Chapter 228: Gun-Demon
For the people dining at the long table of the Rosevine Hotel, Norneau was an unexpected opportunity. A chance to move up in a world whose fragile state meant many would sell themselves in order to live.
Thus, they’d brought a full workforce to sell to those who had had their city so recently burned, and it was with great shock that they received a promissory note from the Mayor himself, purchasing every last slave without even bothering to run an inspection!
Such a boon would hardly be considered a done deal until their ship was loaded with the gold and gone, but for the last few days they’d been treated as the finest guests, and recently they’d even visited the famous Norneau Academy - though in its rebuilt state it did not match the descriptions of its lost splendor.
"Say, Reginald, what is your opinion on the matter?" an elven man with orange-yellow hair asked the man seated at the front of the table.
"What matter?" Reginald Goldman, a human in his early hundreds - yet still in his prime thanks to his rank as a mage - asked in response.
"This ’Ghostheart’ fellow we heard so much about. We’ve been here for two weeks and he hasn’t made a single appearance."
"Likely just a myth concocted by the Breakers," Reginald answered, swirling his brandy before sipping with a light gasp. "I’ve seen this sort of thing before. Some angry little rodent gets it into their head to free a few vermin, then the rabble starts painting them up in lights and they panic and stop. Once we have the local guards under our control, we can root them out and then get down to some real business."
Across the table from him, a few of the local gentry and businessfolk sat chatting amongst themselves about what they would do when the next shipment came in. This dinner was, in part, to mollify them after the unexpected purchase of their entire stock, and Reginald smiled magnanimously whenever someone looked his way.
All of this Kir saw and heard as he peeked into the dining room from a rooftop about a hundred meters away.
After his meeting with Moshui, he’d arrived back at his house to find Stella waiting with a note. On that note was written the name of a ship, along with "The city has purchased and removed the people into asylum. Do not let that ship leave by next Stoneday."
He recognized Lumin’s handwriting. While clearly she meant to give him some time, and focus him only on the ship, Kir’s visit to the vessel had proven most informative. Which was why he was here after sunset, his glamour dispelled and his inner glow allowed to shine through his warform.