Saya explained the state of Grid to him. It wasn't that powerful compared to the live one but he should be careful too. He was also considering how to report it to the Athen's Champion. It was far above where he could handle it alone. He couldn't just casually tell them that he sensed Grid as most of the warriors didn't even know about it.
But why would there be a whiff of Grid in this place?
People that could master this power were no joke. They were powerhouse standing at the top of the world.
'Are you sure that there's no problem with it?' Souta asked once again.
'Probably, if the person using it is here then the strength within will be much more powerful than what you see. If such power landed here, the entire Mine Valley will disappear in the blink of an eye. We're lucky that it only caused an earthquake.' Saya said to him.
'So they are starting to move.' Souta turned his head at the sky. Perhaps, the person that used it was preparing something. It should be outside the Hall Plains according to Saya's estimation.
'You don't have to worry. Just ask some warriors about the situation outside the Hall Plains. For now, this place is relatively safe since it's closer to Olympus. No gods will approach the Hall Plains.' Saya assured him.
'I understand.' Souta closed his eyes.
The Hall Plains and after it was the vast Obsidian Desert. Beyond it was the Green River Valley, it was a vast land that housed a large country. If that's the case, then the Grid should be coming from that large country.
It seems a battle between gods was happening in that place.
Speaking of Grid, Souta was curious about Saya's Grid if she mastered one before. So he asked her to satisfy his curiosity.
'Hmm...? I'm just a sword right now. I couldn't even use most of my power in this state but I mastered it before. Mine is called [Lightning Lotus Sun]. It has the power to turn everything around me into vajra lightning, including time and space. The range of my Grid is probably the same as Hall Plains. I couldn't remember every detail.' Saya said.
'Vajra lightning?' Souta was a little bit confused. He recalled the black lightning of the Archetype that he was using.
'Ufufu, you're not a vajra race so the dark lightning you produce in Archetype is just a downgraded version of a real vajra lightning.' Saya chuckled when she saw his expression.
'Nevermind.' Souta shook his head. He could guess that she was no ordinary god back then. There was various Grid but from her little description, hers was on the stronger side.
Souta finished drinking his coffee. He went outside after paying his bills. Franklin and Amanda were both waiting for him, they finished renting rooms to stay in for a night. After telling them not to cause trouble, he dismissed them. Then, he went to find a brothel.
...
Before sunrise, Souta, Amanda, and Franklin gathered outside of the White Line City. They walked until they were quite far from the city before they flew. They didn't want others to discover them as they were staying low-key for now.
Well, it's not that they were deliberately hiding from other people. It's fine for them even if some people discover them. It's just that Souta didn't want to attract too much attention by moving without caring for his surroundings.
Later, the three landed near Bland City.
They joined other people who were entering the central of Mine Valley. As soon as they enter, they quickly realized the difference between this place and the White Line and Ekatoe. It was too prosperous and it probably has five times the population of White Line and Ekatoe combined.
It was a bustling city and the streets were full of people from different races. Some of them were talking solemnly while others were leisurely chatting. Merchants wanted to gain a business opportunities and experts wanted to learn combat arts or spells.
Souta sensed tens of thousands of people within the range of his [Crimson Perception]. There were too many of them so he couldn't count their exact numbers in just a few seconds.
"Ekatoe feels like a small town compared to this," Amanda commented.
"The strength of the folks here is much stronger," Franklin said while observing the people around him.
The three stroll around to familiarize themselves first. Bland City was huge and it was divided into ten districts. It has an academy for children and various facilities that could help the entire city in the future. Although the Governor was the strongest here, there were still various factions laying in different districts. But most of them were part of the government.
In the end, Souta thought that Bland City would survive on its own. Unlike Ekatoe which didn't have academy, mine, or farms, this place was complete. Only when Souta took over the position of City Lord, he established facilities such as schools and farms.
It wasn't relying on merchant's products.
Souta, Amanda, and Franklin were sitting around a table inside a restaurant. They were having a meal and chatting about the information that they'd gathered.
"Should we go to the Governor's Palace or not?" Amanda asked.
"Tomorrow is the start of the meeting. I don't plan to show myself so we'll stay low for a while. We'll observe the people that will enter the city." Souta said in a low voice.
"Right, the Governor sent an invitation to other City Lords," Franklin said.
"Yeah, they will arrive today." Souta nodded.
Amanda looked left and right before she asked, "What about the Murder Society? Do we have to investigate it here?"
"Yes, that's what we will be doing today. But be careful and don't mention the Murder Society to other people. Also, change your appearance and I'll permit you to kill." Souta said gloomily.
They wouldn't easily mention the name Murder Society but if they mention it and judge that the other people had ill intention, they could kill those people. If possible they would kill everyone that heard the word Murder Society from their mouths. It was to avoid the attention of that organization even if it means offending the entire Bland City.
"Don't worry about your mana signature. They don't have any device to record it. This place isn't a Holy Land or a Large Country to have that kind of technology." Souta assured them.
Not everyone could memorize their energy signature. Also, the mana density was higher and if no one discovered the crime, the lingering energy would disperse faster than before. They wouldn't even have a time to memorize it.
They just need to avoid attracting too much attention. If they released their energy level, it would gather the powerhouse of this city.
Just like that, the three went in their own ways. They strolled around the entire city trying to find any clues related to the Murder Society.
They spent several hours and they were quite shocked that everyone didn't seem to know this organization. In this case, the image of Murder Society in their mind had changed once again. It was much deeper than they imagined. Even normal organizations didn't seem to have any idea about it.
With this, they realized that what they were doing was pointless. They should have started with an organization on the same level as Night District.
But even Night District only heard rumors about it and they weren't sure of the Murder Society's real standing.
It seems that they need to find a much more powerful organization... An organization like Star Pavilion, an overlord of a city.
"It seems that I can only wait until the meeting started..." Souta said to himself while staring at the enormous City Hall at the center of Bland City. It looks like it was more of a Royal Palace than a City Hall.
'I hope that they knew something about the people that killed Envoy Jeoban.'
If they didn't know anything then everything was left to him to discover it. At the very least, they should have clues regarding the Murder Society. If not, he would have to investigate outside of the Mine Valley just to find the culprit behind the incident.
Until now, he didn't even know if the Murder Society was related to the envoy's death. It was only his assumption so there's no evidence to prove it.
Until he finds one, he wouldn't actively attack that mysterious organization.
"Let's find it tomorrow."
Souta stayed in an inn and entered Saya's inner consciousness. He trained for a while and only came out when the sun was already up.
It was time for the meeting. Various lords of different cities around the Mine Valley had arrived yesterday. The atmosphere was tense as some of these lords were enemies. If they weren't in the Governor's territory they would have already started a battle.
No matter what they had to give the Governor some face. As for their enemies, they would deal with them once they returned to each of their own cities.
At this time, Souta, Amanda, and Franklin stood in front of the enormous City Hall. They presented the invitation letter to the guards before they stepped forward.
"Let's go."
