Diether didn't hesitate any more and decided to look for the three guys who almost killed him.
He remembers them clearly. They were Vic, Wally, and Josh.
Although they've only been together for about a couple of weeks, he wouldn't forget their names after they attempted to kill him.
Diether first went to a nearby clothing shop as he noticed that his shirt and pants were clearly from a villager. He wanted to at least match his clothes with the townspeople so they would not take a second look at his face.
He only spent 80 copper coins on the shirt and pants but he had spent another 1 silver coin for a very good quality hooded cloak.
The cloak wasn't looking suspicious with its silver-gray color and it even looks elegant to wear.
"Good… This should be enough."
Wearing a cloak wasn't uncommon to people so he didn't hesitate to wear one.
"Where are you going to find them?"
Reiji asked after Diether completely changed his clothes except for his small hunting bag that was still the same.
"I'm planning to find them first at the Summer Sun district."
This is where he was previously assigned to collect the garbages.
He remembered that every time he did this would earn him 5 copper coins enough to buy a meal for the day. A hard and stale bread that would cost 3 copper each…
But now, it was completely different, he had a small bag full of gold coins and even has an extremely expensive high-grade evil beast's core.
After walking around for 15 minutes he was still unable to find even the shadow of the three. He decided to visit other places but still, he couldn't find them.
Instead, he found other garbage collectors that he was unfamiliar with.
"Oh… I guess I should try the garbage dump…"
The mountain of trash was full of treasures to many beggars or homeless people. After all, materials that were useless to middle-class people can be very useful to them.
Unfortunately, even after visiting the place and enduring the smelly surroundings, he was still unable to find the trio.
"Ugh… This is frustrating…"
He decided that it was enough to covertly look for them and ask the other collectors present.
"Well, I've never heard of their names… I'm sorry…"
One of the collectors answered.
He continued asking the others and some were even a bit difficult to talk with. Diether had to give them a single copper before they would answer his questions. With the amount of money he has, these copper coins wouldn't affect his wealth.
"I've only started working here a week ago… I don't know anyone with that name… I'll look for you if I heard something."
"Vic? Wally? Josh? No… I don't know them. Consider asking the guards in the district."
"They might have died already… We are all living on the streets and some were even outside the town's protection… We can be food for an Evil Beast at night if one stumbled in our place…"
"If they are working as a garbage collector… Their names must be listed in the registry…"
"Yes, you should try to visit the town mayor's office if you want to know where they are assigned now…"
Surprisingly, it was so difficult to find the trio as different answers and suggestions came to him…
"Did they escape? Ugh… It wasn't impossible considering that they were aware that I've safely escaped."
With the strength that he showed the last time, he was sure that they won't be able to sleep well at night knowing that someone capable has a grudge against them.
They might have run away or the main culprit might have acted to silence the three. It would be difficult to find the truth if that were the case.
Diether was against the idea of looking at their names at the registrar's office of the town hall. The real culprit might be alarmed in case they have connections there. After all, anyone that would dare to target a noble must have some influence of their own.
After reaching a dead end on his search, he decided that it was enough and find his way towards the Royal Academy not too far from the town.
He hired a carriage to take him to the place so he could arrive faster.
The Academy wasn't just composed of few buildings… There were several sports and combat fields, and an artificial Arcane Tower.
It was nothing compared to the real Arcane Tower but it was enough to provide guidance and experience to the young Arcanists.
"There's a lot more people than I imagined…"
Diether said after noticing that there were a lot of people waiting outside the Academy gates. There's a long line of people trying to get in but entry to the Academy won't be normally allowed so he was curious.
"Oh? Are you going to enroll in the academy? Don't worry… They are here for a different purpose… This line wouldn't take long and we can get in a couple of minutes…"
A tanned middle-aged man wearing a leather armor heard Diether's words. He kindly assured him as if he was worried that Diether would give up lining up due to the long line.
"Really? Ah, I'm not here to enroll, but is an enrollment going on at this time of the year?"
"Is that so? Mhm… There were recent changes to accommodate more talented young people. You should keep up with the news…"
"I see… Thank you. May I know why many older people are going in?"
Eighteen years old and above was no longer allowed in this academy. So having a lot of middle-aged men going in the academy doesn't seem right…
"Well, there's going to be an auction…"
"Eh? An auction within the academy?"
"It happens a few times in a year… The items being auctioned were the products of these young Arcanists studying at the academy. They would also sell high-grade materials like cores but it would not happen often."
Diether was confused for a moment after hearing this…
"Then, how about the Marketplace at the Academy?"
"That? Don't think about going there until you become one of the students here… Only students were allowed to visit that place… Not only amazing products of top students of previous years can be found there but also weapons and equipment supplied by our kingdom… I heard that ownerless Arcana can even be found there!"
"Really?!"
"Yes… I could only attend the auctions as I bought a ticket at a high price… However, there was no way to purchase a pass to enter that Marketplace."
"I see…"
Diether answered listlessly. He was sure that the token he has was for the Marketplace. However, this man explained it like the place was something very precious.
'Oh… He might've been misinformed. He doesn't even know that Hunters could get a token to enter the marketplace just by completing a mission given by the Academy.'
"Ownerless Arcana…"
Diether suddenly remembered the Laguna Sword… This Arcana was still looking good even though the owner has already died.
'Did the Academy collected Arcanas of the dead Arcanists and sold them?'
It wasn't like the Arcana was fixed to the Arcanist forever. Although it was normal for the Arcana to be wielded by its summoner, changes of the owner could happen if the Arcanist has died or it was abandoned and the Arcana decided to find someone better or similar compatibilities.
There were also cases that the Arcana would be destroyed after its Arcanist perished.
In short, someone could also have two Arcana as long as they were lucky and they have Spiritual Energy that could handle it.
Reiji who was silently listening was looking very interested in this conversation…
After a couple of minutes, Diether was already in front of the Academy guard.
"Show me your auction ticket…"