After finishing the visit, Seth rushed to the front gate and saw Alessia Treehelm standing alone.
The front yard is as bad as the soldier warned him. People, from babies to old, are suffering.
Many injured men and women are lying around on mattresses and hugging their bags, carrying whatever they have left from the attack.
Even steps he takes, he has to make sure he doesn't accidentally step on anybody.
"Sorry for making you wait. I have a thing to do. You know. "New guys" stuff."
Seth tries to laugh it off for being late.
The aura of the girl before him is intimidating, considering she is the landlord's daughter, and he makes her wait.
If his fantasy knowledge is still intact, these nobles don't like it when people don't follow their word immediately.
"It's ok. No need to apologize."
Alessia glanced her green eyes at him with some disappointment in them.
She thought he would come faster.
"What do you want to ask about? Is it an urgent matter, or can it wait? For you see, we are very short on staff."
Even though Seth has no idea how things work here, groups of injured people are waiting for their help behind him, so he wants to help them first if he can.
"It depends on how you see it. Does defending the village sound urgent to you?"
"Please continue."
His face turned severe after hearing.
"Let's go somewhere private."
She looks around before leading him out of the fort.
Outside is the "town," albeit tiny, and it is lonely and lifeless in his eyes.
"Look depressing."
Seth commended it.
It is a fantasy town like in those middle age fantasy books. There's no mistake.
Most buildings are wood and stone with glass windows, and the roads are flat and clean.
It has many establishments, such as a bar, inn, and adventure guild, but most have no one inside them.
Even if it has, it is negligible.
Sure, they have more homes than the village, but the road is empty, making it look like a ghost town.
"Got a lot of problems going on, Bandit, Business deal, ETC. Losing many travelers and merchants."
They walked for a while in the middle of the road without a single carriage to block their way before they arrived at a tea house.
It's a lovely little tea house with a cute waitress smiling from the inside.
This teahouse is decorated with warm light and has a faint aroma of the herb.
"Welcome back, Miss Alessia. Would you like the private room?"
The waitress bowed down.
"Yes."
Alessia answered.
Then the waitress smiled and led Seth and Alessia to the second floor with four private rooms.
She opened one of them and got out of the way politely.
Inside, the private room is tranquil. Even the sound of the heartbeat can be heard.
Both sat opposite the table, and the waitress gave them the menu.
"I would like to have fresh lemon tea. What about you? I pay, so don't worry about the price."
Alessia ordered and smiled at Seth.
"Only a glass of water, thank you."
Seth smiled at the waitress.
"Are you sure that's enough? I can buy all the menus for you to try if you don't know what they are."
Alessia asked him.
"I am already willing to answer your question, whether with a bribe or not. No need to be extravagant."
Seth politely declined.
He knows what is behind all this talk and smiles, so he doesn't let her have the advantage in this conversation.
She tries to show her status and money to intimidate him, but he does not buy any of it.
"Fine."
Visible dissatisfaction appears on her face, but only for a second before she returns to her calm expression.
"Then, Let's start our question. Can you describe the bandit's boss's strength, how strong he is?"
"Yes. He was powerful. He fought with Kri—my teacher, and can hold against her."
Seth told her the same answer he had told Peter.
"Your teacher? What rank is she?"
"Rank? Oh! If so to speak, she should at least be at Captain Peter's rank."
"That is problematic."
Alessia is concerned after hearing that an unexpected problem has halted her plan.
"Why? It's not like you have to go and kill him. Wait…. You do, aren't you?"
Seth knows what this face of hers means. It is the same face he once made in the past.
Knowing there is a criminal, but can't bust out a gun and go arrest them because there is no "evidence."
"I'm an apprentice rank mage. Only captain Peter is stronger than me."
Alessia spoke with an unsettling voice.
She planned to go and kill all the bandits because the militia was slow to make a move.
"If you wanted my help to defeat the bandit's boss, I would gladly do, but not now."
Seth knew if he faced the bandit's boss again, he would not be so lucky this time.
He needs to get stronger first and fast!
"No. You alone are useless. What I need is an insider to work for me."
Alessia doesn't care whether she has Seth's combat strength or not.
The answer makes Seth a bit confused.
"To?"
"Persuade the mission. You know what the soldier thinks of me, correct?"
What she needs is the power and influence inside a militia.
"Yes. You have a bad reputation there."
Almost every soldier he met hates her.
"Then you know why I need an insider. Soldiers only fellow soldiers. They will not follow me. Ever."
Alessia sighed. She desperately wants to help the militia but gets rejected every time.
"I'm sure they have their reasons. They even save me in time, remember? I think they do a pretty good job so far."
Seth understands her frustration of not having anyone follow her intellect, but he also understands how problematic it can be for criminal problems, especially when short-handed.
There are always more criminals than law enforcers back in his world.
"Are they, though? Do you know why the force was there, a middle-of-nowhere village at night, to recuse you? Because I stole their horse and ran to it."
Alessia spoke with frustration and anger.
Why did they get all the credit while she was the one who led them to those bandits?!
"How did you know where the bandit will attack? Are you a seer?"
Seth is impressed. If this were true, either she was a genius or had magical means to follow the bandit.
"By deducting the possibility of the attack target. But what did the militia say when I presented it to them? No!"
Alessia clenched her fist and gritted her teeth, trying her best not to let anger get the better of her control.
"If what you said is true, then I will agree to be your insider with one condition."
Seth empathized with her situation, but he still had a goal to accomplish.
"Condition?!"
BAM!
She slammed a table and broke it to pieces.
"I offered you a way to help, and you asked for a condition! I can't believe it!!"
The wood in Alessia's grip got squished to mush while she looked at him with fiery eyes.
"Calm down. The first condition is to test if your story is legit. Can't trust without proof, am I right?"
Seth put his hand forward and spoke calmly to defuse the situation.
"I asked because I remember you said some village would get attacked tonight. Can you tell me where it is? You can also prove to me other times if you need me to persuade the soldier for you first."
He quickly explains his condition and its intention so they can have a mutual understanding.