Jane, the long haired woman with a slender body, moved alone through the outer streets of the slum district right now.
Velrion had ordered the investigation to begin here, where Garrick had first sensed the strange presence. But sending all four investigators together would only attract unnecessary attention. In a place like this, unfamiliar groups were noticed quickly.
So they separated.
Jane walked calmly through the narrow alleys with her posture relaxed and her steps unhurried. Her long black hair rested neatly across her shoulders, and her rchant clothing looked completely ordinary.
The outfit was simple but clean, the kind of clothes worn by traders who traveled between districts searching for unusual goods.
Her real na within Velrion's unit was known only to a few, but in most places she simply lived as a rchant.
And that was exactly the role she played now.
Jane normally operated in another comrcial district far from the slums, so the people here did not recognize her face. To them she was just another traveling trader searching for cheap items from the slum to buy and resell elsewhere.
The mont she stepped deeper into the district, she began attracting attention. It was inevitable. But it was the type of attention that she expected already.
A tall woman with a slender but curved figure and a striking pretty face did not pass unnoticed in a place like this.
A few n leaned against walls watching her walk past or called out small invitations or made half-amused comnts as she passed through the dusty streets.
Jane responded exactly the way a normal rchant woman would.
She sent a polite smile here and a brief nod there.
She ignored most of the comnts without hostility and continued walking. Her expression remained calm and friendly, giving no hint that she was anything more than a visitor looking for goods.
But beneath that calm surface, her senses were working constantly.
Hidden beneath the sleeve of her right arm was a small Magical artifact. The device was no larger than a coin, embedded inside a thin bracelet wrapped around her wrist.
As she walked, the artifact quietly scanned the surrounding area.
Jane allowed her hand to brush lightly against the bracelet as if adjusting her sleeve.
The artifact responded instantly, feeding faint Magical readings into her perception through a subtle sensory enchantnt.
Most of what it detected was normal.
The slum district contained countless faint traces of Magic. Small charms, low-grade enchanted tools, and lingering Magical residue from cheap alchemical work all blended into the air.
Under normal circumstances, none of it would be worth investigating.
But this situation was different.
Velrion had warned them clearly.
Anything unusual—no matter how small—had to be examined carefully.
Jane continued moving through the street until she reached a narrow row of small shops pressed between aging wooden buildings.
Then her bracelet reacted.
A faint pulse of warmth spread across her wrist.
Jane slowed her steps.
The reading was weak, almost insignificant to the others. The Magical trace drifting from the nearby building was thin and unstable.
Under normal conditions she might have ignored sothing so faint. In a district filled with potion brewers and alchemical scraps, weak Magical residue was common.
But this one was different.
The signature carried a strange irregularity. It was unfamiliar.
Jane's eyes shifted toward the small shop beside her.
A faded wooden sign hung above the door. Several dusty glass bottles sat inside the window display. To any passerby, the place looked like an ordinary potion shop struggling to stay in business.
Completely unremarkable.
But her artifact continued pulsing.
Jane pushed the door open.
A small bell above the fra rang softly.
Cling.
The shop interior slled faintly of herbs and old glass.
A mont later, a middle-aged man with a thick beard stepped out from a back room.
His posture was slightly hunched and his expression imdiately revealed that he was not in a particularly good mood.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her.
He was looking grumpy, tired, and suspicious.
This man was none other than Dave.
Dave studied her for a mont before speaking.
"I don't really have anything special to sell today," he said bluntly, his voice rough. "If you're looking for rare potions or exotic brews, you should try sowhere else."
His tone carried the impatience of a man who had already dealt with too many custors that day.
Jane remained calm.
She offered a polite smile and shook her head slightly.
"I'm not really looking to buy anything," she said gently. "I actually ca to ask about sothing."
Dave's thick eyebrows drew together into a deeper frown.
The request itself was not unusual. In this district, people often ca to him asking questions instead of buying potions.
Still, he watched her carefully for a mont before answering.
"What kind of question?" he asked.
While he spoke, his mind began moving quickly.
"Maybe she's looking for information."
Dave was not only a potion seller. Those who knew the slum district well also knew that he occasionally worked as a quiet information broker. People sotis ca to him when they needed rumors, directions, or knowledge that was not easy to obtain openly.
Looking at Jane again, Dave began to suspect that she might be one of those custors.
After a mont, he gestured toward a small wooden chair near the counter.
"Please, sit," he said.
Jane nodded and walked over, sitting down calmly. Her movents were relaxed, exactly like soone who simply wanted to have a conversation.
Dave took the chair opposite her.
"So," he said. "What do you want to ask?"
Jane did not hesitate.
"I want to ask if anyone unusual visited this shop recently."
The mont those words left her mouth, Dave's heart jumped.
For a split second, a sharp wave of panic shot through him.
"Soone unusual?!"
His mind imdiately jumped to the three figures who had visited earlier that day.
The mory of their overwhelming presence flashed through his mind. Even now, rembering them made his stomach tighten.
"Did she detect them?"
If this woman had sohow realized that three beings from another world had visited his shop, the situation could beco extrely dangerous for him. He could be interrogated!
Dave felt his pulse suddenly rising.
A thin layer of sweat began forming at the back of his neck.
Jane noticed the reaction imdiately.
Her sharp eyes caught the subtle change in his breathing and the sudden stiffness in his posture.
She tilted her head slightly.
"Are you alright?" she asked calmly.
Dave blinked. He quickly forced his expression back into sothing neutral, but his heart was still beating faster than before.
"Nobody has visited recently except you," Dave said as naturally as possible.
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