Red led the way towards the town proper while Allen followed behind him. The boy had learned about a path that helped leave town unnoticed, but he wasn’t confident about navigating through the town center. He sneaked around the ruined buildings, avoiding any townsfolk or guard patrols.

To his surprise, Allen could keep up with his light steps and didn’t blow their cover. Even if the young master was rather naive, he still seemed capable of taking things seriously. Unfortunately for Red, though, that didn’t get rid of the constant questions.

“Where are we going?” Allen asked.

Red didn’t look back to respond. ”To the inn.”

“Why the inn?”

“Those imperial guys don’t live in town, so they can only sleep at an inn.”

Allen nodded. “That makes sense. Do you know which inn they are at?”

“No.”

“Then how are we going to find them?”

“We search for where people are making the most noise.”

“Why?”

"Because inns during the night are very loud. Besides, this town only has a couple of inns.”

Although Red didn’t know everything about the town, he had picked up an extensive amount of information in the weeks he had been here. It was important to understand the environment you lived in, after all.

“That makes sense too.” Allen nodded again. “What are we going to do once we’re there?”

“It depends on the situation.”

“Are you sure? Isn’t it better to have a pl-”

“Be quiet. You’re going to alert people.”

Only under the threat of discovery did Allen finally quieten down. Red, meanwhile, was focusing on navigating through the confusing town streets. He had been adapting his crimson sense to the countless fluctuations attacking it without pause. The pressure over his mind had been diminishing, and while Red couldn’t rely on his new power under such circumstances, he felt confident that he would not topple over from dizziness either as long as he didn’t force it.

Certain parts of town were eerily quiet at night, and that made the nocturnal centers of activity stand out. The duo finally came to a stop in an alley near the town center. A few dozen meters down the following street, they could see one of their first targets. A large two-story inn, bustling with activity and illuminated so brightly by its white lamps it could probably be seen from kilometers away.

Red read the plaque that stood above the entrance out loud. “Black Dagon Inn.”

Allen corrected him. “It’s Black Dragon Inn. Do you even know how to read?”

Red looked back at the young master, but the kid seemed oblivious to his stare.

Allen continued. “Anyways, what are we going to do now?”

“Do you know what those people look like?”

“Domeron said they had blonde hair, which is not very common in these parts, and they were also posing as travellers. Other than that, I’m not sure.”

“There are quite a few people in town who aren’t from the region.” Red frowned. “How did you expect to find them with just that?”

“I was going to improvise.” Allen shrugged.

Red decided against expending his time arguing with the young master. “We need to watch the inn and see if we can spot anyone suspicious entering or leaving.”

“What if we don’t spot anything?”

“Then we’ll go investigate the other inns.”

“But they might be inside!”

“And you want to just go in there?” Red shook his head. “Your appearance is way too noticeable and there are no kids in these inns. People will be able to tell something is wrong.”

“But we might miss them this way!” Allen wasn’t convinced.

“Then we’ll miss them. It’s better than being found out. Besides, they’ve been in town for a while now. We can come back another night and investigate again with more information.”

Red’s argument seemed to persuade the young master. However, it was clear that his initial enthusiasm had deflated. The boy wasn’t too worried about what his naive companion thought about the situation, though, as long as he didn’t put them at risk.

With that being settled, Red refocused his attention on the inn. A constant flow of people came in and out of the building in varying states of inebriation. Some of them even passed quite close to their alley, but none of them seemed to notice the boys. Red also tried to listen into the conversations going on inside the inn, but there were too many loud voices to discern anything sensible

Even if he could understand them, he doubted he would learn anything of value from their inane talk. Soon enough, half an hour had passed by and Red had spotted no blondes or suspicious elements near the building. Allen, who had been behaving up to this point, was becoming fidgety.

He pointed at someone. “Is it that one?”

“He is so drunk he can barely walk.” Red shook his head. “I doubt people carrying valuable resources would be so careless.”

“What about that one?”

“He isn’t even blonde.”

“And what about that one?”

“That’s a town guard.”

“I see. What about…”

Eventually, even Red’s patience ran thin.

‘This will not work out.’

“Let’s just go look at the next inn.”

Allen, however, didn’t move. “Wait! What about that one?”

Red was about to wave the boy off, but once he looked in the direction Allen was pointing at, he froze. A tall blonde man, wearing light leather armor and armed with a sheathed sword, was making his way to the inn. There was nothing wrong with this individual’s get up or equipment, since there were plenty of adventurers in town. However, his tall and robust physique, added with the blonde hair, stood out amongst the townsfolk. Indeed, quite a few people looked at the man in surprise as he walked by.

“That might be it.” Red nodded.

Allen’s spirits were lifted. “Great! Let’s go after him!”

“Why would we…” he trailed off. “Nevermind, let’s just continue watching. We need to confirm whether he’s really spending the night here.”

The young master groaned in annoyance, but still followed Red’s instructions.

An hour passed by, and activity around and in the inn decreased. More and more people left for their homes, and the duo had yet to see the tall man leave the building again. Allen was eager to move ahead with their plans at that point, but Red still wasn’t convinced.

“We need to keep watching.” he shook his head.

“You still want to wait?!” Allen’s eyes widened. “If we take too long here, someone at the Sect might notice I am missing!”

“… You have a point. I’ll drop you back at the Sect and return to keep watch. Even if people find out I am missing for the night, they probably won’t be as worried.”

Allen, however, shot down the suggestion. “No way! I can’t leave you here by yourself. What if something happens to you?”

The young master’s genuine worry surprised Red. However, this didn’t solve their current impasse. “Let’s forget about it and return to the sect, then.”

“But we are so close…” Allen gritted his teeth.

“We are, but our main worry right now is being discovered by Hector and the others. If that happens, then we definitely won’t be able to continue our investigation.”

The young master saw the reason in Red’s words, but he still hesitated. “Let’s just stay here for a little bit more! If nothing happens, we can just go back.”

Red sighed. “You know that if we get discovered by Hector, the one who is going to suffer is you and not me, right?”

“I know that!” Allen nodded. “But I’m not afraid of punishment anymore! I just want to do something!”

Red could understand how the boy was feeling. At some points in the underground, he felt the same way too. However, judging the right time for action was also important, and Red wasn’t sure if this investigation was worth the risk.

In the end, though, he relented. “Whatever you say…”

Red wasn’t Allen’s mentor. He had warned him of the dangers to this, and that was all he could or cared to do.

The duo crouched behind the alley wall and continued to observe the inn. The hubbub from inside was dying down too, and the movement in and out of the building decreased even further.

Half an hour went by with no sign of their target, though. The lack of development disappointed Allen to no end.

“He might just have a room in there.” Red said.

It was a reasonable conclusion, but it didn’t satisfy the young master. Just as he was considering calling it a night, though, something happened.

“There!” Allen’s eyes lit up.

The same tall blonde man walked out through the front door. Red was surprised, but before he could say anything, he noticed something. Someone else walked out right behind their target. It was another adventurer, equipped with light armor and carrying multiple weapons. This one, though, looked more like a local.

“Who’s that?” Allen asked.

Red did not have an answer for him. What stood out to the boy, though, was the shifty attitude of this new person. He eyed his surroundings with suspicion as he walked beside his unbothered, tall companion, and at one point, his gaze wandered in the direction of the boys.

“Get back!” in a hurry, Red pulled Allen back into the alley before the man could spot them.

His actions surprised the young master, but he didn’t protest. A few moments went by in silence, but Red didn’t dare to peek out from hiding to check the situation.

“Do you think he noticed us?” Allen asked.

“I don’t know.” Red had a frown on his face.

“Well, we need to check!”

Red just stared at the young master in silence. Allen didn’t continue speaking.

Eventually, though, Red decided it was safe to peek again. He looked over at the entrance of the inn and saw no signs of the tall man or his new companion. The boy recalled the direction of the street they were heading towards, but he couldn’t trace the path from his position.

Allen was also alarmed at this development. “Quickly! We need to hurry before they get away!”

Red, however, cut him off. “No rushing. Just follow me and stay quiet.”

The young master nodded, and the two of them moved out. The street of the inn was almost empty and Red had no difficulty in sneaking around without getting noticed. Allen, likewise, was able to keep with the boy’s rhythm with no issues. As they wandered down the street, though, they still saw no signs of their target.

Red frowned. “Let’s go quicker.”

He decided they could afford to increase their pace, and Allen was eager to accept it. They got into a moderate sprint, but thankfully for them, there was no one around to notice their scurrying figures. Eventually, they came up to an intersection.

They looked around before Allen spotted two figures wandering up the hill.

“There!” he pointed them out.

‘They’re going uphill?”

Red frowned, but didn’t comment on it. “Let’s follow them from afar.”

Allen nodded, and they continued on their stealth mission. The smaller adventurer they were tracking looked behind himself from time to time, but he failed to spot the sneaky duo. One advantage these streets provided Red with was plenty of cover behind which he could hide.

They stalked the men for over ten minutes, and at one point, the two boys recognized the path they were taking.

Allen frowned. “Hey isn’t this the way to…”

“Shh… Not now.”

After cutting him off, Red continued to move. Eventually, they arrived at a larger street. At the other end of it, a well-lit large building the boy could recognize from his first day in town appeared in front of them. The two men wandered inside, and Red and Allen could only watch from afar.

“It’s the adventurer's guild building.” Allen said.

Indeed, it was the place that hated their Water Dragon Sect. And it was also owned by Gustav, their biggest enemy.