As soon as they reached the fourth floor, they found a single hallway with only one door at the end. The butler immediately led them to the room and knocked on the door. "Master. I've brought the guests."
"Come in."
The butler opened the door after getting the confirmation, showing a huge hall inside. The hall was filled with bookshelves, and there was a huge table in the center of the hall where the Water Lord seemed to be doing all his works. There were various books and large pieces of paper on the table, so it was clear why he needed that big table.
The Water Lord looked like a man in his early thirties. He had slanted eyes and a gentle smile. He was wearing big round glasses, making his face look innocent. His long blue hair was tied neatly on his back.
Despite meeting the guest, he was wearing a plain white shirt and long black pants. It seemed these were his usual clothes when working, considering he only took a glance at them before returning to his book.
After they came in, he finally dropped the book and said, "Sorry about my display. There has been too much work recently, so I don't have time to change my clothes and tidy up this room to meet you."
Paul nodded politely. "It's alright, Valley Master. We know that you're a busy person."
The Valley Master smiled. "Still, please sit down."
The butler guided them to the big table and brought them the chairs. After that, he bowed to them and said, "I'll prepare the snacks for you."
The Valley Master glanced at their faces and said, "It seems there is a new guy among you."
It seemed he noticed Noel's strength couldn't be compared to the others, making him look like a new guy.
"There's no need for you to worry, Valley Master. We can guarantee his skill." Paul thought he was worried because Noel would be too weak to handle the task. So, he had to assure him.
The Valley Master didn't reply to the assurance as if it was not the point. He paused for a moment and asked, "So, are you going to hear about the mission right away or do you have any questions about this place first?"
It seemed he knew that they were gathering the information from the city. So, Paul said, "It will be better if we can hear the problem first. After all, this is what we're here for."
"Do you mind if I tell you about it while I'm reading these documents?"
"Please."
The Valley Master nodded. "The problem is simple. There is poison in our water supply. Although we've managed the city with the water reserve, it's going to be a problem for us if we can't get a new water supply."
"Are you asking us to build a well?"
"No. The water supply is from Eleist Mountain uphill. I'm sure you come from that place. My people have tried to investigate it but found nothing. So, we don't know the cause."
"Then, if it's an investigation, it's better to give this job to the Demon Observer Squad."
"No. It's too much work to do an investigation, and by the time you finish the investigation, my people will have died from dehydration."
Paul contemplated for a moment. "So, you want us to drain the water and allow the fresh water to flow?"
"Yes. What do you think you should do in this case?"
"We have checked the topography around here. There is a small lake on the hill, which should be where the poison accumulated. We can block the water flow from uphill first and drain the lake before letting the freshwater flow like usual."
Paul determined this was the problem since the Water Lord acknowledged the solution was to drain the water. And the only thing they could drain was this lake.
"That's good enough." The Valley Master nodded with a serious expression.
"Then, do you have any problem with the monsters?" He asked.
"I do have a bit of trouble. Do you know the poison called Winding Beast Poison?"
"Please enlighten us."
"The Winding Beast Poison is used to make the demon become berserk. This poison was found two decades ago. Well, it's also effective for humans, but instead of making the humans berserk, they'll have some sort of organ failure. There were already a total of thirty deaths before I figured out the issue.
"But the problem is the demons… You should know how long this valley is, right…" The Valley Master smirked, testing the Demon Relief Squad.
Paul narrowed his eyes. "I see. So that's why you want to drain the water instead of doing anything else."
The Valley Master smiled. "The river is flowing to the Demon Territory and making the demons berserk, causing them to attack us. Instead of letting the water continuously flow down, I'd like to handle the source of the problem first before doing anything else. After all, I need to call some fighting squads and investigation squads from the Demon Banner Army and still have to deal with the water problem…"
"That's understandable." Paul nodded in agreement. Even he would do the same thing in this situation. It was better to solve the source of the problem first before dealing with the rest. "If that's the case, we'll try to fix the water supply as soon as possible."
"Thank you. I'll reward you properly if this is done." The Valley Master smiled, satisfied with their answer.
However, he noticed something different from Noel.
He was actually looking down, falling into deep thought as if he found something weird.
Noticing the Valley Master's gaze, Paul glanced to the side and saw Noel acting in his own world.
"Noel." Paul tugged his hand to wake him up.
"Ah!" Noel realized what he was doing and immediately bowed. "I apologize for my rudeness."
"It's fine. It seems that this young friend is thinking about something. Can you share it with us?"
"This…" Noel scratched the back of his head, not knowing whether to say it or not.
"It's fine. Tell us everything… After all, it's better to have more people talking about this matter since we'll get new perspectives." The Valley Master waved his hand, calming Noel down.
"Then…" Noel took a deep breath before his expression became solemn. "Valley Master… This might be rude for me to ask. But are you trying to use us as baits?"
