Going out from the Tavern, the two girls were wondering where they would set off to. Slyvia's goal was to find out more information on the black liquid. Her brother had somehow managed to link the black liquid from the shadow with the empire, or at least he had found proof that it was being traded here in the empire.

There was no way that if she asked her brother to tell her where he had found it, he would tell her. To put it simply, they just wouldn't want her to get involved. But Slyvia felt like she had to. This matter was perhaps bigger than her brother had realized. If the empire was working with the shadow or it got taken over, then they were all doomed.

From leaving the Inn they decided to go in a random direction and start asking questions around the city, but that didn't seem to be of much help. They went down street after street and saw shops after shops, but it was hard trying to get a direct answer from anybody.

In the end, it looked and felt as if the two girls were wasting their time. Perhaps it would have been better spent researching Ray's opponents for the tournament.

"This liquid, if it's here it means it's being used somewhere, right?

" Martha asked.

" Remember that liquid turned the students into mindless zombies. If they're testing it out, they can't exactly do it in the open, and who would be crazy enough to try it for free?

"

"That's the problem,

" Slyvia replied.

"It seems weird that the liquid was even being traded here in the first place. What need would they have, the empire is one of the strongest forces, stronger than any of the other kingdoms? Why would it need to rely on help with the shadow?

"

"The city is so nice here, there isn't a single person that looks unhappy, so who would be desperate enough to turn to the shadow for help?

"

That was when the two girls spotted someone walking down one of the streets in a full set of ragged clothing. They both spotted it straight away, and they weren't the only ones in the street looking at the person. It stood out, for it was the first person they had both seen that was dressed like this.

"Damn that Nes. I waited all morning for him to leave the Inn, and then I fell asleep outside!

" Roy complained.

"This is all his fault. Why did this have to happen to me?

"

The person who everyone was staring at and waddling down the street was Roy. After not having enough money to enter the Inn. Roy quickly realized he didn't have enough money to enter any Inn. With his skills he thought it would be easy for him to get work at the empire, but while he was asleep in the forest one day, someone had stolen all of his belongings and clothing.

He was left to do odd jobs to get him to buy stuff, and he had bought the basics of basics. Every job he went for in the empire they had turned him down at the doorstep. It seemed like one's appearance was a big deal here.

If he could, Roy would have left the empire long ago and gone to a different kingdom. The problem was how large and vast the empire was. To leave he would have to earn coin for that, and whatever little coin he did earn, he needed to spend on food.

Right now, he was in a vicious cycle that he couldn't get out of. Seeing Nes fighting had brought back memories for him. Everything was his fault, and he was sure that the two people one and the same.

He had always thought it was strange that the student had died from his fire attack that day. He was careful to measure the student's power with his own. Sure that it wouldn't kill the student. Yet somehow he had just disappeared, vanished, not even a body left behind. The more he thought about the more stupid he felt with himself and Roland academy for being fooled so easily.

His belly was rumbling with pain, and he hardly had any energy left. If he was to get into a scrap or a fight now, he wasn't even sure he would be able to perform at his full capabilities. Not to mention he had spent the money on mostly booze rather than food.

Without realizing it, Martha could see that the two of them had been following the poor man for a while.

"What are we doing, why are we following him? Did you spot something?

" Martha asked.

"Kinda,

" Slyvia replied.

"Remember what we said earlier right, who would be desperate enough to do such a thing and be tempted by the shadow. Well, I think we have found your answer. Isn't it strange that there are no poor people? Perhaps that's because these are the very people they are targeting. Getting rid of two birds with one stone.

"

Martha couldn't disagree with Slyvia's reasoning. She was always a smart girl when it came to things like these, and they had no other leads, so what better thing could they do but watch a fool stumble around.

And after following Roy for around thirty minutes more, it looked like they were onto something, as they weren't the only ones that were following him now. Two hooded men, one large and one small, were now closely following Roy behind as well.

Everywhere he stopped, they would stop near as well. They weren't exactly being discreet about it, but Slyvia supposed they never expected trained knights to be following the same person like them in the first place.

Eventually though, Roy suddenly took a turn into an alleyway that was between a few stalls. It was a strange act, but perhaps he just wanted somewhere to lie down for a while. The two hooded men looked at each other briefly before deciding to go in after him.

"What sort of thing did I do to have the pleasure of two fine gentlemen like yourselves following me around?

" Roy asked.

"We thought you caught on to us.

" The large man said.

"We weren't trying to hide it, but we wanted to meet you and cut a deal. You need money right, we can give you enough to last you a lifetime. You will never have to work again, all you need to do is follow us?

"

"And by us, are you referring to those two girls who are with you as well?

" Roy said.

The two men were confused by Roy's words and quickly turned their head, at the last second. They could see the two girls move their heads to hide behind the wall but it was too late, they had been seen.

One of the men was left with Roy to discuss further details while the other went toward the girls.

"What do we do now?

" Martha asked, with her back against the wall. Slyvia hadn't run, so she had chosen to not run as well.

Slyvia thought about it. Right now, this was the only lead they had, so if they let this chance slip by them, how long would it be until they found another golden opportunity like this one.

"We stay,

" Sylvia said.

*****

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