The horse carts reached Bulim town when it was dusk. It was decided that they would stay there for two whole days.
The next day Gojo and Grisella went to explore the town. Bulim was a small town located along a passing stream. There were lots of bushes with colourful flowers along the stream. There were a lot people passing by since it was a busy time of the day.
Gojo was not paying much attention to the crowd but then something caught his eye. A normal gentleman was passing by when he accidentally collided with another man nearby. He dropped some of the things he was carrying. Among the things he was carrying a symbol carved in wood. He had seen the symbol before at the abandoned mansion where he had a fight with the men wearing black cloaks.
This aroused the curiosity in him. He patted on Grisella's back and said " Hey, Grisella I am going to follow that man so, if you want to join you can. If not you can keep walking. "
" Why are you following him ? Does he seem suspicious to you ?" asked Grisella.
" Okay, then come with me, I will explain to you everything as we follow him. " said Gojo.
They followed the man as he walked through the roads going outside the town. As they walked Gojo started explaining everything to Grisella.
" I don't know where to start, but do you remember Musgrave mansion ? I had quite an adventure there. " said Gojo.
" Yes, I do remember it, it was there that you went after the kidnappers or smugglers. So what about it ?" asked Grisella.
" Well, you probably saw the abandoned mansion that was blown apart by the explosions. It was in that mansion that I saw that symbol. I think this man is somehow connected to those smugglers. " said Gojo.
" How are you so sure about that ? You may be mistaken. " said Grisella.
" Well, there's no harm in following the truth. I have heard about many such organizations before. So let's follow him, he may lead us to where the answers lie. " replied Gojo.
After sometime the man exited the town using a way which was not used by the townspeople. Then the man disappeared into the bushes. They kept on following him without making a noise.
Soon they came across an abandoned cottage in the forest. The man walked behind the cottage. Gojo and Grisella walked covered by the bushes and went behind the cottage. There they saw a huge cart waiting and a few people wearing black cloaks and masks standing around. The man was talking to one of them.
" Looks like we have to converse with them. " said Gojo and walked out. Grisella followed him.
The masked men had noticed them.
" Hey, who are you two ? Get lost at this moment if you wish to live. " one of them asked.
This statement had no effect on Gojo. He kept on walking towards them.
" Now, you are done, brat. " said a masked man and ran at him pulling out a dagger. Gojo punched on his face knocking him to the ground. Seeing this the other masked men also charged at him. Gojo knocked them all out one after the other.
After knocking out the masked men, Gojo looked around. The man who was dressed differently had already disappeared. Then the backdoor of the cottage opened. A figure in black cloak and white mask emerged from inside.
" What happened here ?" he asked as he looked around.
" It was this brat. He is quite skilled for his age. " said one of the masked men who was getting up.
" Hmm, white hair and a blindfold, you must be the one who raided our hideout outside Musgrave mansion. Am I correct ?" asked the man who came out of the cottage.
" Yes, I am who rescued the children abducted by your people. " said Gojo.
" Hmm, in that case why don't you join our organization ? You are very skilled. You may earn twice or thrice of what you earn from the adventurers guild if you work for us. Consider my offer carefully. " said the previous man.
" Nope, I will rather stick with the guild. I won't join you smugglers. " said Gojo.
" Are you sure about that ? You will benefit more from joining us, the Night Eagle. " the man tried to convince him but he remained adamant.
" Hmm, then I regret it. " saying this the man opened the door of the cart and rushed into the forest. The other masked followed suit. Gojo at first decided to chase them but soon stopped. A sky shattering roar echoed through the forest. He looked back at the cart. Standing in front of the cart was an enormous creature with the head of a lion, a head of a goat coming out from it's back and in place of it's tail was a snake head. From it's appearance it was a chimera.
The chimera jumped at Gojo, but he dodged it and fell back.
" What the hell is this creature ? " asked Grisella, she was panicked.
" This is a chimera. If you have any other questions keep them for later. First let's deal with this thing. " said Gojo.
He attacked the chimera with reverse red but it jumped and avoided being hit. Once the chimera landed he got behind it to attack. Here he encountered the snake coming out from where it's tail would have been. The snake spat put poison at Gojo. Although the poison did not affect him due to infinity, it blocked his vision. The chimera then charged at Grisella. Then Gojo ran towards Grisella grabbed her and started running. The chimera followed them.
After sometime the chimera jumped above them and landed in front of them. This was the moment Gojo was waiting for. As soon as it landed on the ground he used reverse red to blow apart the lion head. The goat head screamed as it prepared to jump. However, Gojo was fast as well. He quickly used reverse red again to blow apart the goat head. Then the body fell to the ground. But since one head was still present it started to move.
Gojo them ran towards the snake head and blew it using reverse red. Then the body collapsed on the ground blood spilling out from three portions.
" That was one hell of an encounter. Now what fo we do ?" asked Grisella.
" I think we should report this to the authorities. They will take care of the rest. " said Gojo.
The two of them went back to the town and reported everything to the authorities. The authorities went to confirm their story only to find a charred body of the chimera. They also checked the cottage but found nothing save for a few empty barrels. As for the Night Eagle organization, it was one of the organization that engaged in various illegal activities like smuggling and abducting people for ransom in various parts of the Empire.
The next day was a pretty normal day for Gojo and Grisella. They spent their day exploring the town. The day after they left the town. Their next destination was a village named Hilem.
Meanwhile inside a certain secluded building in Bulim two men were meeting in secret.
" So did you manage to recruit the white haired adventurer I talked about ?" asked one of the men.
" No, he declined my offer. Moreover he managed to kill a chimera. He is dangerous, so we should deal with him as quick as possible. We must inform the regional
leader. " said the other man.
" Is that so ? Very well, write a report describing all about the encounter. I will submit it to the head during our next meeting. " said the previous man as he left the building.