"I'm sure that you're already aware of the request. So, I won't beat around the bush." Noel's expression became serious. He now sat next to Anna, facing the brothel manager. He asked, "So, do you have any information about the Creek Village?"
"We have been sorting out a lot of information about the Creek Village." The manager nodded and handed him a few pages of paper. "These are the things we can find about it."
Noel and Anna took a look at the paper, trying to understand their current situation. While they were reading, the manager began to summarize the information.
"Basically, Creek Village was not very popular in the past. It's considered one of the poorest villages in the vicinity."
"However, there was a sudden demon outbreak that directly hit the village. The demons also attacked this city. But because the level of the demons was quite low, the town easily eliminated the threat. Still, the Creek Village couldn't survive the demons' onslaught and got exterminated."
"Because the Creek Village's position wasn't that strategic for business, the authority decided to give up on that village until one month ago. They finally allowed people to migrate to this village."
"We don't know the exact reason, but there is an increase in demon activity in that place. So, we decided not to enter the village so as not to alert them."
"However, we still can't understand what's going on with the Creek Village. We've been collecting rumors, but there are only two that seem to match the current condition. There is a possibility that the authority found something in Creek Village and tried to get it. Or…There is a chance that the Creek Village is hiding something ominous, like a group of bandits or something."
Noel looked down, assessing the situation. He glanced at Anna and asked, "What is your mission, by the way?"
"I am planning to investigate the lord of this city. There is a weird movement in Creek Village, so this should be related to the lord of the city. For now, I'm planning to investigate Creek Village and find a connection." Anna explained. "The Lord is quite eccentric, so I have to be careful. After all, both the current generation of Count Heirden and the previous patriarch are Spirit Grandmasters."
Noel furrowed his eyebrows. "So, do you think there is a chance that this village is related to the Supreme Devil Organization?"
"I won't deny the possibility. But the two are Spirit Grandmasters, and the previous lord is still holding his title as the Fist Arbiter. So, I don't know if they are truly cooperating with them or if they don't know about them." Anna shook her head helplessly.
"Your mission is quite dangerous, huh?" Noel knew Anna was going to advance to the next rank as an inquisitor. If she succeeded in this mission, she only needed to advance one more rank before she finally had a status high enough to challenge the current arbiters.
Still, with the Royal Family trying to grasp Anna, they might force the Fist Arbiter and his son to do something during this mission.
"Things are getting complicated." Noel looked at the manager and said, "Do you have anything to say about it?"
The manager was quite surprised by the question. She politely shook her head. "If Sir is talking about the matter related to the Demon Banner Army or the Inquisitor, I have nothing to say since I'm not a part of them. However, if Sir wants my opinion regarding the current lord and the previous lord, I can say for certain that they are great men.
"They love their people, and the city has been prosperous. If Sir wants to do anything to them, the townspeople might not agree with you."
Noel pinched the bridge of his nose. "I see. Do you have any maps for this region? Especially the Creek Village."
The manager nodded and left the room for a bit to retrieve the map.
The Creek Village was located not far from the town. They were situated between a mountain and a river. They had to cross the river first if they wanted to enter the village and due to the steep hill, they would have a hard time reaching the village.
However, due to how steep it was, Creek Village had trouble generating income. That was why they became one of the poorest villages in the region.
Noel suddenly felt something wrong when he looked at the map. Anna seemed to understand a little bit and said, "This is quite dangerous."
The manager tilted her head in confusion. Although she was educated enough to deal with the information network and the brothel, she wasn't that good at reading a map.
Since the manager might have another input or piece of information that she thought was unnecessary, Noel tried to explain the situation to jog her memory.
He pointed at the river and asked, "What's the situation of this river?"
"Anguala River is a river that runs through five nobles' territories. Since it's located near the mountain where it originates, as well as due to how steep the mountain is, the flow of the river is quite powerful. It's shallow, but the river flow will surely destroy anything on its path if you try to make a dam for it."
"The bridge that connects the outside world and the village took at least twenty lives when it was built."
Noel nodded and continued, "That's why if we cross this bridge and the enemy destroys it, we will have no choice but to go around the mountain. But due to how steep it is, we will have trouble going around it. This will be a perfect place to execute us."
"Ah!" The manager had come to a realization. It would be troublesome if there were strong people hiding there. And if they added the possibility that the two lords were going to ambush them as well, the situation became trickier.
"So, do you have anything else that can be useful in the current situation?" Noel asked.
The manager looked down, falling into deep thought. After a minute, her expression changed as she said, "I think I have one."
