Early morning.
After giving Ginny a silent farewell, Ed went to the restaurant across from the love house for breakfast. To his surprise, the establishment provided newspapers for its customers.
"Newspapers? But the ships are made of wood and everyone uses oil lamps at night. Where did they get the machines to print these? It's a strange world indeed," Ed muttered, flipping through the pages casually. Most of the articles were about the Blood Gold Alliance, which had almost nothing to do with Ed or his small treasure-hunting gang.
Having just arrived in the outside world, he was unsurprisingly ignorant; this was his first time seeing a newspaper. He didn't understand most of the information and could only read it for entertainment.
Thankfully, his body's original owner, in his quest to become a powerful treasure hunter, had burned a lot of brain cells to master reading and writing. Otherwise, if he were as illiterate as Sigurd, he would be in a very awkward position right now.
"The great pirate, 'Prayer for the Dead,' is patrolling the nearby sea area with his fleet."
"A great pirate? They even put it in the newspaper to warn people. How powerful must he be, isn't he fear that this great pirate will give him a visit if he spreads his news? He can't be at the level of Jack Sparrow, right? Hehehe... maybe not. That guy was more of an adventurer than a dangerous pirate. It might be Blackbeard's level," Joked Ed to himself, He was a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean in his previous life.
He quickly scanned the rest of the newspaper. However, as journalism in this world was still in its early stages, the editors were apparently very honest, writing only the truth instead of a mix of 30% truth and 70% lies to hook an audience. Overall, there wasn't much interesting news.
Ed shook his head, put the newspaper on the table, hurriedly finished his breakfast of honey bread, sweet milk, and fruit salad, and placed a silver coin on the table. He made sure to show it to the attractive waitress so the less-than-friendly-looking men beside him couldn't steal it before she collected it. Picking up his hat from the coat rack by the door, he went out.
Once on the street, he noticed that overnight, wanted posters for his team members had been posted everywhere, and checkpoints had been set up at the city gates where everyone was being carefully searched before they could leave.
Thankfully, however, there were no more patrol officers on the main roads, and things had superficially returned to normal.
It seems I haven't been exposed. That's great news. Of course, we can't let our guard down. Better safe than sorry, Thinking this, Ed adjusted his hat and walked toward the place he had seen yesterday.
After navigating a few streets, he came to an area with fewer luxury clothing and jewelry stores and more shops selling daily necessities. This was a residential district for the city's wealthy, and it was indeed beautiful, with impressive large houses, green gardens, and various trees lining the roads. Elderly people and children were out for morning walks, the latter playing in the gardens.
Ed observed the luxurious villas as he walked straight for a few minutes before stopping in front of a smaller villa near the city wall. The foot traffic around him had grown sparse, as if everyone would rather take a detour than pass through this area.
He looked at the villa with a frown. It had three floors, built with off-white stones and decorated with small sculptures on the walls and roof. Neatly arranged, transparent windows lined the walls, but the curtains inside were drawn.
A small, messy courtyard with an overgrown garden surrounded the villa, which looked beautiful from the outside. If no one mentioned it, one would never know the place had a haunted legend.
A notice was posted next to the outer iron gate, stating the villa was for rent at a very low price, unsurprisingly, there was no mention of it being haunted. Ed had noticed it yesterday out of curiosity; after all, when everyone avoids a place, there must be something interesting to see.
After a final, deep look at the villa, Ed confirmed the owner's address and walked toward it. The owner of the haunted villa lived less than a hundred meters away in another, smaller villa with a beautiful courtyard. If asked which he preferred, Ed would definitely choose the single-story house before him; he had never been a fan of large houses, preferring a small, warm home with just enough space.
Ed approached, pulled the rope of the small, gold-plated bell beside the iron gate, and shook it gently twice.
Ding! Ding!
The bell rang loudly. After a moment, just as Ed was about to ring it again, the wooden door of the villa opened. A beautiful middle-aged woman with long brown hair and black eyes appeared. She wore casual house clothes with an apron that did little to hide her figure: E-cup breasts, a slightly thick but very attractive waist. She held a large spoon, as if she had been making breakfast when Ed disturbed her.
Seeing an average-looking young man in expensive clothes at her gate, she first looked confused, having no idea who he was. Then she quickly turned, walked back inside, and emerged a few seconds later without her apron or spoon, wearing only a blue knee-length dress.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" The woman asked in a sweet voice, offering a kind smile.
Ed adjusted his hat, observing her figure, and nodded slightly. She was indeed his type. Thanks to Ginny, who had emptied him out completely the night before, he quickly regained his composure and pointed to the villa not far away.
"Excuse me, is that villa yours? I'd like to rent it for a week."
Looking in the direction he pointed, the woman's face visibly stiffened, likely with fear. She opened her mouth but didn't speak immediately, first adjusting her words. After a moment's hesitation, she spoke while holding the hem of her dress and gently biting her lower lip.
"Well... sir, I wonder if you know the situation with that villa? That is..."
Ed smiled softly, raised his hand, and placed his index finger on the woman's plump lips to interrupt her. She was completely dumbfounded by his boldness; after all, no one in their right mind would suddenly touch a stranger's lips.
"Don't worry, ma'am. Of course, I understand. I just want to experience it for myself. After all, not everyone gets the chance to see a real ghost in their lifetime."
As he spoke, Ed pulled a handkerchief from his left chest pocket, unfolded it, and waved it in front of the woman. With a gentle flourish, a handful of roses appeared in his hand, obviously stolen from some rich man's garden on his way over. After all, as an experienced womanizer, having flowers was a must.
He presented the roses to the beautiful woman, whose shocked expression gave way to a wide-eyed stare as she subconsciously accepted them. She truly couldn't believe what she had just seen.
Soon, however, she regained her senses. Her pale cheeks flushed red as she held the roses tightly and scrutinized Ed seriously. She hadn't observed him carefully before, but after seeing his magic trick, a deep curiosity toward him rose in her heart, making her blood boil.
"As you can see, I am a magician. I want to experience what it's like to live in a haunted villa. Perhaps it will bring me different inspiration," Ed said with a smile. Seeing her clear interest, he didn't miss the chance to take her soft hand and begin stroking it gently.
The woman seemed to have a good impression of Ed and was quite open-minded. Even when he tried to cross a line, she didn't pull her hand away quickly. Instead, she held on tighter, spoke softly, and moved closer to him.