Chapter 8: Clues About Ailia
Bruz City, nearly a year has passed.
This city hasn’t changed much; the port is bustling with ships, and the streets are packed with people, a scene of prosperity.
In Bruz City, hopefully, I can find useful clues!
A figure in a large black robe, known as Shadow, walked through the streets, feelings of wonder stirring within.
After accepting a commission from Arthur, he began to investigate information regarding Airael.
After some probing, he was shocked to discover that there wasn’t much information about “Ailia” among the human nations across the continent.
Most information relating to Ailia only started circulating on the continent after she began associating with Axi.
Before that, she only had contact with a mercenary group known as the Blue Whale Mercenary Group.
It was as if she had appeared out of thin air.
Naturally, Shadow didn’t believe things could be this simple.
There are three possible scenarios he couldn’t investigate: the first is that this person named Ailia is too mysterious, and there’s a major force behind her erasing some traces; the second is that this “Ailia” is an imposter, and her real name isn’t Ailia at all; and the third is a combination of the first two, where Ailia isn’t called Ailia, and she has a major force backing her.
Because of this, Ailia’s existence piqued Shadow’s interest.
He found both Ailia and Axi to be very mysterious.
Could it be said that they truly were a fitting pair to come together?
He had an instinctive desire to explore mysteries.
Therefore, after experiencing initial setbacks in investigating Ailia, he shifted from being passive to active.
No longer doing this solely because of Axi’s commission; he had grown very interested in her and wanted to find out the truth.
Today, he personally came to the starting point of the story related to Ailia—Bruz City.
In the mercenary tavern, in a secluded corner, a figure draped in a black robe sat unobtrusively.
Most people instinctively overlooked that figure.
However, no one chose to disturb him.
This tranquility only lasted until a new wave of customers arrived.
Hank, the leader of the Blue Whale Mercenary Group, came in with several drinking buddies from the group.
As usual, they planned to relax and enjoy themselves after delivering a task.
It’s important to know that drinking during missions is strictly prohibited.
A successful mission means a rare chance to unwind.
Upon entering, the figure in the corner immediately turned his attention to them, specifically to Hank, the leader.
He was his target.
The figure in the corner was none other than Shadow, who had been waiting in Bruz City for a while.
Hank and his crew did not notice Shadow’s gaze; they split up after entering, with Hank and Teresa heading to deliver the task while the others found an empty table to start chatting.
Amid their conversation, there were various topics that were quite… colorful, hard to describe succinctly.
For instance, discussions of how wonderful certain young ladies were in some places, filled with knowledge that made it hard to look away.
Shadow wasn’t interested in their conversation.
Such pleasures were far too base for him.
After Hank went upstairs, he focused his attention on the drink in front of him, occasionally taking a sip.
However, this guest was quite different from the others.
Most tavern patrons could easily blend with those at nearby tables, dragging discussions deeper and further.
Though they often indulged in exaggeration, it was enough to gain some useful new knowledge.
Of course, his very low presence didn’t give anyone a chance to notice his oddity.
People naturally overlooked him and his section of the tavern.
Not long after, Hank and Teresa came down from upstairs.
Shadow’s gaze shifted again.
This time, his gaze felt piercing, and Hank immediately sensed something was off; his gaze followed Shadow’s, and their eyes locked.
Feeling the intensity of Shadow’s gaze, Hank instinctively felt danger.
“What’s wrong, Hank?”
Teresa, noticing Hank’s unease, followed his gaze.
She also caught sight of Shadow sitting in the corner. Being the person in charge here, she naturally had some impression of this mysterious individual.
However…
Teresa furrowed her brow slightly.
She realized that his presence was just way too low.
Although she had an impression, unless he actively approached her, she wouldn’t have noticed him at all.
That was quite abnormal.
“It’s nothing, Teresa, just a friend looking to chat with me.”
Hank regained his composure and said to Teresa.
“I’ll go over to talk to him.”
With that, he took a step towards Shadow.
After the initial feeling of crisis subsided, he noticed the other party seemed to have no ill intentions.
That made him considerably more relaxed.
Clearly, the other party sought to catch his attention.
If your strength is inferior, you ought to be humble, especially when the other person harbors no malice.
He understood some of the unspoken rules in these situations.
Teresa watched Hank approach with a look of concern.
Even if he didn’t show malice, this posture didn’t suggest he was an easy opponent.
Let’s hope he follows the rules!
As for the other mercenaries of the Blue Whale Mercenary Group, caught up in the tavern’s atmosphere, they didn’t notice this side of things.
“Teresa, could we get four more jugs of barley wine over here?”
At that moment, a patron at a table called out to Teresa.
“Please wait a moment.”
Teresa glanced over and replied before moving to the bar to prepare drinks for the customer.
During this process, her eyes occasionally darted toward Shadow and Hank.
Hank had reached the table where Shadow was and tentatively asked:
“May I sit down?”
“Please do,” Shadow replied, his tone quite gentle.
“Could I buy you a drink?”
After sitting down, Hank asked with a smile, sounding like he was joking.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Teresa, one barrel of barley wine over here.”
Hank kept the smile on his face while turning to Teresa.
At this moment, Hank felt a weight lift off his shoulders.
The other party’s demeanor was better than he had anticipated.
This meant that the other party probably wasn’t a dangerous character.
“Just a moment!”
Teresa relaxed a bit upon hearing Hank’s voice and seeing his demeanor.
Once Hank returned his gaze to Shadow, the latter said, “As you can see, I have no ill intentions in approaching you.”
“I believe what you say, but since you came looking for me, you must have something to discuss. How can I assist you?”
“Not so fast.”
Shadow glanced over at Teresa.
Teresa was already busy delivering drinks to customers.
After delivering a full set of four jugs to one table, she was now walking over with the last jug in hand.
