Bounty hunter?
"Mercenaries?" Sean asked.
The name sounded similar to the mercenary setup, like the archaeological teams he'd encountered before—didn't they also work for money?
"The work is similar, but bounty hunters and ordinary mercenaries have a fundamental difference."
"What difference?" Sean looked at Freya.
"Bounty hunters only take jobs involving people, unlike mercenaries who take any job." Since there were others around in the corridor, Freya spoke euphemistically, but Sean understood.
So bounty hunters were essentially an assassin-type profession!
Still, that girl earlier, though she was sensitive to her surroundings and had tracked them here from the street—proving her pursuit skills—she'd exposed herself outright as an assassin, so she probably wasn't in that line of work.
"So you see why I said that thing isn't hers. To me, she seems more like a thief," Freya said.
"It's getting late. Let's rest early. We still have a long journey tomorrow."
Sean had asked earlier, and it would take about eight or nine days to reach Rietis. This was only the first day, with many more days of travel ahead.
"Aren't you afraid she'll come back later..."
"After seeing me, does she dare come back?"
Sean saw her confident expression. Their rooms weren't far apart, so she could probably fully sense what was happening in his room.
"Alright, sleep early."
Back in his room again...
………………
It was already the next morning when he came out.
This small waystation wasn't big, mostly housing travelers or merchants. The locals were all in business, though few in number. When Sean arrived yesterday, he hadn't seen any other towns from the sky, just a few small villages in the mountains.
He guessed this place was originally from one of those villages, set up as a rest stop to make money.
Merchants started early, and so did travelers...
So even though Sean and Freya woke up early, the streets were already crowded. True to form, the girl hadn't shown up again all night.
After eating, they boarded the airship again. The bearded manager they'd seen yesterday was also up early.
He happened to spot Freya approaching, and the status 【Excited!】 appeared above his head again.
Tsk, tsk~
Sometimes Sean felt he knew too much.
"Leaving so early, guests?" he said, walking over.
"Yeah, by the way. How much longer to Cliffpeak City?" Compared to his 【Excited!】, Freya showed no extra status.
Maybe she didn't notice, but even if she did, it wouldn't matter.
It wasn't like in those novels where a single glance meant gouging out someone's eyes. And even if you did, they'd still resent you in their hearts—how could you ever stop inner thoughts like that?
"Cliffpeak City? If the weather's good, we might make it by tonight. If not, maybe noon tomorrow," the bearded man said.
Noon tomorrow!
That meant they'd have to stop at another rest stop tonight.
"That long?" Freya frowned.
"This is already fast. I heard there was a mass incident near Koga City recently. All surrounding cities are strictly screening incoming people. Many airships are being held here or at the previous rest stops, waiting for inspections," the bearded man said, gesturing around.
This really was...
Sean looked around. Yesterday, there were only two airships here; now there were eight gathered.
Koga City didn't have that many airships—clearly, they were from other cities!
"Alright then, let's set off early." Freya urged the airship foreman to leave quickly!
Sean noticed the status 【Anxious!】 appear on her.
Was she in a hurry? Then why was she so relaxed this morning...
"What's this Cliffpeak City? Are you in a rush to get there?" Sean asked Freya after the airship took off.
She turned to look at him, then let out a long sigh.
"Sean, do you know why Count Hamilton sent for me this time?"
"Wasn't it because he was failing and wanted you to help handle the problems?" Actually, Freya had mentioned it several times before—how Count Hamilton, knowing his health was poor and Koga City was in crisis, wanted someone higher-ranking to take charge.
Sean had also heard him mention Koga City's potential crisis multiple times when summoning nobles individually before his death, even trying to test for traitors among them.
"Exactly. Count Hamilton discovered Koga City's hidden crisis and invited me from Rietis. But at the same time, in the letter he sent me, he asked me to keep an eye on the southern nobles' movements."
Hearing "southern nobles," Sean's heart skipped a beat—he was one of them.
"What do you mean?" He saw Freya's status shift to 【Mixed Emotions!】.
"Originally, three others came with me—my trusted subordinates. I sent them to investigate other southern noble territories separately, and we agreed to meet at Cliffpeak City."
"So it's time to meet up now?" Sean asked.
"It's already been several days past. I couldn't leave Koga City while it was unstable. If they waited on time at Cliffpeak, they should have received word from here."
"Isn't that good? They're waiting for you in the city." Sean tried to reassure her.
But it didn't erase her 【Anxious!】 and 【Overthinking!】 statuses.
"I thought news from Koga City would spread slowly, but now Cliffpeak City has made such a big move, and they still haven't reported to me?!"
Only then did Sean understand her worry. Freya was the organization's leader. If such major events were happening everywhere and no one reported to her, it could only mean the reporters had met with an accident.
"We need to get to Cliffpeak City as soon as possible, Sean. Stick close and don't wander off, or you might run into danger."
"Hey, do you think I'm that weak? I played a part in the battle at the Count's estate, you know." Sean smiled.
Now with his hint system, he was fully aware of everything happening around him.
Freya smiled at him. This time, it was a genuine smile, and the anxious status above her head vanished.
"Alright, perfect. Cliffpeak City is the oldest hunter city in the south. You can see how bounty hunters and mercenaries fight there."