Investigators from the City 2

Mine Owner Jerome, lay lazily on a wicker chair in the shade. On a small table beside him was an open coconut. He scooped out a spoonful of the cool coconut meat and put it in his mouth. Mine Owner Jerome brow immediately relaxed.

Coconuts are not a product of the Pagisto Plateau, but they are sold in the Free Market of the Plateau City.

The Mine Owner Jerome Mine Owner Jerome not short of money, so this fruit from the Elf Continent naturally ended up on his table.

He is now in charge of managing five mines in the Northern Plateau. Recently, he transported a batch of Mithril Ingot to the Plateau City and, through Mulin's connections, purchased a small courtyard in the city.

The Mine Owner Jerome planned to hand over several mines in the Northern Plateau one day, at which time he intended to settle in the Plateau City.

The afternoon sun warmed the Jerome mine owner, making him feel cozy and drowsy.

Upon hearing footsteps at the door, the Mine Owner Jerome opened his eyes.

The Mine Owner Jerome in the Plateau City knows very few people, almost none except for Mulin, who is busy all day long.

There shouldn't be any visitors at this time...

Mine Owner Jerome opened his eyes and looked towards the gate, only to see three fair-skinned Silver Moon Elf standing there, peering into the courtyard.

Who are you looking for?

A Mine Guard brought from the mine stood in front of the three Silver Moon Elf and asked in a calm voice.

At this moment, the Mine Owner Jerome was also observing the three Silver Moon Elf dressed as merchants.

"We are merchants from Buenos City, looking for business opportunities in this Plateau City. We apologize for disturbing you..." one of the Silver Moon Elf said to the guard, his eyes glancing into the courtyard.

Before the Mine Guard could reply, Mine Owner Jerome, rose from his wicker chair, adopting a distant and unapproachable posture, and addressed the three Silver Moon Elf at the door:

"Well, we rarely deal with businessmen and don't know much about doing business."

The three investigators carefully examined the Mine Owner Jerome. He was wearing an expensive Magic Inscription Construct and sat upright in a wicker chair, exuding the air of a superior.

The three investigators felt they could glean some useful information from the Half-Elf.

The investigator immediately pressed further, "So you are...?"

"I am a Mine Owners."

The Mine Owner Jerome felt that his identity was utterly reviled on the Pagisto Plateau.

Hearing what he said, the three Silver Moon Elf would immediately show expressions of disgust and then leave in a hurry without looking back.

But the expressions on the faces of these three Silver Moon Elf investigators were quite the opposite...

Their eyes practically gleamed as they stared at the face of the Mine Owner Jerome.

The three even exchanged a furtive glance. 'There aren't many Mine Owners left alive on the Pagisto Plateau these days.'

"May I ask, how long have you been the Mine Owners?"

"A long time ago, I ran a very small mine in the Northern Plateau," the Mine Owner Jerome answered truthfully. "Now, I am also the manager of this mine."

The three Silver Moon Elf investigators smiled broadly, but were secretly overjoyed.

Who said there are no Mine Owners in the Plateau City? Who said there aren't? Isn't this one? "I heard that Boss Roy recently reclaimed all the mines on the Highland, and those Mine Owners were sent to the Silver Moon Elf Council's court. You're really lucky to have escaped this ordeal," one of the investigators said immediately.

Mine Owner Jerome, laughed and explained, "My mine is small. Although there are some elven miners in the mine, I usually treat these Half-Elf as regular miners. They get paid in the mine, and my mine is more like a refuge for them. Besides, I have never been harsh on any of the Half-Elf. So, Boss Roy just wrote a statement for me and didn't send me to the court or ask me to manage the mine for him."

The three investigators said in unison, "You did a great job. I heard that the Silver Pegasus Legion entered the Pagisto Plateau to rescue the Half-Elf slaves. You treated the Elf Slaves so well, so why did Boss Roy confiscate your mines? How could he do such a thing?"

By this time Mine Owner Jerome had already sensed that something was amiss.

What are they trying to do? Nowadays, very few elves on the Pattington Plane dare to speak of Boss Roy in such a tone.

"I'm considered lucky. Those Mine Owners who harmed Elf Slaves and whose hands were stained with blood suffered truly terrible fates. Some fled to escape punishment and died on the run, while others were sent to the court..."

Boss Roy felt he should end the conversation as soon as possible, and he was trying to figure out how to politely ask the three Silver Moon Elf to leave his courtyard.

Three Silver Moon Elf surrounded the Mine Owner Jerome and asked in low voices:

"I've heard that there's a Silver Moon Elf mine owner in the mines over in the Nikoba Mountain Range..."

"You're talking about the Mine Owner Abel, right? I know him," Jerome replied truthfully.

"Um, you know him?"

Jerome immediately explained, "Of course, that guy has a large Mithril Mine in the Nikoba Mountain Range Nikoba Mountain Range, and he's quite famous there."

"And quite famous?" The three investigators' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"His mines have the most Elf Slaves, and they're like you... Silver Moon Elf His Majesty Janis Ansiel announced the Slave Trade Calendar, he was among the first to openly defy Silver Moon Elf. I heard he's also a close friend of Lord Alvis, but when Lord Alvis was captured, this guy hid on the plateau and escaped..."

"The Mine Owner Jerome squinted as he spoke."

The words contained a hint of sarcasm directed at the Silver Moon Elf, which made the three investigators feel somewhat uncomfortable...

However, in order to find out the cause of death of the Mine Owner Abel, they had no choice but to put on a brave face, pretend not to understand the sarcasm of the Mine Owner Jerome, and continue to ask, "Then do you know how the Mine Owner Abel died?"

Upon hearing the three Silver Moon Elf ask this question, the Mine Owner Jerome immediately understood. These three Silver Moon Elf weren't looking for business opportunities at all; they had clearly come to the highlands to investigate the cause of death of the Mine Owner Abel.

"Oh, now that you're talking about this, I'm wide awake! Why don't you come sit in my yard?" The Mine Owner Jerome's expression suddenly brightened, and he instructed one of the Mine Guard beside him, "Go, open two of the coconuts I bought from the market for the guests..."

Seeing the expression on the Mine Owner Jerome's face, the three investigators felt they might have found a tiny clue. Excited, they entered the courtyard, sat down in the chairs opposite the Mine Owner Jerome, and urged him to ask:

"Tell us quickly, how exactly did Abel die?"

The Mine Owner Jerome's expression instantly turned serious. He then looked around mysteriously and lowered his voice, saying, "I heard it might be a crime of passion!"

"Ah?"

The three investigators suddenly felt uneasy. How could this be related to a crime of passion? Mine Owner Jerome, sat in a wicker chair and began to recount in detail the love story of Mine Owner Abel: "Mine Owner Abel had a lover named Olysses. This Olysses was an exceptionally skilled Sword Dancer. He was tall and strong, and it is said that he was also an adventurer who traveled from Buenos to the Pattington Plane. He and Mine Owner Abel fell in love at first sight... Later, the two lived in the castle of the Mithril Mine."

"Later... the Silver Pegasus Legion's Mine Guard Regiment left the Northern Plateau and recaptured the Mithril Mine of the Mine Owner Abel. At that time, the Mine Owner Abel was to be sent to the court in Padesto City by the Mine Guard Regiment, but his lover Olysses did not want to be tried, so she escaped through the mine's Secret Passage at night."

"The Mine Owner Abel couldn't let go of Olysses, so he fled with Olysses. Little did he know that Olysses was worried that if the Mine Owner Abel kept following him, he would also be accused of slave trading. So, during their escape, he took advantage of Mine Owner Abel Mine Owner Abel's momentary carelessness in Secret Passage and slit his throat with a dagger..."

The Mine Owner Jerome vividly recounted the story, leaving the three investigators speechless.

It's not that there are few bayonet fighters among the Silvermoon Elven Nobles, but rather that the fact that the Mine Owner Abel, was murdered by his lover in Secret Passage would become a scandal among the Silvermoon Elven Nobles if it were made public. Once such a thing spread, it would surely become a topic of conversation throughout the Elf Continent.

At that time, it was naturally the Silvermoon Elven Nobles who lost face.

The three investigators looked at the Mine Owner Jerome Mine Owner Jerome suspicion, wondering where he had gotten this information from.

The Mine Owner Jerome immediately put on a smiling face and then began to ask the three investigators about the situation in Buenos City.

Since all three investigators were from Buenos City, they naturally described the Buenos City clearly and easily.

Afterwards, the Mine Owner Jerome discussed trade matters with the three investigators, including the market prices of Metal Ingots. These were naturally topics the three investigators were unfamiliar with, and a series of questions left them speechless.

The three Silver Moon Elf investigators fled Mine Owner Jerome's courtyard, almost drenched in sweat.

No sooner had the three investigators left than the Mine Owner Jerome had a Mine Guard secretly follow them.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a roll of parchment and quickly wrote down the details of the three Silver Moon Elf. He then instructed his Mine Guard to deliver the letter to the City Hall City Hall give it to Mulin there...

To their surprise, there were no hotels in the Plateau City. The three of them wanted to stay in the city for a few nights, but when they asked many Half-Elf, they were all refused by these Half-Elf for various reasons.

So when night fell, the three investigators could only set up three tents on a quiet street corner in the Free Market. Their first day in the Plateau City was spent in the tents on the street corner.

As night fell, a cold wind swept through the streets of the Plateau City in November.

The merchants who had gathered at the Free Market had all dispersed, leaving behind only a mess.

Although it was late, some Half-Elf were still diligently cleaning up the trash in the Free Market, carrying brooms.

The tent set up by the three investigators was on a street corner in the Free Market. A gust of wind blew in, and the warmth that had just gathered inside the tent vanished instantly.

In front of the three investigators was a round Breadfruit.

As Silver Moon Elf, they hadn't eaten Breadfruit for many years.

But now, apart from a Breadfruit, it's almost impossible to sell even an apple.

The main issue is that the Plateau City is still under military control. As soon as night fell, the entire Plateau City was placed under Military Control System. The once bustling Free Market vanished instantly at the sound of the martial law whistle, leaving only a mess of garbage...

The three investigators didn't find a single thing in the market, and on the contrary, they had already eaten all the Elf Biscuit they had brought with them on this trip to the Pagisto Plateau.

They originally planned to resupply in the Plateau City.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to buy anything to eat before the market closed.

Fortunately, the Breadfruit vendor was a little slow, and the three investigators managed to buy one in their haste...

After nightfall, the Magic Airship was ready to take off.

Roy left some of the supplies on the Magic Airship in the Plateau City before preparing to travel to Magic Airship Sun Island Bay. In addition to a large amount of food, the Magic Airship also carried a batch of military supplies, which were also to be transported to Sun Island Bay.

Roy walked onto the Magic Airship along the makeshift sampan, and the crew began to untie the ropes attached to the battlements and pull back the sampan that was attached to the City Wall and the hull.

Mulin rode up in haste.

She had just finished her routine patrol of the city and saw Roy preparing to leave the Plateau City on Magic Airship, so she said to Roy:

"Boss Roy, are you leaving so soon?"

Roy, gripping the wooden railing of the ship's gunwale, replied, "Yes, I need to get these supplies to Sun Island Bay as soon as possible."

Mulin frowned, looked up at Roy, and asked, "What about the three Silver Moon Elf investigators?"

Roy smiled, waved his hand, and said nonchalantly:

"Let them stay in the city for two days. Once they feel they can't continue or have obtained useful information, they will naturally leave."

Mulin put her hands on her hips, made a face, and complained:

"Since these three investigators dare to enter the city so openly to investigate, why don't they just reveal their identities? Wouldn't that be much more convenient?"

Why do you care so much?

Roy stood by the ship's railing, waved to Mulin, and said, "I'll leave Little Eugene here. If anything happens, send Little Eugene to Sun Island Bay to see us off. It's definitely impossible to rely on the Mine Guard Army there, but at least the Griffon Cavalry Regiment can come back at any time."

"Knew."

Mulin responded weakly, then turned and walked down the City Wall, her standard armor gleaming against the City Wall.