With the noisy crowd gone, tranquility returned to the village.

Siegfried sat in the command post, immersed in the Wanderer's Manual.

The so-called command post was nothing more than a storage room cleared out with a table placed inside. On it lay an abstract map so convoluted that even Picasso himself might have struggled to decipher it had he been alive.

Naturally, Siegfried had no intention of using such a thing for terrain reconnaissance. It merely served to create an ambiance of strategic mastery - the real value lay in the information contained within the Wanderer's Manual.

Over this period, he had utilized the search function to study the kingdom's maps, history, and various knowledge about the Qilan Continent.

Just as he had declared in the church days ago, he would not be engaging in frontline combat, but rather orchestrating from behind the scenes. This knowledge accumulation was his foundation for future strategizing.

At that moment, the command post door opened as Bobo, the Garden Person, placed a fragrant cup of coffee on Siegfried's desk.

Coffee was, of course, nonexistent in Fengmao Village. This was Siegfried's personal stock from Earth. Given its scarcity, he always kept it hidden and drank it in secret, avoiding Catalina catching its aroma and rushing over to demand a share.

Bobo had now become Siegfried's dedicated servant, attending to his daily needs.

Initially, Roland had wanted to execute this despicable traitor with a single stroke, but Bobo's life was spared through Siegfried's vigorous intervention.

This wasn't due to any bleeding heart - Siegfried possessed no such thing.

Rather, he genuinely admired Bobo. This Garden Person possessed exceptional acting skills and remarkable capabilities, managing to deceive Roland for so long right under his nose.

Deceiving Roland was one thing, but he had even managed to fool Kriemhild, whose Divine Miracle could penetrate lies. This testified to the sophistication of this Garden Person scout's methods.

Siegfried recognized their faction's current shortage of talent, making it imperative to retain any useful individuals when possible.

Of course, there was also a personal element - Bobo's short, chubby stature reminded him of a former senior colleague from his company, creating a sense of familiar comfort in this alien world.

With these thoughts, Siegfried smiled and called out to the departing Bobo:

"Bobo, wait a moment. Come here, I have something to ask you."

Bobo visibly shuddered, turned stiffly, and reluctantly inched forward one tiny step at a time.

Clearly, little Bobo had zero desire for proximity with Siegfried.

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"My lord, what inquiry do you have for this humble servant?" Bobo's voice was sharp and grating, allegedly due to a past throat injury.

"Oh, nothing significant. I'm merely curious about how you managed to evade detection by Kriemhild and Roland previously?"

Siegfried wore an amiable smile, perfectly embodying the image of an enlightened and magnanimous leader.

"Feel free to share if you're comfortable, and if you're not comfortable, do share anyway."

(What rubbish! That's absolutely no choice at all!)

Though Bobo cursed internally, his exterior maintained utmost respect.

"In truth, this humble one has been exclusively in Lady Catalina's service for the past half year, never encountering Her Highness or Lord Roland," Bobo adopted a contemplative expression.

"For security purposes, Her Highness remained within the carriage throughout the journey. This humble one only met Her Highness alongside Lady Catalina upon entering Count Konstanton's domain."

Bobo fell silent after his lengthy explanation, puzzled by Siegfried's lack of response. He cautiously lifted his head to look.

What he saw nearly made him jump out of his skin.

Siegfried's face had darkened so severely it seemed as if it could drip with menace.

"What did you just say?" The words came out ice-cold.

Bobo dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.

"My lord, please spare me! Everything I said was absolutely true! You can verify it with Lady Catalina - she can confirm it all!"

Ignoring Bobo's desperate pleas, Siegfried snatched his black cloak from the chair and bolted from the room.

(Damn it! Damn it! How could I have been so blind!)

He sprinted to Kriemhild's quarters but found them empty, save for a village woman doing her cleaning duties.

"Auntie, where's Kriemhild?" Siegfried demanded urgently.

"Her Highness went hunting today with Old John and the others. Little Siegfried, has something happened?" The woman grew worried upon seeing his grave expression.

(Of all times to be away!)

After Bobo's recent revelation, all the previously overlooked details and dismissed doubts suddenly clicked into place.

Why was the information about Catalina, Bobo, and those forty-plus soldiers all fresh and accurate, while Roland and Kriemhild's data showed such significant discrepancies?

Siegfried had pondered this question before but had subconsciously written it off as a system bug.

However, when considering the Wanderer's Manual's information source, it became crystal clear this was no bug at all.

[The Wanderer's Manual's search data comes from the collective experiences of all Wanderers and the historical records.]

Those were Shannon's exact words.

If his suspicion was correct, then...

"Shannon! Guide me to Darren's location!"

[Acknowledged. Locating... Location complete. Darren Sylph is directly behind you.]

Siegfried froze, then turned to find the easily-overlooked half-elf boy standing behind him. Judging by his labored breathing, he must have been following for quite some time.

"Hero, were you searching for me?"

Siegfried had no time for his usual sardonic remarks and cut straight to the chase:

"Darren, tell me, did your group split into two separate parties during the past half year?"

"Eh! How did you know about that?"

Darren was genuinely surprised - this information was known to very few people.

To protect Kriemhild's safety, Roland.