...…
Shin and Leonard walked out of the pub and quickly rode their car to head back to their temporary place.
"Is it fine?" asked Leonard after they had distanced themselves from the pub.
Shin nodded his head. "It should be fine. It is better this way. When can go to the Brawl Arena whenever we want with that old man's help. But we can't be too hasty because we are going to be suspicious."
"That old man is not simple. He said that he is a retired officer, but his vigor is overwhelming. It may be nothing compared to the old monsters that we know, but he is at least a Void Manifestation Stage Expert."
"He has spotted us just because of our auras even though we have concealed ourselves properly. That means that the gap in our strengths is quite large. Only a handful of people in the Ethereal Opening Stage or someone with a similar strength can sense our real powers under our disguise, so that old man either has a very sharp sense or someone with that level of strength."
"Of course, it can also be the former since he is an officer previously. Or maybe both. Regardless, that old man is someone, who is strong enough to hold a high position within the city."
"You can see it too. The people in the pub treat that old man in high regard, so he shouldn't be that simple."
He paused for a moment and thought of something before continuing. "The old man was suspicious of us, so we can't just grab the opportunity that he has presented to us hastily since it will only confirm his suspicion."
"I know that we are in a little hurry, but we have to take it so and let everything flow naturally. We are going to build a good relationship with the old man and slowly get close to him while purposely avoiding the things that we want."
Shin smirked. "That old man is quite sly. He is continuously asking some leading questions while purposely mixing out some incorrect information to make us slip out."
He then paused for another time before continuing. "Moreover, I don't have high hopes for the brawl arena, actually. Given that the organization caused a huge incident just recently, I am sure that they will be lying low for the time being to avoid the watchful eyes of the people."
"Instead, we can just work together with the old man earlier to catch those guys by feeding him some information that we already know. If he follows the clues, then there is a high chance that he will be able to find what we are looking for us."
The two continued to chat for a moment when Shin noticed that the car tailing them seemed to have changed a little. Knitting his brow, Shin lightly tapped the communication device attached to his ear before asking. "Brother John, how are those guys tailing us? Did they change their people?"
The reply immediately came. "Nah! It is the same guys. They just changed their cars just earlier."
"These guys are quite cunning. They are changing their car whenever you make a stop. It seems like they are already used to this kind of job and even prepared quite a number of vehicles," John chuckled as he watched on one of the screens in front of him.
"Should we catch them now?" asked Leonard glancing at the side mirror.
Shin thought for a moment before shaking his head. He then grinned evilly before continuing. "Nah. Let's let them be. I have a better plan."
"Let's leave these guys to the old man," he said with a laugh before continuing to drive.
*******
In the meantime, back in the pub, Old Man Roger went back to his previous seat and joined his friends.
"How is it Old Roger?" asked a middle-aged guy, who was wearing a training shirt that was used by police.
This guy had a lean body but a pretty good build. There were also quite a number of scars on both of his arms, indicating that he had gone through a lot of battles. He also had a stern face that made him look intimidating, especially with the long knife scar that he had.
Old Man Roger did not immediately reply as he sat on his previous seat and snatch a mug of beer from the guy sitting beside him and gulped everything.
Tak!
He then slightly slammed the empty mug on the table before saying. "I don't know. Those kids are quite crafty."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "But one thing is certain – they are not ordinary individuals."
The guy in a police training shirt suddenly commented. "Not ordinary people, huh? Given their age, they are most likely to be graduating students or something. Are they another batch of those elite clubs?"
Old Man Roger poured his mug and filled it while replying. "I am not sure. Those two seem to be a little different. They are familiar with our customs and even know a lot of rules."
"They even refuse to be acquainted with," he added as he laughed.
"One of them even claims that he is from the River Family. I tried to probe him a little, but it seems like it is true. I can't even find a flaw that I can use to pressure him."
He then turned to the guy in a police training shirt and asked. "How about you, Young Billy? Have you noticed anything from here?"
The other suppressed the twitching of his mouth. "Old Roger, can you stop addressing me that way? I am the head of my department now."
"Then you can also stop calling me Old Roger," said the old man before adding. "You are still a junior of mine with I am on active duty, so stop complaining."
"I am only doing you a favor because it is you. If it is any other else, then you can forget about it. I just want to continue my leisure life and do whatever I want," said the old man as he drank another mug of beer.
Billy felt that it was a pity that this old man chose to retire despite his strength and martial attainment. Though, he could also not blame the old man since he had already done a lot for the police force during his active years.
Throwing those thoughts at the back of his head and answered the previous question. "I also can't find anything about those kids. They concealed their auras pretty well, so it is hard to gauge their actual strengths."
He then turned to Old Man Roger and continued. "But since you said that they are not that simple, then my guess is that they are highly train agents sent by either the Government or the Military."
"Not considering that they are really from the River Family?" asked the old man before adding. "I heard that they are here for their Rite of Returning."
Billy raised his brows a little before shaking his head. "I am also not sure. We can't exclude that too. Whether it is true or not, it will be revealed sooner or later."
"This will be easy if we have any contacts with the River Family," said another guy who was silently drinking on the side.
Old Man Roger shook his head and said. "You should know the rules of our city. We have to cut every communication with the families that chose to leave the city until they decided to return or if we also leave to venture outside."
Billy nodded his head in agreement before turning to the old man. "Anyway, I will leave those two kids in your car, Old Roger."
"Due to the recent incidents, we are currently lacking in terms of manpower. We don't have enough to keep an eye on additional foreigners," he added, asking the old man a favor.
Old Man Roger smirked and said. "I don't have a problem with that. Those two quite pique my interest too, so I will keep an eye on them even if you don't ask me to."
"I may even try to persuade them to be my fighters for the brawl. They are perfect candidates for my debut as a coach," he added as he started laughing.
Billy and the other guy shook their heads and smiled bitterly. Then the former suddenly remembered something and turned to the other. "I heard that the head priestess head to the peak of the mountains again. She is coming there more and more frequently these recent days. Is there something wrong?"
The other guy shook his head, indicating that he was also not sure. "Our job is to protect the priestess but not bother her with her work. We are only to follow her in the mountains and clear the surrounding areas, but we are forbidden to head to the peak."
"But according to the shrine maidens, it seems like the head priestess is trying to communicate with the guardian of the mountains."
"I don't know the specifics, but it seems like the situation is very serious," he added with a solemn tone.
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