Zack opened up the map of the Eizenburgh kingdom to see that the nearest settlement was only a few kilometers away from the capital.
At most, it would take them two hours to reach it.
"There should be an information broker there and we will ask him about Pearl since there is a chance that Jonathan doesn't want the news to spread," Zack explained before the two of them set out.
The area around the capital was cleared pretty well and only grass grew around it. While walking on the roads, Zack's main focus was on the forest that extended at the end of a one-kilometer radius of the capital.
"So we have to go through the forest and after traveling for an hour or so, we will reach the village," Emma muttered as the two of them entered the forest.
The tree in the forest were all bent at the same angle and gave the same vibe as the rest of the place.
One of the major things that the forest had were the chirping sounds the birds were producing,
You could lay down and hear the sounds of the birds for hours unless someone attacked you or something else happened.
"Maybe that's why Hikari can be played simply for the reason of enjoying the scenery," Emma muttered while walking through the forest as she couldn't help but be amazed once again by the beauty of the place.
"So, Emma, what are your plans ahead?" Zack asked casually as the hunter raised an eyebrow.
"Inside the game or in real life?"
"Both."
"Inside the game, I am currently just planning to play for a few hours. I plan to pay more attention to the guild once we start recruiting new members. Since you are the number one player, this is expected." She replied while skipping over a stone.
The road had ended outside the forest and they were now moving through the muddy pathway.
"And you don't have anything planned for real life," Zack said with a sigh as Emma nodded.
"Looks like you can guess a few things about me now. The only plans I currently have are of attending an awesome party and visiting the children in the orphanage." Emma replied as the two of them continued their small talk the rest of the way.
The forest wasn't devoid of any monsters but all of them were below level 30 and gave no threat to the duo.
Because of an agreement between Jonathan and the ruler of the forest, the king of the Eizenburgh kingdom had refrained from killing the beasts.
The ruler of the forest, however, was someone who didn't live in the forest beside the capital.
The beast instead lived near the southern edges of the Eizenburgh kingdom and was one of the powerhouses of the kingdom.
"So that's the village I am guessing." Emma suddenly pointed towards a few houses visible in the distance.
The village they were visiting was one of the many smaller villages around the capital which required protection so they were packed closely near the capital.
Such places were the perfect places for information brokers since there were many people who wanted to know things about the capital.
"They have no guards here?" Emma looked at the entrance of the village with a confused expression as there wasn't a single guard in sight.
The houses were all made from wood and the first building on the edge of the village was the police station version of Hikari.
"Oh, visitors from the capital! I guess it's your first time being out here so you look surprised." From inside of the building, a man with a slightly round belly stepped out.
"You must be in charge of the security." Emma's eyes looked at the man's figure with a judging look as he smiled.
"Indeed miss. This place is visited by many people from the capital and other corners of the Eizenburgh kingdom. Our special attraction is the bar where you can have drinks and have a fun time." He said with a wink before entering the building again.
"That was weird…" Emma muttered before the duo started moving through the village.
The entire place had people doing their daily jobs and no one seemed to pay any attention to both of them.
"The people here are either used to nobles popping up or our clothes are just too dull." Zack's eyes were constantly looking around to make sure that they weren't being followed or anything.
Emma on the other hand was using Echo detection occasionally to do the same thing.
"Hmm, our clothes look much better than some of those being worn by the people here. I guess that nobles come here to do the same thing we are about to do."
"Looks like Jonathan is more feared than I originally thought."
In most villages, the center of the village had the town hall or the house of the village leader.
But in the current village, there was a huge bar in the middle.
It was made from wood and leaves and looked like a place that would belong to a beachside.
The bartenders were passing drinks to many people including a few nobles.
As soon as Zack and Emma stepped inside, a notification appeared in front of them.
[ Bar identified as non-violence zone. ]
[ If the player attacks anyone, unless attacked first, they would have to pay a penalty of not being able to use mana for a month or getting no exp for a month.
The penalty can be chosen by the player. ]
"Guess it's time to put away my daggers." Emma sighed as a few nobles turned to look at them.
Currently, there were a total of 5 viscounts in the bar and the number included the duo. The rest were either low-level barons or just knights.
'There are at least 50 nobles here. I wonder what they are thinking about us.' Zack thought with a calm expression as he knew that the rules applied to the nobles too.
After ordering two colas for ten bronze coins, the duo started drinking them peacefully.
Zack and Emma could feel how tense the mood in the entire place was but they couldn't do anything regarding it.
While they were enjoying their drinks, a man stepped forward and ordered the same thing from the bartender.
"Looks like you are enjoying your drink." The man sat beside the duo and started drinking the cola himself.
Zack had already guessed that the man was an information broker and was trying to strike a deal with him.
"I am enjoying my drink. Thank you for asking." He suddenly shifted to his nobleman mode since talking too frankly was not a good idea.
"I wonder what a fine viscount like you sir, is doing in such a place?" The man carefully buttered his words which made Zack smile.
"I guess you like asking questions. Since I am in a good mood, I will entertain such questions. I am here because I heard some people here know information about the things that go in the capital."
The man smiled when he heard Zack's words.
'Another nobleman to leech money off.' He thought that the noble in front of him was one of the usual ones who end up getting scammed.
But unfortunately for him, that was not the case.
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