When the traveling merchant mentioned "all expenses included," there was a hint of pain in his eyes. Evidently, he wasn’t a wealthy man.
Which makes sense, if he had some money in his pocket, why not have fun at the Elysium Pavilion? Miss Red is, after all, an ordinary person, and cannot fully enjoy herself while playing.
"Honorable merchant, who are they..." At this moment, Miss Red had tidied her attire and walked out from inside.
Dressed as always, her face still flush, looking more like a flamingo. — This is from Dox’s perspective.
"It’s none of your business, go away quickly." The traveling merchant impatiently waved her off, signaling for her not to come over.
This behavior, however, made Angel glance at him. While it seemed the traveling merchant was dismissing Miss Red, he was actually protecting her.
In essence, the two were in a mutually consenting relationship, with little emotion involved. The fact that the traveling merchant went this far was already quite considerate.
Because of this act, Angel stopped Dox from further teasing the traveling merchant and stepped forward, saying: "Earlier, when you were talking to yourself, you mentioned returning to Bilun Tree Court to trouble two kids. So, is the Merchant Organization behind you supported by Bilun Tree Court? The Birlos Family?"
As Angel spoke, Dox naturally took a step back, letting Angel take the lead. This detail was noticed by the traveling merchant, making his scalp tingle even more.
Because this meant that the person speaking in front of him was at least an Official Wizard!
With two Official Wizards appearing before him, was today the end of the line for him?
Though the traveling merchant felt pessimistic, he still didn’t want to give up outright and cautiously said: "Honored sir, it’s not that I don’t want to answer your question, but we all signed a death oath when we joined the organization, prohibiting us from disclosing information about it."
The traveling merchant thought for sure this answer would anger the other party, but he had no choice but to say it.
Unexpectedly, Angel showed no emotional fluctuation and merely said softly: "I see... then let me ask in another way, do you know them?"
Angel lightly waved his hand, and an illusion appeared before the traveling merchant.
Within the illusion was a couple holding hands, the young couple apprentices who had previously hitched a ride on their Teleportation Array. They had introduced themselves before as being from the Birlos Family.
Upon seeing the apprentice couple, the traveling merchant’s eyes flickered. He understood that the wizard opposite him was seeking information in a way that didn’t violate any oaths.
This indicated that the other party didn’t have the immediate intention to kill him. Otherwise, there was no need to be so tactful.
The traveling merchant wasn’t particularly loyal, and since Angel chose a tactful approach, he was willing to cooperate.
"I know them, and not only do I know them, but I’ve also known them for many years." Without waiting for Angel to ask, the traveling merchant started providing information about the apprentice couple and recounted some of the interesting events that had happened between them.
Though he didn’t mention anything about the Merchant Organization, Angel and the others had already grasped the situation.
It seemed the Merchant Organization was indeed linked with the Birlos Family. Even if the Birlos Family didn’t directly create the Merchant Organization, they were certainly influencers within it.
The reason for this conclusion was due to the looming shadow of royal power behind the Birlos Family. Such sharing of power was not uncommon.
When the traveling merchant had finished speaking, he anxiously looked at Angel and Dox, silently awaiting their verdict.
Whether it would be life or death truly hung on their whim.
Angel: "We came here specifically to find your Merchant Organization this time."
Merchant: "May I know what you require, sir?"
"We want to meet someone known as the ’Craftsman,’" Angel stated plainly.
In fact, he had another request, which was to directly purchase information about the underground passage from the Merchant Organization. They certainly knew. However, this might alert the Merchant Organization to their movements. Though they didn’t fear being discovered—after all, with the Black Earl and Angel’s "Summoning" method, anyone would face death—but, if things could be kept simple, it would be better to avoid complications.
After all, this place was part of the Gumman Kingdom. If they attracted King Gumman’s attention, things would become even more complex.
"The Craftsman? I know him; he’s a newly initiated Alchemy Apprentice." The traveling merchant spoke of the Craftsman with a hint of disdain, not for the person but for the title that didn’t match his status.
"Where is he now?"
The merchant hurriedly said: "The Craftsman is stationed long-term at the organization branch near the ruins because he has to make weapons for the adventure groups here. Oh, he resides in the Mana Hut, which also functions as his blacksmith shop."
"Sir, would you like to go to the organization branch, or should I directly send a message for him to come and meet you?"
The merchant’s survival instinct was even stronger than Angel had imagined. He didn’t have to provide a solution, but he did, coincidentally conforming to some of Angel’s thoughts.
This made Angel see the shrewd merchant in a different light.
"Send the message, have him come see me, and... bring his Mana Hut."
The merchant wrote the message right in front of Angel, which was also an act of survival or a gesture of goodwill.
Of course, messages can be secretly manipulated to reveal information, but the traveling merchant didn’t do so. He’s not an idiot; even if the information were to be leaked, what would happen with two Official Wizards in The Garden Labyrinth?
Would the Birlos Family dispatch Official Wizards to besiege them?
It’s impossible. The Garden Labyrinth isn’t a particularly affluent ruin, nor is it privately owned by the Birlos Family; they would never risk offending other wizards over it.
Moreover, the identity of the wizard whom even Red Sword Docks stepped back for is unknown to them.
Unknown means no full certainty.
So under such circumstances, the traveling merchant wouldn’t employ any tricks. His plan was to follow the instructions of the two wizard lords and then, ideally, request a memory erase, pretending that none of this ever happened.
"Sir, should we wait here for the ’Craftsman’ to arrive, or move to another location?" the traveling merchant asked Angel while writing down the location information.
Angel: "Here will do."
The merchant immediately marked the location, then deliberately showed Angel the message content again to prove he wasn’t tampering with it. Then, he enclosed the message in a ball of blood aura; the blood aura is a means of communication used by Bloodline Wizards, a modified version of the magic transmission. Bloodline Wizards prefer using blood aura for sending messages over magic transmissions.
The blood aura ball rose into the sky, hovering for a while, seemingly positioning itself.
After confirming the position, a crimson light flashed, darting towards the south.