As the carriage passed through a village, Charlotte left the fare behind and quietly got off without alerting the driver.
Watching the carriage speed away, Charlotte relaxed a little. He never intended to go to the manor; after absorbing the life essence he had stolen, he chose to slip away mid-journey to make it harder for pursuers to track him.
This village was small, with only a few dozen households and a single street running through it.
By now, night was falling, and although Charlotte was extraordinary, he didn't dare to travel through the wilderness at night. The world outside the city was dangerous, even near the capital of Strasbourg, with man-eating demons, ferocious beasts, and other unspecified dangers.
Charlotte tried knocking on the doors of two villagers. The first responded with a rough voice and refused his request for lodging. The second was more polite but still refused, pointing him instead to Old John at the edge of the village.
Old John was a hunter who occasionally provided lodging to strangers.
By the time Charlotte found the old hunter's home, it was completely dark. He knocked on the door and requested lodging, and a tall, strong old man opened the door and said, "Come in."
To Charlotte's surprise, the old hunter wasn't alone. There was also a small group of adventurers in the room.
This group consisted of five people, three men and two women. Their leader was a middle-aged warrior wielding a giant axe who watched Charlotte warily without speaking to him.
The other two men were slightly younger, in their thirties, and carried military sabers. While rapiers were excellent for street duels, in the wild and in the military, the thicker-backed saber was the more common weapon. These two were clearly experienced adventurers, with plenty of gear besides their weapons, and they eyed Charlotte with some caution.
The two women were very young, average in appearance. One had the characteristic golden curls of a typical Farse woman, while the other, likely with some southern blood from the Old Continent, had short, slightly brown hair. Both women were in their early twenties, only a few years older than Sylvie.
The blonde woman seemed particularly interested in Charlotte and asked, "Are you also heading to York Town for the White Wolf?"
Charlotte smiled slightly and replied, "I'm just passing through and haven't heard of the White Wolf. What kind of beast is it?"
The adventurers laughed, and the blonde woman explained, "The White Wolf isn't a beast. He's the best demon hunter, very skilled at slaying monsters. Recently, he announced that he'd obtained a monster's core and is looking for someone to inherit his legacy."
Charlotte was a bit surprised. Demon hunters were a widely-employed profession in this world, whether by the government, nobles, merchants, or even working independently. It was a lucrative career, with extremely high pay.
He had two college classmates who had successfully awakened their extraordinary abilities and became demon hunters before graduation. They now earned at least ten Folls a week, which was very enviable.
However, despite the broad employment prospects, the profession of demon hunting had two significant drawbacks: the job required a monster core, which was extremely rare and expensive, and the constant combat against monsters was as dangerous as it was rewarding.
Charlotte had once considered becoming a demon hunter himself but ultimately chose the path of Blood Glory, as he had no real talent for combat.
Looking over the five adventurers, Charlotte quickly judged that none of them had advanced to extraordinary status and immediately had an idea. He smiled and said, "I have no interest in becoming a demon hunter, but I'm very curious about the whole affair. Would you mind if I accompanied you?"
"Don't worry, I won't compete with you for the opportunity to become a demon hunter because..."
Charlotte gently snapped his fingers, and the air crackled with a faint popping sound. He smiled and said, "I've chosen the path of a knight and am already an extraordinary."
Of course, Charlotte wasn't using true energy; his power seed was still just a seed. But it wasn't difficult to simulate energy with Blood Glory, given that the two paths were similar.
The five adventurers were immediately impressed. The middle-aged warrior with the giant axe hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm Mason. Welcome to join the Giant Axe Adventurer Group."
The two slightly younger men introduced themselves, and the blonde woman was named Hannah, while the short-haired brunette was named Hermosa, a name that hinted at Old Continent southern customs. The name sounded a bit strange to a native of the Farse Empire.
Charlotte couldn't give his real name, so, inspired by Hermosa's name, he made up an alias: "Qian Nan," which also had a southern Old Continent flavor.
Being alone was conspicuous and made it easier for pursuers to track him down, but moving with an adventurer group would draw less attention and help him better hide his identity.
After joining the Giant Axe Adventurer Group, Charlotte flipped a copper coin and said, "Old John, is there any wine? I'd like to treat my new teammates to a drink."
The Farse Empire's coins were dark red and looked like copper coins, but they were actually made from an alloy. Charlotte didn't know the exact formula, but the coins were very resistant to wear and didn't tarnish or deform easily.
Old John caught the coin and said flatly, "One coin isn't enough."
Charlotte shrugged and tossed out two more coins. Old John caught them, nodded, and went to fetch the wine.
Charlotte knew one coin wouldn't be enough to buy wine, but he intentionally created the impression of someone who wasn't wealthy but was generous—a way to distinguish himself from the former well-paid and friendless Chief Clerk.
Old John soon returned with six large mugs of beer, one for each person.
Mason took a sip and immediately warmed up to Charlotte, saying, "Qian Nan! You're the best new member we've ever had."
He drank deeply, clearly satisfied.
Charlotte clinked mugs with the other four and took a small sip himself.
Old John's beer wasn't as good as the sparkling apple cider Charlotte was used to; it was slightly bitter and more like beer, though with a much higher alcohol content.