Chapter 181: Lives

In the northern part of the Kingdom of Fiore, the weather was even colder than in Magnolia.

The snow in the wilderness still hadn't melted, with small animals like rabbits and mice leaving tracks on it.

Occasionally, one could see some taller dry grass sticking out of the snow, with a small patch of snow around it melting a bit faster.

There were no sanitation workers here to spread de-icing salt or clean the roads. The snow on the road had already been compacted by people, livestock, and cart wheels, turning it into a hard surface.

Anyone feeling playful could slide on the packed snow, though they'd need to watch out for any bumps that could trip them up.

On such a road, two large green crabs were walking one after the other, their pincers crunching through the hard-packed snow, leaving small pits behind and demonstrating excellent traction.

The crab in front carried two people on its back, while the one behind pulled a flatbed cart.

That was Erza's cart specifically for luggage, which had been tied to the top of the carriage on the way here.

Since they were approaching a potentially dangerous area, Erza and Rhodes had the two drivers return early.

The remaining distance would be hard work for the river crabs.

As noon approached, the sun was intense, and after traveling in the open for a while, one's eyes began to feel a bit uncomfortable.

Erza casually pulled out two pairs of sunglasses—ones she wore with different swimsuits and beach outfits—and lent a pair to Rhodes.

In such circumstances, having something was better than nothing. Rhodes didn't mind the style, but made a mental note to bring sunglasses next time to prevent snow blindness.

To avoid drawing too much attention, Rhodes didn't let the river crabs take them all the way into town. Instead, they walked the last short stretch.

—Though Erza walking so calmly while dragging the luggage cart was already quite eye-catching.

"Excuse me, could you tell me which is the best inn in town?" Rhodes casually stopped a passerby to ask for directions.

The passerby couldn't help but glance at them a few times, then answered, "Our Morninggroy Town only has one inn. Just keep walking down this road and you'll see it."

"Thank you."

After that, they split up. Erza went to the inn to book a room and store their luggage, while Rhodes headed to the local tavern.

The tavern was a bit dirtier and messier than the guild. The tables looked greasy, but it wasn't as noisy as the guild.

Rhodes scanned the environment and then sat at the counter. "A pint of beer."

The bartender quickly poured a glass. "500J."

What a rip-off! As a semi-professional, Rhodes was well-versed in drink prices—500J could get him three pints at the guild.

And that was just based on the list price. Considering the profit margin, this place was downright exploitative.

Rhodes took some bills from his pocket, placed them on the counter, and picked up the beer to take a sip. The taste wasn't any better than what he had at the guild.

"Are you from out of town?" The bartender seemed like a chatty person and initiated conversation.

"What gave it away?"

"A feeling?" The bartender smiled. "There aren't too many people in this town. If you were from here, I'd probably have some impression of you."

"You've got a good eye. I'm from the south. Is there anything worth seeing around here?"

"This time of year, there's snow everywhere. If you ask me, it all looks the same." The bartender spoke with a casual tone, like a Xi'an native downplaying the importance of the Wild Goose Pagoda.

"If I had to say, during summer, heading further north might be worthwhile. There's a nice beach there, and some places where the mountains meet the sea—quite interesting."

Someone in the tavern called out, "Hey, Bob, stop leading people astray! Is the north a place anyone can go right now?"

The bartender, apparently named Bob, responded, "I didn't tell him to go now!"

Rhodes asked, "What do you mean by 'the north isn't a place anyone can go'?"

"Because recently, in the towns of Manjusaka and Poppi to the north, there have been numerous cases of missing children. In several instances, people were even killed while trying to intervene."

"People were killed?" Rhodes became tense. This wasn't mentioned in the intel.

"I heard it happened just yesterday. The victim should have been the child's father." The bartender shook his head, looking somewhat regretful.

Rhodes frowned and continued to ask, "What about the security team and the army?"

"What could they do? It's got to be traffickers doing this, right? After they take someone, they either hide them in the mountains or just go straight out to sea.

"Once they sell them to the Kingdom of Seven or the Kingdom of Bosco, what can the security team do?"

The bartender sounded bitter about it. "It's because of those people that we're now scared to let our kids go out alone."

"That's awful." Rhodes nodded. It seemed the general public didn't know the real story—they just assumed it was ruthless traffickers.

Rhodes sat in the tavern for a while longer, picking up bits and pieces of information before leaving.

Seeing him leave, one of the patrons asked, "Hey, Bob, you told him all that. Aren't you worried he might be a trafficker?"

"Do you think he looks like one?"

"Traffickers don't exactly have 'bad guy' written on their faces."

"Who knows, maybe he's a mage investigating the case. Maybe once he shows up, the bad guys get caught."

"Hahaha, what kind of amazing mage would come to a shabby little tavern like yours!"

…

Rhodes went to meet up with Erza. She had also learned similar information from the innkeeper.

"We can't waste any more time. Those people are capable of anything." Erza didn't want anyone else to get hurt.

Rhodes nodded, "Right, let's set off now to investigate Manjusaka and Poppi towns."

"Let's split up; it'll be more efficient. But…" Erza hesitated for a moment, remembering how the guild master had asked her to look out for Rhodes more.

Rhodes thought about it. If they delayed any longer, more people might get hurt, so he nodded. "Alright, I'll be careful.

"How about this—I'll have Vorm follow you. If I find the enemy, I'll dismiss Vorm. If you find them, just send him back."

"Alright, take care." Erza, ever efficient, set off with Vorm without delay.

Rhodes quickly added, "And don't rush in either. If you find the enemy, try to stick to Plan A, and switch to Plan B if it doesn't go smoothly."

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but ever since they got here, Erza seemed less composed than she had been on the way.

Putting aside his doubts for now, Rhodes found a clothing store and bought some cheap clothes, a scarf, and a hat to disguise himself before setting off for Poppi Town.

When traveling alone, you need to protect yourself and make yourself as inconspicuous as possible.

After setting out, he had the river crabs scout ahead and behind as guards. Once he reached Poppi Town, he planned to be even more cautious.

Poppi Town was where someone had been killed yesterday. Erza figured that since such a big incident had happened there, the dark magic cult wouldn't go back so soon.

This meant Manjusaka Town was likely the more dangerous place today, so she chose to head there.

However, Rhodes was still worried about the situation in Morninggroy Town, so he left a small, low-consumption Sharp-Beak Bird there to keep watch before leaving.