Missing Amulet

Evening in the Kingdom is not a time for grinding anything, monster or gold, and even quests. This is because monsters are more ferocious when the night falls. Although not all the quests are related to monster killing, most of the NPCs are asleep during this time, so it is only waste of a time for a player to trigger a quest.

While everyone is asleep in the West Town. Various knights riding horses and carriages enter the town.

The guard at the main gate didn't stand in the ceremony and instantly sent a word to notify the Town Chief.

One of the knights stops in front of one of the Guards. This knight is conspicuous due to the decoration in his armor. But he is the one leading the procession of knights and carriages.

"The Arman Family of the Edo Empire arrives. My Lord wishes to see your Town chief immediately."

The Guard trembles because of the overbearing aura of the knight. Nonetheless, he still tried and answer with confidence "W-we already sent a word to the Town Chief regarding your arrival. We are very sorry if we failed to welcome the Noble Family."

The knight snorted and was about to teach some lesson to the Guard for making the Arman Family look like a fool waiting at the Town Gate. But the most extravagant carriage opens and stops the knight from hitting the pitiful Guard.

"Stop it. The Guard is not at fault. It is I who failed to provide adequate information to the Town Chief, hence he is not here."

The knight retracted back and bowed his head to the person who stopped him from hitting the Guard.

Seeing this, all the knights and even the Guards in the West Town bow their heads when they saw the middle-aged man wearing a luxurious garb of a noble with his family insignia on the left side of the robe.

He is none other than Alvis Arman, the noble that has jurisdiction in the West Town. More to say, the man who owns the whole of West Town. With his one word, if he wants, all the people residing in the town can be evacuated immediately.

But this Alvis Arman is one of a kind, his temperament is befitting of a noble but always calm and collected. He rarely shows any kind of expression. He is more like a mannequin that is talking without emotion.

Although he shows no emotion, he never once orders harsh treatment of his people. That is why all the land he has jurisdiction over respected him with all their heart.

There are only a handful of nobles that do not mistreat their people.

Alvis then looks around and orders his knight to be at ease "Let's just wait here"

"But My Lord. This is your land, you can barge in anytime you want."

"There are no buts, this land may be mine but it is written on paper alone. But in reality, these pieces of land belong to the people of the Edo Kingdom."

The Captain again retracted and stood in the ceremony, preparing himself in case some fools attacked his Lord.

The Guards almost teared up hearing what Alvis has told his Captain.

This noble without a doubt is one of the kindest there is. They silently wish for the Town Chief to arrive quickly. It is like blasphemy that a kind noble is waiting for a mere Town Chief.

And it seems that their prayer has been answered.

The Town Chief together with another official under him hurriedly went over the bow to Alvis.

"My Lord, Count Alvis, forgive me for having you wait outside on a cold night. Your servant is humbly asking for your forgiveness."

The Town Chief apologizes sincerely. He knew Count Alvis is a forgiving and kind person but he didn't want to take advantage of those good traits, after all, the man in front of him is a beast in the Edo Kingdom.

A slumbering beast is hidden by that calm and collected temperament.

Count Alvis raise his hand "Don't mention it, I just failed to inform you that the schedule has been moved. Now, can we talk inside the Town Hall? If we stay here, I am afraid we might disrupt the peace."

He then discreetly look around and saw the citizen living near the town gate open their windows.

Quickly understanding the situation, the Town Chief didn't stand in the ceremony and invited the Count and his knights "Of course, of course. Please follow me."

He then leads the way and enters the town.

Although most of the people are asleep during these hours, the clamoring of armor and the sound made by the carriages awoke some of the citizens, and went out of their houses to see what was the matter.

Then they saw a procession led by the Town Chief. And behind him is the familiar face they haven't seen for a long time.

"It is Count Alvis!"

"That's Count Alvis Arman! Our Lord!"

Some of the people start cheering for their Lord while others didn't waste time and talked about the reason for Count Alvis's arrival to the West Town without formal notice, and what's more, this late of night.

"I wonder what he was doing during this hour?"

"I am not sure I heard from my cousin in the adventurer guild that Count Alvis will hire heroes and assign a mission."

"Oh? That's new. But why Count Alvis wants to hire heroes instead of adventurers? It is clear the heroes are much weaker compared to the adventurers?"

"Shhh! Lower your voice, if some of the heroes heard you, they might do something bad to you."

"Heh? Why? I only said the truth. And besides, what they can do to me? It is forbidden for the heroes to hurt the citizen inside the Town."

"For now, but when they started to get stronger, do you think they will abide by the law in this shabby town?"

The other citizen becomes silent and ponders what his friend told him. It is true, that all these heroes that arrive today may be weak for now, but once they start killing the monster around, they will become strong.

"Okay fine, but what do you think is the reason?! And hey! Our town may be small but it is not shabby! Haven't you seen the hero from Amethyst City move and started living here?"

"Oh!? Really? Then, another beauty is added to our beautiful town!"

"Haha! That's right, our town is full of beautiful ladies."

After reaching the Town Hall, the Town Chief led Count Alvis and the Knight Captain to Drawing Room where all the dignified and respectable guest was entertained and received.

As for the rest knights, they were led to the cafeteria. Food and drinks were served. The barracks for them are also currently being prepared for them to sleep on.

Inside the drawing room, Count Alvis seated and prepared for the guest of honor. While the Captain stands silent near the door.

Once the food and beverages are served, Count Alvis begins the conversation.

"Have you notified the Adventurer Guild?"

"Yes, My Lord. They agreed to mobilize some of their strong members and help the heroes on their mission. We also start pasting a poster everywhere about the recruitment of the hero. The guild also prepared a platform in front of the guild to recruit heroes."

The Town Chief respectfully briefed Count Alvis about the progress.

"That's good. Then continue and follow the plan."

"Of course, My Lord."

Count Alvis was about to stand up when he remembers something "Oh, I almost forgot. Did you make sure that the chef who prepared food for me the last time I have here accepted the proposal?"

"Yes, although we received his approval a little bit late he was looking for a helper. But rest assured, he will be the chef that will cook food for you, My Lord."

"Very good, very good. If I am not mistaken, he was once a knight of the Edo Kingdom right?"

The Town Chief suddenly felt nervous. "Yes, he was but already retired a decade ago."

Count Alvis ponders for a while before getting up. "That's all for tonight. Make sure to give him an appropriate wage during his service as my chef. I will go to my room, don't bother to lead me there."

The Town Chief just bow his head respectfully and waited for Count Alvis to leave the room.

In the hallway, Count Alvis is followed by the Captain.

"How're the investigations doing? Is there any progress?"

The captain quickly fastens his pace to keep up with the Count.

"There is still no progress regarding the missing amulet, while the other investigation made a progress. It is proved that the chef that cooks the food during your stay here before is definitely Lot, the previous captain of the second battalion in the Edo Kingdom."

"Hmm. Continue."

"He made a great contribution during his service in the kingdom but for an unknown reason, he suddenly retired. But according to our intelligence, Lot face a powerful foe in the neighboring kingdom and was lost. There are two things that can be implied, it can be implied that when he lost the battle, his enemy made him quit his post and silently retired here in the West Town, far removed from the Capital City of the Edo Kingdom."

The Captain pauses for a while and looks around.

Count Alvis raises his left brow and urges the Captain to continue.

"Apologies, My Lord. The next implication is too sensitive that I made sure no one is around."

"Hmm. It is okay, go on." Count Alvis replied in the same tone.

"We suspected that the enemy he fought is Kurosawa, the renowned warrior, and blacksmith."

Count Alvin halted his steps and turn gaze to Captain's eyes to see if he is telling the truth. The latter did falter and return the serious and yet respectful gaze to Count Alvin.

Confirming that his Captain is telling the truth, he massages his temples and sighs.

This is a problem, he thought.

"Continue finding the truth behind."

"Yes, My Lord!" The captain resolutely answered.

Then they continue walking until Count Alvis enters the room that is prepared specially for him.

Alone in the room, he took a seat on the nearby chair with a soft cushion and ponder the possible involvement of Kurosawa in Lot's retirement.