Selene didn’t react, continuing to listen intently to the cacophony of sounds in the tavern. She unconsciously dismissed the little girl’s voice. “Mister?” Why would she call me that? I’m not dressed as a middle-aged man. “Mister, buy some flowers…”
Seeing that Selene didn’t react, the little girl, lacking any real confidence, repeated herself, but this time in a very soft voice.
“…. Are you talking to me?”
Selene finally reacted, realizing the dirty little girl next to her was talking to her, offering her flowers.
The little girl nodded shyly.
“Say brother.”
Selene snorted. Her unfriendly tone made the little girl shrink back, a little frightened, and she took a half step back, bowing her head.
“Sorry… I’ll go now…”
“Wait.”
Selene reached out and touched her head.
When her hand touched the girl's hair, the girl instinctively shivered, as if electrocuted, and moved back slightly. But it seemed that Selene’s hand movement was slow enough, and she didn’t have any wrinkles or scars, her fingers were soft and young enough, that the girl ultimately didn’t dodge.
Her hair wasn’t sleek and smooth. The strands were dry, knotted, and clumped together. It was covered in dirt and grease. It was clear she hadn’t washed her hair in a while.
Selene saw her thin frame, which was visible even under her meager clothing and daily wear.
“What’s your name?”
“…. Ellen. My name is Ellen.” The girl said softly.
“Then Miss Ellen, sell me a bouquet of flowers.” Selene's right hand flipped out a few coins, worth about one-sixth of a gold coin, and put them in Ellen’s pouch that was hanging in front of her chest. She winked at her. “Little miss, what kind of flower are they?”
“My mother planted them. They’re white roses…” Ellen said in a low voice, offering Selene a white rose with mud still clinging to the stem. The white petals had dewdrops falling from them.
Selene took the white rose and looked herself over, but couldn’t find a suitable place to put it. She had no choice but to hold it in her hand. Then she was about to leave.
“Wait.” Ellen grabbed her coat again and rummaged in her own small bag. “Wait a minute, mister… brother… I need to give you change.”
Her nimble fingers searched diligently in her bag and flipped out a few bills that were folded, but still neatly arranged. She counted them carefully several times and gave them to Selene. They were a few brown bills with swords crossed on them, roughly half the value of the coins Selene had given her.
Then she saw that Selene was a little confused as to why she had South Continent money, so she explained in a soft voice,
“Last night, a brother who was a little taller than you, bought a lot of flowers…”
You can’t just assume I’m short, you know.
Selene smiled and nodded at her. She put the brown bills in her pouch and walked out of the tavern.
Ellen watched her leave, her fingers rolling back and forth in the pouch on her chest. Her expression seemed a little conflicted.
Finally, she touched her left side, went to a more well-dressed patron in the tavern, hesitated for a moment, and went up to him to sell the white roses she was carrying.
...
Selene observed the street for a while, but couldn’t find anyone who looked suspicious at first glance. But that was to be expected. After spending a long time with no results, she went to find a cheap restaurant and filled her belly with her remaining money. Then she headed directly to the Adventurer Guild.
This time, she was going out not only to search for the attacker, but also to complete the mission that Duquesne had assigned to her—helping to find some adventurers willing to obey the station’s arrangements and be “temporary observers,” to make up for the lack of manpower at the station.
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The Adventurer Guild was the most conspicuous building on Thel Street. It occupied a huge area, a full circle larger than the station, and was about the same size as three taverns. The entrance had an extremely wide, carved stone door with an eagle and a dragon. Three carriages could fit through side by side. Behind the door was a wide, expansive area for accommodating carriages. And behind the guild, there was a stable large enough to hold a dozen horses, with people specially assigned to taking care of the horses that were entrusted to them there…
It was truly grandiose and luxurious.
Selene walked through the familiar stone door and plaza and entered the first floor of the Adventurer Guild.
The building was about five stories high. The first floor was for receiving assignments, settling commissions, providing adventurers with a place to rest and dine. It was the most trafficked area of the guild. The second floor was the workspace of the guild staff, a place for the staff and visiting guests to work and socialize. The third to fifth floors housed the inn, providing accommodations for temporary guests. The rooms were clean, and the service was excellent. There were no flaws, except that the price was several times higher than the taverns on the street. It was the first choice for traveling merchants who arrived.
—The Adventurer Guild originally had no kind of side business, but since the station appeared in the world, most of its functions had been replaced by the station, which was more trustworthy, more efficient, and more professional.
Most of the adventurers had lost their livelihoods, so they simply changed careers and became observers. They got to eat a stable government-issued meal, and those adventurers who had a little extra money changed careers and became private detectives. This led to a steep decline in the income of the Adventurer Guild. It then led to many of the higher-ups going to find other places to eat, such as the military or the Magic Society.
The wheels of time keep rolling on, crushing the once enormous Adventurer Guild, which was almost able to stand up to small nations, to a state of near-death. To survive, they wisely chose to develop side businesses and change their positioning. The inn on the third to fifth floor was evidence of this.
Selene scanned the crowd on the first floor, then went directly to the area that served adventurers and people who needed commissions.
It was an area a bit larger than the Silver rose Tavern, bordered by individual rooms, but the central area was a long table where adventurers and those who wanted to commission assignments sat, either drinking or eating. People in white and green uniforms, the servers working for the guild, walked among them.
Selene passed through the dining room, found room number 016, and pushed the door open without knocking.
Inside the room was a large, round table and four beds. There was a separate bathroom. Now, only a large, muscular man with bulging muscles was lying on a bed, holding a small book in his hand, his eyes focused on it, and he was smiling maliciously.
Selene tilted her head slightly, looking at the contents of the book—the intertwining limbs, the spreading flesh, the bizarre gasping explained by the text.
In about a minute, she could see the man beginning to stitch a living creature together.
She walked up to the man, who hadn’t even noticed that she had entered the room, and kicked him directly, knocking him onto the other side of the bed. He got up, grumbling curses under his breath. As he looked up to see who had entered, he was taken aback. He blurted out in a friendly, affectionate greeting…
But then he saw her light blue eyes, which were devoid of any emotion. And then he saw the soft, gentle face that came with the removal of her disguise, with its breathtaking beauty and a sense of overwhelming presence.
“What were you about to say? Keep going.” Selene laughed coldly.
“…. Boss, you’re back!” The big man threw the small book in his hand aside and expressed his excitement. “Me and the other have been waiting for you night and day. We’ve been worshipping you every day, putting money in front of your painting. We even talked about putting a little courage in your writing… Did you spend all the money you made as a private detective? What are you going to do this time? Go to the ruins or rob the caravan? I’m ready to give my life for you, to rob for you, to block the arrows and dodge bullets for you…”
“Get out.” Selene cut off this former associate, then steered the conversation back on track. “I haven’t spent all my money yet. This time, I’m just taking on a mission from Duquesne. I need to find a few obedient guys to work for him over there.”
“No problem. All the old guys have been without work lately. They’re all free.”
The big man readily agreed, but then furrowed his brow and said softly,
“Right, boss, do you know about the 《Festival of Transmutation》?”
“No, what’s that?”
“Yesterday, someone posted an assignment to find a book called the 《Festival of Transmutation》, or maybe called the 《Transmutation Tantra》. ” The big man explained. “The fee was really high, and a few of the old guys wanted to take it, but I didn’t think it was reliable, so I told them to wait and see what happens for a few days… Don’t you know?”
Selene shook her head and gave him instructions.
“You and the others who are going to work at the station go directly there and tell them that Nitya sent you. They won’t give you a hard time… Also, tell me more about that mission. I need to know the details, and who commissioned it.”
“No problem.” The big man agreed, pushed open the door, then called Selene over and pointed to a man sitting in the dining room, “That’s the one who posted the assignment.”
Selene followed his finger and saw a middle-aged man wearing a patched-up coat. He was eating and drinking enthusiastically. He was gobbling down the soup-soaked bread and the tender pieces of stew as if he were a starving ghost, and his belly was visibly bulging. It looked incredibly strange.
She narrowed her eyes.