Chapter 120: Albert.

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Albert.

Chapter 120: Albert.

The man quickly shook his head when he noticed Osborne’s expression growing colder.

"I wasn’t supposed to force you into anything, sir, and I certainly wasn’t told to attack you. I only thought that following you into the forest would give me a chance to approach you without disturbing the people living in that house."

’That’s a load of bull...’

He says he wasn’t going to attack, but Osborne could hear his heartbeat back then. For someone who only wanted to chat, that heart rate sure was questionable.

Nevertheless, Osborne chose to ignore it.

He had spent enough time dealing with troublesome people. Killing this man now would no doubt lead his organisation back to him, and the last thing he wanted was to become involved in the affairs of some unknown individuals simply because he had sold a few herbs.

"Who is your client?" Osborne asked.

"I’m afraid I can’t say, sir."

The answer came out so quickly that Osborne immediately pressed the blade a little closer to the man’s neck, causing him to flinch.

"I swear I’m telling the truth!" The man exclaimed, his voice trembling as he tried to explain himself. "Our organisation doesn’t always reveal the identities of its clients to the people handling their requests, especially when the clients are wealthy or influential. I was only given the task of finding you, and I haven’t met the person who made the request."

Osborne studied him carefully, trying to determine whether he was lying, but the man’s fear seemed genuine enough.

Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean he was telling the truth.

A skilled liar could appear frightened when necessary, and someone who worked in the business of gathering information would presumably have learned how to avoid revealing more than he needed to.

Still, killing the man simply because he couldn’t provide an answer would be a waste of time, especially when there were other ways to learn more about his organisation and its client.

"How did your organisation learn about the Moonlight Grass?" Osborne asked.

The man hesitated before answering, "The shops, sir. We have people who keep an eye on the market, and whenever something unusual appears, they report it to the organisation. Rare goods tend to attract attention, especially when they’re sold by people whose identities are unknown."

Osborne’s expression remained unchanged, although he couldn’t help feeling that the explanation made him look rather careless.

He had sold the herbs in small quantities at different shops, believing that doing so would make it harder for anyone to trace the goods back to him. However, he hadn’t considered that an organisation with people monitoring the market might notice the sudden appearance of several batches of high-quality Moonlight Grass.

Even if no individual shop had received enough herbs to raise serious concerns, someone who compared the reports from different shops could easily notice the pattern.

’So much for staying under the radar.’ Osborne mentally sighed.

He had been so focused on avoiding attention that he had failed to consider the possibility that someone else might already be watching the market for rare goods.

It was a simple oversight, but one that could become troublesome if the wrong person decided to investigate him.

The herbs were valuable, and their medicinal properties could attract the interest of merchants, healers, nobles, or anyone else who had enough money to purchase them.

If his client belonged to one of those groups, then the situation might be relatively harmless, but there was no guarantee that the person had such ordinary intentions.

For all he knew, the client could be someone who wanted to obtain the Moonlight Grass for a reason that had nothing to do with medicine.

Regardless, he needed more information before making any decisions.

"How much did your client offer to pay you for bringing me to them?" Osborne asked.

The dark-clothed man visibly stiffened.

"That... that’s confidential information, sir."

Osborne slowly raised his sword.

"Wait! I’ll tell you!"

The man immediately abandoned his attempt to protect the information, speaking so quickly that he nearly stumbled over his own words.

"The payment depends on whether you agree to meet the client, sir, and there’s an additional reward if I can convince you to come with me. I don’t know the exact amount the client is willing to pay the organisation, but I was promised a share if I completed the task successfully."

Osborne stared at him for a moment before lowering his sword slightly.

If the client genuinely wanted to speak with him, they could send an invitation through the Adventurer’s Guild or arrange a meeting in a public place during the day. There was no reason for him to take unnecessary risks when he had no idea who he would be dealing with.

’Maybe they’re afraid someone else would reach out to me first, which pushed them to such drastic measures?’ As a simple-minded person himself, he couldn’t fathom the minds of people in different walks of life, particularly wealthy merchants.

Who valued the market more than one would think.

The dark-clothed man seemed to sense that Osborne was considering his next move, and he quickly tried to take advantage of the brief silence.

"I apologise if that upset you, but I promise I won’t do it again." The man begged, his voice becoming increasingly desperate as he tried to convince Osborne to let him go. "If there’s anything I can do for you, anything at all, just say the word."

Osborne turned silent before his crimson gaze flashed through the slits of his helm.

The man in his grasp unconsciously gulped down, not knowing what his captor had in mind.

---

Inside a nice hall, Osborne and the dark-clothed man stood some distance away from two individuals.

One was another armored figure like himself, although their armor was azure in colour and leaner, covering them from head to toe, except for the armored aesthetic light azure mane which stretched down the back of the figure’s helm.

Besides the armored bodyguard was a person who looked younger than Osborne had expected.

A young man with foxy eyes and blonde, neatly cut hair, dressed in a neat nightgown, sat comfortably on a couch while looking at the two visitors before him.

Currently, Osborne and the dark-clothed man were in the young man’s mansion, which was far more impressive than he had expected when he first heard about the invitation.

The hall was spacious, with polished floors and well-arranged furniture that gave the place a rich appearance without making it look too crowded. Several decorations were placed along the walls, while a few lamps provided enough light to brighten the room despite the late hour.

Contrary to what the dark-clothed man had said earlier, he knew where his client lived, although Osborne wasn’t particularly annoyed by that fact.

Whether the man had lied to him or simply chosen not to reveal the information, it made little difference now that he had arrived at his destination.

Besides, his attention was focused on the young man sitting opposite him.

He didn’t seem to be a noble, which led Osborne to believe that he was a wealthy merchant at the very least, although that was merely an assumption based on his appearance and the way he carried himself.

The mansion was large enough to suggest that its owner possessed considerable wealth, and the young man’s relaxed attitude made it seem as though he was accustomed to having people wait upon him.

Even though he had apparently been sleeping before their arrival, he showed no signs of discomfort about meeting a stranger in the middle of the night, as though interrupting his rest for business was nothing unusual.

’What an interesting fellow.’

Osborne silently observed him, taking note of his fox-like eyes and the faint smile resting on his face.

There was something about the young man’s expression that made it difficult to tell what he was thinking, and although he appeared friendly enough, Osborne had no intention of lowering his guard simply because their host had chosen to welcome them with a smile.

After all, the man had sent someone to follow him through the forest in the middle of the night, and that alone was enough to make Osborne question his intentions.

Albert, on the other hand, seemed to have no such concerns, as he continued looking at his guests with a calm expression.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you... Mr.?"

"Dokebai..." Osborne introduced himself. "And you are?"

"You may call me Sir Albert."

Osborne briefly raised an eyebrow at the title, although he didn’t bother asking whether it was his real name or simply the name he preferred to use when dealing with strangers.

Considering that he had introduced himself as Dokebai, an alias he used to conceal his identity as an adventurer, it would have been rather hypocritical of him to question someone else for doing the same.

Besides, the young man had already shown that he possessed enough resources to learn about Osborne’s activities and locate his place of residence, so there was little reason to believe that he would reveal everything about himself during their first meeting.

The dark-clothed man standing beside Osborne remained silent, looking considerably more uncomfortable than he had been earlier. Although he had managed to bring his target to the mansion, the experience of being held by the collar and threatened with a sword had clearly left a lasting impression on him.

Osborne could hardly blame him for that, considering that the man had been foolish enough to follow him into the forest without realising how easily the situation could turn against him.

However, now that they had arrived at the mansion, Osborne no longer had much interest in the man who had brought him there. His attention was focused on Albert, the person who had paid for the information and arranged their meeting.

"So, Mr. Dokebai, should I take it that you’ve agreed to my offer, since you’ve come to meet me personally?"

Albert’s smile widened slightly as he spoke, his tone carrying a hint of amusement that made Osborne wonder whether the young man had already decided how their conversation would end.

Osborne looked at him for a moment before answering, "How are you so sure I’m not here to lodge a complaint about your methods?"

Albert simply laughed.

"I’m afraid that would be foolish of you then. You might not be aware, but my friend here has a knack for toying with her targets."

Osborne’s gaze shifted toward the armored figure standing beside Albert, and he took another moment to examine the bodyguard from head to toe.

’So the bodyguard’s a she...’

He hadn’t expected that, although the discovery itself wasn’t particularly important. What caught his attention was the way Albert had described her, as though toying with people was a normal part of her work rather than something that might get her into trouble.

The azure armor covering her body was noticeably different from his own, appearing leaner and more suited for quick movements than the all-round armor he wore.

Not only that, it covered nearly every part of her body, leaving no obvious opening through which he could identify her appearance, while the light azure mane extending from the back of her helmet gave her a majestic look.

Despite the differences in their equipment, there was one thing Osborne couldn’t ignore.

He was unable to gauge the bodyguard’s aura properly, but whenever he focused his attention on the azure knight, his instincts gave him an unpleasant feeling that refused to disappear.

It was similar to the feeling he experienced when standing near someone dangerous, although he couldn’t determine exactly how strong the woman was or what made her presence so unsettling.

’Let’s try to be friendly for now...’

Osborne didn’t need to know her exact strength to reach that conclusion, and the fact that his instincts were warning him so strongly was enough to make him treat her with caution.