Chapter 6 Rumors and Speculation

  The two returned to the inn when the sky was near dawn, and Raymond had just stepped into the room door, he heard Harlot's scream like a pig being killed: "Oh my god, it hurts so much, can't you be gentler?"

  As I entered the room, I saw that Hillnis had a bandage wrapped around his shoulder and was resting to one side, while a group of priests in white robes were gathered around Harlot, treating his wounds.

  Seeing Raymond return, Javier immediately came forward: "How was it? Did you find that necromancer?"

  Raymond shook his head: "He got away, but I ran into that mysterious swordsman who killed Fagan."

  "Who is it?" As soon as he heard there was new intelligence, Freddy immediately came over with shining eyes.

  Raymond briefly told the story of meeting Soya and Lona, finally saying: "That person's name is Gru, a tall swordsman wearing heavy armor and wielding a giant sword, strong beyond imagination. If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Olat City Defense Team, we might not have returned."

  "Did the Necromancer actually know the assassin who killed Fagana?" Freddie pondered, "Those two girls, what do you think they are?"

  Raymond shook his head: "I don't know, but their background shouldn't be simple."

  "Hmm..." Freddy said with great interest, "I thought it was already surprising that you were designed to be trapped, but then even more interesting things happened. This intelligence is really too interesting, I really wish I could have been there."

  "Come on, you're such a hypocrite! I knew you wouldn't have anything good to say!" Hearing his words, Harlot's temper flared up: "If you were there at the time, I'd be the first one to stab you in the back."

  At this time, a pastor said to Harlot: "Sir, this is the last arrow, please be patient."

  As he spoke, he yanked out the arrow shaft from Harlot's thigh, immediately earning himself a barrage of curses from Harlot, while others hastily treated his wound with healing spells.

  Ignoring him, Freddy muttered to himself: "There must be some connection behind this series of events. It seems that Gulu's appearance in Orlate is not so simple."

  Javier also said, "That's right, in a few days it will be Fagana's funeral. Now the important figures of various countries are all in the city. If anyone has an accident, it will have extremely serious consequences."

  Freddie sneered, "Hmph, it's best if all the envoys are eliminated. If Veronica Continent is thrown into chaos, that would be perfect for us. If Gru intends to do so, I wouldn't mind helping him."

  Knowing this guy's ruthless and cruel nature, Raymond could only shake his head secretly. This world really has all kinds of people.

  "Freddie continued, "That swordsman named Gru can be ignored for now. What we need to figure out is who exactly is framing you tonight and what relationship the Death Spirit Master has with them."

  Javier nodded: "Tomorrow I will start investigating, if possible, I will bribe the city defense team to see if we can get any clues from the bodies of those assassins."

  After discussing for a while, they were busy for a night, and after hovering between life and death several times, Raymond finally felt tired. So he handed over the remaining things to Javier and went to rest.

  In the next few days, Javier began to use his wealth and power to investigate the mastermind behind their framing that night. Raymond and others finally had some time to rest, and although Hillnis and Harlot's injuries were severe, they had no major problems after being treated by a priest invited by Javier at great expense and taking care of themselves for several days.

  As Fagana's funeral approached, rumors began to circulate in the city of Oraat.

  "What about Princess Sofia?"

  Hearing what Freddy said about the rumor, Raymond couldn't help but be shocked.

  "Right," Freddie said in a low voice, "since that night's banquet, someone has been spreading rumors about Princess Sofia being the mastermind behind the assassination after the assassin shouted 'Long live Princess Sofia' before his death. These past few days, all sorts of rumors have been circulating around the city and they're spreading extremely fast."

  To be honest, Raymond had no impression of Princess Sofia, whom he had never met. However, he was also present at the banquet that night, and there were many suspicious points about the assassination attempt. Although the assassin shouted out Princess Sofia's name in the end, this made people feel even more unnatural.

  It's surprising that just a few days have passed and there are already many targeted rumors circulating, which can't help but make one feel strange.

  "It seems you're thinking the same thing," Freddie said. "You find it strange too, don't you?"

  "It's possible that the mastermind behind the scenes is Princess Sofia herself. At this time, Hillnis interjected: "It's not uncommon for royal families to kill each other in their struggle for the throne."

  "That's right, those sanctimonious guys are probably worse than robbers in private." Harlotte also shouted.

  "Maybe," Freddie said coldly. "But don't you think the timing of these rumors is a bit unusual? And doesn't it give you a familiar feeling?"

  "A familiar feeling?" Hillnis and Harlot exchanged a strange glance.

  Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Raymond's head and he understood what Freddy meant: "You're saying that Haidington..."

  "That's right." Freddy snorted, "This is exactly the same strategy we used to deal with the Ravi Federation, using the psychology of people loving to listen to rumors, creating public opinion from unofficial channels, and striking at our opponents. I can almost be certain that after this rumor, there will definitely be other moves."

  "Cut it out, you're telling it like it's true, did you see it with your own eyes?" Harlot retorted in discontent.

  Freddie's gloomy eyes swept over him: "Don't use your foolishness to measure everyone. This is a trick I've long been familiar with, and I can guess the purpose behind these rumors even with my eyes closed."

  "You..." Harriet panted with rage.

  "So, is this perhaps the doing of Prince Udina? Whether or not his niece intends to assassinate him, he can use this opportunity to eliminate a rival and smoothly ascend to the throne?" Shirunesi speculated.

  Freddie said: "It's highly possible that from a conspiracy theory point of view, even the assassination that night was arranged by him himself, then everything before and after makes sense."

  "Meow, it's so complicated!" Bastet listened on the side with a dizzy head.

  "Yes, people can do all sorts of terrible things to get that high position." Raymond gently patted the cat girl's head.

  At that time, what he thought of was the rebellion that forced him to leave the Beastman Empire. Verona even used the name of God to overthrow Amada. If the beastmen were like this, it could be imagined how much more so humans would be.

  It seems that she understood what Raymond meant, and the cat girl responded with a vague "uh-huh".

  "But anyway, it seems that this city will have a new disturbance soon." Freddy said with an excited tone.

  "This is just wonderful." Apparently, seeing chaos erupt was his favorite thing.

  Upon hearing this, Raymond and several others exchanged glances, all of them involuntarily shaking their heads. Perhaps the truly frightening thing was that this psychologically dark guy was right.

  At this time, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and Javier, who had gone out to investigate, walked in with big strides.

  "Finally, I've found some clues!" He exclaimed loudly, looking quite pleased with himself.

  "What have you found out?" Raymond asked.

  Javier sat down without even taking a sip of water and said, "I've been trying to find clues in that letter for days, but I didn't expect to gain something from the city defense team."

  According to the investigation by the city defense team, those assassins were all fugitives from among the mercenaries, and it was difficult to determine their identities. However, an officer remembered that one of them had been arrested a month ago for causing trouble, but was later bailed out with money, and soon after that, the incident occurred that night.

  "Who was it that helped him escape?"

  Javier said: "The clue is here. That person used to be a guard at the Ravite Federation Embassy in Gasperd, but left just recently."

  "So that's how it is, that thing was indeed orchestrated by someone from the Ravelt Federation." Fredy grunted.

  "It should be them." Javier nodded: "They have the most motive after all. If our Chamber of Commerce dominates this continent, they will suffer the greatest loss."

  "Then those necromancers..." Hilnis said.

  "It's clear that it also has something to do with the Federation of Ravelt." Raymond said. Now it can be confirmed that the necromancer will appear outside Haidington City and collude with those bandits, which is not unexpected.

  "Hold on, that's what I'm saying." At this time, Javier clicked his tongue and said: "The Necromancer is connected to the Ravite Federation, and the Necromancer is also related to that mysterious swordsman. The convenient trade route of the Kingdom of Gasparde has always been coveted by the Ravite Federation."

  "So, Fagana's death is related to the Lavite Federation..."

  Although he didn't finish what he was saying, everyone understood what he meant. After a moment of silence, Hillnis couldn't help but say: "This...can't be?"

  "Interesting," Fred said with a low chuckle, "it seems we've stumbled upon quite a big secret."

  "How can those guys still show up at the funeral with their heads held high?" Harlot said with an incredulous expression.

  "Naive," Freddy hummed, "the mastermind behind the assassination of Fagana must be one of the other nations. The others simply have no reason and no ability to do so."