When Riezel and Lizbeth walked out of Sunset Tavern and stepped onto the street, the sky had already turned dark.
Now, the stars began to appear, and the full moon slowly rose, while the temperature throughout Sinielle dropped at a shocking rate. Even now, it had already reached the point where the cold wind felt bone-chilling.
Needless to say, this was a characteristic of desert environments.
Many people believed deserts were scorching hot all the time, but that was not the case.
In the desert, daytime temperatures were indeed high, but once night fell, the temperature would plummet, creating an extreme difference between day and night.
In severe cases, the temperature difference between day and night in the desert could exceed fifty degrees. During the day, it was as hot as midsummer, while at night, it became as cold as the dead of winter, which was astonishing.
Because Sinielle was built on an oasis, the difference between day and night was not as drastic as the desert outside, but it was still much greater than in other places.
For that reason, almost all residents of Sinielle wore a cloak or coat.
During the day, it protected them against wind and sand, while at night, it kept out the cold. As a result, people here looked like suspicious figures hiding their faces, hurrying through the streets.
Riezel and Lizbeth quickly blended in and began to talk as they walked.
"What should we do next, Master?" Lizbeth cautiously asked.
"What else can we do?" Riezel kept walking without turning his head. "We'll have to find a way to get information on that ruin."
"Can we manage that?" Lizbeth said worriedly. "I mean, the people here don't seem willing to talk about it at all."
Even someone as naive and pure as her had noticed this, so it was obvious how clear the attitude of the people in Sunset Tavern had been on this matter.
However, Riezel did not feel lost.
"There will always be people willing to touch on taboo topics." Riezel said calmly. "Sinielle is already a rather chaotic city, with plenty of underground forces. As long as we're bold enough, there will be desperate people eager to bring us information themselves."
Riezel intended to stir up trouble with those underground forces.
"If that doesn't work, we'll just go straight to the city lord."
Upon hearing this, Lizbeth was startled.
"Are we really going straight to the city lord?"
Lizbeth couldn't help but feel that was way too reckless.
"Yeah, there's nothing to worry about." Riezel patted the worried Lizbeth's head. "It's just a Sword Saint. It's not like I haven't faced one before."
With Riezel's current power, he truly had the right to say such things.
Because of that, he really intended that if nothing else worked, he would barge straight into the residence of the city lord and make him cooperate and reveal all the necessary information.
If not, Riezel did not mind using more extreme methods, such as magic like Control Amnesia.
"Alright... I'll listen to you, Master."
Lizbeth did not know how dangerous Riezel's plans were, but seeing that he already had a plan, she could only nod in obedience.
Just like that, the two of them talked as they walked forward until, at a certain moment, they both stopped.
"Master..."
Lizbeth seemed to sense something and quietly spoke to Riezel.
Riezel did not respond, but stood still for a moment before finally speaking up.
"Stop following us. Your tailing skills are terrible. You didn't even bother to hide your footsteps, did you?"
Hearing Riezel's words, Lizbeth quietly gripped the hilt of Moslow under her coat.
"Wait! I'm coming out!"
Clearly, the stalker must have also sensed the dangerous atmosphere, so they hurriedly called out and emerged from a nearby alley behind Riezel and Lizbeth, hands raised in surrender.
"Mm? Isn't she the big sister from the tavern?"
Lizbeth saw the stalker's face and tilted her head as she spoke.
"Yep, that's me."
At Lizbeth's words, the stalker grinned.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Rhea, a member of Illusionist, one of the three most famous mercenary groups in Sinielle."
"Illu... sionist...?"
Lizbeth tilted her head even further, and a faint question mark almost seemed to appear above her head.
Lizbeth, who had only just arrived today, could not possibly know the local mercenary groups. Even if this woman, who called herself Rhea, boasted about her group being one of the most famous in Sinielle, she had no concrete concept of it in her mind.
Naturally, the same was true for Riezel, who had no idea what Illusionist was.
Of course, he had no intention of finding out.
"So, Miss Mercenary, why are you following us?" Riezel turned to look Rhea up and down. "Is it because we ordered Serpent's Blood Wine and you're hoping to make some extra money from us?"
Riezel's implied meaning was—are you here to rob us?
"I'd never do something like that." Rhea shook her head without a second thought. "Only some dumbass desperate for cash, or someone running purely on hormones, would risk pissing off a Sword Master for a few coins—that's a straight-up losing deal."
Rhea's blunt criticism caused the others who had also sneaked out of the tavern and followed Riezel and Lizbeth to change their expressions slightly.
However, Riezel and Rhea acted as if they hadn't noticed them at all, chatting as usual.
"If that's not why you're here, then what do you want?" Riezel said with a half-smile. "Don't tell me you're really hoping to book a room with me and 'have some fun'?"
At these words, Rhea hadn't reacted yet, but Lizbeth quietly glanced at Riezel from the side.
Have some fun?
What exactly would make them have fun together?
'Next time, Master should teach me, too.'
Lizbeth thought to herself, etching it in her mind.
"If you want, I don't really mind, y'know." Rhea said with a playful smile. "I like strong guys the most. As long as you're strong enough, I'd be down for anything you wanna do to me."
As she spoke, Rhea even threw Riezel a flirtatious wink.
Rhea was certainly attractive, and though her tone was rough, her looks were enough to entice any pure and innocent young man easily.
Unfortunately, she had no idea what kind of girls Riezel usually interacted with.
Forget about an eight out of ten—even among great beauties above a nine, there was no shortage by Riezel's side.
How could he possibly be tempted by something like this?
Not to mention, Riezel had secretly kept a magic crystal that Isaac, the youngest of the Frenzel family, had once tried to trade with him, which contained the scene of the three stunning Frenzel sisters bathing together, completely naked.
Riezel would sometimes take it out to observe—no, to examine it rigorously, to check if the magic crystal's power was still working.
Under such circumstances, how could he possibly be lured in by a little foreign beauty's wink?
Let alone...
"Hmph, you're still a virgin yourself, so stop acting like you've got a ton of experience, will you?"
Riezel's offhand remark made Rhea's eyes widen.
"How did you know?"
Rhea blurted it out before realizing, then quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
"S-She's still a virgin?"
At the same time, the stalkers who had secretly followed them out of the tavern with some shady intentions were all shocked when they heard Riezel's revelation.
Rhea was actually quite famous in Sinielle.
At such a young age, she had already become a Sword Master.
Rhea's elder brother was the captain of Illusionist, one of the largest mercenary groups in Sinielle—a magician whose strength rivaled that of an expert Sword Master. Because of this, she was able to act however she wanted in Sinielle, and nobody dared to mess with her.
Spoiled by her brother, Rhea had always acted recklessly, often visiting places other women would never go, mixing with mercenaries and assassins, getting into fights, feasting and drinking, calling all sorts of dangerous types her friends.
Rhea was the very definition of a 'mudslide among beautiful women.'
For that reason, most people figured this woman had probably slept with countless men—there was no way someone with such a wild reputation was still innocent.
Who could've guessed she was actually a virgin?
Unbelievable!
Understanding this, the stalkers hiding nearby, who knew about Rhea's usual behavior, started cursing under their breath.
Rhea, feeling like she had just died of embarrassment, couldn't help but glare at Riezel.
"What are you talking about?!" Rhea snapped, clearly annoyed. "How the hell could I still be a virgin?!"
Seeing her reaction, Riezel chuckled to himself.
Although he had just made a random guess, seeing Rhea's reaction, he realized he had hit the mark.
"Alright then, Miss Definitely-Not-a-Virgin." Riezel said calmly, nonchalantly folding his arms. "Why are you following us? What do you want?"
"I..."
Rhea wanted to talk big for a moment, but seeing Riezel's calm expression, she immediately deflated, her shoulders drooping.
"I wanna make a deal with you..."
Lizbeth froze in place, and those hiding in the shadows all perked up.
"No, that won't be necessary." Riezel refused without hesitation. "We have nothing to trade."
Upon hearing this, Rhea was completely dumbfounded.
"What? You're not even gonna hear what the deal is first?" Rhea hurriedly protested.
"Is there any need?" Riezel remained perfectly calm. "I may not know exactly what you want us to do, but I'm guessing your bargaining chip is that so-called 'taboo' I mentioned back in the tavern, right?"
Rhea was at a loss for words.
'Did I guess right again?'
Riezel thought to himself, then gave a faint smile and continued speaking.
"Figures. You overheard me asking the server guy about it in the tavern—you know I'm looking for the ancient ruins considered taboo, so out of nowhere, you show up and try to make a deal with a stranger you just met today."
"Of course, your bargaining chip is information about the taboo I'm interested in."
"Too bad, you got one thing wrong."
"I do want that information, but I don't think it's all that hard to get."
"Even without you, I have other ways to get the intel I need. Why should I let myself get roped into something that's clearly a huge hassle?"
Riezel spoke with total composure.
"Sorry, but you picked the wrong person for this deal."
Leaving these words behind, Riezel turned and walked away without the slightest hesitation.
Lizbeth followed right after, not hesitating either.
"Wait!" Rhea panicked and hurried to catch up. "Let's talk this through! I'll pay you whatever you want."
Rhea quickly caught up with Riezel, but he completely ignored her, continuing forward with Lizbeth.
Meanwhile, the hidden stalkers exchanged glances and kept trailing after them.
"It's nothing complicated, just work with me and come with me to a certain place."
Rhea's voice kept ringing out, echoing through the night.
"As long as you're in, I'll spill everything about Sinielle's taboos right now."
"I'm taking a big risk here, y'know? Anything tied to those ruins is totally off-limits by the city lord—if anyone gets caught talking about it, even me, the Oasis Knights will come after them."
"A few years back, the city lord had the Oasis Knights round up everyone in the city for spreading taboo rumors and punished them hard. The worst cases? Straight-up executions."
"You went and brought up taboo stuff in the tavern, right out in the open—word of that's definitely gonna reach the Oasis Knights. Forget about getting info, you might end up dragged off to City Hall."
Rhea rattled on and on, trying desperately to change Riezel's mind.
What Rhea meant by 'Oasis Knights' were Sinielle's enforcers, personally trained and handpicked by the city lord.
It was said that every Oasis Knight had received the Sword Master Medal, and each one was powerful—nobody knew how many criminals who threatened Sinielle's order had been killed by them.
Thanks to their presence, Sinielle was able to maintain the appearance of peace and order, preventing the underworld forces from running rampant.
They were known to be both the city lord's sword and his eyes and ears, keeping watch over Sinielle and reporting everything back to him.
And the master behind the Sunset Tavern was rumored to be connected to the city lord.
With Riezel casually bringing up taboo topics in a place like that, it was only a matter of time before the news reached the city lord and the Oasis Knights.
Among the people secretly following Riezel and Lizbeth, there were probably spies from both the tavern and the authorities.
Even so, despite the seriousness of the situation, Riezel still paid no attention to Rhea's pleas, while Lizbeth found it hard to speak up, so she could only stay silent.
Until...
*BOOM!*
Suddenly, a thunderous noise echoed from afar, and fire lit up the outskirts of Sinielle.
Riezel immediately halted.
"Dammit! Has it already started?!"
Rhea's expression shifted, and with a curse, she abandoned trying to persuade Riezel and instead dashed toward the source of the fire.
"What's that?"
"No clue..."
"Probably just another turf war between mercs or some gang fight."
"Relax, it's not the first time this has happened."
Passersby and the stalkers muttered among themselves, none of them surprised by the sudden chaos.
Riezel silently cast his gaze toward the fire for a moment before speaking up.
"Lizbeth, let's go take a look."
Lizbeth, of course, offered no objections.
In the end, the two set off at once toward the source of the fire.
On this first night in a new place, there would clearly be no peace for them.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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