As Nem wondered if the man at the bar was from the police to say something like that, his state of mind changed and he started to observe him more attentively to draw conclusions.
First, he was drinking alcohol early in the morning and seem to be a regular of this establishment. Second, his back was straighter than one would expect from someone drinking so much. Third, his clothes were messy and dirty but too thick for this season and easy to move in, probably leather. Fourth, he was sitting the closest to the door and there was an abandoned musket rifle not far from him.
Nem concluded he probably was from a militia rather than police, but he couldn't be sure because of how little he knew about this city.
This wasn't the only conversation he had listened to since coming entering the city, and he didn't really care about it either.
'That's not my business anyway. Now, enough with the unimportant stuff, let's do this. '
His eyes became filled with determination and he walked towards the counter. He quickly cleaned up his face and put up his cutest expression with a well-timed blush.
"Aunty, do you know where the Leo Hotel is ? I'm lost..."
The woman stopped twisting her hands together and looked towards him with a softened face.
"Of course, sweety !"
***
Nem got out a few moments later with a candy in his mouth and a triumphant look on his face.
'Works every time.'
He began to walk in the direction indicated by Lisa, the saloon's owner. Because he had said he was lost, she had explained very patiently so Nem was sure to find it.
As he walked in the streets of Lunhart, which clearly lacked hygiene and were full of activity, he wondered if he should help this nice lady and her husband. There wasn't really any chance he would though, since he would be well occupied with his mission.
'Besides, I probably wouldn't be able to find the right place anyways, not even talking about her husband. Well, I'll keep it in mind I guess.'
Perhaps because he felt dishonest acting as a child, Nem wanted to help the poor lady even though it didn't have anything to do with him.
Nem continued to look around while walking, taking in the culture and style of the city. Even though the buildings looked a bit shabby to him, he realized they actually were well built, with stones, bricks and wood. Overall, the place looked relatively nice, and the people passing through ranged from tramps to wealthy gentlemen accompanied by servants.
The buildings were mostly belonging to shops, restaurants and banks and they likely contained apartments on the higher floors.
'This city doesn't seem so bad, maybe the Blessed of Darkness were just trying to scare me.'
Soon, a large three storey building appeared in front of him. A small sign was coming out from the top of the door, and it was written "Leo Hotel" in stylish handwriting.
There wasn't anyone waiting at the door, so Nem decided to go in without waiting. The interior seemed to be screaming how grandiose the hotel was, with a wide reception room and a flight of marble stairs in the middle, dividing in two as it went up.
There were a few leather chairs in the otherwise empty room, and the counter was currently vacant. Nem walked up to it, but quickly realized he wasn't tall enough to see clearly beyond it.
A bit annoyed, he cleared his throat loudly but nobody came.
"Come on, I don't have all day ! Is anyone going to take care of customers here ?" He purposely asked loudly.
A loud noise resonated from what Nem guessed was a room beyond the counter. It was followed by hurried footsteps and a door opening. An old man's wizened voice came right after :
"Strange, I could swear I heard someone..."
Nem quickly realized that the man couldn't see him from where he was.
"Oy, old man, I'm here !" He jumped as he talked, taking a glance at the grey-haired and classy shirt-wearing hotel personnel. He then stepped back to have a more stable view.
"Oh... I see..." Nem started to suspect the man might be slightly senile from his weak tone of voice. "And what can I do for you, little one ?"
"I'm here to meet Carl, can you call him here ?" Nem became more polite towards this old man who might be losing his mind. "Sorry to bother you..."
"Ah yes, of course, little Carl, I remember... He is still here. Don't worry I'll go call him over..."
Seeing the old man ready to go up the stairs by himself, Nem started to feel bad again. He really just seemed too old.
"Wait don't you have other employees ? Do you really have to do this yourself ?" Seeing the man hesitating he proposed something else. "How about you just give me the room number and I'll go there myself ? Don't worry, Carl is waiting for me."
The old man looked at the stairs in indecision for about a second and caved.
"Alright, hum let's see, little Carl is on the second floor, room 34. My memory is the one thing I still have that works well..."
Nem nodded in an awkward manner at the man's self-pity and thanked him before climbing up the stairs. Maybe it was a tradition of the Church of Peace, but they still didn't give him any shoes, and feet weren't making much noise on the stairs.
'Honestly, it feels great not wearing shoes around the monastery, but this is really not the best in the city. I almost stepped on glass right outside the saloon. I hope this Carl guy is going to give me shoes.'
He had now entered the second floor and started looking at the room numbers.
'30, 32... Ah there it is !'
In front of him was a door just like the others, made of thick redwood and decorated with complicated patterns. Nem decided to knock.
Knock, knock.
The sound was promptly followed by movement in the room, and the door opened slightly. Revealing a brown eye and a bit of black hair.
"Yes, what is it about ?"
"Uh, you're Carl right ? I'm from the Church."
"Of course you are, you didn't have to tell me." His voice full of self-importance as he opened the door immediately struck a nerve in Nem.
'This damn kid ! He literally just asked me !'
Nem called him a kid because, when he opened his door, Carl revealed his appearance. His black hair was pulled back with some kind of grease, his clothes were overly stylish with ribbons and golden buttons and his white hairless face didn't look over 18 years old. He had a thin golden sword by his waist, which was really strange considering he was in his own room.
Carl continued. "Come in, we cannot talk at length with you standing in front of the door like such."
Ignoring the annoyance rising in his mind at the man's tone, Nem simply did as he said. The living room was neat and tidy, only containing a small table and a few leather armchairs.
There was a journal on the table, as well as a teacup, still fuming. The journal's headline was about the Red Empire opening a new trade route with a city in the north.
'I wonder if that's got anything to do with what Lana is doing ?'
Nem sat down randomly and took the initiative to talk, even making himself sound excited.
"So, what's my mission ?"
"Humph." Carl made a depreciating sound. "Your mission is to monitor a man called Mannie and listen to everything he is saying to his henchmen. You must absolutely not get caught, because even though this man isn't the boss of his organization, he is quite careful and this would put our operation in jeopardy. I trust a child like you will find it easy to pass unnoticed in this part of the city..."
"What part is that ?" Nem had a bad feeling.
"It's the southwest area, the popular neighborhood. There are a lot of children that live in the streets as tramps in this part of the city. It will make your task a lot easier."
Nem's expression progressively collapsed as the dots connected in his mind.
"Does that mean I won't get a hotel room ?"