Chapter 498: Cadola Royal City

Something about this felt wrong.

Sean figured it was one of two things. Either the Potter Family was so wealthy they had money to burn, and paying employee salaries was like getting rid of pocket change, or this hotel wasn’t just a hotel. The Ancient Castle had to be housing some priceless artifact or hiding a secret that required Wizards for protection.

Sean personally leaned toward the latter.

But that seemed to contradict the very nature of a hotel.

If they wanted to hide something, why would they accept guests?

It was truly baffling.

Elise said, “How about when we ask around about Fan Ke’er and the others later, we also ask about William Castle?”

Sean nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

‘The best way would be to just grab a staff member and drag them into our room.’

‘That woman at the front desk would be perfect.’

‘Then interrogate them with Mind Magic.’

‘Even if she’s just a receptionist and doesn’t know the whole story, we could still get something useful out of her.’

‘For instance, whether she was hired by the Potter Family or is a member of the family herself.’

Unfortunately, the three of them were all respectable Wizards, and none of them knew Mind Magic. Sean knew a little, but his Tier was too low. He might not only fail to learn anything but also end up exposing himself.

‘Next time we do something like this, I have to bring Sopea along.’

Elvire, however, just huffed.

She had to admit Sean had a point. After his analysis, the hotel did seem suspicious, but!

“I don’t care what your reasons are, you’re not allowed to look at other women anymore.”

“If you have to look, go look at a man.”

Elvire wouldn’t have said anything over a simple glance or two. She knew men liked to look at beautiful women, and Sean was certainly no exception. So, if he just slipped up occasionally, Elvire wouldn’t have minded. But this time, Sean had stared for far too long, continuing to watch even after the woman was gone, as if Elvire wasn’t even there. Of course she was angry.

Sean blinked. “Not allowed to look at other women… does that mean I’m allowed to look at you?”

As he spoke, he leaned in close to Elvire and began to admire her delicate, beautiful face.

Sean deliberately moved extremely close to the girl, so close they could feel the warmth of each other’s breath.

Caught off guard, Elvire was forced to meet Sean’s gaze. Staring at his handsome face just inches away and his clear, gentle eyes, she froze for a moment. She only snapped out of it when Sean leaned even closer, his lips brushing against hers, just about to kiss her, and the elevator chimed “DING DONG” again. Her cheeks instantly flushed crimson, and she pushed Sean away.

“The doors are open, let’s go…”

Sean had no choice but to back off. He feigned anger and gave the elevator a light kick, grumbling, “What brand is this elevator? It has terrible timing. I’m going to file a complaint and have the hotel replace it.”

Elise stood to the side, covering her mouth and trying to stifle her laughter.

Elvire shot Sean a glare, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.

‘He tries to take advantage of me every chance he gets. He doesn’t even care about the time or place. Didn’t he see Elise was standing right there?’

‘What a scoundrel!’

Sean stepped out of the elevator.

Compared to the early hours, the lobby had many more staff members this morning. When they saw the trio emerge from the elevator, they all stopped what they were doing, bowed their heads respectfully, and greeted them.

“Good morning, sir, ladies.”

Sean smiled and nodded in return, his gaze subtly sweeping over the staff.

As expected, from the receptionists at the front desk to the janitors sweeping the floor, the guards on duty, and the lobby manager in a suit—without exception, they were all Wizards. The lobby manager’s Tier was especially high, at least two levels above his own. Sean could only sense the aura the man emanated unintentionally but couldn’t discern his specific level of strength.

‘Interesting,’ Sean thought.

‘Those in the know might think this is a hotel, but anyone else would assume it was some family’s headquarters.’

‘Being “served” by so many Wizards… this place really has the feel of a dragon’s den.’

The receptionist from last night must have finished her shift. A new one was there, just as fair-skinned and beautiful. She politely asked Sean, “Sir, are you checking out?”

“Nope,” Sean said with a smile. “We’re just going out for a walk. We’ll be back later.”

“Of course.” The receptionist gave him a sweet smile. “I hope you have a pleasant time, sir.”

The three of them walked out of the hotel.

Elise finally couldn’t help but comment, “For a second there, I thought they weren’t going to let us leave.”

Seeing so many Wizards bow in unison, for a moment, she felt like she’d walked into a trap.

Sean found that amusing. “It’s not that serious,” he said. “Since the Potter Family chose to open for business, they wouldn’t normally make things difficult for their guests.”

On the contrary, the customer is God. As long as they were just normal guests staying at the hotel, these Wizards would do their utmost to serve them well.

But if a guest didn’t have money and couldn’t pay their bill…

Well, that would be a different story.

That was probably the source of their confidence in only charging guests upon checkout.

They weren’t afraid of guests using the excuse of ‘going out for a walk’ to skip out on the bill.

The entire Cadola Royal City was the Potter Family’s territory. Where could you possibly run?

“Let’s go.”

Sean said, “Like we planned, we’ll split up.”

He took out his phone, opened the map, and sent the two women the location of a restaurant in the city center.

“Let’s meet up here at 1 PM.”

“If anything comes up before then, contact me immediately.”

Elise nodded. “Okay.”

Elvire, however, warned Sean, “You be careful, and don’t go causing trouble.”

With Sean’s fearless personality, she was genuinely worried he would stir up some trouble again. This was the New World, and the Capital of the entire Austinburg State, no less. It went without saying that there were Grand Mages here—and more than one. If he really caused a problem, she had no way of cleaning up his mess. Even if she gave it her all, the most she could probably do was die alongside him.