Located on the important border of the neighboring countries [Bahasi Empire] and [Silian Theocracy], the city [E-Rantel] of [Le Yestije Kingdom] is heavily protected by three layers of walls, so it is like its The appearance is also named a fortress city, and the towns within each city wall have different characteristics.
I really don’t understand why we spend so much money every year to repair useless things. Who are the people behind the triple wall defense? Is it a giant?
Of course, this sentence is just a complaint.
After all, it is sandwiched between the three countries and is an important border city. It is natural that it will be converted into a fortress.
Therefore, the outermost city wall is used as the kingdom's garrison base, equipped with complete military facilities; while the inner circle area is the central administrative area of the city, which also has warehouses for storing military supplies, and is an area protected by layers of troops. .
As for the middle area between the two areas, it is the living area of the citizens. When you hear the name of the city, the scene that comes to mind is exactly this area.
Among the several squares located in the district, the largest one is called the Central Square. Many people have set up stalls here, displaying various types of vegetables, prepared foods and other products.
Amid the bustling crowds, the boss made a powerful shout to the passers-by in an effort to attract customers, the elderly woman bargained with the merchants to find fresh ingredients, and the adventurers attracted by the aroma of barbecue bought fragrant meat skewers.
In this square, which has special energy during the day, the bustling atmosphere will last until sunset.
"Master Priest?"
"It's okay, I just think it's very lively here."
"Because this is a fortress city."
"Yes."
Hearing the coachman's matter-of-fact and slightly proud tone, the priest on the carriage also smiled and nodded.
Unlike the royal capital, here there is a mixed crowd, ranging from the most despicable adventurers to the noblest royal members. From time to time, guests from neighboring countries come to visit.
Although the waves are turbulent in the dark, there is no denying the lively scene on the surface.
Follow the carriage to the city center smoothly.
The driver asked with a little respect: "Master Priest, is it enough to get here?"
"Well, that's it."
He took the reward from the hands of the priest, bowed slightly in the car, and drove away in the carriage.
The priest who got off the carriage put on a gray cloak, completely hiding his appearance. This look is not conspicuous in the crowded fortress city, and almost everyone is like this.
It would be even more eye-catching if he wore a gorgeous full-body armor decorated with purple and gold patterns, and wore a red cloak with two giant swords on his back. He had a very unruly style. If there is a stunning beauty next to you, the level of attention will be even higher.
No, how could there be such a person?
The priest, who had put on a cloak to cover his appearance, did not stop, but turned around and got into the dark and damp alley, walking back and forth in it very quickly, as if he was very familiar with the way to the fortress city.
Soon we arrived in front of a high-end hotel.
The appearance of this three-story hotel is very gorgeous, and the lobby is extremely clean. The people walking inside are either arrogant and well-dressed rich kids or high-end adventurers with well-equipped equipment and determined eyes.
You have to ask why, because this hotel is the best among the three hotels in the fortress city! ... Even so, it is just the best here. There are a hundred hotels in the capital that are better than this.
This is an ordinary hotel, except that there is an Axis cult symbol under the hotel sign.
Went straight to the counter.
With the friendly business-like smile of the staff, he showed off a corner of the priest's uniform and a strange-shaped pendant tied to a square on the same side, and he was quickly sent to the most secret room of the hotel.
Soon, a beautiful girl about 20 years old stepped into the room.
As soon as she caught her eye, she saw the priest standing by the window looking into the distance, her deep eyes filled with infinite wisdom. There was a touch of excitement and longing in her eyes.
The sound of the door opening attracted the attention of the people inside the room, and the girl knelt down before the priest spoke.
"Master Lin."
"Long time no see, Monica."
"Please call me "Moon". "
"Why bother with general names? At least I want to call the person I like by their name."
However, no matter what he said, the girl still insisted on her opinion. In the end, the priest was defeated by her stubbornness and said helplessly: "Okay, okay, I understand. You are still as rigid as ever."
"Because that's the rule."
The girl's insistence on certain things is touching, but when you think about the fact that she was a maid and was almost executed by the nobles for breaking the rules, you can understand why this is so.
"Okay, let's stop here first."
Lin took out a yellowed book from his arms and opened a page.
A shield of light enveloped the room.
To do this, he asked:
"You should know the purpose of my coming."
"Yes." Yue nodded, then lowered his head and said: "But I'm extremely sorry, Mr. Lin, we lost her - the original ninth seat of [Dark Scripture] [Wind Breaking] Clementine. Please. You punish."
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. That guy is a strong man who has stepped into the realm of heroes. Isn't it natural to follow him?"
Instead of being angry, it was as expected.
Lin did not place his hopes on "Yue". After all, tracking was something they were not good at, and what Clementine was best at was concealing his own traces, which he did a lot when he was in [Slian Theocracy] Suffering from boredom.
Now Lin just hopes that Clementine has not left and will not let him miss.
"Don't worry about that."
"Why?"
"Because according to the investigation, a large number of adventurers disappeared mysteriously in the fortress city. Originally, it was normal for adventurers to die in the dangerous fortress city, but the number of people who disappeared during this period increased sharply and without warning. It was not part of the mission. Killed."
"In other words, it is very possible that someone is secretly killing the adventurer, and this person is most likely Clementine?"
Even though there was no conclusive evidence, Kelin's intuition pointed to her without any deviation. That murderous maniac with a capricious personality who took away lives must have been unable to restrain his inner desires and took action secretly.
"Is the target an adventurer...Okay, then I will also disguise myself."
"Master Lin, are you planning to restore your status as a mithril-level adventurer?"
"No, isn't using that identity just to tell the other party that you are here? To avoid alerting others, let's use hidden identity. In this case, the way of dressing up and fighting should also be changed."
As he spoke, Lin's fingers shook rapidly.
I saw that the stool that was originally placed in the corner suddenly fell into pieces, and the divided surfaces were also very complete and smooth.
It was so fast that I had no idea what was going on.
But "Yue" was still a mithril adventurer of the same level as Lin, and he still saw what it was with his excellent eyesight.
——It’s a thread as thin as a hair!
She had never seen such novel fighting techniques, not even when she went on adventures with Lin.
I am not angry at being deceived, because the priest in front of me is the existence closest to the goddess. This method must be the wisdom of the goddess!
"By the way, let's change our appearance a little bit."
After saying that, he took out a glass bottle filled with black liquid, poured it on his head, and dyed his aqua blue hair into jet black.
"Master Lin?!"
The girl screamed.
That extremely pure aqua blue hair was a symbol of being favored by the goddess, but Lin dyed it black without hesitation. If the Axis cultists knew about it, they would definitely be heartbroken!
"It's okay, it's okay. This is a hair dye that can only last for a period of time. It will fade naturally after time."
"But even so..."
"Look, my aqua blue hair is very conspicuous, wouldn't it be bad if Clementine discovered it?"
"...Now that Mr. Lin has said so."
The girl lowered her head in grievance.
Lin rubbed his eyebrows. Sometimes it was painful to be respected and loved by others. Even his own hair could not be decided.
If he hadn't fought hard for it and his identity didn't allow him, he would have been forced to grow his hair long.
"Let's talk about other things next."
After disguising his identity, Lin, who was sitting on the main seat, put his hands on his chin, and "Yue" half-knelt on the ground respectfully as if listening to an oracle.
I really wanted to tell her this, but when I thought of the other party's stubborn and rigid character, I stopped saying it.
"You may know the details, and you may have even thought of what I am going to say. Yes, our Axis Cult has now reached an alliance with Princess Lana."
The girl didn't respond.
Lin's most important thing is the circulation of information. Only by circulating information as much as possible can he command the forces faster. Therefore, all Axis cultists know that the cult has formed an alliance with the Kingdom's [Golden Princess].
Not belonging, but cooperation.
The Axis cultists who heard the news did not raise any objections.
Except for the small reason that Princess Lana is a [civilian faction] who loves and cares about the common people, the rest is because this is Lin's intention.
That's right, the Axis cultists who worshiped Lin extremely passionately, even if Lin asked them to die now, they would commit suicide without hesitation.
"So, as the representative of "Moon", what do you think? "
"This subordinate is willing to dedicate everything he has to you and the Axis Cult without any complaints, even if it means his life."
Ah, this is it.
This kind of comfort that his subordinates are loyal and loyal, but also the depression that his subordinates are too rigid and don't know how to adapt, makes Lin feel very melancholy.
It was precisely because they were so fanatical that they took whatever they said without any suggestion or criticism, so they chose to cooperate with Princess Lana.
After all, a person's wisdom is limited, and no matter how smart he is, he will make mistakes sometimes, not to mention that he is not actually smart. It is only by accepting the wisdom of the goddess that he becomes transparent and can keep up with Princess Lana's thinking.
Under normal circumstances, he would choose to follow the wisdom of the goddess to make arrangements, but he always had a feeling that something big would happen one day if he continued like this, so he needed someone to advise him.
Forget it, it's always a good thing that the believers have no objections. If it were divided into several factions like the kingdom, before he could complete the integration, the kingdom would have been crushed by the empire.
"It's good that you think so, but it doesn't require your sacrifice."
"Yes, Master Lin."
"So, what do you think we need most urgently if we want to compete with the other two princes?"
"Talent."
Answered crisply and without hesitation.
Her idea coincided with Lin's. Now that the power of the nobility and royal family has been divided between the two princes, the only way for Princess Lana to compete with them and stand out is to find a large number of talents.
This is a matter of course for Her Royal Highness, the representative of the [Popular Faction]. But she was trapped in the palace and was prohibited from contacting anyone. Even the nobles regarded her as a snake and scorpion and shunned her.
As a result, the task of finding talents for her fell on the Axis Order, which was also the second reason for him to come to the fortress city.
After all, this is the intersection of the Three Kingdoms, and there are a lot of talented people. It is very simple to find a few talented people with high strength and talent. The difficult thing is how to convince them to join Her Highness the Princess's force.
"So, do you have a suitable candidate?"
"Yes! I recommend Liggie Barreare."
"who is she?"
【E·Rantel】Because there are many mercenaries and adventurers gathered in this place, the trade that specializes in selling weapons and props to these people is quite familiar. Among them, the trade in healing potions is also very prosperous, so 【E·Rantel】 There are more pharmacists than in ordinary cities.
Under such fierce competition, Ligi Barreare became famous in the fortress city as the strongest pharmacist. It is said that among all the pharmacists, she can prepare the most complex potions.
"It seems like she is a talent. Does she have some innate ability regarding potions?"
Lin said casually.
One in every two hundred people has innate abilities, which is not rare, and the types and effects are also diverse. It is normal to have an innate ability related to potions and show talent.
"According to the investigation, the pharmacist is a money-minded person. If a large amount of money can be promised, she should easily agree."
"Well, it's not that difficult."
Don't be afraid of her asking, just be afraid that she won't ask for anything.
In order to debug superb potions, in addition to a wealth of knowledge, it also requires a lot of money to experiment and consume. It is normal to be jealous of money. Moreover, pharmacists generally pursue fame in addition to profit. If you use the title of "The Strongest Pharmacist in the Kingdom" to seduce her, she will definitely agree to join.
"In addition, it is said that her grandson, Nfirea Barreare, has the innate ability to use any magic item without restriction."
"……What did you say?"
Lin had an idea when he heard the news.
Everything is connected!
Why did Clementine want to steal the [Crown of Wisdom]? Why did she come here? The truth seems to be gradually emerging.
"Master Lin, what's wrong?"
"fine."
In order to prevent the [Slian Theocracy] from finding Clementine first, he did not spread the word about the [Crown of Wisdom], so it was understandable that the girl in front of him did not know about it.
But now that we know that guy's goal, how can we not make good use of it and increase his favorability?
The corners of his mouth gradually rose.
A hero's plan to save the beauty (by mistake) was slowly brewing in his mind.
(End of chapter)
