One-Eyed Monster

The light in the basement was poor, so Elder Rostellum couldn't see the faces of the two fools very clearly.

"It's said that initially, these two and that young master used to have a nickname: 'The Three Fools of Guru Mountain.'" Aliusan limped along, flattering and fawning over Lord Rostellum.

"Nonsense! How could the son of Governor Rostov be a fool?" Elder Rostellum rolled his eyes at Aliusan without a second thought; he had grown accustomed to being cautious these days. Although he might sometimes be slightly defiant towards Guard Goding, most of the time he spoke carefully. He would never utter words that offended Governor Rostov.

Even if Governor Rostov weren't his superior's superior, he wouldn't take the risk. Governor Rostov was a rising star in the political arena of the Kayne Empire. King Kayne had invited him several times to serve in the King's Council Hall, but Governor Rostov had declined each time. Governor Rostov said he couldn't bear to leave his hometown. But in Elder Rostellum's opinion, Governor Rostov was actually reluctant to give up all the lucrative benefits there.

But Aliusan, after all, wasn't a Politician and didn't have an innate immunity to such sensitive matters. Ignoring Elder Rostellum's glare, he continued recklessly, "I've heard from the villagers that the boy believed to be Young Master Rostov kept asking about monsters before going up the mountain. These rich young masters really have nothing better to do; they're probably just full and looking for trouble…"

Elder Rostellum had previously heard the detail Aliusan mentioned from Old Hamu, the village chief of Guru Village, but he hadn't paid much attention at the time. After all, back then, he had been busy trying to entertain Mayor Babasha and Guard Goding. Thinking back now, this detail hadn't seemed very important, merely adding to the idle gossip. The moment Mayor Babasha arrived in Gaga County, he had suspected that the youth who had sought a divination at Biggs' Divination House might be Young Master Rostov. He had then sent Uli to Guru Mountain to find the youth, but to this day, neither the youth nor Uli had been found.

This was truly a perplexing situation.

However, Elder Rostellum did admire Aliusan's methods. Logically, when Old Hamu reported this detail, he must have ordered the entire village to keep silent. Yet, Aliusan still knew about it. This indicated that Aliusan's Black Mountain Organization had rather impressive intelligence-gathering capabilities. It seems I need to be wary of this Aliusan and his Black Mountain. If necessary, I should bring him into the Gaga County Administrative Office...

A Politician's instincts kept Elder Rostellum constantly alert, and it was precisely this constant vigilance that made him uneasy.

Especially during this recent period, his experiences had been awful.

Not to mention the unexpected incidents a few days ago when Old Hamu's village reported the situation: Oha, the grocery store owner, had been possessed and uttered some baffling warnings. These warnings made the already alert Elder Rostellum even more cautious. His greatest concern was his money bag. The warnings spoke of a disaster that would strike Guru Mountain, plunging his well-run operations there into a lifeless state. A lifeless state would definitely affect his purse. Never mind other things, just the annual tax revenue from the numerous taverns—if a disaster struck, he might not collect a single copper coin. The mere thought made him wince.

Although Elder Rostellum had considered applying for disaster relief funds after a disaster, the thought of his stable income turning into disaster relief funds awaiting approval made him feel as if he had aged several years in an instant. So, whether these warnings were true or false, Guru Mountain was unlikely to be peaceful anytime soon.

Elder Rostellum recalled being summoned to Lubin Tavern yesterday by the master from the Alchemy Workshop, and his head began to throb involuntarily.

That master had instructed him to find a guide in this village, someone who knew multiple paths up the mountain and could describe the features of each one.

The task seemed simple, but carrying it out was not so easy. Although the villagers of Guru Village lived at the foot of Guru Mountain, they didn't rely on Dawn Peak. In the past, these villagers had always foraged for resources around the small earthen mounds near Dawn Peak and had never actually gone near Dawn Peak itself. Later, with the advent of the tavern businesses, the villagers rarely even ventured to those small mounds anymore. So, finding a suitable guide was not going to be easy. He would need to deploy personnel to screen the Treasure Hunters. However, these Treasure Hunters were habitual liars, their eyes lighting up at the sight of money. If he ended up presenting a swindler to the master from the Alchemy Workshop, he himself would likely face unbearable consequences.

Elder Rostellum had been fretting over this for hours. He didn't entirely trust Aliusan's Black Mountain either, as they had not yet completed the tasks he had assigned them.

"Any news about Uli?"

"Er, my lord, it seems Musa on the mountain has lost contact with us." Aliusan still couldn't dodge the dreaded topic; his earlier attempts at distraction with jests were intended to make Lord Rostellum forget these matters, but Rostellum, oblivious to the attempts to change the subject, had asked anyway.

"Hmph. Then what about that Dark Wizard? Any progress there?" Elder Rostellum was still thinking about that business deal—the stones on Guru Mountain could be exchanged for gold coins. The gold coins Black Mountain had previously exchanged were lifeless. Rostellum had deduced this was related to the Dark Wizard they had found and had instructed Aliusan to investigate. However, some time had passed, and Aliusan still hadn't reported anything back.

What rotten luck! Talk about rubbing salt in the wound! Aliusan realized that ever since that warning had arrived, the trust he had painstakingly built up had crumbled once more.

"My lord, that Dark Wizard is incredibly sinister. Our men don't dare to get close..."

"Hmph." As expected. Elder Rostellum had anticipated Aliusan's answer, so the blow wasn't as severe.

Speaking of which, a few more unusual individuals had indeed arrived on Guru Mountain. After that Dark Wizard, two witches had also come. Those two witches were extraordinarily dressed; one look told you they were not simple folk. It wasn't until he received the summons from the Alchemy Workshop that Elder Rostellum understood: those two witches were from the Wizard Alliance, and one of them was even one of the Sages of the Six Systems—it was simply incredible... The Alchemy Workshop, the Wizard Alliance, the Dark Wizard... Who would have thought that a small place like Guru Mountain could attract so many prominent figures... Beyond this realization, Elder Rostellum was deeply troubled. The arrival of so many powerful individuals seemed to lend much greater credibility to that warning...

Elder Rostellum's thoughts wandered far, far away, and he didn't notice Aliusan wiping sweat from his brow beside him.

"Spare us! We've really told you everything!" A scream shattered Rostellum's train of thought.

"We told you, we only guided the way! We absolutely didn't deceive that Adventurer named Igor…" Liko and Pita, who were tied up, pleaded incessantly for mercy.

"Wait, you guided the way?" Elder Rostellum felt as if he had inadvertently spotted a glimmer of light.

"Yes, yes! We were only responsible for guiding! We know all the paths up the mountain like the back of our hands!"

Well, this was almost too easy... Elder Rostellum sighed. I didn't expect Aliusan to actually come through with something useful after all...