Roland's forehead veins bulged, his mouth twisted in anger. Unable to contain himself any longer, he grabbed Kriemhild and headed upstairs.

Meanwhile, Siegfried had fully immersed himself in the environment, as if he were right at home.

Holding a large wooden mug brimming with beer, he had his arm around the shoulder of the adventurer team's captain. Laughing heartily and cracking bawdy jokes, they looked like the closest of brothers.

"Where have you been striking it rich lately, bro?" Siegfried asked.

The adventurer captain waved his hand and sighed resignedly:

"Don't even ask. Business has been abysmal lately. There weren't many powerful monsters at the border to begin with, and since the kingdom went to war, merchant caravans have become scarce. We can't even find work as guards anymore."

Siegfried patted the captain's shoulder with an empathetic look:

"Times are tough for everyone. Just the other day, I saw a group of deserters who fled from the capital. After they ran out of food, they started raiding villages."

Hearing this, the adventurer captain let out another long sigh and complained:

"Tell me about it! Recently, all we've been getting are missions like finding missing people, looking for lost cats, oh, and even searching for the missing princess. Is this really what we adventurers should be doing?"

Siegfried's eyebrows twitched, and a shadow immediately fell over his heart.

"The capital is still better," the captain continued. "A few years ago, the Rose Queen learned from the neighboring empire and built a sewer system. Since then, adventurers in the capital have never been out of work. There are always monsters in the sewers waiting to be killed. It's practically a gold mine."

The adventurer captain, oblivious to Siegfried's unease, continued to daydream and boast:

"If only I could encounter an ancient dragon! They say these creatures love to hoard gold and silver treasures. Taking down one of those would set me up for life!"

A nearby adventurer dressed as a ranger immediately burst into laughter:

"Pfft, dream on! With your C-rank skills, you'd struggle even with a nest of goblins, let alone a dragon."

"What's wrong with a little dreaming?" the captain retorted.

Just as Siegfried was about to find an excuse to slip away, the drunken adventurer captain leaned in close again, apparently having truly accepted Siegfried as a brother.

"Brother, judging by your attire, you must be a mage, right? Being a mage is truly great. You can always find work, no matter the times, and the ladies love you."

Siegfried was still dressed in his black robe, with his hair hidden under the hood. Usually, only fugitives and mages dress this way.

"Hahaha, you flatter me, brother. Let me show you a trick or two!"

With that, Siegfried flipped a gold Moen coin. The coin spun rapidly in the air before Siegfried caught it with a snap. But when he opened his palm, the gold coin had vanished.

"Whoa~"

The surrounding adventurers collectively gasped in awe.

"Hey, let me through, make way! How did you do that? Where did the coin go?"

A female adventurer wearing somewhat revealing clothes squeezed through the crowd to Siegfried's side. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. She had an attractive figure, especially the curves of her buttocks in those tight shorts, which were hard to forget once seen.

Seeing the young lady's enthusiasm, Siegfried changed his target and reached towards her, pulling the gold coin out of her chestnut curls.

In an instant, the whole place erupted!

"Huh? How did it end up there?"

"That's amazing, bro!"

"Brother, what's your elemental affinity? I'm a mage too. Can you teach me? I can pay!"

Siegfried drained the beer from his large wooden mug in one gulp.

As he stood up, he reached out and gave the female adventurer's bottom a squeeze.

The woman yelped, covering her behind and darting to the side, her face flushed bright red.

Siegfried laughed raucously and staggered upstairs under everyone's gaze.

This wasn't just being a scoundrel; it was the epitome of scoundrel behavior!

All four of Roland's group were waiting in the room for Siegfried to return. The guy had been drinking downstairs for almost two hours, as if he had completely forgotten why they were here.

Several times, Roland had wanted to go down and call him up, but every time he saw that smug, arrogant face and heard that unrestrained laughter, he felt his anger rising.

He was afraid he might lose control and give this Meilan lord a beating, but he also didn't dare send Kriemhild to call him, as that would likely just result in one more drunk person.

Yang Jing sat quietly on the bed, flipping through the Wanderer's Manual, reading about how to make a cool entrance using smoke bombs.

She knew Siegfried was gathering information and would return when the time was right.

Finally, the door opened, and a drunk with a flushed face and reeking of alcohol stumbled in, supporting himself on the doorknob.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Just as Roland was about to start cursing, Siegfried slammed the door shut.

In that instant, all signs of drunkenness vanished from Siegfried's face, replaced by a serious expression and cold eyes.

Roland was left speechless, swallowing all the prepared arguments.

"We have a problem," Siegfried said concisely.

Yang Jing looked up, frowning silently to express her question.

"Star Plum, did you send out that letter?"

"Yes, I mailed it when we came to the city yesterday, using magical transmission."

It was a false battle report addressed to Roderick, written in Yang Jing's handwriting. The content basically stated that the operation was very successful, and Kriemhild had been killed.

However...

"Roderick found out. He submitted a request to the Adventurers' Guild yesterday to search for Kriemhild."

"What!" Roland exclaimed in disbelief.

Kriemhild clutched the hem of her dress, muttering nervously, "My brother..."

Logically, Yang Jing's report should have been the first-hand information. There was no reason for Roderick to know the outcome before receiving Yang Jing's report.

Siegfried took a deep breath and looked at Yang Jing with some amusement:

"It seems that the Second Prince doesn't trust you very much either."

"He... trusts no one," Yang Jing replied as calmly as ever, as if all of this was within her expectations.

(Tch, so difficult to deal with.)

Siegfried felt uncomfortable. He always felt like he was playing chess against another version of himself.

"Anyway, the plan to fake death and escape has failed, and Star Plum's cover is blown. The enemy will continue to search for us, so we need to be careful when going out in the future. Roland, don't bring out that big sword of yours unless necessary."

"And you, your outfit..."

Siegfried had only spoken half his sentence when he saw Yang Jing's cold gaze directed at him.

He involuntarily swallowed and said, "Never mind, as long as you're happy..."

At this moment, the wall clock pointed to five in the evening. Siegfried took out the invitation from the Wanderer's Manual and said in a deep voice:

"It's about time. Let's go."

......

4 Golden Wheat Street

Following the map attached to the invitation, the group of four arrived at the front of this huge, elegant mansion after many twists and turns.

This street was the wealthiest district in the entire city of Conston. It was lined with mansions like the one before them. The residents here were mostly clerics of the Sun God Church or extremely wealthy merchants. The residence of the city's lord, Count Conston, was also on this street.

An underground auction being held openly in such a luxurious and conspicuous mansion clearly indicated who was behind it.

At the main gate, a handsome male attendant in a tailcoat approached.

Siegfried was stunned when he saw him. This male attendant had four ears: two behind his eyes like a normal human, and another pair of cat ears on top of his head. He also had a thin, long cat tail behind him.

(It's a man! Damn it! Why couldn't it be a cat-eared girl!)

"Are you here for the auction? May I see your invitation, please?"

The group had already changed into evening wear, all wearing masks, with Siegfried adding a hood on top.

These were the rules of this auction. Because they were selling items that couldn't be shown in public, all participants' identities had to be kept secret. Except for the organizers, no one knew who was sitting next to them.

"Are you a demi-human?" Roland's deep voice came from behind his mask, and it was clear that even before the auction started, his mood was already turning sour.

"Yes, sir. If you're uncomfortable with my race, I can call a human attendant to serve you."

Demi-humans were a race born from the interbreeding of humans and beastmen. They had characteristics of both humans and beastmen, and not every demi-human looked human-like.

Most were neither here nor there, looking both human and beast-like, and were discriminated against and ostracized in both human and beastmen societies, in stark contrast to half-elves. Handsome cat-men like the one before them, with human features far outweighing beastmen features, were extremely rare.

Demi-humans were distributed in the western part of the Qilan Continent, in the Beastmen Federation. They were all born to human women who had been abducted by beastmen. Their presence here meant...

"It's alright, we don't mind that... May I ask... are you a slave?" Kriemhild spoke up on Roland's behalf, her voice a bit hesitant.

"Yes, madam. I was bought by my master from the Holy Beast Federation."

The Holy Beast Federation was what those Furries called themselves.

Siegfried stepped forward and handed the invitation from his pocket to the cat-man attendant for verification.

"Ah, Mr. Loxier, we've been expecting you. If you don't mind, please allow me to show you the way."

"Certainly, thank you."

(Although I'd prefer a cat-eared beautiful girl...)

Hearing the words of thanks, the cat-man was visibly startled. He quickly waved his hands and said:

"No, no, this is all part of my duty. It's my honor to serve you." Suddenly, he noticed Bobo, who was hidden behind the three, and his tone became a bit troubled: "I'm sorry, but each invitation only allows three people to enter."

Siegfried had anticipated this. He had specifically brought this Garden People scout for a reason.

Siegfried pointed at Bobo, then at the cat-man attendant, and said with a half-smile:

"He is the same as you."

......

The group of four was led by the male attendant to a spacious and luxurious banquet hall.

The situation of slaves could be seen from this incident. An invitation was only supposed to allow three people to enter the auction, but Bobo still came in with them. The reason was simple: his current status was that of a slave, and he didn't count as a person.

Bobo was a slave bought by the royal family. Although slavery was abolished after the Rose Queen came to power, years of enslaved life had been ingrained in Bobo's bones. He still instinctively bowed and scraped to everyone, even those soldiers of the same rank as him could order him around.

A large part of Siegfried's plan this time would involve him, which was why he insisted on bringing Bobo along.

At this moment, quite a few people were already standing in the hall. They were all wearing similar style evening dresses and masks. Some were quietly eating the refreshments provided by the organizers, while others were whispering to each other about their goals for this trip.

Siegfried held the Wanderer's Manual, and information about everyone in the hall continuously appeared in this magical book.

Earls, viscounts, barons, merchants, and even clerics - all sorts of people were present.

As Siegfried looked at this information, a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He had gotten the leverage he needed.

At this moment, the lights in the hall dimmed, and a man wearing extravagant and gaudy clothes on the second-floor platform spoke in a high-pitched voice:

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this auction. On behalf of the organizers, I extend a warm welcome to all of you!"

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from below. Kriemhild and Roland didn't applaud. In their eyes, this was just a celebration for beasts.

"Well then, without further ado, let's introduce the first item.

Wow~ I didn't expect such an exciting start. A shield of a Rose Knight, starting bid one copper Moen."

"""