On the day Lyle's group checked into the inn, all the original guests left under the three-fold compensation offered by the owner.
It was publicly announced that Lyle's group had booked the entire inn.
Over the next three days...
Lyle never left the inn. Only Enri and the Emerald Leaf Witch began external activities; for the first two days, they mainly purchased various Alchemy Materials.
The Twin Witches already possessed mastery over Alchemy and knew much more about various Materials than Lyle. As the capital was the nation's center, many rare Materials could be found there.
This task could actually have been handled by Imina's subordinates, but it wasn't necessary.
Lyle knew very well that while some things could be done in the shadows by the "Eight Fingers," others needed to be done openly.
In just two days, nearly a thousand gold coins were spent on Alchemy Materials alone, almost completely exhausting the money earned from selling alchemical potions along the way.
Then came the third day.
The Emerald Leaf Witch and Enri began selling various magic items left behind by the adventurers and mercenaries who had attacked them and died during their journey.
Selling such a large quantity of magic items at once was more than one or two Item Workshops could handle, and it even caused a small sensation in the area.
The merchants immediately investigated the origin of these magic items. Once the results were in, any stray thoughts they had vanished completely.
They honestly followed the rules and purchased the magic items.
The central district of the Royal Capital.
There stood a luxurious hotel, larger and closer to the Inner City than the location and area occupied by the Adventurer's Guild.
This was the best hotel in the capital, seen by outsiders more as a small manor. Besides the standard accommodation facilities and stables...
It also featured a spacious courtyard dedicated to training. The exterior renovation exuded luxury, and the interior was even more so; even the guest room windows were inlaid with transparent, clean glass.
In such a place, the fees were naturally exorbitant, and it was also the gathering place for a group of top-tier adventure ninjas.
In a spacious room covered with carpets...
Two figures sat at a small round table by the window. Several exquisite pastries were laid out, but neither had any intention of eating.
The contrast between the two figures was striking.
One was short, similar in height to a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, wrapped entirely in a pitch-black robe that concealed them completely. On their face was a bizarre mask set with a vermilion gemstone.
Only a thin slit existed at the eye position; from the outside, not even the pupils could be seen, making one doubt if the person could see out through the mask at all.
Sitting opposite this little one was a big individual with an exaggerated physique, who could be described as thick-set all over.
Strong muscles developed through years of training resembled a carnivorous beast. Had it not been for the few remaining female characteristics, anyone at first glance would have thought they were an extremely powerful man.
These two were members of "Blue Rose," whose fame was currently second only to the Adamantite-rank adventurers "Red Drop."
The short one was named Evileye.
The hulking woman was named Gagaran.
Gagaran leaned back in her chair, boisterously telling interesting stories, while Evileye sat opposite her with her head turned toward the window, seemingly not listening at all.
Regarding this...
Gagaran didn't mind, occasionally lifting her arm to flex her muscles and letting out a hearty laugh.
Even though there were only two people in the room and only one was speaking, it seemed quite lively, with no awkward atmosphere at all.
Evileye finally seemed unable to tolerate Gagaran anymore and spoke up of her own accord, her mask emitting a blurred, layered voice of indistinguishable age or gender: "Why didn't you go with the leader?"
"Before returning to the capital, weren't you constantly clamoring about being interested in that woman who fought Gazef to a draw?"
"That woman's name is Leinas."
Gagaran immediately spoke up to correct her, a smile appearing on her square, rugged face:
"The leader went to see the 'Golden' Princess. I can't stand those tedious etiquettes and having to wear formal clothes."
"Leinas has been living in the Noble District; it's quite simple if I want a chance encounter."
At the mention of the name "Leinas," Gagaran's tone clearly rose a few notches, her voice becoming louder and full of interest.
In that match of the Imperial Tournament, she had also been a participant. However, before reaching the final rounds, she had an early encounter with Gazef and was defeated by him.
Since Leinas could actually fight Gazef to a draw, how could Gagaran not be interested? Although she guessed the two might not have used their full strength during their duel...
Even so, Leinas was still not to be underestimated.
"Do you think the leader might want to invite that Leinas to join our 'Blue Rose'?" Gagaran suddenly asked.
Evileye didn't answer. She wasn't interested in such matters; she had only spoken just now to interrupt Gagaran's incessant monologuing.
Seeing that Evileye didn't speak, Gagaran didn't mind and instead showed a smile at the corner of her mouth.
This little one before her, though her strength was somewhat excessively high, was indeed a bit too solitary. Moreover, she hadn't joined "Blue Rose" very long ago.
She needed to help Evileye integrate into the team faster.
"Tia and Tina borrowed some money from you, didn't they?" Gagaran asked curiously.
Evileye's movement of gazing out the window paused. She glanced at Gagaran, then looked back out the window and gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
"Tsk."
Gagaran mused: "The two of them probably intend to buy back all those magic items."
Click!
The door was pushed open.
A young girl wearing form-fitting clothes, with her navel and thighs wrapped in mesh and a blue headband on her head, walked in from outside carrying a large bundle.
"Oh, Tia's back."
Gagaran raised her arm and greeted her heartily.
Tia nodded and threw the bundle in her hand into the corner. The bundle loosened, revealing black cloaks, boots, and dagger-style weapons inside.
If one observed the items in the bundle closely, one could see the faint glow of magic flashing occasionally; they were clearly all magic items.
"So, you borrowed money to buy these things?" Gagaran looked at them for a few moments and then withdrew her gaze with some disappointment.
While these were all magic items, their strength wasn't very high.
"The borrowed money will be repaid to you after the next mission." Tia appeared expressionless, but her tone carried a hint of embarrassment as she spoke.
The value of these magic items individually wasn't high, but buying them all at once was more than the money the two of them had on hand could cover.
"Why buy these magic items?"
At some point, Evileye had withdrawn her gaze from the window and was looking at the ordinary magic items bundled in the corner.
"I just didn't want these things to fall into the hands of others." Tia fell silent, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, her presence suddenly becoming faint and elusive.
Evileye was somewhat puzzled, but because of the mask, the two in the room naturally couldn't see the change in her expression.
However...
Gagaran, who was rugged and boisterous on the outside but very delicate on the inside, understood Evileye's confusion and the reason behind the whole matter.
Since they were all companions, many things naturally didn't need to be hidden; mutual understanding could also make the teammates more harmonious.
"Among the adventurers in the Kingdom today, besides us having the greatest fame, there is another adventurer team whose fame is not weaker than ours."
"The gold-rank adventurer team, 'Free Will'."
Gagaran spoke with a smile, while casting a sidelong glance at Tia to see if she had any intention of stopping her.
"'Free Will', the adventurer team Lakyus mentioned before?" Evileye's voice came from behind the mask.
"That's right, the one the leader mentioned."
"I thought they would come to this hotel after arriving in the capital. I wanted to meet those guys, but who would have thought they'd just find some small random inn? That leader named Tang looks like a guy with an eccentric temper at first glance."
Gagaran raised a thick finger and pinched her chin: "A somewhat mysterious group of adventurers. Don't be fooled by them being just 'gold-rank'; in fact, according to the internal assessment of the Adventurer's Guild, they are like us."
"They all have the strength to become Adamantite-rank adventurers; they just lack achievements, just like us."
"As long as they have enough achievements, it won't be difficult to rise to the Adamantite-rank. They can be considered strong competitors for us."
At this point, Gagaran gave a proud smile:
"Haha, but we will become the Kingdom's second Adamantite-rank adventurer team before them."
Immediately following that...
Gagaran gave a general explanation of why the adventurer team "Free Will" had suddenly become famous.
She particularly mentioned Tia and Tina's identities before joining "Blue Rose," and that "Free Will" had killed the Assassins of Ijaniya.
Evileye nodded in realization.
She finally understood the meaning of Tia's "not wanting these magic items to fall into the hands of others."
Ijaniya, huh...
A figure surfaced in Evileye's mind as she looked at Tia through her mask:
"I have heard of the Assassin organization Ijaniya. The fact that they dare to sell this equipment proves they don't care about the threat from Assassins."
These words were very flat, but they sounded slightly piercing in Tia's ears.
"By the way, where's Tina?" Gagaran hurriedly asked.
"There's still one set missing."
Tia said.
Gagaran's originally relaxed expression suddenly changed, and she snapped upright: "Tia, you let Tina act without permission!"
There was too little intelligence on the "Free Will" adventurer team, but analyzing the reports that all the mercenaries and adventurers who pursued them had died, this adventurer team was not one of soft-hearted characters.
Under these circumstances, with Tina's personality, if she made a rash contact, it would very likely cause hostility between their two adventurer teams.
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