Novia the dragon girl stared at Lu Mao for several seconds, her slitted pupils showing no emotion.
She flipped the file cards back to the first page, read the name on it once more, and then closed the file, tossing it onto the counter.
“The intelligence source is inconvenient to disclose.”
She repeated Lu Mao's words in a flat tone, then tilted her head to glance at Dowal. “Branch Master Stonehammer says you have someone backing you. Between the two of you, one says the intelligence was obtained on your own, and the other says you have someone backing you—which of you is lying?”
Dowal opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Lu Mao answered for him: “Branch Master Dowal doesn't know who my intelligence source is; he was merely acting according to the guild's regulations. And even if I have someone backing me, that's still my own capability. Why shouldn't that count as intelligence I obtained myself?”
“So you admit it, then.” The dragon girl's slitted pupils narrowed slightly. “Your intelligence source is not a registered channel within the guild, nor does it belong to the standard scouting methods of any regular adventurer party.
“In other words, your achievements are entirely built on unverified external forces. The guild can choose not to ask about your source, but the guild cannot issue a badge to someone who doesn't even dare to explain where their intelligence comes from—
“Especially now, when the Rhode City branch has ranked dead last for three consecutive years, and exceptional promotion slots are being abused.
“Well? Who is backing you? Are you related to some branch master in Rhode City, or some officer at headquarters? Or... is there some other faction behind you?”
She floated half a foot forward, her slitted pupils less than two feet away from Lu Mao's eyes.
At such close range, those molten-colored pupils held a coldness that didn't belong to a human, as if she were looking at a piece of merchandise that had been mispriced.
Lu Mao didn't bother to explain.
Seeing Lu Mao's reaction, Novia immediately wore the face of a victor: “Your contributions are built on intelligence, and you refuse to disclose its source. Without intelligence, you have no achievements. Without achievements, you are an Apprentice. An Apprentice promoted directly to Silver—
“Dowal! Tell me, if the one standing here today were another newcomer with no mana circuit, no intelligence source, and no record of direct combat, would you have given him a silver badge?”
Dowal did not answer. His knuckles pressed against the table grew even paler.
“You wouldn't,” the dragon girl spoke for him. “And with someone like you in your party, I can't help but doubt the authenticity of these achievements—
“How about this: the achievements of your other party members will be temporarily frozen, and we will consider whether to promote them during the next headquarters audit. As for you, someone who falsely claimed achievements has no right to remain an adventurer.”
Hearing this, Lu Mao suddenly chuckled. It was the kind of helpless laugh one couldn't suppress when a multiple-choice question offered "A, B, C, D" but the actual answer was "E."
“Those words of yours,” he said, “have completely blocked all my options. If I say I got the intelligence myself, you don't believe me. If I change my story now and say there is a source, you'll demand I name someone who isn't even here. And if I stubbornly refuse to speak, you'll revoke my qualification in public.
“According to the adventurer disciplinary regulations, I won't ever be able to work as an adventurer again either.
“The conclusion was decided long ago, and the questions before were just a formality. Is it really fun to ask questions when you already have the answers prepared?”
He shoved his hands into his cloak pockets, his tone relaxed as if he truly didn't care, though his eyes darted rapidly.
Recalling the information he had overheard at lunch—
Lu Mao thought of a possibility.
“Then I won't argue with you. My intelligence source is a tavern owner in the dungeon. He owed me a favor, so he gave me the information. Is that answer specific enough?”
The dragon girl stared at him for a few seconds.
“What tavern? Which dungeon?”
“The third floor of the Blood Fiend Dungeon,” Lu Mao said. “The name is the Succubus Tavern. Go ahead and check.”
The dragon girl didn't flare up, but her slitted pupils flickered when she heard the word “succubus.”
The reaction was incredibly fast, so fast that Lu Mao almost thought it was an illusion, but the prompt that popped up on his system panel confirmed his suspicion—she reacted to the name.
【Analysis: Target's pupils contracted slightly upon hearing "Succubus Tavern"—she has heard this name elsewhere.】
As expected, it wasn't that simple.
Lu Mao stored this piece of information in his mind, and without pausing, continued: “Once you're done checking the tavern, you might as well look into those clients in Rhode City who recently fled after posting commissions. You should be able to find something far more valuable than just making an example out of me.”
Novia fell silent.
Floating in place, the dark gold light in her slitted pupils slowly swirled, as if she were weighing the gravity of his words.
The heavily armored attendant behind her glanced at her, his mouth opening slightly before closing again. He clearly knew nothing about the altar, but he read something from her silence.
Did the people from headquarters also know about the altar?
“Your purpose isn't to audit the Rhode City guild!” Lu Mao blurted out.
Almost simultaneously, Novia raised her hand and snapped her fingers with extreme lightness and speed.
A translucent, dark gold barrier silently exploded from her fingertips, sealing Lu Mao and herself inside, isolating them from any communication with the outside.
“I hit the mark.” Seeing such a strong reaction from her, Lu Mao stared into her slitted pupils, suddenly feeling a sense of relief. “Everything you've done is just a setup. The one you're actually looking for is just a single person.
“You don't know him, but you've heard of his existence. Someone among the headquarters' higher-ups mentioned him, or he was written about in the file of some missing adventurer.”
The dragon girl did not answer.
Her slitted pupils contracted into extremely thin lines, and the misaligned button on her pajama collar rose and fell slightly with her breathing—
This was the first time during this audit that Lu Mao saw her display genuine emotion.
Lu Mao suddenly smiled.
“There's someone in the Rhode City branch, or perhaps at headquarters, whom you don't trust. You couldn't let them know you were investigating a tavern, which is why you went to such great lengths—”
“Shut up,” the dragon girl said. The words were quiet, but every syllable carried a low, vibrating hum, as if squeezed from the depths of her chest.
Lu Mao did not shut up. He took a deep breath, his eyes filled with resentment as he looked at Novia: “It's always this same old trick... doing whatever it takes to achieve your goals.”
He stared into those slitted pupils, pronouncing each word deliberately. “You people in high positions always act the exact same way—stepping on the heads of those beneath you to reach what you want, and once you have it, you don't even spare them a glance. You are simply...”
As he spoke, Novia intentionally opened a crack in the barrier again—just out of Lu Mao's field of vision.
“Lu Mao!” Rayne's hand was already pressing down on his sword hilt.
Lu Mao did not look back. He looked into the dragon girl's eyes and squeezed a word through his teeth that no one expected: “Beasts.”
The air in the hall felt as if it had been sucked dry.
Novia did not fly into a rage.
She merely extended her right hand, her index finger pointing casually toward Lu Mao's chest.
In that instant, Lu Mao made a move that caught everyone off guard—he didn't dodge. He took a step forward, actively offering his chest to the path of her finger.
【Warning—】
The system's prompt cut off after only a couple of words. At the edge of his vision, the system panel flashed frantically before winking out line by line.
【Life signs terminated.】
【Rollback protocol initiated.】
【Loading save anchor—】
【Save Point: Silver Rank Party Formed】
【Remaining rollbacks: 5.】
His consciousness dissolved.
Then, it focused once more.
In his ears was the noisy chatter of people, the harsh scraping of chair legs against stone tiles, and Balen's signature booming voice.
【Welcome back, Lu Mao.】
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