Han Shuo lifted the window slightly, revealing a long, narrow crack, and used this opening to look outside.
Candice's employer, Belinda, was wearing a face veil, revealing only a pair of sapphire-coloured eyes. There was a strange expression in them as she seemed to be searching for something. She looked back and forth as she arrived at Han Shuo and Emily's room.
Candice and the rest of the mercenary crew ran frantically after Belinda. Candice was on high alert as she kept one hand on the magic sword strapped to her back and looked around the room carefully, deathly afraid that something might happen to Belinda.
Candice breathed a sigh of relief as the other members surrounded Belinda in the centre. She spoke admonishingly to those who were still looking around Belinda, "Miss Belinda, please tell us before you walk around next time. We've been hired to keep you safe, but we won't restrict your freedom of movement. You have no reason to run off like that!"
Belinda's features were hidden behind her face veil as her crescent-shaped, thin eyebrows were drawn tightly together. Her beautiful eyes darted around as she seemed quite confused. It was only after Candice's displeased comment that Belinda came to her senses and said apologetically in a soft voice, "I'm sorry, I just thought I saw someone I knew and rushed over. Turns out I was wrong."
Candice was also quite perplexed when she heard these words and said with a strange tone. "There was no one here. Why would you say there was a figure here? That is too strange."
"Ah, it could be that I haven't slept much and my eyes are seeing things. I'm really very sorry." Belinda's bright eyes swept around the room where Han Shuo and Emily were as she answered Candice carelessly.
More frantic footsteps sounded from behind as a slightly plump, middle-aged woman came into view, smiling happily. She held a book in her hand and curtsied politely as she walked past the people, then said apologetically, "Honoured guests, you must be here looking for shelter. I was busy just now and I truly apologise. Please come and register with me at the front desk."
"To think there is no one at the front desk of this hotel. It really is a bit worrying. Besides, the exterior doesn't look too good. Shall we move to another hotel, Miss
Belinda?" Candice didn't seem to like this hotel and made the suggestion with a sour expression on her face.
Wrapped in a veil, Belinda's clear eyes surveyed the surroundings and said, "No need, let's stay here. I think this place is fine."
"All right then." Candice had to comply with her employer's wishes and reacted with some disappointment.
"Excuse me, what kind of people live in the rooms along this corridor?" Belinda seemed to ask the chubby hotel owner carelessly.
Sorry, we're not at liberty to say. This is for the privacy of our guests, I'm sorry! The hotel owner stuck to her guns. Although she clearly wanted Candice and the others to stay here, she wasn't prepared to budge on a matter of integrity.
Nodding, Belinda didn't continue her line of questioning. She said quietly, "That's fine too. Are there any empty rooms in the corridor? If so, I'll stay here."
The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up as she quickly flipped through the book in her hand, then pointed to a room not too far from Han Shuo and Emily's and said hastily, "This room is empty, but it's not the best in the hotel. If the honourable lady doesn't mind, you can move in right away."
"No problem, then this room it is. Candice, you take care of the rest." Belinda said gently as her clear eyes glanced surreptitiously at Han Shuo and Emily's room and walked to her room.
The owner of the hotel knew that Belinda was the master of this group, so she quickly fished out a set of keys as Belinda started to move. The owner opened the door and let Belinda in when she got to the door.
"You go in first and protect the lady. I'll take care of the paperwork and arrange rooms for us around Miss Belinda." Candice gave orders to the rest of the Battlefire mercenaries after seeing Belinda go inside, before following the overjoyed, chubby owner back to the reception.
Han Shuo closed the gap in the window as the Battlefire mercenaries followed Belinda into the room. He said quietly to Emily, "The anomalies of the white bone staff must have something to do with Belinda. The identity of this person is very suspicious."
Emily had also seen some of what had just happened and immediately nodded when she heard Han Shuo's words. She said seriously, "It looks like Belinda has something to do with the necromancer you killed. Since you took all the memories from his soul, do you have any impression of this Belinda?"
With a furrowed brow and deep thought, Han Shuo finally shook his head firmly, "No. Belinda never appeared in any of Clarendon's memories. I really don't understand how she was able to sense the white bone staff."
"How did Clarendon get the white bone staff?" Emily began, approaching the question from a different angle.
"It was given to him by the leadership of the Church of Calamity after Clarendon completed a certain number of missions. He only knows how to use the white bone staff, but not where it came from." Han Shuo replied after pondering for a while with his eyes closed.
"It looks like Belinda is from the Calamity Church. She might be here because of Clarendon's disappearance. We have to be careful." Emily thought for a moment and came to a serious conclusion.
Belinda was Candice's employer at the moment. If she was from the Calamity Church, then it was unknown why she had asked. Han Shuo couldn't quite understand this point, but since Belinda could sense the white bone staff, it meant that her background was not simple. He silently considered the situation as he thought about the evils of the Church of Calamity.
"Belinda must be suspicious of the rooms in this corridor. I think we should leave this place temporarily and move to another room to observe her." Han Shuo suggested to Emily after thinking for a while.
Nodding, Emily said confidently, "No problem, the owner of the hotel is one of us. We can move to any room we want."
No wonder Emily had chosen to stay at this hotel in Valen City. It turned out that the owner was part of the Dark Mantle! It looked like the Dark Mantle's intelligence network was quite extensive indeed.
Taking advantage of the time before Candice returned, and the fact that Belinda had gone into the room with the Battlefire mercenaries, Han Shuo and Emily quietly slipped out of their room through another exit. They entered a large lobby on the floor above and leaned against the window, overlooking the front courtyard from their vantage point.
Emily must have triggered some kind of mechanism, because a short time later, the hotel owner happily appeared in the lobby. Still wearing a professional smile, she bowed slightly to Emily, "Madame Emily, what are your orders?
"Sister Helene, prepare a new room for us, ideally some distance away from Belinda, but still able to observe her." Emily also responded kindly with a small smile.
The middle-aged woman called Helene was a little surprised by Emily's words. She thought for a moment, "Three people also came in and asked for a room to watch Miss Belinda."
His mind connecting the dots, Han Shuo thought of the three who had followed Candice. He asked involuntarily, "Where are they now and did you give them the correct rooms?"
"Don't worry, I deliberately kept the rooms that could watch Belinda's room. I knew there was something wrong with that woman when her gaze was a little off in your room." Helene glanced at Han Shuo and showed a 'don't worry, I've got it under control' look on her face as she explained with a smile.
"Sister Helene has done a lot for our organisation over the years. Although she doesn't know any offensive magic, she is very good at observing people. That's why I stay here when I'm in Valen City." Emily also rolled her eyes at Han Shuo and smiled slightly.
"Enough, Madam Emily, don't compliment me like that. I'll arrange new rooms for you right away. I'll also keep an eye on those who have just arrived and report back to you immediately." Helene sashayed out after answering cheerfully.
"Alright, we should make our preparations as well. We need to keep a close eye on this girl. Investigating her background can lead to enormous profits for us." Emily said.