After getting out of the burning Paradise, Edris proposed they spend the night at the nearest inn.
With their disguises activated once more, he headed to talk to the receptionist while Celio and Dolan waited in the lobby.
The beast tamer fidgeted on the spot, sneaking a glimpse at the man beside him every now and then. Sensing a gaze to his left, Dolan casually offered a princely smile, causing Celio to turn away in embarrassment.
After a few minutes, Edris returned to the main hall.
The sight of the man was like a string of hope to Celio, who hurriedly marched his way.
"Master! I'll go sort things out in our room!" He said, almost pleadingly. He and Edris shared a room, while the Crown Prince had his own.
Edris raised an eyebrow at the youth's desperateness. Ever since the latter was told that the Faren Ablemore with them this whole time had been the Crown Prince all along, Celio had entered a state of flusteredness.
As for the reason behind his reaction, Edris had a couple of speculations.
Mind flashing back to the youth's gagging incidents, he stifled a cough. Edris tossed over the key and his bag. "Go on."
Watching the beast tamer scurry upstairs, Edris turned to pass another key to Dolan. "A shabby place, but it's the best option we have. Unfortunately, you'll have to settle with this for the night, Your Highness."
Since they were still not done with the Slums investigation, it would be best to avoid unnecessary movements back and forth between the outskirts and the capital.
"I'm not as spoiled as you think," Dolan said half-heartedly. "More importantly, I'm quite curious about something."
He raised an eyebrow at Edris, who had his usual gentle look. "How did you recognise me?"
"Where ever you are, Your Highness will always be the brightest starlight in the kingdom."
His words seemed to have thrown Dolan off guard, and a whole three seconds' worth of silence fell upon them.
". . ."
— . . .
Edris smiled shamelessly.
How did he recognise him?
The same way as how he found out about the Queen's disguise magic, of course.
— Starlight, my ass.
Ace's bluntness echoed in his head, and Edris's smile grew wider.
At first, it was the small actions and things he said that raised suspicions. The real Faren Ablemore was not only a noble but also a member of the Royal Mage Brigade, a special force gathered by Dolan Zacriya himself.
As a part of a group specialising in peacekeeping, Edris found it strange the way he acted after seeing the desolate sights. Even if Faren's never been to the Slums, he should have been trained as a brigade when confronted with these situations.
Beyond this initial suspicion, the way "Faren" addressed Magnus Vyris was also unnatural. Knowing Faren Ablemore's demeanour, he would never take on a casual, even laidback manner when discussing a reputable figure like the archmage.
The small blunders here and there, in accumulation, allowed Edris to come to a preliminary conclusion: this Faren Ablemore was a fake.
He had to admit, though, the Crown Prince employed a rather advanced disguise magic that even Ace couldn't detect at first. It wasn't until he first used his mana to activate the Sense-Capture Notebook that his speculations were verified.
Dolan almost straight up grimaced before catching his own unsuitable expression. He cleared his throat. "In any case, it appears I've been too naive."
His red eyes, currently maroon under the effects of disguise magic, peered outside, towards the direction of the Slums.
"The people there, the amount of suffering… They were to an extent I could never imagine only by looking at palace reports." Dolan's voice tensed as he gripped his notebook. "It feels like a foreign section of the world."
"The world has always been foreign." To his statement, Edris only shrugged. "Good night, Your Highness."
***
"Master!"
The first thing Edris was confronted with as he opened the door to the room was Celio's teary eyes.
"Did you know that it was His Highness with us all along?" Celio asked.
"Indeed."
"Wha—since when?!"
"Since the Slums."
"You should have told me!" Celio cupped his cheeks, dragging them down with his palms. "I even threw up on him so many times. This is definitely not okay…"
"Perhaps he won't mind."
At the man's reassurance, Celio looked at him and sniffed. "Really? He really won't be mad?"
"If you want, you can go ask." Edris jabbed a finger towards the wall. "His room is right there."
Celio blinked twice.
Ask him what? If he was okay with being barfed on four times in one day?
If he were the Crown Prince, even if he weren't angered by the events before, the question would undoubtedly do the job.
Lifelessly, Celio waddled to his bed and stuffed his head into the pillow.
"I'm going to sleep."
Silently shaking his head at the grumbling beast tamer, Edris sat down at his own bed. He opened his bag and started scouting through his things.
In the bag were an item box, a few enhancers, and another sugar pouch.
— You did not bring much with you.
Indeed, Edris had intentionally packed lightly, bringing only what was necessary and leaving his equipment with Alan Grennor.
"What do I need to pack when I have you?" Edris smiled.
— …
Ignoring the aura of disgust radiating from the pink fluff, Edris tossed the bag to the table and leaned back.
Eyeing Celio, who was already fast asleep, Edris deactivated the mana lamps, leaving the room dimly blue from the moonlight.
"Hey, I'm serious." Edris chuckled as he looked at Ace. "I only have two objectives coming here. First, to fulfil Dolan Zacriya's request to find any potential connections between the Sect and the attack on the royal family. And as for the second…"
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
With the disguise magic deactivated, Edris's grey eyes glowed under the moonlight. The tips of his lips curled with his following words. "It's to see what you, the mighty database, are capable of."
Edris wasn't a philanthropist, nor was he a hero. He wasn't planning to involve himself in the so-called Hunt, nor did he want to stop whatever was happening in the Sect.
No more, no less, Edris would simply do his share of the deal with the Crown Prince. Once he received his reward, they would go their separate ways. And as for the other end of the agreement…
He'll leave it for the Crown Prince to figure out himself.
— Stop talking like that. It's creepy.
Satisfied with Ace's reaction, Edris laughed under his breath. A ray of light brushed past his face, giving his already defined features an added touch of elegance.
He was ready to complete the investigation, secure the money, and then welcome his carefree life with open arms.
***
The next morning, the three of them reconvened back at the lobby and headed to the pub area.
Debris scattered around the area. Not much was left of the original house that the pub was built under.
Despite the incident last night, there were no efforts to deal with the damage or clean up the area. Similarly, no one cared to look into the cause of the fire. The Slums weren't a part of the Risk Faction's jurisdiction, and everyone else was busy surviving.
"The innocent people from the pub all got out safely, right?" Celio's head perked towards the rundown area.
"The fire spread slowly from the room, so they should have had ample time to evacuate," Edris said. He glanced at the Crown Prince, who kept his gaze on the remains of the building.
A few residents walked by the site, taking a few curious looks before continuing on.
"Your Highness?"
Edris's voice pulled Dolan out of his thoughts, and the latter shook his head. "It's nothing. The location of the Hunt is around here?"
"Seems like it." Edris pulled out a document from his bag. It was the one he got from Boss Prophet yesterday.
Following what's on the paper, the three of them arrived at a hidden sewage site east of the central Slums area. A hole intruded from the side of the brick walls, overcome by a dank odour.
"This is the entrance?" Celio grimaced at the darkness leaking from the tunnel.
Spirals of wind that entered the mouth of the tunnel created a hollow echo, sending shivers down his spine. The beast tamer looked at Edris for directions, only to see the latter digging in his bag.
After a few moments, Edris handed him a piece of paper.
"I'm going in alone. Let's meet at this address, at this time."
Before Celio could object, Edris pulled out a navy cloak and draped it over his back. The moment the hood covered his head, the man in front of him disappeared into thin air. Celio blinked twice.
"I only have one of these, and there's no way of knowing what's waiting there. Worst case scenario, the unforeseen will put us both in danger." Edris's calm voice echoed around him. He reappeared into his vision. "You don't want that to happen, right?"
Celio lowered his head. He understood where Edris was coming from and knew he was saying all this out of consideration for his safety. A thought struck him as Celio lifted his head.
"Wait, the two of us?" He turned towards the Crown Prince. "Your Highness is also not going in?"
"He's got more important matters to take care of," Edris said, looking at Dolan with a smile. "Right, Your Highness?"
"I was going to, but…" Dolan laid out his palms with a sigh. "Prophet Edris is right. Since he's the only one with the Mysterious Veil, following in after him will only increase the risk."
Hearing Dolan's agreement, Celio slumped deeper on the spot.
"And further, I plan on scouting the pub area once again. Just in case there are any unintended casualties."
"As expected from His Highness. You have a heart as wide as the Midpont Ocean." Edris nodded to himself. "Celio, you should go help His Highness. We'll meet later at the address I gave you."
"I understand, Master. Please be careful!"
"Little Celio's right." Dolan patted Edris firmly on the shoulder. "Please be careful, and please do not do anything reckless that would get you injured."
Get hurt? Why would I?
Edris stared at him strangely.
Of course, the investigation was not without risk, but he had prepared thoroughly before coming here. If anything, he could always ask Ace to teleport back.
Edris casually brushed off the Crown Prince's hand and smiled. "Thank you for your worries, Your Highness. I will surely come back with the information you want."
With that, he turned to face the tunnel. An uninviting aura reeked out of the darkness, but Edris remained unfazed as he stepped on the threshold between light and dark. He took a step forward, then another.
The cloaked man disappeared into the darkness.
***
Edris let the pathway lead him.
He was accustomed to the dark, so he could adjust quickly to the surrounding environment. However, Edris didn't even need to do that.
He stared at the glowing ball that was floating in the air.
"You can even do that?"
— …
As usual, Ace ignored his questions.
Beside the cobbled path was a wide gutter filled with rainwater and waste deposits. Sometimes, rotten flesh would resurface, while other times, they would see undefined but equally questionable substances.
A pungent smell wafted through the space, and Edris pulled his collars further up his face.
Apart from the sound of streaming water, there was clattering at the deep end of the path. The muffled noise gradually evolved into the sound of clinking metals with Edris's steps.
After some more walking, a white dot emerged from the darkness, signalling the end of the tunnel.
"Looks like we're almost there. Hey, stop glowing and get in here." Hovering the hood further over his head, Edris hurried the floating Ace to the inside of his cloak.
He looked towards the walls, and after making sure he was indeed invisible, Edris advanced towards the light.
***
A few minutes later, Edris stopped walking.
— Something's wrong.
"Yeah."
While he still saw the white dot ahead, it stood at the same distance as the beginning.
Having adjusted to the darkness, Edris examined his surroundings. The air around him was damp. Under his feet, waste stuck by the sides of the gutter. Aside from the dripping water from the top of the tunnel to the gutter, all was still.
"It's too quiet."
That was the problem.
It was far too quiet.
If he was walking through a sewage tunnel, the water beside the sidewalk should flow somewhere. However, the one beside his feet was as still as Serenity Lake at night.
"We're in an illusion."
With that conclusion, Edris lifted his left arm, and a purple gust erupted from his palm. The gust rushed straight ahead and enveloped what seemed to be an empty space in front of him.
The next moment, Edris heard something shatter by his ear, and the darkness in front of him distorted.
The tunnel was like a narrow tube that erupted into a pool of free space. The brightness pierced through his eyelids that had held darkness merely moments ago. Slowly blinking his eyes open, Edris was confronted with an unexpected sight.
"...So this was how they managed to plan the event without anyone noticing."
He was standing at the edge of a mine-like area almost as wide as the royal palace's garden. It was in a shape of a half-sphere, giving off a spacious but perturbing feel. Seven tunnels surrounded the stone walls, all leading to the centre of the chasm.
A bright circle hung at the top of the sphere chasm, bringing light to the rest of the space.
Under the bright circle, workers travelled the space systematically, each holding carts filled with weapons. Screeching came from all directions, a result of machines grinding against each other. Grunts coming from the workers were incoherent, if they intended to communicate something at all.
— It's a factory.
Edris's gaze moved around, skimming the edges of the orb-like area. Countless cages were installed in the uneven walls, spiralling around like layers of icing on a cake. Those cages were currently empty, but Edris had a rough idea of their purpose.
— A familiar face.
"Hm?"
At Ace's words, Edris directed his attention to the centre of the orb. A stack of man-made stairs led to a small, elevated stage, also made of rocks. Someone was standing there, pointing around ambitiously to direct various events.
"I know him from somewhere..."
Brown hair, green eyes—the figure did seem familiar. Edris squinted to pin a name to the face, and he soon got his answer:
Viscount Eathe.
Five nobles were present at the Orteon incident, and he was one of them. If Edris recalled correctly, this person worked under Vincent Riselto, the marquis who tried to persuade Edris to his side.
Unlike their last encounter, Eathe wasn't wearing any of his noble clothes. Instead, he dressed in a white collared shirt, wide trousers, and a thick jacket swung over his shoulder. His shoulder-length hair was pulled back with a headband.
— He's familiar with dark magic.
"Ho…" Edris narrowed his eyes onto the small spirals of darkness that trickled from the viscount's fingers like drops of ink.
Viscount Eathe, affiliated with the powerful Riselto family, was both a slave importer and a dark magic user?
An intrigued smile tugged at Edris's lips.
"It appears that I've discovered yet another thing that can throw the kingdom into chaos."