The rooms in the guest house were even more spacious than those in the high-end inn from last night; the living room alone was as large as an entire floor of the inn in Rhode City.
The room assigned to Lu Mao featured a large bed covered with a down duvet, and hot tea and pastries had even been prepared on the nightstand in advance.
He washed his face, took off the Ranger leather armor he had been wearing for days, and changed into a set of casual clothes provided by the guest house, instantly feeling much more refreshed.
Completing the mission was only a matter of time. Since it was a rare opportunity to visit Falan City, it would be a shame not to go out and look around.
With that in mind, he knocked on his teammates' doors one by one.
Agrix only opened his door a crack. “I'm too conspicuous. I'd better just stay in my room.”
Lumu leaned lazily against her doorframe. “Go shopping? Not interested. Go by yourself, just don't get swindled by some street con artist.”
Sorge didn't even open his door, his voice carrying the clicking sound of his joints through the wood. “This old man prefers peace and quiet, clack. I have no interest in the things sold on this street, clack.”
As for the troll—when Lu Mao pushed open his door, the fellow was sitting cross-legged on the carpet with three full trays of roasted meat and desserts provided by the guest house before him. His mouth was stuffed so full he couldn't even speak, and he merely waved a half-eaten leg of mutton vaguely at Lu Mao.
Lu Mao closed the door helplessly and turned around, only to find that Novia was already standing in the hallway.
She was still dressed in her silver-white light armor with her hair in a ponytail. Her slitted pupils swept over him coldly, her tone carrying unconcealed disdain. “If you go out alone and get caught by cultists, or cornered in an alley by that guy from earlier and his lackeys, who's going to collect your corpse?”
“So you're coming along?” Lu Mao was taken aback. According to his original plan, he hadn't even intended to knock on Novia's door.
“Otherwise, what?” She crossed her arms and took the lead toward the stairs.
...
After leaving the guest house, the two strolled slowly along the stone path surrounding White Tower Square. The shop windows on both sides of the street were filled with various alchemical tools and magical accessories.
Compared to the items displayed in these shops, the magic items sold in Rhode City were practically child's play.
There were even more pedestrians on the street than the previous night, many of them participating apprentices wearing various colored mage robes. They gathered in groups of two or three along the roadside, discussing topics like “the stability of spell formation overlapping” and “the evaluation standards for the third round of the qualifiers.”
Novia remained expressionless the entire time, only pausing briefly when they passed a stall selling roasted meat.
Lu Mao tactfully bought two skewers, giving one to her.
She took the skewer and took a bite, the coldness on her face thawing slightly.
As they passed the square's bulletin board, a crowd was gathered around, whispering and discussing.
Lu Mao squeezed in to take a look. A schedule for the Elite Spell Formation Tournament was posted on the board, densely listing the times and venues for each round of the competition.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, his gaze was suddenly drawn to another notice.
It was a bounty notice posted on the far right of the bulletin board. Its edges were already somewhat curled, indicating it had been up for quite some time.
A portrait was drawn on the bounty notice, with rough lines but distinct features.
It showed a long, thin face, deep-set eyes, high cheekbones, and a few sparse wisps of beard on the chin.
The text below the portrait read:
The target of this bounty is named “Maurice Shadow,” former Senior Researcher of the Lumdor Alchemists' Guild. He has been expelled from the Guild and is wanted for allegedly conducting illegal necromantic alchemy experiments.
The bounty amount was as high as five thousand gold coins, bearing the joint seal of the Alchemists' Guild and the Mages' Guild at the bottom.
Lu Mao stood in front of the portrait for a moment, finding the face strangely familiar.
“What are you looking at?” Novia walked up beside him and also looked at the notice. She had already finished her roasted meat and was spinning the empty skewer in her hand. “What, have you seen him before?”
Lu Mao shook his head, withdrew his gaze, memorized the portrait on the notice, and turned to continue walking.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and glanced back in the direction of the bulletin board, his brow furrowing slightly.
The cheekbones and jawline of that wanted criminal, Maurice, looked at least fifty to sixty percent similar to Elliot's.
Before Lu Mao could think further about the face on the bounty notice, a commotion suddenly erupted further down the street.
Someone was shouting “Stop, thief!” at the top of their lungs, followed by a flurry of chaotic, hurried footsteps and the dull thuds of things being knocked over.
A small, thin figure squeezed through a gap in the crowd, stumbling along the stone road and knocking over several roadside display shelves belonging to vendors along the way.
“Thief! Don't run! Catch the thief!”
As the figure drew closer, Lu Mao finally saw clearly that it was a demi-human girl with cat ears.
She wore a tattered burlap tunic and a dirty old hood pulled low over her head, though two fluffy cat ears still poked out from the brim. Her tail, puffed up into a ball of fur, also stuck out from beneath her hem.
As she ran, she kept looking back over her shoulder, failing to watch her step. Just two paces away from Lu Mao, she tripped hard over a raised stone tile.
She fell forward, scraping her knees and elbows on the stone road, drawing blood. Several pieces of dry bread she had been clutching in her arms rolled all over the ground.
She looked up, her eyes meeting Lu Mao's.
Her slitted pupils were filled with panic. She reached out to grab the cuff of Lu Mao's trousers, her voice raspy as if she hadn't had water for days. “Please, save me... I was just so hungry... I don't want to be taken back by them...”
Although she did look pitiful, neither Lu Mao nor Novia had any intention of meddling in other people's business.
The city guards caught up. The leader, panting heavily, first cupped his hands to Lu Mao and Novia. “Thank you both for helping to stop this thief! These demi-humans are truly detestable, sneaking into the city to steal things!”
Lu Mao looked down at himself—he clearly hadn't done a thing, not even lifting a finger. Novia was still completely expressionless, holding her empty skewer.
However, the leader was clearly just looking for an excuse to share the credit, making it look like they weren't just bullying a defenseless demi-human girl.
“If they dare to steal bread today, they'll dare to murder tomorrow. None of these demi-humans are any good.”
Hearing this, Lu Mao stole a glance at the person beside him, checking to see if she would suddenly fly into a rage.
But Novia was far calmer than Lu Mao had expected; she didn't even blink.
It seems that aside from sleep deprivation and people pulling strings to get ahead, her tolerance for other things is actually quite high, Lu Mao thought to himself.
The catgirl seemed to have resigned herself to her fate and didn't struggle, allowing the guard leader to grab her by the back of her collar and hoist her off the ground.
Just as Lu Mao was about to turn and leave, Novia suddenly reached out to stop him.
“Wait.” Her slitted pupils contracted slightly as she stared at the catgirl dangling in the guard's grip. “She has a strange scent on her.”
Hearing this, Lu Mao subconsciously ran a Scan.
The information that finally popped up on the interface made his brow furrow slightly:
【Target: Kelulu】
【Race: Catfolk】
【Level: 1】
【Status: Mild malnutrition, multiple abrasions, minor left ankle sprain】
【Note: Trace amounts of necromantic alchemy mana residue detected on the body surface. This is a non-contact contamination, suggesting she recently stayed near a necromantic alchemy experimental site.】
Rate on N.U.
