Section 51: Penetration

Ashrufat followed the path he was already familiar with to Skader's office. As usual, the Grand Governor of the Imperial Court was at his desk looking at the papers. The duties of the court supervisor are actually quite extensive, not only responsible for the daily work and chores within the palace, but also responsible for the information transmitted through magical communications. Especially the last point, which makes Skadera actually have a lot of work. When Ashrufat entered the office, Skadra had a stack of papers to work on on his desk.

"Mr. Skaderra. Ashrufat said hello. To be honest, it was a bit awkward to call the old man "uncle", so he kept calling the other party "sir".

"Oh, Ashrufat, you're done on duty, aren't you tired. Skadera rarely didn't use words like "um", "oh", "good", but was polite.

"It's ok. Ashruphat immediately sensed this unusual attitude.

"You've been here for more than a month...... It's been almost two months. Isn't it a bit boring to go back to your residence after work. An energetic young man like you can't adapt to such a monotonous life, right?"

"The ......," Ashrufat wanted to answer, but Skadra didn't give him time to answer.

"Here's an invitation ticket for you. Skadra pulled a piece of paper from his body, seemingly casually.

"What kind of invitation ticket?" Ashrufat took the ticket, but the ticket only had the time and place on it, but he didn't know what it was. It doesn't look like a ticket to a theater, either.

"Oh, a party of a group of young people like you. Skadera said. "The participants are a gathering of young people like you who are from out of town but are currently living in Eagle City. And the main players are ...... in the army Since you have been a mercenary, it must be easy for you to develop a common language with them. Go and meet and make a few more friends, it will definitely be good for your future. ”

"Thanks, Mr. Skaderra. Ashrufat put away his tickets.

Saying that he was going back, he felt a little uneasy. To tell the truth, he escaped yesterday in time, or rather by luck. At that time, he once thought that he would definitely not be able to escape this time, but the final result was to escape safely. But Ashrufat also knew that Scarlet Rose would not let him go. It's an obvious logic: since Scarlet Rose has kept the secret of her true identity, it is undoubtedly important to her, and she will inevitably silence those who know it. To tell the truth, after watching the bloody scene in the warehouse yesterday, Eshurufat really felt that the woman who called herself Scarlet Rose, Rhodia's sister (presumably a sister, at least a cousin or something), was clearly not the type to be kind in her heart and let the innocent go.

Or maybe they noticed who he was at the time, and knew that he didn't pass on the secret news through the channel, so they had the leisure to deal with it slowly? No, if I wanted to protect an important secret, I would kill all signs of danger at once, no matter how small they may seem. From this point of view, the Scarlet Rose didn't catch up yesterday...... Of course, it may not be that complicated at all, it's just that he and the little girl escaped fast enough that the other party lost their traces and chased them away.

Anyway, it should be a little tentative.

When Ashrufat returned to Flower Street, he saw that the "Red Rose" was still open for business. Rhodia was also doing some chores behind the counter as usual. Because it was early in the morning, there were no customers in the shop, and there were no girls, so as soon as Ashrufat came in, Rhodia noticed him and greeted him warmly.

"Ashrufat, you're back from duty. Rhodia greeted. If she is acting, then her acting skills are absolutely masterful, at least beyond the scope of Ashrufat's observation. "Would you like to have a drink before you go to rest? ”

"Ah, what a shame. Ashrufat stood at the counter. "Is there any news in town, the kind that catches the eye?"

"Oh, well, it's nothing. General Rafa returned to the Northeast Front...... Without him, the news in the city would have been reduced by half. When it comes to news, the biggest news in recent times has been the establishment of an independent state by the Belu people. They have also sent official envoys to establish diplomatic relations with our country. ”

"Ah, the last time I was in the docks, I seemed to see that guy or something...... Arrive by boat from the river. The welcome ceremony was very warm. ”

"That's right, that little Lord Grufiz is a big hit now. Prince of an emerging country...... Well, it doesn't seem to be called that, but that's pretty much it anyway. In short, it is a diamond king, and it seems that many people want to take this opportunity to marry her...... It's really a superficial woman's dream. Rhodia said lightly.

"If you marry in a foreign country, your parents should be unhappy, right?"

"That's the normal thing. But looking at the form of the state...... The future is uncertain, and if there is a distant son-in-law at this time, things will be much easier. Na, if I were also a nobleman, I would definitely find a way to seduce me now, and if I became the prince's wife, I wouldn't lose a piece of meat if I didn't succeed. Rhodia glanced at Ashruphat meaningfully. But she probably didn't expect that her last word reminded Essrufat of the pile of minced meat in the warehouse yesterday—well, those were no longer corpses, but minced meat.

"Isn't there any news in the city?" asked Ashrufat. "Like, Scarlet Rose's actions or something. ”

"What, Ishrufat, you're interested in this kind of thing, do you want to...... Catch the Scarlet Rose?Ah, this is a shortcut to fame, and if you succeed, you will definitely become famous! By the way, there is an official public bounty, whether you live or die, a thousand Jewels...... It's not just official. In the gangsters, there is also this bounty, whether it is alive or dead, but the price is ten times the official price. Merely...... I'm not warning you, Ishrufat, but I personally feel that such an attempt is futile. Regardless, this Scarlet Rose Lady has been rampaging in Eagle Falcon City for years, and I don't know how many people in the Dao want this bounty, but they have never succeeded. ”

"It's just a little curious. Ashrufat replied. Now he basically believed that yesterday's events had not been revealed, at least Rhodia did not recognize him as the person lurking in the high place to observe. "You know that Lu Dao is actually a warrior, and he always has an instinct for people with superb combat skills...... How to say it, I sympathize with each other. If you have the chance, I'd love to see Scarlet Rose in action. ”

"Even at the cost of death? hahaha...... Sorry, Ashrufat, just kidding, don't mind. Rhodia replied. "But if you want to see this kind of thing, I suggest you go to the Colosseum...... Although there is no real blade combat over there, it is not much different. In addition to professional gladiators, there are also amateurs. Ordinary guests can also participate. ”

As he spoke, Ashrufat had finished a glass of wine with fruit juice that Rhodia had provided for free.

"Rhodia, I've always been curious about this Scarlet Rose. Ashrufat said.

"Ah, so am I, I've always been curious. The identity, origin, and motive are all unknown. ”

"I think as long as she's a human, she'll definitely need to eat, drink, and dress, and she'll need intelligence to find those targets...... In this case, it's okay in the short term, but it's definitely out of the basket in the long run. An unfamiliar face is easy to arouse alarm, but a familiar face is difficult to disguise as an ordinary person in front of the master......"

"That makes a lot of sense. What, then, does Mr. Ashrufat think this is for?"

"I think she must have remained in a state of seclusion," Ashrufat said, watching Rhodia look at the change in expression as she seemed casually. "Because there is a big difference between a person who has been trained and a person who has not been trained, he cannot escape the eyes of those who have a heart. So I think she must have had one companion, or more than one. It was up to that companion to keep her on a daily basis and to provide intelligence support for her movements. ”

"Reasonable inference. Rhodia replied with a smile. Her eyes flashed with admiration and amazement. "But then it's even harder to find. The city is so big, there are so many places to hide. And her companion must have been an ordinary person...... Looking for an ordinary person without any characteristics in the vast sea of people is completely looking for a needle in a haystack. Isn't it. ”

"That's true. Well, thank you for your wine, it tastes very good, I'm going to rest. Ashrufat said. He stood up and turned to walk away while Rhodia continued her work.

Sure enough, was it just pure luck? Rhodia didn't find me, in other words, Scarlet Rose lost her target last night...... There is no other reason.

Ashrufat thought as he returned to his apartment. This apartment can be regarded as a high-end residence, with a total of fifteen rooms, but to be honest, except for Ah Jin next door, some of the other people are not very familiar with Ashrufat, and at most they are just meeting and saying hello. Some of these neighbors are five big and three thick, and they seem to be the kind of people who are good at fighting, some are scholarly, and some are ordinary-looking. But Ashrufat believes that the people living in this apartment in Rhodia should all have a skill. All of the neighbors seemed to have other occupations, and at least most of the time, their doors were locked.

Ashrufat walked up the stairs, and suddenly he felt a cold feeling, an unjustified, inexplicable sense of danger, as if he was standing on the edge of some cliff that he would fall down from now, instead of returning to his apartment. His instincts speak strongly of danger.

This feeling is only for a moment, and the next moment, the sense of danger subsides.

Ashrufat took a deep breath. It's really curiosity that kills cats...... If only he hadn't tried to spy on Rhodia yesterday evening. But it's useless to regret now, there is no regret medicine in the world.

But the frustration quickly faded. Ashrufat thought back to the performance of the Scarlet Rose he had seen yesterday, and another emotion welled up in his heart. Can you play against such an opponent...... However, he suffered too much in terms of weapons, he only had an ordinary sword, and I was afraid that he would not be able to deal with that magic sword. But it doesn't matter, after all, this is not a battlefield confrontation, and good weapons are not omnipotent. Let's try to fight first, if it really doesn't work, as long as you jump out of the window, Scarlet Rose can't chase after you......

Ashrufat's mind was racing at high speed, but there was no pause in his body. In the blink of an eye, he was outside his room and opened it.

It was quiet inside the door, as if no one had visited.

On a chair in the living room outside of Ashrufat. No matter where the Scarlet Rose lurked, it would take a little distance to rush out and attack, thus giving Ashruphat enough time to prepare. In addition, there is a window next to it, so he can break it out at any time.

"I know you're here, come out. Ashruphat said loudly in a tone that would never be misheard.