Chapter 15
Ch.15 Is He Smarter Than Me?
“Miss Anya, when you followed up on the investigation yesterday, did you enter the interior with the investigators dispatched by Serela?”
Although he had prepared to go there personally, prior to that, various preparations still needed to be made—especially regarding information.
After all, Apartment No. 23, 15th Street, West City had never appeared in ‘The Shining Myriad Trails’.
“No, I originally intended to follow them inside, but they told me I didn’t have the authority!”
“…”
As expected, Serela would never allow someone unfamiliar to her to access firsthand information.
Thus, he could only obtain intelligence from the materials currently in his possession.
“Hmm? Already abandoned?”
Sure enough, even though Serela’s subordinates reacted swiftly and mobilized immediately after he was targeted for assassination, they found little valuable information.
“Clearly, this was a premeditated assassination—they even accounted for the possibility of mission failure.”
‘But in the plot of ‘The Shining Myriad Trails,’ there is no information whatsoever regarding this assassination.’
‘So, is this still a worldline deviation caused by my shout?’
Luo Nan lowered his head, flipping through the documents, mentally reviewing every useful piece of information from the original plot, yet still found no connection to this assassination.
“Anya, this emblem,” Luo Nan pointed to the inverted humanoid figure within a circle, “are you certain it was carved right in the lobby of Apartment No. 23?”
“Yes. Although those guys didn’t let me enter, such an obvious mark could be seen from outside.”
“Do you recognize it?”
“Is it some kind of religious symbol?”
Clearly, Anya Sivans at this point did not yet recognize the symbol of ‘Nature’.
“You could say that.” Luo Nan glanced at the somewhat curious Anya but offered no further explanation.
“…”
Damn it!
The girl pursed her lips. She was indeed very curious, but she absolutely would not actively press Luo Nan for answers—it would make her seem as if she had submitted to the tyranny of nobles.
All riddlers deserve death!
“But don’t you think… this is strange?”
“What’s strange?”
“Would anyone really openly carve such a dangerous symbol in a public place?”
Anya sneered, “They’re a bunch of lunatics—who can predict what they’ll do?”
“But the documents clearly state that Apartment No. 23 always had residents, and the investigators have already completed their inquiries with these residents,” Luo Nan pointed to the thick stack of documents in his hand. “These residents have clean backgrounds. I think… forging information for a few people versus forging information for hundreds of people are not remotely comparable in difficulty, right?”
“What do you mean?” Anya sensed Luo Nan was implying something, but she still didn’t understand, so she pressed further.
Fortunately, Luo Nan didn’t continue playing the riddler this time. “Guess—in the case where the residents are not problematic, what purpose would carving such a dangerous symbol in the lobby serve?”
“To intimidate the apartment’s residents?” Anya suddenly felt enlightened—she believed she had grasped the crux of the issue!
“…”
Luo Nan covered his forehead, unable to bear looking directly at her.
Truly, the ‘Chosen Hero’—with this level of intelligence, if she weren’t chosen by fate, she’d have been dead hundreds of times over by now.
Seeing this, Luo Nan couldn’t be bothered to guide her thinking anymore. “Of course not. It’s deliberately giving you false information, then leaving a ‘hook’ at a predetermined location to conceal the true intention.”
“Huh? Is that so?”
After hearing Luo Nan’s analysis, Anya suddenly understood. She added, “Right, exactly like that—I actually thought of this too!”
She hadn’t thought of it at all!
She had never doubted the authenticity of the information Serela obtained from the assassin, which is why she fell into a misconception.
If, according to Luo Nan’s theory, deliberately fabricated false information, combined with a dangerous emblem used as interference, was employed to divert attention and conceal the true purpose—indeed… it made far more sense!
Could this guy… actually be smarter than me?
Anya Sivans felt somewhat resentful.
Shouldn’t nobles all be stupid, bloated fools?
Feeling she had lost this round, Anya fell silent, sitting quietly in her seat for self-reflection.
“And here…”
Luo Nan paid no attention to what Anya was thinking. He listed one by one the other suspicious points in the documents and questioned Anya about corresponding details.
Anya Sivans, guided throughout the entire process, eventually gave up thinking altogether—’Hmm’ and ‘Ah’ became her only possible responses.
“In summary, yesterday’s investigation served only one purpose: to eliminate a wrong option for us. As the victim, I must personally supervise the scene.”
Luo Nan stood up, put on his coat, and walked out without waiting for Anya’s response.
“Hey, wait! You’re just an ordinary person—aren’t you afraid of danger going there personally?”
“Aren’t you here?”
“I never said I would…”
“Daily wage increased by an additional 30 Surs.”
“…Deal.”
…
Lower City, Block 15 of West City.
As a rapidly expanding urban district in recent years, Block 15, like other newly constructed districts, was filled with chaotically grown gray buildings.
The already narrow streets, further encroached upon by roadside stalls on both sides, appeared even more congested. Luo Nan estimated that at most, a two-horse carriage could pass through—anything wider would be impossible.
“Keep up. There’s nothing worth lingering over in the Lower City.”
Ahead, Anya, carrying her longsword on her back, grew impatient. Not to mention Luo Nan’s dawdling in the Duke’s manor before departure, fiddling with who-knows-what.
Now, this guy was looking left and right as if trying to imprint every single brick and tile of Block 15 into his brain.
“As you said, as an ordinary person, I definitely need to prepare and familiarize myself with the environment in advance. Unlike you, I didn’t grow up here…”
While observing the structure of buildings on both sides of the street, Luo Nan casually retorted.
“You…”
Anya felt Luo Nan was indirectly insulting her, but she had no evidence.
This damn guy—even his insults were phrased in a way that made them impossible to refute.
“Alright, we’re here, right?”
Luo Nan looked up, fixing his gaze on a crude three-story brick apartment building. Around the apartment, numerous knights clad in armor were standing guard.
“Halt. Royal Guard on official business.”
Seeing two people approaching the cordoned-off area, a knight walked toward them.
“Hey, I’m Anya Sivans, the one responsible for liaison yesterday. Don’t you recognize me?”
“Of course I recognize you, but without Her Highness’s orders, you cannot enter.”
“What about me?”
Luo Nan, who had just now leisurely strolled over, pointed to his own face. He was wearing casual clothes today, so his identity couldn’t be immediately discerned from afar.
The knight stared at Luo Nan’s face for a moment, seemingly recalling something, then instantly placed a hand over his chest and bowed. “It’s Young Master Medillion. Her Highness stated that if it were you, you may enter freely.”
“Hmm.”
Acknowledging with a sound, Luo Nan stepped toward the interior of the apartment, simultaneously pointing at Anya beside him. “Oh, by the way, this person currently serves as my bodyguard. May she accompany me inside?”
“Naturally.”
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