Philiers

"Sordil, wake up! We've reached our destination! The royal capital, Philiers, is right ahead! Hurry and get out of the carriage!"

Diphiya looked at Sordil, who was curled up in one corner of the carriage with his cheeks puffed out, and spoke. The moment he heard that they had reached the royal capital, Sordil jumped out of the carriage as quickly as he could and stood on the ground, breathing in the fresh air. The instant he left the carriage, Sordil felt as though he had been reborn. This journey had convinced him that the Big Sister who had sent him here definitely had no good intentions. Whether it was a ship, a train, or a carriage—anything that could be used for transportation made him sick the moment he boarded it. Now, he finally understood Natsu's helplessness when facing transportation.

"Diphiya, from now on, you have to call me Oddek here. You can't call me by my real name, understand?"

"Oh! Got it, Sor... uh, Brother Oddek. What do we do next?"

"First, we'll enter the city and find somewhere to stay. We'll gather information on what's been happening lately, then decide on our next move."

"Master, should we find an inn to stay at like last time?"

Hearing Seraf's suggestion, Sordil shook his head, rejecting the plan. Then he said to the confused Seraf and the others, "This time is different from last time. We'll be staying here for a long time, and if we stay at an inn, all of our movements will be exposed. So, we need to buy a house to hide ourselves, and it can also serve as Fostadu's secret base in Philiers in the future."

"But Brother Oddek, we don't know this place at all. How are we supposed to find a house that's for sale?"

"Hehe! Miss Diphiya, you don't need to worry about that. When I came here with Master last time, I already found out where to get information!"

"How about this? After we enter the city, Seraf and I will go gather information. You and Mevajena can take the others to stroll around the market, relax a little, and wait for us. How does that sound?"

"Yay! Brother Oddek is the best!"

"Oh, right. Shopping is fine, but don't cause trouble! We need to keep a low profile right now. We can't attract anyone's attention, understand?"

"Don't worry! With me around, you can relax, Brother Oddek!"

With a little witch like you around, I'd be crazy to relax, Sordil grumbled inwardly upon hearing Diphiya's assurance. On the surface, however, he still had to put on an expression that said, You're such a good girl. I'm completely at ease.

After arranging everything, Sordil led Diphiya and the others to the back of the line entering the city. After waiting in line for nearly an hour, they finally entered Philiers successfully. Once inside, Sordil agreed with Diphiya and the others to meet at the city gate at dusk, then headed west with Seraf.

South Philiers, Silver Moon Bar

"Boss, the client sent another message urging us on. He said we have to get him a beautiful woman tonight, or he'll cancel the order."

"Hmph! Every one of those noble lords is a sex-starved beast. It's only been a few days, and they've urged us four or five times already. Do they think beautiful women are cabbages we can catch every day? Damn it!"

When the boss heard that the client was urging him to act again, he cursed under his breath, his contempt for those nobles growing even stronger. Just as he was wondering how to reply to the client, a dark-faced man with a rat-like face barged in. Seeing the boss, he said excitedly, "Boss, good news! Incredible news!"

"Skinny Monkey, if you've got good news, spit it out already. Don't keep me hanging! Otherwise, I'll beat the crap out of you!"

"Boss, while I was keeping watch near the city gate today, I saw four or five women with top-notch looks. They can definitely meet the client's requirements!"

"Really?"

"Of course it's true! But Boss, those chicks came with other people, so they might not be easy to handle!"

"Not easy to handle? In Philiers, aside from nobles, whom I can't afford to provoke, there isn't anyone else I can't deal with!"

"That's right! Who have we ever feared in the royal capital? Skinny Monkey, hurry up and lead the way for the boss!"

"Sure thing! Boss, follow me. I'll take you to find them right now!"

West Philiers, Vitus Restaurant

"Gentlemen, please come in and take a seat. What would you two like to order?"

The moment Sordil and Seraf entered the restaurant, a waiter immediately came over. After leading them to a table, he asked with a smile.

"Bring us two Wunderst Steaks, three-tenths cooked!"

"My apologies, sir! Our Wunderst Steaks are only served fully cooked. We don't make them three-tenths cooked!"

"That's fine! Then give us fully cooked ones. Price isn't an issue!"

"Certainly! Please follow me upstairs to choose your steak style!"

"No problem!"

After receiving Sordil's confirmation, the waiter led them upstairs. Once upstairs, the three of them wound through several corridors before arriving in front of a private room.

"Your steaks are inside. Please, go in."

The waiter pointed at a private room guarded by sentries. After confirming that there were no outsiders nearby, Sordil had Seraf remain outside to keep watch while he pushed open the door and entered. There were naturally no steaks inside the room. Only a figure dressed in black robes sat within. After Sordil entered, the shadowy figure spoke. "Welcome to the Wunderst Intelligence Guild, honored guest! How may our guild assist you?"

"I need a house in Philiers."

"For that sort of thing, you should go to a real estate agent, not us."

"Ordinary houses, of course, don't require your services. What I need is the kind that doesn't require household registration records and is extremely well concealed!"

"A Black House? That falls within our scope of services. A flat price of 30,000J. You'll receive information tomorrow afternoon!"

"I need to move in before tonight. Can you expedite it?"

"Of course! However, the commission will be doubled!"

"Fine! Besides the house, I also need intelligence on General Langu!"

"No problem! As long as there's money to be made, no matter whose information it is, our Wundest Guild can get it for you. Take this. If you need anything else in the future, you can come directly here with this. You won't need to go through all this trouble again like today!"

As he spoke, the black-robed man handed Sordil a black iron token. Sordil accepted it and immediately left the room. After Sordil departed, the black-robed man removed a Crystal ball from the wall behind him. As he poured magic power into it, the Crystal ball suddenly released a pale green screen of light, which replayed everything that had just happened in the room.

"Someone!"

After confirming that the image was accurate, the black-robed man shouted toward the door. Not long after his voice fell, a gray-robed figure entered from outside and knelt on one knee before the black-robed figure.

"My lord! What are your orders?"

"Deliver the memory crystal ball to the Grand Pavilion Leader. And have the Dark Division keep an eye on those two!"

"Yes! I'll see to it at once."

After taking the crystal ball, the gray-robed man slowly withdrew from the room, while the black-robed man returned to his seat.

Sordil knew nothing of any of this. He was leading Seraf toward the city gates to meet up with Diphiya and the others. Of course, even if he had known, it would have made no difference. A major crisis was waiting for him to resolve, leaving him with no time to concern himself with such matters.