"Are you still awake Din?" a soft voice woke me up from my sleep.
"Huh?" I tiredly opened my eyes to see Long Dao's face beside my bed. "Woah!" I sat up quickly. "Uh… What's up?" I asked, anticipating something to happen.
But the reality is never gonna be like your imagination. "Sh!" Long Dao signaled with her finger on her mouth. "Listen," she said.
I closed my eyes to put focus on my hearing, but I couldn't hear anything. "Activate Wisdom of the Senses," I whispered.
[Wisdom of the Senses activated. Cooldown starting] the system announced.
"What did you just say?" Long Dao asked me.
"Uh… Nothing. Don't worry about it," I smiled it off.
Now, with my hearing enhanced, I could finally hear the voices outside of our room.
"What should we do about them, boss?" a girl's voice.
"Don't be impatient. Wait for the order of our highness," it was an old woman's voice. Her voice did sound similar to the boss we had met.
"So this tavern is backed up by someone else," I thought, then continue to pay attention to the conversation outside.
"What about Phai? She was the one that brought them here. I am doubting her loyalty to us," the girl's voice spoke.
"Nonsense! She had finished her mission flawlessly. How can you think of your sister like that?" the boss scolded the girl.
"But…" the girl still wanted to say something but was interrupted.
"Besides, she is HIS favorite. Now leave!" The boss finished and we heard footsteps walking away. Moments later, another footstep also left.
Long Dao and I waited for a while to make sure no one could hear us, "What do you think?" I asked her.
She just shook her head, "Besides knowing about HIM, I can't think of anything else."
I thought for a while, then asked, "Is there any information about Lan that you know of?"
Long Dao sat down and took her time, at last, she replied, "Since Lan is a closed nation, not many people from Lai or Hoa know about their insights. The only thing we know for sure is that fifteen years ago, Lan was at their peak. They roamed and pressure not only Lai but also Hoa at the same time. Now, they are living and don't want to have any contact with the rest of the world."
"I have heard this from Van Kiep but didn't think much of it. But it is truly unusual for Lan to stop all of their conquests and just go back to normal like this. There must be something else in the Three Kings Agreement," I thought.
"Get ready," Long Dao took me out of my thoughts.
"For what?" I asked.
"We are going to investigate outside," she replied.
"But you don't even know where we are supposed to go," I said.
"It is still better than just sitting here doing nothing. Hurry up," she then took a coat and put it on her. I quickly jumped out of the bed and did the same thing.
After that, Long Dao slowly opened the door and stuck her head out to scan first. There was only darkness and silence in the hallway. Seeing that it was safe to go, she went out and signaled me to follow.
We made our steps as quiet as possible. Unlucky for us, our room was at the most right of the hallway and the stairs were at the most left. That meant we had to pass through three rooms to get to the stairs.
"Long Dao," I called as silently as possible.
She looked at me upset, but seeing that I was eager to say something, she put the ears close to me.
I was happy for her cooperation, so I whispered in her ears, "If I'm correct, then the girl that we just heard has her room beside us, Phai is the middle room, and the boss's room is the last one across the stairs."
Long Dao couldn't hold her surprised expression off her face. I guessed that she was clueless about how I made those conclusions. But to keep things going smoothly, we didn't say anything more.
The reason I told Long Dao that was because if we are about to get caught, we can jump in Phai's room and ask her for help. Even if it is still risky doing that because Phai can just turn us in, hiding in her room is a better safety than just running around.
Lucky for Long Dao and I, we didn't have to use that last option. Things went smoothly and we were able to go downstairs without any obstacles. We were relieved that our sneakiness was about to end, but at the front door, Long Dao and I saw some shadows, so we quickly hid.
Because we were close to the door, we could hear their conversation.
"Master, I have finished my mission," that was Phai's voice.
"You have done very well. I heard that HE was pleased with you," a man said this time.
I looked at Long Dao and saw her looking at me too. Without saying a word, we both nodded agreeing that this man will be our first lead into Lan.
"Master, what should we do about our two guests upstairs," the boss's voice.
"For now, don't do anything to stir things up. I will make a decision about them when I see them as a threat," the man said.
"Isn't it easier to just kill them and don't have to think about it?" the girl's voice.
"No! They know magic! At least Din has it! It is going to be troublesome to kill them," Phai disagreed with the girl.
"Oh?" the man reacted. "This is the first time I see you remember a guy's name," he said.
"Master!" Phai got nervous. "My loyalty is to you only. I only remember his name because we were together for a few days. That is all!" she defended herself.
*Silence*
Without seeing what was going on, I could feel the intense pressure in the atmosphere from the man. Only when he spoke again that it was easier to breathe.
"Wait for my order and don't do anything else," he said coldly.
"Ye… yes," the three can barely talk.
After that, I heard the sound of a carriage going away. Long Dao and I looked at each other and nodded. We quietly went back to our room before the three of us found us and went inside the tavern.
"Even though we couldn't go out. I say today is a great success," I said when we got to our room.
Long Dao nodded, "Tomorrow, we will investigate more about that mysterious master." Long Dao nodded. "By the way, how did you know about which room they are in?" she added.
"Oh, that?" I reacted. "Well, the boss's room is across the stair so she could know anyone enter or leave, the girl's room is next to our so she could keep her eyes on us since they didn't sound like they trust Phai from the conversation. So that left with the middle room must be Phai's" I explained.
Long Dao looked impressed. I mean I would too if I were her if I hear someone saying that. Lucky for me that I have read watched too many Sherlock Holmes and Detective Conan that I could deduce at least this much.
"So… what are we doing now?" I asked.
Long Dao, woke up from her impressed expression, looked at me, and smiled, "Sleep."
End of Diary.