Within the territory of the Kingdom of Midland.
In a noisy tavern, locals and travelers from all over gathered, often drunk in broad daylight, talking nonsense, doing foolish things, and occasionally laughing for no reason.
Nidhogg, naturally, wouldn't do anything absurd. He sat in a corner, eating and drinking alone, attentively listening and gathering useful information from the words of this group of drunkards.
He had first heard news of "Godrick the Grafted" near Gaol Castle from a caravan driver. This time, he had also taken the initiative to come to the Gaol Castle area to find more clues.
In fact, Nidhogg was wanted in the Kingdom of Midland.
However, the wanted portrait remained a silhouette from the night he had killed the Slug Count and Wyald. It was very difficult to identify Nidhogg through this ambiguous portrait.
Of course, just in case, Nidhogg still had to do the simplest camouflage.
He couldn't wear the Grafted Soldier Set because he had worn it to kill the Slug Count and Wyald. This set was a distinguishing feature on the wanted portrait.
He also couldn't wear the Confessor, Stargazer, or Prophet Sets, which at first glance looked like pagan monk outfits, different from the teachings of the Holy See, and too conspicuous for traveling through the Kingdom of Midland to gather information.
Just as Nidhogg was getting a headache and didn't know what to wear, as if answering him, after killing several invaders along the way, his level finally reached 92 from 91, and he also dropped an old set.
「Armor」 Vagabond Knight Set
Previously, Nidhogg had melted down the Vagabond Knight Set into Runes to level up as quickly as possible. He hadn't expected that after so many twists and turns, it would return to his hands and meet his current needs.
The Vagabond Knight Set was on his body. Soon, Nidhogg was indistinguishable from the knights and mercenaries who wandered and joined different armies to seek a living.
People in the tavern might look at him for a few moments, but quickly got used to it. It was not surprising to have such a guest here almost every few days.
Nidhogg simply blended into the crowd and listened quietly.
He was no longer an ordinary person. His hearing was extremely sharp. Even in a noisy tavern, he could hear the topics of conversation between the drinkers at every table and chair.
"The lord spent a lot of money to rebuild the burned Gaol Castle... Hehe, I hope this time the lord can protect the castle and not let the thieves abduct people again."
"What's that? We signed a truce with the Tudor Empire just a few years ago, right? Because of this Hundred-Year War, we don't know how many castles have been damaged and how many people have died. And the Kushan Empire is eyeing us from the east."
"Yes, our king has probably been losing his mind lately, right? At that time, he didn't want to rebuild the kingdom or defend against foreign enemies, so he sent most of the kingdom's troops to search for the missing 'White Phoenix General.'"
"Speak more quietly! If you speak ill of the king and are heard, if you're arrested and hung on the wall, don't say I didn't warn you. Who knows? Maybe Griffith really made the king hate him to the bone."
"I say, didn't the solar eclipse a few months ago mean that the Holy See had already foreseen it? I guess it's a warning, a warning to our king to focus on more useful things to earn!"
The drinkers drank wine, chatted, and discussed various things from all over the world. But there was no information about "Godrick the Grafted."
Nidhogg couldn't help but wonder if this idea of searching near Gaol Castle alone was a mistake.
He put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, and was about to stand up and leave when the tavern door opened again, and two people entered, momentarily stunning him.
They were still familiar. So Nidhogg sat down again and observed the situation.
Two men entered the tavern—one stout, one thin, both in relatively light armor. Removing their helmets, they revealed two expected faces.
The stout man, looking like a middle-aged man with a beard and holding a double-headed iron rod in his hand, was the vice-commander of the Holy Iron Chain Knights—Azan.
The thin man, quite young, with a long, pointed face, bangs almost covering his forehead, always liking to squint, with a longsword at his waist, was Serpico, the herald officer of the Holy Iron Chain Knights.
Azan and Serpico entered, not followed by the rest of the Holy Iron Chain Knights. The armor and outfits on their bodies seemed specially chosen, without the emblem of the Holy Iron Chain Knights.
Therefore, although they drew the attention of everyone in the tavern, no one recognized them as members of the Holy Iron Chain Knights under the Holy See. Soon, the people in the tavern lost interest in them and continued their conversations.
They sat together at a table not far from Nidhogg, ordering food from the tavern owner.
With a table between them, and several customers blocking the way, they didn't notice Nidhogg in the corner for a long time.
Soon, they finished ordering food. The owner swayed her hips and left. They began to speak in low voices.
Nidhogg pretended to drink and, using his extraordinary hearing, listened to their whispers.
"There's been no news of Lord Farnese for the past few months. Alas, we should have protected her then, even at the risk of our lives... There are not many things left."
Azan sighed.
Serpico's expression wasn't much better.
"We also tried to track them then, but we were afraid that this group of people would discover her and it would harm Lord Farnese. So we took a long detour. After several heavy rains, we completely lost our way and had to return to report the news."
"However, there's no point in saying this now. Lord Federigo has sent different teams, including us, to secretly search for Lord Farnese's whereabouts. With so many people, clues should appear sooner or later."
Although Serpico said this, he himself had no confidence in his heart. The fact was that the group of people was too eccentric. They didn't demand a ransom, no one saw them, and they didn't look like ordinary people. This made him worry about Farnese's situation day by day.
Both Azan and Serpico knew why Farnese's father, Federigo, had requested a secret search for her whereabouts.
Because it concerned the honor and shame of the Vandimion family and Farnese herself.
Generally speaking, a noble's daughter falling into the hands of bandits for months without any protection—the end wouldn't be too good. Even if alive, she could be ransomed. They were no different from the spiritually dead.
Considering this, Federigo decided that all teams searching for Farnese must act secretly. Especially Azan and Serpico, who had made decent contributions. He would never let them make mistakes again, nor would he report Farnese's disappearance to the outside world.
They had no choice but to temporarily set aside the affairs of the Holy Iron Chain Knights. Someone from the Holy See temporarily took over.
After that, they changed into simple armor and set out on a journey to search for Farnese. But unfortunately, so far, there were no leads.
Nidhogg listened for a while and was sure that they had happened to pass by here and hadn't come specifically looking for him.
At that moment, the tavern door opened again. A strange sound once again drew everyone's attention.
Nidhogg, Azan, and Serpico also looked and saw a woman with a golden ponytail and a rather dirty long dress entering.
She was alone. Her eyes were hidden by a piece of cloth. She cautiously walked into the tavern with a wooden staff in her hand.
Obviously, this was a blind woman.
Seeing her, Nidhogg was slightly surprised, because, in a sense, this was another familiar person—just a familiar person he should have seen at the Junction.
She was the daughter of the lord of Castle Morne on the Weeping Peninsula—the blind girl, Irina!