hey, missy. Wanna have a drink?” the fat man asked.

Larissa turned toward him, a glare in her eyes.

”It’s 2 in the afternoon,” she said. ”Don’t you have work to do?”

The satyr grinned. ”It’s Friday. The day is half off for us, sweetie,” he said.

Larissa pulled out her badge. ”Well, I’m still working.”

The satyr immediately got off his seat, backing away. ”I-I’m sorry. I-I didn’t...”

”Screw off!”

The satyr obliged, leaving with his drink.

The bartender turned, a weird look on his face. ”How can I help you?” he asked.

It was a man with thick, fur-like hair across his forearms. No doubt a half-werewolf. Unlike regular werewolves who were in their lycan form the entire time, these ones needed a full moon to turn.

”Where’s the other one? Did his shift end?” Larissa asked.

”I take over from noon to midnight,” the bartender answered before getting in closer. ”Are you perhaps here regarding that minotaur death?”

”Yes,” Larissa said, pulling out the three pictures. ”Recognize them?”

The man took a towel and started wiping some wet glasses while looking at the pictures. ”Those two are regulars. I don’t know the woman,” he said. He paused for a moment, looking around the bar before pointing at a certain table. ”See the scaley over there?”

Ning turned to find a large lizardfolk sitting at a table with some other people. ”He usually hangs out with these two by the pool table. I can’t help you anymore, but maybe he can.”

”Thanks,” Larissa said and walked away.

Ning walked back with her to the lizardfolk and waited for her to continue. Larissa tapped on the lizardfolk’s shoulder, catching his attention.

The giant beastly man turned, his eyes slits. They were slightly red in color around the irises, a departure from what dragonborns’ golden pupils looked like. Without the color difference, it would be hard to tell which eyes belonged to who.

Which made the fact that lizardfolk and dragonborns hated each other all the more funny when one thought about it. But then, Ning had seen people hate other races for even stupider reasons, so a difference in color was not all that surprising.

Larissa showed her badge and then the photos of the two drows. ”Do you recognize these men?”

The lizardfolk stared at the pictures for a few seconds before looking back up at Larissa. ”No, I don’t recognize them.”

”Really? I was told you would recognize them, given they are your pool buddies,” Larissa said.

”I have nothing to say to you, officer. Please leave.”

Larissa frowned at the response, but she didn’t lose her cool. She flipped to the other picture of the vampire and showed it to the man. ”Do you recognize her then?”

The man stared at the picture for a moment, but this time there was no recognition in his eyes, so he told the truth.

”No idea.”

”Then just tell me about the first two guys,” Larissa said.

”Again, officer. I do not know them. Are you going to arrest me for not recognizing two random drows?” the man asked.

”How did you know they were drows?” Ning asked.

The lizardfolk paused. ”What?”

”You said they were drows. How did you know that?” Ning asked.

”Just look at the picture. It’s clear they are—”

”It’s clear they are elves,” Ning said. ”But there is nothing to tell that they are drows. This black and white picture shouldn’t have told you about their race. For all you know, they could be high elves with their blond hair. And yet you said drow.”

Larissa smirked. ”Still gonna continue?” she asked, leaning in closer. ”A man died last night, and these three were involved somehow. Now, cooperate, or I’ll have the entire force looking into your background, and I promise you that if we find the smallest rule break in your history, you’ll go to prison for a long, long time.”

The lizardfolk stiffened for a moment, his face turning into a full grimace. ”Fuck! Yes, I know those two. But they were good men. They couldn’t have done it.”

”I need names and location,” Larissa said.

”I don’t know their actual names. We call them Striker and Eightless. They live above the deli near Mellson Street, next to the sandwich shop.”

”Striker? Eightless?”

”They play pool here all the time. One was great. The other flubs his eight ball each time.”

”I see.”

”They are good people,” the lizardfolk said. ”Those two brothers could not have done this murder. They are far too weak to even be doing so. You are looking for the wrong people.”

”We’ll know about that soon,” Larissa said. ”Thanks for the information.”

”Fuck you! Now leave me alone.”

Larissa happily obliged. She walked away from the table, Ning following behind her. The outside was just as hot and stuffy as inside, but there was a distinct lack of the stink of beer that was inside there.

Larissa called Mira and told her about what she had learned and waited for her to find out more. In the meantime, she got back into her van with Ning and drove to the location where she would hopefully find the drows.