In the whole of Tonbuch, the Dirty and chaotic, no amount of bright sunlight can fully illuminate it, and the Old Street Market of Adela is perhaps the most secret-free place in every corner, shrouded in shadows and stench.

The people who live here are familiar with every old and new neighbor. The thin planks are basically incapacitated by any sound, and when you walk on any road that is not a road, there will be a pair of indifferent and alert eyes staring at you on both sides. A quarrel between a young couple on the street in the middle of the night, and the fishmongers walking the streets before dawn can clearly know every word they have said. And if someone tries to make it a secret meeting place, no matter how tightly he or she wraps himself, when they come to the end from the street, there is a question about who they are, what faces are under the black cloak, where they are going, what they say...... It's all been known to all.

But that doesn't mean people here can't keep secrets.

If you are familiar with this place, if you are trusted by those who are of low status and struggle for survival every day, everyone will guard any of your secrets as firmly as a priest who has sworn before God. Defenders of the city, priests or paladins, nobles, royalty...... Don't even think to dig a word out of their mouths.

The world has its own rules.

As Old Joy staggered into the alleys of the Old Street Market, the expressionless people on the haphazardly erected, ruined wooden buildings on either side were doing their own thing, and no one even looked at him—but from this moment on, all eyes here were his.

Joey carried a few sausages as usual. He was a little thinner. The originally round stomach collapsed slightly, and the usual drunken smile still hung on his face, and his cloudy eyes were dull. It seems that he will fall to the ground in a daze at any moment, but he can turn around the cobweb-like alleyways and find his destination accurately.

Toothless Tavern.

Even places like the Old Street Market have taverns, and there are not only inferior ale wines, but also smuggled wines that are rare on the tables of all kinds of nobles, and they are always crowded at night. No one cared about the tavern's strange name, and no one cared that the tavern owner had been - and still was the only dentist in the Old Street Market.

Chelie Pree. He doesn't want money, but the only "treatment" he is good at is to use the most crisp and neat method to extract the patient's hopelessly rotten tooth. And you are guaranteed not to die from blood loss or infection.

When Joey shook into the tavern, there weren't many people inside. After all, it's still afternoon, and most people haven't finished their day's work yet, and most of the people who stay here are people who have nothing to do and nowhere to go. More than half of them have been drunk since the morning. Sludge slumped on the table and fell asleep.

Celli's daughter, Berea, sat at the counter as usual, with an impatient look on her sallow face, wiping the rough wooden wine glass in her hand with a rag needlessly...... The rag was so dirty that I wish she hadn't wiped it.

She glanced at Joey, nodded nonchalantly, and ignored it, still swaying up the old wooden ladder by the counter.

Upstairs...... Going downstairs again, turning down the narrow staircase and the hallway, the old man's gaze slipped over where he should have been guarded, and he smiled a little self-deprecatingly—that was of course unnecessary. Even if someone knows who they are, someone knows that they are gathered here...... No one will care what their soon-to-be-buried people can do.

The last door to get into. Carved beside the door was a small emblem, carved like a knight's coat of arms...... But old Joey didn't look at it much.

He arrived late, but there were less than ten people in the room. The place, which had been a secret stronghold of the Adventurers' Guild, was almost identical to the Toothless Tavern, except that sitting behind the counter was Celli Pree, who was just as impatient as his daughter.

Joey threw the sausage on the counter and sat down in the nearest place, looking at the old guys in the room, and for a moment he could still see what they were when they were young - young, strong, energetic, and though not everyone could be called the best adventurer, they all had their own unique skills...... Above all, they all believed, like him, that the title "adventurer" should not represent a "mission" of unbridled plundering and mercenary...... Even if they all have gray hair or simply bald heads, and their deformed figures can no longer see what they used to be, some things are always the same.

After he disbanded the entire guild, people who missed him still came here from time to time to get together, have a drink, and chat...... It's just that there are always fewer and fewer people.

Some left Staple Budch...... Some have left this world. The plague of a few months ago had taken away their two old friends, and no one expressed much sadness. They are all old...... And people always have to die.

But some people don't deserve to die—at least not themselves. That's why they're here tonight.

Charrell Kuntz is missing...... And no one could have guessed what he was going to do.

A little over a month ago, Charrel's youngest son, Ayton, was beheaded by Garter Carlos.

This is indeed sad...... But they couldn't do anything about it - Ayton was undoubtedly caught in the secret passages of Lockburg, as many can attest. The lovely-looking young man inherited his father's "profession" - he was a well-known thief who was keen to steal from the homes of nobles and wealthy merchants who were of little value but were difficult to obtain. It may seem like a challenge or an adventure to him, but it was not wise to get into that well-guarded place when news of the haunting in Lockburg was spreading, and he would probably have died if he had not been charged with the murder of Leohard Bofford.

What's more, Gard Carlos was extremely straightforward, and they didn't have any time to mediate in secret.

Charrell almost went crazy about it...... That's certainly understandable. Ayton was his youngest son and the most like him of all his children.

If he tries to clear his son of the charge of "murderer". Even to take revenge on Guardian, who slandered Ayton in order to dispel rumors, the people sitting here will probably not hesitate to help him...... But Charrell insisted that Ayton was completely innocent.

"He's bold, but he's not stupid! he doesn't have to go through the damn secret passages of Lockburg at a time like this!"

He had shouted it many times here - and they had confirmed it again and again. Ayton was indeed dragged out of a corner after Guardian and his knights chased him through the secret passage for a long time...... There is no evidence that someone had taken Ayton in advance and threw him into the secret tunnel.

They did find evidence to the contrary - Ayton had triumphantly told the girl he liked before that he was going to do it.

Charrell didn't believe this, not in any way.

"I'll find evidence and throw it in front of you toothless old guys!"

-- These were the last words he dropped when he was here for the last time.

Now, the biggest concern for these "old guys" is where he plans to go. What methods to use to find "evidence".

"I've been asking around several times...... The guy had no doubt burrowed into Lockburg. ”

Miller's voice drifted into Old Joey's ears.

There was no sound for a while...... No one asked Miller where he got the news from. If he said so...... That's got to be the way it is.

There are countless unjust spirits in the dark passages of Lockburg, and if Charrell becomes one of them, they probably won't even be able to find his bones.

"Ollie's son is still in Lockburg, right?" someone asked.

"In ...... But there's only so much he can do. It wasn't easy for him to get into his current position. Not necessarily willing to take risks...... It could have cost him his own life. ”

There was silence for a long time. Finally, someone asked, "Can you ask Alan for a favor?...... We didn't help him a lot. ”

Alan Kavo...... He couldn't actually help much, and the one who could really help was Allen's friend, Scott Criess. Trusted by the Queen Mother Moira. The Sage of the Great Nethers.

Even if he said that he wanted to wander around the secret passages of Lockburg, Moira probably wouldn't refuse, after all, she had already opened the Triple Tower.

But...... Can they really still trust Scott?

"I'll send a message to Alan as soon as possible. Joey spoke calmly and did not voice his doubts.

Old Joey's home was in Grey Robe Lane, southwest of Stonebuch, and the door was never locked—there was no money or secrets in it, anyway.

Joey didn't feel anything unusual when he pushed the door in, but when he stepped on the creaky wooden ladder back to his room upstairs. But I instinctively felt some kind of ...... Dangerous.

Something so powerful that his hairs stood on end—it was magic, he wasn't a mage or a priest. He was just a pure warrior, but his experience made him very sensitive to this.

He didn't stop, he didn't even slow down a bit...... He was already walking slowly enough.

Such a powerful force could easily crush an old man like him who couldn't even swing his sword, so ...... There is no point in running away either.

He calmly pushed open his door.

There are no attacks or traps...... In the dim light, a man turned towards him.

Old Joey blinked in rare surprise, making sure he was not mistaken—it was Scott Christus.

"Master Joey Dirian. ”

The man who was revered as a saint bowed to him with respect, "I have heard many stories about you. ”

“...... Call me Joey, or I'll call you 'Lord Sage'." Joey smiled, "I've heard you don't like that very much." ”

He knew he wasn't acting very polite and friendly...... Despite the need for his help, he was filled with countless questions about the people standing in front of him at the moment.

"I don't like it very much. Scott replied frankly, "You can call me Scott, too." ”

His transparent light blue eyes seemed to glow faintly like gems in the shadows...... Just looking at him like this makes one feel that his suspicions are unfounded.

"So, Scott......" Old Joey's tone softened unconsciously as he spoke again, "you wouldn't have come to me for a story like a bad old man, would you?"

“...... No. Scott replied earnestly, "Alan told me that you can be trusted in any situation, so ...... I need your help. ”.

(To be continued......)