The First Step in Gathering Intelligence

"Interesting. Very interesting."

Li Si muttered to himself. That girl named Ya Er had been strange. Her manners clearly showed that she had received an aristocratic education, yet she also gave off a free-spirited, unrestrained air. It was quite contradictory.

And when he had gently caressed her slender hand just now, despite how well it had been cared for, he had distinctly felt the toughness of her palm and the thin calluses formed from prolonged weapon use. That did not seem to fit the identity of an aristocratic young lady.

Moreover, the man who had left with the girl was Arsen Hardt, the youngest son of Duke Hardt's family whom Mora had mentioned before. The cautious look Arsen Hardt had given him, as well as the faint respect in his eyes when he looked at the girl, both showed that Ya Er's identity was far from ordinary.

Shaking his head, Li Si stopped thinking about it. Who knew? They might rarely meet again in the future.

As for the Golden Silk Shrimp Ball the girl wanted to eat, they could talk about it if fate brought them together again.

"Miss Ya Er, please don't do that again next time. I only went over to say hello, and by the time I turned around, you had vanished."

Arsen Hardt spoke somewhat helplessly to the girl beside him.

"Oh, I was hungry! There was so much delicious food, and I didn't go anywhere else!"

The girl named Ya Er happily waved her hand, utterly unconcerned by Arsen's helpless tone.

"The person beside you just now was...?" Arsen asked. Li Si had given him a somewhat unusual impression. He did not seem like the sort of noble obsessed with socializing and indulgence. His distinctive aura made Arsen feel as though he could spot him at first glance even in a crowd.

"He said his name was Li Si Kane. He seemed to be a very impressive chef!" Ya Er said after thinking for a moment.

"Li Si Kane." Arsen thought for a moment, automatically ignoring the latter half of her words. "Viscount Kane? The shut-in mage?"

"I don't know, but he's a very interesting person! He even said he'd make Golden Silk Shrimp Balls for me later!"

"Shrimp balls... Is that a dish?" Arsen was at a loss for words. What was all this? If he really was that viscount, then while he was no great noble, he still would not be cooking personally.

Ya Er paid no attention at all to Arsen's thoughts. Humming a tune, she skipped down the nighttime street, the hem of her fiery red dress bouncing with every step, just like her mood at the moment.

Arsen could only follow closely behind her. Although Miss Ya Er was far stronger than he was and had a Magical Item to conceal her appearance, if someone blind enough to offend her appeared, it would be his failure as her guard.

Finally, after following his father through the speeches and finishing the first dance with a shy young noblewoman, Mora stepped back, yielded his place, and left the center of the ball.

A warm smile hung on Mora's face as he moved through the crowd in the banquet hall, seemingly searching for something.

"Damn, I was working my ass off up there while you were hiding here eating?"

Mora finally found Li Si hiding in a corner. One look at the plate in front of him and the leftovers on it told him that this guy had stayed here the entire time.

"It's your birthday ball. Were you expecting me to go up there and say a few words too?"

Li Si was focused on polishing off the chocolate vanilla ice cream that had just been served. He had to admit, being able to enjoy that touch of coolness amid June's heat meant it had probably been made with the aid of ice magic or ice-element magic stones. Truly extravagant—but he liked it.

Mora waved for one of his family's attendants to bring him some food. He took a small sip of golden champagne, let out a deep breath, and looked over the lively scene before him.

"You know perfectly well that celebrating my birthday is only part of the reason. The main purpose is to provide a place for socializing and networking."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Li Si could not be bothered to indulge him. He would bet that if they had not held this event for him, Mora would instead be worrying about whether his merchant guild was about to go bankrupt.

"You bastard!" Mora punched Li Si, though he did not put much force behind it.

"But it really is rare for you to come this time. This is your first time attending an evening party at my home, isn't it?"

Li Si thought back and realized that it really did seem to be his first time. Aside from the annual royal events he could not avoid in the past, he had never attended any evening party at all. That was why other nobles considered Viscount Kane to be rather antisocial.

"Forget that. Where's Bernie? I came, but he didn't?"

"I heard his research at the school's Magic Workshop had reached a critical point, so he was too busy to leave. Still, he had someone pass along a message and brought his gift."

Mora held out his hand for Li Si to see. On the index finger of his right hand was a ring set with a transparent gemstone, emitting faint magical radiance.

"The Iron Armor Ring. It has a fixed third-circle Iron Armor Spell enchanted into it and can be used three times a day. The rarest thing is that it automatically activates when danger arises."

"That was thoughtful of him."

This protective ring was worth several hundred Gold Coins. Li Si knew Bernie's family circumstances were ordinary. For him to give such an expensive gift, he must have put in quite a bit of effort.

"What about yours?" Mora held out his hand toward Li Si without the slightest pretense.

"Your surprise isn't ready yet, but I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Li Si spread his hands. He did have a few ideas he wanted to carry out with Mora and Bernie, but they were not mature yet. He would have to wait a while longer.

"Fine, then I'll wait a little longer." Mora trusted that Li Si would not fool him about something like this.

"I do have something I need help with." Li Si looked at Mora. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What is it? New experimental equipment, magical ore, or magic pattern scrolls?" Mora replied casually. In the past, the things Li Si had asked him to help acquire were nothing more than those items.

"I'm not buying anything. I want you to help me gather intelligence on Can Guang City, mainly things like price levels and unusual incidents."

Li Si chose his words carefully. He still knew nothing about the mastermind behind it all. He only knew that in three months, during the Sacred Festival celebration, they would assassinate nobles including himself. He could only see whether Mora might provide any clues.

"Since when did you start caring about this?" Mora gave Li Si a somewhat surprised look.

"I have my reasons." Li Si did not want to explain too much to Mora. After all, he could hardly say that he had foreseen his own assassination three months from now. That would only be taken as nonsense, and if word got out, it might even alert the enemy.

Seeing that Li Si did not wish to elaborate, Mora did not press the matter. Helping a brother was no big deal, especially when it was only a small favor.

"Fine. I'll give you a weekly summary of the intelligence gathered by our merchant guild, though it can only be information that doesn't involve guild secrets. I'll also keep an eye out for other intelligence for you. If there's anything, I'll have it delivered to your place."

"Thanks." Li Si nodded. He had considered having servants or guards gather intelligence for him, but that would have been far too inefficient. It was better to have Mora help.

The Golden Vine Merchant Guild was a renowned major merchant guild, with dedicated personnel responsible for gathering intelligence. Merchants were extremely attentive to all kinds of information, after all. Behind seemingly ordinary news might lie enormous business opportunities and gleaming Gold Coins.

"Enough of that. Look over there. That's Earl Siani's second daughter—a tempting rose. So? Has your heart been moved?"

Mora had only acted normal for a moment before reverting to his old ways and becoming improper again.

Li Si sighed, ashamed to be associated with this man.

"Fuck, they're huge."

Brothers, could you give this a bookmark and keep reading?