Chapter 264: Preparing to Make a Move

"Oh, my dear friend, saying something like that is truly hurtful," Quest said with a laugh, raising his wine glass. "Look, I'm just a man who does dirty work for various lords. It's only because Lord Ron was willing to take me in that I have the right to stand here openly."

"And what about my respected Lord? Not long ago, he was just a wanderer, a refugee. Even with the good fortune of having a talent for Casting, it takes all his effort just to do that one thing well. He has no Energy left to study other matters."

"Let alone the most profound and complex topic of politics. Revolution? People like us are lucky just to be alive. How could we possibly understand anything more?"

"So you have absolutely no need to worry about any of that—we're more like a single sheet of paper than a thick book. All our plans are exactly as they appear on the surface. Right now, Delusional Land is in urgent need of all kinds of partners. Despite past misunderstandings, we still believe Carolina would be an excellent partner."

As he spoke, the Tiffling casually moved closer to the Civil Servant. While reaching out to pat the man's shoulder, he silently slipped a check into the official's coat. "This is from Rose City. It can be cashed in any city-state in the Alliance. It's in Legislator Daniel's name."

"What do you want?" The Civil Servant's movements were just as practiced. Aside from Liya, who smirked coldly while talking with Aive, no one else noticed their subtle exchange.

"To meet a few people, talk a little business," the Tiffling said, flicking his tail. "Maybe we'll reach an agreement, maybe we won't. But no matter what, we will absolutely resolve it peacefully."

"...How many people?"

"Four. Don't worry, we would never have private dealings with an official such as yourself. That would be far too improper."

"Indeed, that would be very improper," the Civil Servant said, breathing a sigh of relief. "We will arrange the meeting. However, please be careful. Due to the recent political instability, murders have become quite frequent."

"Our forces are a bit stretched thin. Sometimes, the victims aren't discovered until the next day."

The Tiffling bowed politely. "Thank you for the warning. We will certainly be careful."

"Is it all taken care of?" Ron asked as he met up with Quest, who had been waiting for him after he made a lap around the banquet.

"Of course," Quest said, dropping his overly professional, fake smile and replacing it with his usual one. "But I must remind you again, it's best not to be too obvious."

"If your visitation list turns into the Death God's roll call, even if no evidence points to you, the rumors will spread through every street and alley."

A Zor in a white formal suit appeared silently beside them. "That's why I keep advising you to let me take care of a few of them myself."

"During that time, you can appear in some conspicuous places to provide an alibi. That way, the only person who could fall under baseless suspicion would be that Henry Robinson."

The Tiffling glanced behind Seymour. Although Carlos was chatting with his older brother, his eyes were sneakily darting their way.

"I trust the professionalism of a Zor Assassin, but I don't trust that young man," Quest said, lifting his chin. "Seymour, if you go by yourself, I'm sure Lord Ron won't stop you. But if you take Carlos with you…"

"Come on, they're just brokers and merchants. Is it really necessary to be this cautious?"

"One slip-up could cause trouble for a lot of people," Ron said with a frown, his voice low. "How about this: we can test you on the one with medium difficulty first. If there are no problems, I can trust you with the easiest one."

"As for the instructor, we must be extremely careful. How does that sound?"

Seymour was still a bit reluctant, but he had to admit that Ron was being sufficiently cautious. "F-fine. Carlos and I will go gather intelligence first. Once the plan is set, you guys can stand watch!"

After the banquet ended and everyone returned to the lodgings Carolina had prepared for them, Seymour and Carlos didn't linger. Under the light of the waning crescent moon, they vaulted the wall outside the inn and quickly disappeared into Carolina City.

"That kid's a fast learner."

Back inside the inn, Delaford lay on a soft sofa with his eyes closed. He wasn't the least bit sleepy, however, because his senses were not there at all but were instead connected to Big White.

"No one can spot them when they're moving stealthily. Oh, it looks like they've found some kind of information broker. Carlos went over, gave him a bag of money, and started asking questions."

"I don't know how well he's handling it, but the broker doesn't seem suspicious. Oh, they've separated… wait a second."

The Goblin Hunter's brow furrowed, but then quickly relaxed. "It looks like the broker was about to record their movements—oh, Seymour made his move. He killed the guy!"

"Typical Zor move," Aive said, shaking her head as she put a hand to her forehead. "Oh well, it's better than being exposed."

Seymour's methods were very different from those of the household-name Zor Ranger. That man was a legend, whereas Seymour was just a Zor who no longer wanted to be a puppet of Rose. He was still deeply influenced by his people's culture; he just rarely showed it in Delusional Land.

Back in Carolina, with nothing holding him back, he immediately succumbed to those customs and that culture—but it was precisely those things that guaranteed his skill.

Over the next few days, the group followed Ron around during the day, visiting all sorts of Carolinians. Some held power, others wealth, and still others controlled public opinion.

At first, they were all quite cold toward the visit from a "country Lord." But when untraceable checks issued by Daniel found their way into their pockets, they began to show Ron great kindness and enthusiasm, as if they would kiss his boots even if he overthrew the current Lord right then and there.

Ron didn't mind dealing with people like this; it was better to know what they wanted than not. If there were to be various collaborations in the future, establishing good relations beforehand was a necessary step.

However, Ron knew that those who could be bought with money could just as easily be moved to betrayal by it, so he would never reveal any important information to them.

At night, however, it was time for the Zor, Delaford, and Carlos. Over the course of several nights, they mapped out the deployment of all the guards in Carolina City, as well as the movements of several people who were soon to die. Take the slave trader, for example. The man almost never slept in his own home; brothels were his bedchambers, and females of every region and race were his bed.

Dealing with someone like that, who enjoyed "wandering" late at night and would be without his bodyguards at a specific time, couldn't have been easier.