Over the next week, the team stayed at Golande to recuperate. However, they weren't idle, on one hand, they continued to investigate the mastermind behind the erasure of records at the Adventurers' Guild; on the other, they didn't forget their original mission, which was to find the recipient of the letter from Mazak.
The recipient was referred to as Sir Duke in the letter, which sounded like an elderly gentleman of so standing, but in Golande, how many distinguished and titled elderly noblen could there be? Although they had more than just a title—since Mazak also told them of the gentleman's original residence—they investigated the place and found it had been renovated and rebuilt more than ten years ago, with most of its forr residents having long since departed.
Fortunately, from those who remained, they learned that most of the original residents had moved to the Upper City District, Bino District, and Port District. These three districts, although large, gave them sothing to work with.
The team could only hope that the elderly Sir was not part of a small minority; otherwise, searching throughout the entire city of Golande would indeed be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
By comparison, it was actually the other side that had a lead first. Tianlan, Gita, Parker, and Xiangzi were assigned to gather information on the officials of the Adventurers' Guild. This wasn't a difficult task, as such public information was easily obtained in the taverns and alleys.
And it didn't require much ti or resources.
However, the next step of eliminating suspects was a bit more challenging. Through contact with the Night Thieves' Guild and purchasing intelligence, they narrowed down the list layer by layer. It was in the final steps that their investigation encountered significant trouble due to the uncertainty of the information's authenticity.
Just as they were at a loss, 'Lady' Papamo—played by Parker—shone brilliantly. In the course of one investigation, 'she' had made the acquaintance of a servant of one of the Guild officials—a Dwarf tailor.
The Dwarf had no suspicions about this 'new' laundering 'lady,' instantly smitten by 'Lady' Papamo's beauty and charm, and henceforth talked of everything to 'her,' unwaveringly devoted.
But our Lady Papamo, of course, was very steadfast and found this all quite botherso. It was only after Tianlan inadvertently learned about this Sir and under the little devil girl's coercion that the latter reluctantly played along.
During one 'date'—as Tianlan described it, though Lady Papamo vehently denied, claiming it was rely a mission—this loyal and reliable Mr. Dwarf inadvertently revealed a piece of information to the group.
Of course, he didn't voluntary divulge it; he was rely boasting to the 'extrely adorable' lady about how important he was to his master—seemingly because of this, the official spoke to him about everything, sharing many secrets.
But that wasn't quite true; Gita had soon discovered that the Dwarf servant was actually sensitive and insecure in private. To satisfy his vanity, he would often hide in the closet to eavesdrop on his master's secrets and brag about his importance.
Thanks to his insignificance in his master's eyes, he had remained undetected for many years. But based on this, Gita and Tianlan devised a plan.
So, 'Lady' Papamo pretended to look down upon—the truth being she indeed felt this way—and brutally pointed out the flaws in his words. The Dwarf jumped up as if stung by the harsh, convincingly genuine expression on 'Lady' Papamo, his face turning red: "Just you wait!"
With that, he jumped off the flowerbed and walked away. Just when Parker thought the mission had failed and breathed a sigh of relief, the Dwarf suddenly ran back, panting, and threw a badge in front of 'her.'
Then, with a look of triumph, he began to tell 'her' about a recent incident—
It turned out that his master was recently commissioned to help erase an incident within the Adventurers' Guild. The matter wasn't significant, but it was a severe violation of the rules, and if discovered, even his master's high position wouldn't spare him from the repercussions.
Therefore, his master repeatedly emphasized the importance of keeping this secret and gave him a badge as evidence.
Upon seeing the badge, Lady Papamo was shocked, and judging by 'her' reaction, the Dwarf seed to receive a great deal of psychological satisfaction. However, when Parker initiated a request for the badge, the Dwarf appeared cautious.
He pocketed the badge and shook his head, telling 'her' that the badge represented a covenant between him and his master, thus he couldn't give it to just anyone.
"I swear, that badge was identical to the one we saw before, it's those damn Dragon Worshippers' item, I can assure you, I didn't mistake it," Parker exaggeratedly replied back at the hotel, facing the rest of the group.
Gita also shook her head.
"That Dwarf is lying; his master wouldn't tell him these things. Most of what he said he must have heard by eavesdropping. It might have so value, but we can't take it for granted," Miss Natural Historian said, her voice soft and sowhat childish: "That badge is probably stolen, which is why he didn't dare to give it to Parker—"
The others nodded, agreeing with her analysis.
But Luo Yu raised his own concerns: "So what do we do next?"
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