The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 149

Because this was Zavi's first time setting foot in Semilir, he felt that the air here was very different from Moran, the place where he had lived before.

Even though it was still morning, steam already filled the skies of Semilir, blocking out the sunlight as it blanketed the area, forming black-and-white clouds.

The sound of machinery drifted through the cold morning wind. Meanwhile, the echoes spreading in every direction made Zavi feel as though he were living in a different world.

'Well, I am in another world, but this is truly different from everything I imagined.'

Zavi raised his head, watching the silhouettes of two airships flying in opposite directions overhead.

On the other hand, Aaron let out a long sigh of disappointment because the carefully crafted plan he had put together had turned out to be useless.

Still, he was grateful that the Curse-type Chalog Hana and Mine had mentioned had not appeared that night. Instead, it was the Hunter-type Chalog that had nearly terrorized them in Ardoma Valley.

After making their way through the streets of Ource one by one, not far from Ource Station, the four of them decided to stop at a café whose decoration immediately caught their attention, choosing to ignore the bounty hunters pursuing them in order to find a brief moment of peace.

They were not there merely to visit. More than anything, they wanted to gather as much information as possible and find a man named Zuhen Mudelk.

At 8:40 in the morning, at the café counter, Hana ordered food and drinks for herself and the other three.

The cashier, dressed in the café's uniform and a dark blue apron, served customers like Hana with a friendly smile and a beautiful face.

After making sure the order was correct, Hana took out her money, counted it, and handed it to the woman.

"Thank you, Miss. Please take a seat at table number 8. Your order will be served shortly," said the cashier as she pulled out a duplicate receipt book, wrote down the order, tore off a page, and handed it to Hana.

Hana nodded before turning around and looking at the three of them standing behind her, then walked toward a corner of the café's courtyard.

They sat on mahogany chairs with cushioned backs, their hands resting on a round table shaded by a large umbrella.

Zavi sat with one leg raised, his attention fixed on the newspaper he was reading.

Food prices had begun to rise beyond their usual rates, while the monthly wages of the lower and middle classes remained unchanged.

A conspiracy involving a well-known company in Semilir Niser, the nighttime abduction of teenage girls, and what interested Zavi the most: a group of men terrorizing residents on the outskirts and major roads of Semilir in order to extort money.

'Bandits, huh? Isn't there any news about cults or something like that...?'

Zavi examined the newspaper paragraph by paragraph again, hoping to find something related to the supernatural.

But the news inside only made him furrow his brow, prompting him to turn the page.

There, displayed prominently, was a murder case involving a throat slashed by a sharp object, along with a bounty stating that anyone who successfully captured the perpetrator would receive a reward of 210 Pace and 500 Pence, paid directly by the captain of the Vusovius Security Department, Bagas Genseaye.

'210 Pace and 500 Pence, that's interesting. But I probably can't do that because I don't want to be exposed in Semilir's major newspapers. Especially after learning that I'm in Wawon, I need to be careful around the Vusovius and Tenano Security Departments.'

After muttering to himself, Zavi considered two scenarios that would benefit both himself and the other three.

He wanted the name 'James Moriarty' to rise, while Zavi Actitus would be considered a man murdered by him.

At the same time, he wanted this plan to draw the attention of factions operating out there, allowing him to gather information about the Finiscya Sect, other sects, secret mobile orders, and groups from the underworld and evil religions.

However, Zavi was not entirely sure whether this insane idea would attract the devil he had been searching for all this time while also keeping his three companions safe.

Thinking about the bounty hunters, whose affiliations to factions, groups, or sects remained unknown, only made Zavi more convinced that this idea suited his current circumstances.

Neither Zavi nor the other three had any idea that the Church of Vazay, dedicated to the Goddess Yarandrela, was located in one of Semilir's most prominent districts, making the plan half likely to succeed while the other half awaited failure.

He never considered that possibility, or more accurately, Zavi was the kind of man who devised plans during a fight or right before one began.

Zavi did not know exactly why, but he had long grown accustomed to it.

Moreover, even though he had been traveling with the other three, Zavi never expected too much from them, especially Aaron, despite having used him in the past.

Although Hana and Mine were members of the secret mobile order known as the "Intersection Society," both of them were candidates for the second pawn in the grand plan Zavi had been contemplating since his first meeting in Forgenate.

Handing the Hoisline fan artifact over to Mine was not an ordinary act.

After discovering a new technique within the basic Error ability, one that allowed him to create any entity according to the user's imagination, Zavi practiced little by little to create a clone of himself. He started with the mouth after observing the methods of the Level Five Evil Spirit, Mastering. Zavi copied everything down to the finest details, including the clothing, creating another entity identical to Zavi Actitus.

Although he had nearly given up that night because it was so difficult, on Sunday night during the assault on the Semilir-Chavez middle-class businessman Hover, Zavi finally succeeded.

'Claude Diston, I hope you've fulfilled my request and turned the random news about "James Moriarty" into the story of a cold and ruthless criminal who murdered Hover.'

Without Zavi realizing it, Claude Diston had already done exactly that on Tuesday morning and Tuesday night, until Chavez was flooded with newspapers discussing 'James Moriarty' as the mastermind behind the destruction of Tapaks and the brutal murderer responsible for six deaths and the killing of businessman Hover.

The newspaper was folded away by Aaron and Zavi after they learned that their order had arrived. After waiting only a few minutes, the four of them slowly enjoyed their meal before continuing their activities.

At 1:59 in the afternoon, the four of them did not rent an apartment like before. Knowing that such a place could be traced by others, including influential figures in Semilir, they stood at the entrance of Dolly Alley like people who had lost their way.

Hana struggled to hold back her laughter from bursting out when several people gave money out of pity to Zavi, who had placed his bamboo hat on the ground while crouching and covering his upper lip.

At first, Zavi could not believe it. Seeing the other three move away, afraid of being mistaken for beggars like him, Zavi ended up taking advantage of the situation, letting people toss money into his bamboo hat.

By 5:30 in the evening, the warm orange glow of sunset turned the shadows of buildings into roofs stretching over the streets. Meanwhile, black-and-white steam still billowed heavily through the roads, creating an aesthetic contrast between the steam and the sunlight as though the two were battling one another.

On the street in front of the alley, puddles reflected the dramatic orange glow of the evening sky. They could see this clearly, along with the silhouettes of people partially concealed by the drifting steam that rose and fell over time.

Still in the same place, they hurried to find shelter for the night from the cold.

After wandering through the streets of Ource, the four eventually found a tavern with a terrace hidden behind bamboo curtains decorated with seashells that rattled whenever someone passed through.

They gathered more information about Semilir while also filling in the gaps regarding the search for the Lantern of Destiny, Zuhen Mudelk, and Munien.

At a corner of the tavern terrace stood four mahogany chairs and an oval resin-coated table. The three of them sat down. Zavi took the seat near the wall, Aaron sat opposite him, Mine sat to Zavi's right while enduring the pain from the claw wounds on her back, and Hana went ahead to order something so their visit would not burden the tavern owner.

With two sodas and two bottles of beer, each of them enjoyed their drinks.

"I never thought you could earn that much money from begging," Hana finally said as she poured beer into a glass.

Zavi nodded.

"I don't know. I already gave that money to people who needed it more than I do."

'There are a lot of homeless people on the main roads and even in the narrow alleys. While looking for this place, I saw two small children, a boy and a girl, digging through trash cans for leftover food. So I gave them the 15 Pace and 50 Pence I accidentally earned from begging.'

Zavi glanced toward the street beside them for quite a while. His gaze was empty, knowing that divorce rates kept rising year after year, leaving innocent children to suffer the consequences.

There was nothing else he could do. Zavi could only do his best and hope that children out there would one day have decent lives, far removed from the cruelty of how the world truly worked.

Using the edge of the table, he opened the bottle. A hiss sounded as Zavi slowly poured the soda into a small glass.

Zavi felt his throat loosen as though the burden weighing on his mind had also been washed away by the refreshing taste of the soda.

After finishing the soda over the course of several minutes, Zavi decided to excuse himself from the group.

But before that—

"Has your back gotten any better?" he asked, studying Mine's troubled expression.

Mine hesitated.

"It's fine."

Half-drunk, Mine answered before taking another sip of beer in search of peace.

Aaron immediately joined the conversation.

"She's lying," he said rather apathetically. "Isn't that right, Hana?"

Hana remained silent for a few seconds before quietly saying, "She can't heal the claw wounds on her back with her spirituality."

Zavi fell silent as he thought.

'If I remember correctly, her name is Munien, right? So she's similar to Zuhen. Without that winged creature, she can't do anything and can't regenerate her body either?'

Zavi nodded after learning this firsthand.

"Do you want to take her to the nearest hospital?" Zavi immediately stood up. "I'll give the two of you 20 Pace, and if that's not enough, Sirius can cover the rest."

Hana quickly asked,

"Where are you going?"

Zavi chuckled and replied,

"To make money."

Aaron looked at Zavi, knowing that once he set his mind on something, he would pursue it.

"Be careful. Hana and I will take care of this," Aaron said with an admiring smile.

Zavi pulled out several banknotes he had earned, counted them, and handed over the amount he had mentioned.

"Here's 20 Pace. Go ahead and take it."

Zavi slipped the remaining money into his coat pocket before walking past them, lowering his bamboo hat slightly.

They watched Zavi for several seconds before his figure was swallowed by the thick steam, nighttime fog, and the dim glow of the streetlights.

Aaron tucked the money into his coat pocket before lifting Mine onto his shoulder. They hurried off, forced to push through the thick yellowish-gray fog on their way to the nearest hospital.

Out on the streets, the atmosphere was eerily quiet. Despite being a large city, Zavi rarely saw anyone passing by, aware of how dangerous it was to walk through fog so dense that visibility became difficult.

Moving from one alley to another, Zavi found a bar tucked into a corner and began searching for someone looking to hire help.

He did not care if he was caught entering. He had ways to escape, even if doing so distorted his perception for several seconds or even minutes.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

James Moriarty finally entered the bar, where hanging lamps radiated a deep warmth.

He stepped forward at once, searching for the sort of hooded person usually looking to hire mercenaries.

"Excuse me," James Moriarty said calmly.

"Who are you?" asked the hooded man, whose face was almost entirely hidden beneath his hood.

James Moriarty chuckled.

"An assassination? Looking for money? Or hiring someone?"

The man immediately lowered his hood and gestured for him to move away from the crowd.

James Moriarty merely responded with a faint smile.

"How did you know I was looking to hire someone?" the man asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

James Moriarty nodded.

"Of course. From that bartender."

"Oh? Are you interested in taking this job?"

The man leaned slightly to the side, glancing toward the familiar café where people often went searching for things.

James Moriarty smiled.

"Of course, as long as the payment is appropriate."

"I'll pay you 55 Pace and 750 Pence to kill a bandit leader who's been terrorizing the outskirts of Ource."

"I accept."

Without the slightest hesitation, James Moriarty accepted the offer and extended his hand.

The man stared at him in surprise for two seconds before reluctantly reaching out and shaking it.