"What's going on? Could it be that something really happened in Tacoma City?"
In a certain inn, a crowd gathered around...
Sean and the mercenary squad were also nearby.
This was the fourth night since they left Rietis. They were gradually approaching the southeastern region. It was said that once they crossed the great mountains to the south, they would officially enter the jurisdiction of the southeastern cities.
Few people had come this far. There were almost no caravans or travelers on the main road. Following their usual habits, the mercenaries gathered at a nearby inn every night during the journey to exchange useful information.
Tonight, the biggest topic was that a mercenary team had retreated because they couldn't handle the fog ahead. Now, they were surrounded by people asking questions.
"Really, what happened? Why did you come back for no reason?"
In the center of the crowd was a man who looked to be in his thirties...
Of course, he could be under thirty. Mercenaries tend to look older when they don't shave and have dirt on their faces.
He sat in the middle of the inn's main hall, not far from Sean's table...
"What exactly happened?"
"Quiet down, you're not giving him a chance to speak."
The crowd pressed for answers but got nothing, and soon started arguing among themselves.
Sean glanced over...
Aside from a bunch of people with statuses like [Curious!], [Anxious!], and [Expectant!], only one person had a negative status.
That was the man in the center.
[Uneasy!]
And he also had a hint of [Illness!].
It wasn't displayed through magic, but as a negative status...
"That man is sick," Sean said quietly.
"Huh? Who are you talking about, Master Sean?" Jonathan, sitting nearby, followed his gaze. The only person who could be singled out in the crowd was the man in the middle.
"He's sick? But he just looks shaken."
"Someone who just got sick might not even realize it themselves," Sean said.
Actually, the man's illness wasn't the main issue. But the fact that he had just returned from a place farther ahead suggested something was wrong with that so-called fog.
"Everyone, quiet down!"
Finally, someone managed to silence the crowd.
"Let him speak. Didn't you all come here to hear the results? If you keep arguing, I'll throw you out myself." The voice came from the inn's upper floor—a loud, gruff male voice.
Sean glanced upward. A man with short blond hair and a stern face, with faint scars barely visible.
The lighting was poor at night, and with so many people in the hall, Sean couldn't see clearly... but there was definitely something on his face.
Above his head, the status display read:
[9000/9000, Neutral]
He was a level 9 Order member, which was considered high-ranking among mercenaries.
"Who's that?"
"Lukar. A famous professional warrior in Rietis. It's said that Prince Philip once invited him to work at the palace, but he refused. He's well-known among mercenaries. I didn't expect him to be here!" Jonathan explained.
I see.
No wonder he could keep these mercenaries in line.
Mercenaries were free-spirited, but they could be the hardest to deal with, especially in a group... No discipline, no habit of following orders—like a mob.
That's probably why mercenaries could only serve as support and never mix with regular troops, or they'd become a liability.
And this Lukar must have high prestige among mercenaries. As soon as he spoke, no one dared to talk back...
"Let him speak slowly. Brother, tell us—what happened here? Why hasn't there been any news from the guild in the southeastern region for so long?" He stood on the upper floor, looking down at the man in the center.
The surrounding mercenaries wisely stepped back, giving the man room to breathe.
"I... I don't remember much." The man's status still showed [Uneasy!], and this unease made his speech confused.
"Don't remember? How many of you were in this team?"
"There were seven of us who set out from Rietis..." As he spoke, his status showed [Terrified!].
"Where are the others?"
"They got lost in the fog."
Lost...
"Why did they get lost? What's in the fog?" Lukar pressed.
Everyone present wanted to know the answer.
"There's nothing, but we couldn't find our way out... and we couldn't get in either. The deeper we went, the more we couldn't see anything. I kept walking, but then I realized my teammates were completely gone. I got scared and started running back, just kept running..."
As he said this, the man was visibly trembling.
"Then I ran into the people coming from behind." The man looked up at Lukar. If not for him, he probably wouldn't have said anything.
People disappearing, and right beside them!
For a moment, the entire inn's hall erupted in discussion. It was hard to believe.
"You're not lying to us, are you? How could they just get lost? If the fog was too thick, you could have held hands. And the Black Feather Knights passed through not long ago—they made it, didn't they?" Other mercenaries in the inn still refused to believe.
Even Jonathan, the leader of this mercenary squad, couldn't make sense of it.
"People getting lost?"
"Master Sean, do you think it's possible?" The group instinctively turned to him for answers.
In their eyes, with his Silver-level bounty hunter title, he was stronger. During this time, Sean had also subtly inquired about the bounty hunter rankings. Silver-level was already the third tier, with only Gold-level and Steel-level above, and three more levels below.
That's why they saw him as the squad's strongest fighter. But only Sean knew that the real powerhouse was the alchemist Alphonse...
"He's been terrified the whole time. He's not lying, but it affects his memory... We can't take his word completely, but we can't ignore it either. We need to prepare," Sean said.
Everyone nodded.
Uh...
Looks like I'll have to keep playing the big shot role.
"What do we need to prepare?" The topic came back to him.
Fog, and illness...
Sean thought for a moment.
"Master Alphonse, can you make some special potions? At least something to keep us from losing each other in the fog and to prevent illness..."
"That's not hard," Alphonse said.
As for the rest, Sean hadn't figured it out yet.
Just then, as he looked around the hall, he noticed someone in a corner with a red hostility level...
[Cold]