Four days after the Black Sword Knights left, an unusual atmosphere began to spread through the town.
It seemed that no one had issued any order to suppress the news. Perhaps someone was even fanning the flames. In any case, rumors soon spread from mouth to mouth. The mayor's wife treated what she had heard as conversation fodder at the ball, while the maids passed the scraps of information they had picked up to the cooks and servants. The cooks and servants then carried the news beyond the estate, eventually spreading it through every street and alley.
Some things were not discussed openly, but that did not stop people from hinting at them and exchanging information in private. Once the rumors had spread completely, everyone's daily life in the town was bound to be affected.
Food prices rose, caravans began facing stricter inspections, and there were many more hurried-looking people on the streets. The rich, who usually busied themselves with endless social gatherings, shut the doors of their estates. Open, lavish banquets became secret discussions held deep inside the mansions. Some even claimed to have seen Baron Will, the town's only noble and its mayor, send his steward to the nearby airship port under cover of night with a letter in hand. However, no one could confirm this report.
Hao Ren and his group should have left this place two days ago for the nearby major city of Ash Mountain City. However, some rumors heard by the guards had caused them to delay their departure for two days so they could observe how the situation developed and avoid plunging headfirst into a crisis.
At the station where the caravan was temporarily resting, one of the personal guards disguised as a caravan escort had just returned. Seeing the doubt and alarm