Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
It was already dusk when Rhode came back.
After watching today’s competition, besides ordering Old Walker to finish his ‘mission’, he also went to the Royal Library in Golden City. He was hoping to find a clue about Celia and Celestina’s identity. When he fought with Carody, the relationship between them was completely beyond what Rhode had expected. Through his instinct, he felt that their relationship was not normal, and it was as if they were hiding something. He had read all the books regarding angels and demons this afternoon, but he couldn’t find any clues connected to Celia or Celestina. However, Rhode didn’t give up. Instead, it incited his interest even more. As there were no records of them in the Royal Library, which had the second most detailed description of the angels and demons in the continent, second only to the Temple of the Country of the Law. Then, neither Celestina nor Celia’s existence was really a mystery.
Of course, the reason Rhode was investigating their identity wasn’t only out of curiosity, but also because he had to. As an existence that once lived in this world, each summoned spirits had its own uniqueness, past, history, and memory. Only after understanding that would he be able to unleash its full power. There were summoned spirits better at offense, and those better at defense. There were summoned spirit that liked war, and those that liked peace. If he was unable to understand their past and identity, then if they evolved in the future and met powerful opponents, the summoned spirit might also negatively act on the owner’s orders. Just like before, Rhode could feel that Celia was actually very reluctant. On the contrary, Celestina did not put ‘low life’ into her eyes. If he ordered them to destroy a village, Celia would definitely oppose it, while Celestina would enjoy it.
Any choice had its two sides.
Although Rhode also could force them to tell him about their identity, that would create a gap between the summoner and the summoned spirit. In the worst case scenario, it was even possible for the summoned spirit to choose self-destruction to escape this bondage and Rhode definitely wouldn’t choose to do this kind of thing. This matter was more of like a test to him. A test of whether the summoner cared about the summon spirit. Only by passing this test would summoner be qualified to get the summoned spirit’s allegiance.
“Sigh..”
As Rhode entered the hall, he sighed. At the same time, he shook his head. After reading through the files for the entire afternoon, he felt that his whole body was aching. At this moment, a small body embraced him, Christie looked up and smiled at him.
“… Rhode… Welcome back…”
“I’m back, Christie.”
Rhode gently smiled back at Christie. He stretched out his hand and patted her head. When he looked up, Lize was holding a storybook as she walked towards him.
“Welcome back, Mr. Rhode. Did everything go smoothly?”
“Not bad.”
Facing Lize’s question, Rhode nodded. He looked at the empty hall and spoke.
“Where are the others?”
“Anne was still sleeping, she said that she wanted to sleep until dinner time. The others are resting in their own room… As for Marlene, she has gone out. She said that she’ll be back at night.”
“Marlene?”
Hearing until here, Rhode was surprised.
“Where did she go?”
“This… There’s a girl called Ms. Ellenson who invited her for an afternoon tea. She said that she’s Marlene’s best friend in the academy.”
“Is that so…”
Hearing until here, Rhode nodded and asked.
“Do you know where did she go?”
“This… I’m not too sure.”
Hearing Rhode’s question, Lize helplessly shook her head. At this time, Christie lifted her head.
“… I know where she went… That girl called Ellenson said…”
“Oh?”
Hearing until here, Rhode and Lize glanced at each other, then both looked at Christie.
“Where did they go?”
“… From what I have heard, that girl told the coachman to go to a place called Barbero Street…”
“Barbero?”
Hearing until here, Lize tilted her head, but she couldn’t recall any place with that name. It was no wonder; before she left Golden City, she never wandered off anywhere. Most likely, the number of streets she knew in Golden City could be counted on her fingers. Considering this, she was no different than those country bumpkins.
Instead, when Rhode heard this name, his expression quickly sank.
“Christie, are you sure?”
“… Umm, yes… that girl said so to the coachman… she said that it’s Barbero Street..”
Having said that, Christie reached out and gestured, as if she were mimicking something. However, compared to this, Lize was even more surprised. She did not know that Christie’s hearing was actually so good. At that time, Ellenson wasn’t even close to them, and she had also deliberately lowered her voice, so Lize couldn’t hear what she was saying. She did not expect that Christie was actually able to hear it. She was planning to say more, but after seeing Rhode’s expression, Lize was surprised.
Currently, Rhode’s expression was really bad.
Although he usually looked indifferent, but it was easy for people around him to notice that Rhode’s face wasn’t actually expressionless. It was just that many times, he didn’t convey his emotions through expressions. However, right now his expression could be said to be very obvious.
Unlike Lize and Christie who didn’t know anything, Rhode knew what kind of place Barbero was.
When there was light, there was always darkness. It was also the same in Golden City. It’s true that Munn Kingdom remained stable under Lydia, but it was nonsense to think that everyone was kind-hearted. Among tons of apples, there would always be some that were rotten. It was the same in the Golden City. The noble here lacked enjoyment and depravity, and Barbero Street was the best place for those nobles who were lost. There, they could enjoy and indulge like wild beasts. It was a place filled with sins and sweet depravity.
In the game, Lydia had cleared up this place in the end. However, in the middle of this quest, Rhode had realized just how terrible this place was. Because the game was rated G, there were some sensitive details that were concealed, but just the tip of the iceberg was enough to make people shiver. However, it was nothing compared to the partying and drugs in Rhode’s previous world.
So when he heard this place from Christie’s mouth, Rhode’s heart immediately sank. From his understanding towards Marlene, he didn’t think that she was the type who would like to enjoy depravity, and he could hardly imagine it. He even wondered whether Marlene knew about this place because Barbero Street was also a taboo among the nobles, and only nobles who really belonged there were qualified to know its existence. For other nobles, they were only vaguely aware that there was such a place, but they were not clear about its specifics.
But Rhode was sure that the people who knew about that place definitely wren’t something good.
“When did they leave?”
“Probably… an hour ago.”
Lize was surprised by Rhode’s seriousness. She recalled carefully and replied. Then she looked at Rhode uneasily.
“Mr. Rhode, is there any problem?”
“I’ll go and see the situation.”
Rhode did not explain the matter to Lize. He only reached out and patted Christie’s shoulder. Then, he sorted out his clothes and looked down.
“Lize, don’t tell anyone about this matter. I’m going to find Marlene now. Take care of the others and don’t allow anyone to leave. Do you understand?”
“I, I understand, Mr. Rhode.”
Lize replied uneasily. Although she didn’t know what had happened, she still noticed that something was wrong. Rhode nodded to the both of them and left.
Damn it!
Rhode left the mansion with a very gloomy expression. He could be sure that there was definitely something wrong. Marlene wasn’t that type of girl, and even Christie wouldn’t go out with just anyone. Marlene was usually a serious and assertive person. Since the other was able to invite Marlene out, then she definitely had a relationship with Marlene. However, no matter how Rhode thought of it, he couldn’t figure out why someone dared to kidnap Marlene in Golden City. Did they really not know just how powerful the Senia family iswas
But now wasn’t the time for Rhode to think about this.
Rhode took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Soon, a list of all the members of the mercenary group appeared before him, Rhode effortlessly found Marlene’s name and selected it. After that, an inverted triangle representing the position coordinates appeared before him and pointed towards a group of building in the west.
God bless.
Seeing this inverted triangle, Rhode felt relieved. Then, he activated his shadow flash without hesitation and quickly flew towards the coordinates.
