After a long and exhausting journey, everyone was too tired to drink much beer. They ate a little and quickly fell asleep, leaving half a barrel of beer untouched.
Charlotte, resting against his suitcase, took out his diary and activated his Insight ability. While pondering the first Agmirras Maze, he kept a watchful eye, occasionally sipping beer and enjoying the night breeze. Despite the crowd outside the White Wolf's large wooden cabin, it was quiet, with only the occasional sound of snoring adding to the tranquility.
As dawn began to break, Charlotte, feeling his spiritual energy depleting, closed the Insight ability, rubbed his eyes, and considered waking a companion to take over. Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps, and a group approached from outside the town.
The group soon arrived in front of the large wooden cabin, led by two men. One was exceptionally tall, over two meters, with a giant sword on his back and a pair of flails at his waist. The other man was someone Charlotte recognized: Louis Simmy, a merchant he had met at the Duchess of Maysau's magical item auction, where they had done business together.
Charlotte was slightly surprised but quickly calculated that Louis, who appeared to have just returned from afar, was likely unaware of the recent events in Strasbourg. Given the slow spread of news in this world, Charlotte decided that instead of avoiding him, it would be better to approach and engage in conversation.
As for whether Louis would report him once he returned to Strasbourg... First, the situation was complex, and a shrewd businessman like Louis would likely weigh the pros and cons. Second, by then, Charlotte would have long gone.
Charlotte stood up, walked towards the group, nodded slightly at the seasoned demon hunter White Wolf, and then opened his arms towards Louis Simmy, saying, "Louis, what a surprise to see you here. I'm Qian Nan; we met at the Duchess of Maysau's magical item auction."
Louis Simmy was slightly surprised but, being a successful businessman, didn't bring up the awkward question of "Didn't you go by Charlotte Mecklen last time?" Instead, he smiled and said, "Life is truly strange. Are you here to become a demon hunter as well?"
The two embraced and exchanged friendly gestures, a sign of deep friendship between men.
Charlotte replied with a smile, "I can't walk a second path of transcendence, or I would be tempted by such a great opportunity."
After chatting for a bit, Louis Simmy introduced Charlotte to the demon hunter, saying, "Qian Nan, my good friend. We've done some business together in magical items."
The White Wolf extended his hand for a handshake, a customary greeting between strangers on the old continent, and said, "White Wolf, a demon hunter."
Louis, ever the lively conversationalist, added, "I've just returned from Bayron with some specialty goods from that area. On the way, I hired Mr. White Wolf here. He's a very reliable demon hunter."
Charlotte was relieved. With Louis just returning from the Bayron Empire, he was surely unaware of the recent events in Strasbourg.
White Wolf was clearly an alias, but since Charlotte was also using a fake name, he didn't mind. He laughed and said, "I recently got my hands on a treasure map, so I joined an adventure team to explore it. I'm hoping for a little treasure."
White Wolf's eyes lit up slightly, and he asked, "What kind of treasure map?"
Charlotte replied with a smile, "I bought it from an old goods store. It's said to lead to the treasure of the ancient Orc Kingdom."
White Wolf immediately lost interest, saying, "Those treasure maps are usually unreliable."
Charlotte had made up the story, mainly to explain why he was in Yorktown, and White Wolf's reaction was exactly what he expected.
The group chatted casually as they entered the large wooden cabin. Charlotte didn't forget to wave to his adventuring teammates from the Great Axe Adventurers' Guild, bringing them inside as well.
White Wolf didn't seem to mind and didn't stop the Great Axe Adventurers from tagging along. After entering the large wooden cabin, White Wolf pointed to a brawny man and said, "I'm going to take a bath. If you want a drink, just ask Sam for it, but remember to pay." With that, he left.
Only two people in the group were White Wolf's assistants; the rest were Louis Simmy's subordinates.
Seeing White Wolf leave, Louis smiled and said, "You'll need more equipment for treasure hunting. I happen to have some suitable gear for the wilderness. If you see anything you like, feel free to take it for a friend's price."
Louis made a hand gesture, and one of his men brought over a pile of equipment, including a few transcendent weapons.
Since Charlotte was on the run, he was trying to travel as lightly as possible and wasn't interested in buying any equipment. As for the transcendent weapons, while he had some savings, he couldn't afford such high-end items.
He pretended to look through the items and noticed a black iron ring among them. The ring was unremarkable, but it bore the crest of a branch of the Arthur family.
The Arthur family was one of the 37 bloodline families and one of the three royal families, ranking above the six royal families.
Although Charlotte couldn't identify which branch of the Arthur family the ring came from, it was undoubtedly a vampiric weapon.
Curious, he picked it up and fiddled with it. Just as he was about to put it down, Louis Simmy smiled and said, "Mr. Mecklen, are you interested in bloodline weapons? This one has an extraordinary origin, but I've never figured out how to use it as a weapon."
"If you know how to use it, Mr. Mecklen, I'd be happy to pay for that knowledge."
With White Wolf gone, the members of the Great Axe didn't dare to join the conversation, watching from the corner. With no outsiders around, Louis Simmy called Charlotte by his real surname.
Charlotte, knowing he had a secret, gave a wry smile and asked, "What are you willing to offer, Louis?"
Louis Simmy pondered for a moment and said, "I bought this ring for 95 Egues, thinking I'd found a treasure. You know, the Arthur family is one of the three royal bloodlines, so it's definitely worth that price!"
"But after acquiring it, I couldn't figure out how to use it, so the most I could sell it for was 110 Egues. If Mr. Mecklen can figure out how to use it, I promise that whatever price it sells for, I'll pay you 30% of the pure profit as your appraisal fee."
Charlotte was curious and asked, "Louis, didn't you have someone who is well-versed in Bloodglory take a look at it?"