“What? The city is locked down because they attacked the high-ranking members of the knights again?”
“You didn’t know? The news was spreading like wildfire yesterday!”
“But a lockdown won’t catch anyone, will it? This is Siofra, the City of Secrecy!”
“That’s for sure! It’s just for show. There are nearly a million people here. How could they possibly catch anyone with only the several thousand men the church controls? This isn’t the Holy Capital!”
“Still, keep your head down for the next few days. Don’t go looking for trouble.”
The tavern run by the Adventurers’ Guild was bustling with noise, as nearly every Adventurer was discussing the major event that had occurred the previous day.
The youngest squad leader of the Order of the Temple’s Hammer had nearly been killed on his first day in office.
That was no small matter! Even the gates to the West City had been shut!
While the Adventurers on the first floor talked loudly, the two individuals at the center of the storm were sitting calmly in a small booth on the second floor, enjoying their food and drinks.
“Sigh—”
Astrid held a spoon in her mouth and sighed, still brooding over yesterday’s events. ‘How did we run into something like that… I really should find a Cursed Mask to wear!’
Lance only smiled at her words.
In his opinion, given Astrid’s demeanor and figure, she probably wouldn’t be able to avoid yesterday’s trouble even if she did wear a Cursed Mask.
She would have been questioned regardless.
“Alright, alright, don’t worry about it too much.”
“The church has no way to track us in Siofra. We’ll just hide out for a while.”
“I know, but still…”
Seeing that Astrid was still a bit gloomy, Lance continued to comfort her. “Once I pick up my sister, we’ll leave immediately and head to the Central District.”
“Once we’re there, we won’t have to worry at all.”
“Mhm…”
Currently, Astrid couldn’t show her face in public at all. Her deep blonde hair and Elf blood were far too recognizable.
It was better for her to hide in the Adventurers’ Guild for now.
Since Astrid was a Platinum Grade Adventurer, the guild would do its best to provide her with assistance.
In contrast, Lance, who had personally taken one of the Blonde Knight’s lives yesterday, actually had quite a bit of room to move around.
In Siofra, the City of Secrecy, he didn’t have to worry about being tracked by any special secret arts.
As long as he took off that Silver-Gray Heavy Armor and changed into light Adventurer’s clothing, he generally didn’t have to worry about being recognized by the patrolling knights.
As for the three-day search and lockdown ordered by the Radiant Church, Lance saw it as nothing more than a gesture to save face.
After all, the Radiant Church was not a monolithic entity, especially between the Regional Cardinal and the regional knights.
One controlled the administration while the other controlled the military.
Both wanted to suppress and control the other, making mutual suspicion inevitable.
Any Bishop with a brain would be looking for ways to use the squad leader’s heavy injuries as political leverage right now, rather than wasting massive effort to find a culprit that didn’t really matter!
That brainless second-generation noble didn’t even truly die!
Furthermore, if that Bishop had really wanted to catch Lance, he should have chased them directly yesterday!
Or he could have used the Power of Factors when he attacked! A Bishop was at the Elemental Tier!
If an Elemental Tier truly wanted to seize two High Rank individuals, wouldn’t it have been as easy as reaching into a pocket?
How could they have been allowed to escape so smoothly?
Therefore, Lance and Astrid didn’t care too much.
They were only slightly annoyed because this incident meant they could no longer stay in the West City.
Lance still had three months left on his lease for his rental house!
‘I’ll just consider it a change of environment for Noren,’ Lance comforted himself.
He sped up his eating, planning to go to the guild’s distribution center first to sell the materials the two of them had harvested from the Maze.
The value of that Sub-dragon species’ Mana Core was not low at all! Lance wouldn’t have to worry about money for a short while.
Furthermore, he had a pile of miscellaneous monster materials that the Antelope Elder had given him.
*
In the West City of Siofra, Lance, now dressed in plain cloth clothes, moved quickly toward the small house he rented.
Lance had already asked an information broker he knew well.
His sister hadn’t left the house for a long time, only coming out about ten days ago to ask for news about him.
After gaining nothing, she had obediently gone back inside, and no one had seen her out since.
Thus, there shouldn’t have been any accidents.
‘The blood I left shouldn’t be enough by now. I hope she hasn’t fainted from hunger…’ At that thought, Lance’s pace quickened.
After twisting and turning through the alleys, Lance finally returned to his current residence.
He first checked the door security and found that the Mana lock was functioning normally, with no signs of being tampered with.
Lance’s heart finally settled. After a moment of thought, he reached out and knocked on the door with a specific rhythm.
This was the secret signal they had agreed upon. Noren would only open the door when she heard a knock with this rhythm.
Lance had a smile on his face, his arms already open as he waited for his sister to open the door and hug him.
But after waiting for a long while, there was no movement inside, let alone the door opening.
Lance’s expression turned solemn. ‘Could she really have fainted from hunger?’
Without wasting any time, Lance took out his token and placed it on the security formation.
After a moment, the formation unraveled on its own.
Lance hastily pushed the door open and stepped inside, but the interior was pitch black, and the magic lamps were not lit.
After a rough scan of the room, Lance couldn’t find any sign of his sister in the tiny rental house. Where could she have fainted?
Having no other choice, Lance closed the door and shouted loudly, “Noren! Noren? Where are you?”
The house remained deathly silent.
The look on Lance’s face grew increasingly ugly as unease washed over his heart. He began to panic. Where… where was the child?!
Lance widened his eyes, even activating his [Undead Eye]. Anything with a soul would be highlighted in red under the effect of the [Undead Eye]. But… where was the red?
Forget a large mass of red light; there wasn’t even a single red dot in the room!
Lance completely panicked, losing his ability to think in his daze. ‘Impossible… the magic security was active… Noren must have set it… but what is going on?’
While Lance was lost in his despair, the voice of the Witch suddenly rang out in his mind.
“Why are you surrounded? What did you do while I was asleep?”
These sudden words instantly snapped Lance out of his dazed state. “Surrounded? What do you mean surrounded?”
“Never mind that. Quickly put on your armor. They have crossbowmen.”
“What?”
Lance was shocked. He quickly summoned the Silver-Gray Heavy Armor from his Traveler’s Pocket and armored himself up in a few quick motions.
But who was surrounding him? Could it be that the Restoration Army had found him?
“Master! How strong are the people coming? Is there anyone at the Elemental Tier?”
“No Elemental Tier. There are only two High Ranks, but there are quite a lot of crossbowmen.”
“Take the chance before they’ve completely closed the perimeter. Charge out now and run toward the east. There are fewer people that way.”
Nodding, Lance chose to place his full trust in the Witch Master’s judgment.
He immediately slammed through the door and used Charge toward the east.
“Damn it! We’ve been spotted!”
“Fire!”
Whistling sounds tore through the air from the distance as over a dozen bolts shot toward Lance.
Seeing this, Lance immediately swung his sword.
The resulting wind pressure instantly dissipated most of the bolts’ force.
Lance also took the opportunity to see the figures ambushing him.
With one look, Lance was instantly filled with disbelief.
The Blonde Knight!
It was actually the Order of the Temple’s Hammer ambushing him!
How did they find me? And how could they be waiting in ambush at my home!
Has Noren already been captured by them?