Jack thanked the old woman before heading for the tavern. When they arrived, the tavern was still opened and the light inside was still on. The four looked at each other before going in. So, the hooded stranger didn’t just spout nonsense.
Inside, they found two tables were occupied, one was by a man in armor, the other was by a woman in magician robe. Jack used inspect on the two.
Ephiltes (Special Elite Human, Knight-Captain), level 55
HP: 250,000
Sidney (Special Elite Human, Knight-Captain), level 60
HP: 262,000
While Jack was observing the two new arrivals, Jonathan and Harper had already taken an empty table. Brad came to their table and took their orders. Jack joined them at the table and asked Brad, “I thought you don’t open at night.”
“I don’t. There are rarely any people who come again after sundown. But see those two people there? They arrived this afternoon not long after you left, asking all sorts of questions. Doesn’t seem to have any intention to leave anytime soon, so I just keep the place open. They keep ordering drinks, after all, so I’m good for extra coins.”
“What did they ask about?” Jack asked.
“Remember the picture of a man you showed me before? They showed me the same picture.”
Jack was surprised. ‘They were both looking for Aubelard as well?’ He thought as he looked over to the two. But why were they sitting separately, they weren’t together?
When Brad came back bringing the drinks, Jack asked him if the two came together or arrived separately. Brad said the female mage arrived first, the armored man came just before sundown.
“Are you going to go to talk to them?” Peniel asked.
“Yes, but I have a feeling those two are from a different camp from us.”
“Different camp?”
“They were looking for Aubelard as well. I doubt the third prince sent multiple representatives for a simple diplomatic mission. My guess is this Horatio received representatives from the other princes as well, which were then given the same task as us for finding Aubelard. Tsk, that Horatio is truly slick, and here I thought the guy was serious about wanting to be an ally to the third prince.”
“So, he gave all the representatives a competition, to see who can finish the task first,” Peniel summarized.
“Yes,” Jack nodded. “Those two must have been the representative of the first and second prince.”
“Second prince?” Jonathan uttered after hearing Jack, he followed Jack’s line of vision and looked at the two newcomers. He didn’t pay attention when he entered, he was eager to get some drinks because it had been some time since he had some.
When he saw the man in armor, he spat loudly, “Ephiltes?! What in heaven’s name is a worm like you doing in this place?!”
The man in armor, hearing his name being mentioned, looked over. The man’s face turned ugly upon seeing Jonathan, but then it swiftly turned into a ridiculing expression.
“I was wondering who has such an ugly voice, it turned out it was a failure who has been expelled to the countryside. So, this is the dump where you have been sent to?”
“Who the hell do you call a failure?!” Jonathan stood up and banged on the table.
Ephiltes chuckled with disdain, “Heh, you might have been a hotshot in the past, but you are nothing now. While you rot here, I have been climbing in speed. I’m now even higher than before you were demoted, I’m a Knight-Captain now. I am also stronger than you now. You are nothing, you piece of useless garbage!”
“Why you…!” Jonathan kicked his chair away and started walking towards Ephiltes. Harker hurriedly stood and held him back.
Brad, seeing the friction, hurriedly came over to say, “Kind Sirs, if you want to get physical, please do it outside. Please do not fight inside here.”
Jack also told Jonathan to calm down. The old soldier finally sat back grumpily into his chair, which Harper brought back into place. Ephiltes made a deriding laugh from his seat.
“Well, I take you two know each other when you were under the second prince’s camp?” Jack asked.
“Know is an understatement,” it was Harper who answered. “That detestable man was largely the main reason We got banished to this town.”
“Yeah, let’s just say I’m at that time a leader of a squad who was told to do a questionable mission,” Jonathan said. “That prick was under me at the time. When I learned that the mission was to kill an innocent person, I refused to carry it out and instead worked to help the person escape. Ephiltes not only ratted me out, he secretly followed the person who I helped and took him out, just to get a promotion. Since it was a questionable mission that was not announceable to the public, they couldn’t blame me for insubordination. I was instead being banished here. Harper followed along for defending me. Sorry again, mate.”
“Never regret it, man. You know I will always follow you,” Harper said.
“Still, if it is the current me, I probably would have carried out the mission. I am too na?ve back then,” Jonathan said.
“Don’t say that, you will be as bad as that fellow there,” Jack said.
“Yeah, boss. I don’t believe that,” Harper added.
“But see where that naivete got us. Rotting in this nowhere town while he has now become better than me in every possible way,” Jonathan lamented.
“I thought you two are just lazy soldiers, but knowing you were such honorable ones, I promise I will do my best to help you back to the capital,” Jack said.
“Hmph! What honorable? That was the old me,” Jonathan said as he drank his beer.
Jack stood up, “all right, I’m heading over.”
“To where?” Harper asked.
“To have a chat with the two of them,” Jack answered.
Ephiltes and Sidney were sitting at different tables, but next to each other, which Jack found funny. It was clear the two were curious enough to find out what the other party knew by sitting so close to each other, but none of them started any conversation. So, Jack decided to be the one who started it.
“Hiya! How are the two of you doing?” Jack called to them.
Sidney sipped his wine pretending to not hear. Ephiltes was more blatant, he picked on his ear as he chuckled disdainfully, “Did someone just bark?”
Jack had been expecting the cold shoulders, so he was not the least bit bothered.
“Hehe, the two of you are trying to act cool, but I know you are in a predicament, right?” Jack said loudly. “I know you two are looking for Aubelard as well, same as me. We each represented different princes. That Horatio fellow must have acted as if he only sent out an invitation to one prince but in reality he sent for all three princes, having us compete for him. Well, not that I blame him. Our princes are indeed competing, after all. However, I can see that despite the two of you arriving here, you still have no idea how to proceed, am I right? I have a piece of information that I’m willing to share so all of us can move forward. What say you?”
Sidney didn’t show any reaction, but her eyes were slightly shifting in Jack’s direction. Jack knew his words attracted her attention, she was simply pondering how much of them she could trust.
Ephiltes, on the other hand, showed his distrust from the getgo. “You? A weakling outworlder? Having information that we don’t? Haha. You are too full of yourself! This is our world, outworlder. If anyone knows anything, it will be us. So stop trying to swindle us from giving you our information!”
Jack wasn’t upset by the slander, he simply laughed and asked. “I don’t know anything? Well, then pray tell, did you two not just arrive here? While I am already here since yesterday.”
“Doesn’t mean anything, that just means you have a faster steed than us,” Sidney finally spoke.
Jack’s steed was indeed faster, but he didn’t admit it. “Really? Is your steed so slow that an outworlder beat you by an entire day? I know you came here because of a rumor. I’m also pretty sure you two didn’t dilly-dally after hearing the rumor. I bet you teleported to the nearest town before using your fastest steed to come here. Let me ask you then, is the third prince’s intelligence network better than the other two princes that I managed to get ahold of the rumor first?”
Sidney tapped her cup of wine onto the table rather hard, “Don’t be absurd, prince Therribus’ spy network is the best!”
Ephiltes chuckled. “In terms of manpower, that’s true. But in terms of smartness, I don’t think so. Do you think my spy learn the rumor from the same source? Mine stole it from yours! Hahaha.”
Sidney gave Ephiltes a hostile glare.
“Well, then how do you explain I manage to arrive here first? Also…,” Jack took a seat opposite Sidney, ignoring the two’s animosity. The woman mage turned to Jack and frowned. How dare this outworlder to sit on her table without being invited?
Jack pretended to not notice the scowl, he continued speaking, “Since I am here first, I have had the head start of an entire day of investigation.. I have even met the person who spread the rumor that drew the two of you here.”
