Chapter 612 611: Report



Going from store to store was a fun adventure considering our group; Kolia trying to keep us all focused and serious, Anput walking around and doing whatever she pleased, Leone being embarrassed by the openness of the citizens, and me being a healthy blend of both Kolia and Anput.

Vulpe was an incredible city to experience, and the more we walked around to experience it, the more I was tempted to ask if we could stay when this was all over to relax and take advantage of the facilities this wonderful city had to offer.

Walking through the streets with Jahi and hopping from bar to bar before going back to an inn, or perhaps if she was comfortable enough, going to a club and letting loose in the atmosphere only a club could provide...

Gambling with Anput and betting on who would win more at the end of the night, tying our own rewards to the bets and enjoying ourselves that way before going home and receiving said rewards...

Or teasing Leone as we walked around, staying clear of the facilities and instead just going to watch a play or listen to a band play, have a nice dinner with some drinks and ending the night off together...

All of those sounded like wonderful ideas, and I was growing even more tempted to ask if I could make those fantasies reality when this was all said and done, but considering we have no idea on just what exactly is happening to Lady Vitra Renacla, well, those would remain tantalizing fantasies, locked away inside my mind.

Bringing myself out of my head, I continued to create a mental list of the various things that the shopkeepers and other citizens were saying whenever we entered a store or restaurant, making sure to keep an ear out for any juicy tidbit that we could.

The Rabbitkin's rumor was further confirmed and developed upon inside a knickknack shop, the kind older Mousekin man nodding and telling us 'young girls' to steer clear of the northern parts of the city during our stay, lest we invite trouble unto ourselves thanks to the unruly hooligans that Lady Vitra brought in.

According to the random passerby that heard us, one of those hooligans had made a big scene over at a brothel in regards to his tab, demanding the Madame of the brothel to drop the tab since he worked for Lady Vitra, and that if anything, she should be paying him to visit her brothel.

Of course, it would seem that the Pleasure Districts of any location were always run by men and women wearing false facades, as the adventurer had been seen screaming and holding his broken arm as the Madame watched him leave her brothel, so there was likely some more merit to the rumor...

But at the end of the day, none of us had seen it, nor had we known anyone involved, so the amount of embellishment could be enormous, which meant we took it with a rather large grain of salt as we moved onto the next store.

More and more variations and stories regarding the rumor were told to us after we greased the palms of the various shopkeepers, confirming that there was at least a group of unruly, unscrupulous adventurers that the Lady brought in to the city's walls, while the various tales of their crimes already committed seemed varied and exaggerated, but there was likely some truth there as well.

After two or so hours had passed since our arrival, we returned to the Barking Sun and made our way upstairs, giving the mature innkeeper a smile and a nod before walking into our room, Kolia following behind us as we went to make our report to the Marquess and Jahi, who had been cooped up all day long.

What we walked in on was an interesting sight, and we couldn't help but purse our lips as we watched the two tall Demoness' get their arms, legs, and faces painted dutifully by the Wisps, who were applying a dark brown paint to their bodies, giving the two women a rich chocolate skin tone that looked out of place for us, but...

If you were to see them now, you might assume the Marquess to be a Bullkin or perhaps a rare variant of Earth Djinn, while Jahi could be a Ramkin or Earth Djinn as well.

It was still hard to envision them as something besides Demoness though, and watching their blue skin get replaced by a rich chocolate color was rather odd, but it looked really good from a disguise standpoint as the two women were thoroughly painted a new color, altering their entire visage and then some.

Of course, there was a small part of me that hated that the Wisps were being incredibly thorough with their work, going so far as to paint the two Demoness' torso's as well, allowing them to have some more freedom of dress should they need it, and as such the Wisps were getting a good feel of Jahi's abdomen at the moment, but after a few deep breaths and noticing that the Demoness in question was zoned out, I let out a sigh of relief, my jealousy and possessiveness abating somewhat.

"Hm? Oh, you're all back. Find anything of use out there?"

The Marquess was also zoned out, but as soon as we entered she focused on us, her eyes scanning us over before landing on the bags in our hands, curiosity lighting her ruby eyes.

"We did some shopping-"

That made the two Demoness' frown, while the Wisps remained as quiet as possible, just listening to whatever it was that we had to say.

"-and talked to the various shopkeepers and citizens about the city and anything happening inside of it that we should be aware of. They all had one thing to say; Lady Vitra has changed, and she brought in a party of bad adventurers to apply pressure to her sister more directly, with the adventurers 'apparently' having a track record of crimes already inside the city, ranging from petty brawling to blackmail and even attempted rape. Not the best look for Lady Vitra, but these adventurers are certainly doing their job being nuisances."

One of the Wisps nodded, their masked face concealing all emotions perfectly as they said "Quite a few of the citizens seemed both wary and afraid of us as we walked around. Some displayed distaste towards us too. On top of the averse reactions, we took a look over at Vulpine Manor, where the Renacla Family resides, and it was on rather tight lock. More so than normal... Magical Barriers, guards every fifteen feet, guards hidden on the rooftops... Vulpine Manor has become a stronghold, and no one got close to the entrance at all. Either they're keeping something out, or they're keeping something in."

We nodded, before the Marquess sighed as she said "Another day of skulking around it is then. We need to lure out one of those adventurers and interrogate them, and perhaps even a guard? If not, sneaking in might be a valid option to learn a bit more... With no idea on what has caused this change in this Vitra woman, we don't really have any reasonable strategy to work on, do we? Hah... I despise slinking around..."