The Tournament of Legends was such a prestigious event that people from all over the continent began to visit Oukiwa. However, while all the attention of the city, and the authorities, was on the competition, the suburbs of the city also became much busier.
Matthew Oliveira and Alexis Dmitry started working together just three days before the playoffs were set to begin.
Luke's best friend didn't trust the S-Class, because she was an adventurer, let alone the Strogueher Noble Family, but he trusted the half-wolf's judgment.
To him, Luke's plan was bold, and drawing attention to it could lead to several problems in the future, so Matthew wanted to find Meredith and the others in these three days so that his companion could be more at ease and deal with the other problems when they arose.
And well, they weren't the only ones who had the idea to take advantage of the Tournament of Legends to move around the suburbs, because from the moment the tournament started, the black market in Oukiwa began to bustle.
The gambling houses, which by an imperial decree were considered illegal, started to make dozens of gold coins a day, and this fostered all the other unlawful actions in the area.
Luckily, it was not only the attention of the municipal guards that was unfocused. The big crime bosses of Oukiwa, who ran enslaved people, drugs, weapons, and Genes Skill trafficking rings, also turned their attention to the big profits the big city center was providing for their businesses.
Taking advantage of this moment of everyone's sloppiness, Matthew used the Strogueher's sponsorship and an intimidating hooded half-beast to try to get information.
So, by the second day of the competition, Matthew had already discovered that the Chaos Followers had a strong presence in the Lower City and were on the move. Alexis made sure to warn Ayumi Yamazaki about the risk of something big happening, but they had no time to investigate it themselves.
Soon three days of the championships passed, and the playoffs were announced earlier than expected, which further stirred up the dark alleys of Oukiwa. To make matters worse, Matthew could not get any information about the whereabouts of his friends. It seemed that no one saw what happened to the shed that caught fire, no one knew anything about 'The Beast', and no one knew anything about the man who spread the fake news about the gang shed being home to 'The Beast'.
The unusual investigative duo needed to get information about the whereabouts of Meredith and the others, and they talked to dozens of people in taverns and trading spots. Still, no one was able to give any relevant information.
"Is it so hard to see a red-headed giant like Zack? These guys don't know anything about people. They're just worried about who they're going to bet on tonight." Matthew complained and kicked a wooden barrel in the dark alley.
"My invocation has flown over this city dozens of times and found nothing. Now I understand why you never had a bounty on your heads..." Alexis spoke as she stroked the neck of Koven, the green bird.
Usually, the S-Class did not have to do any spying or intelligence work, as this is the job of the emissaries. For this reason, she was not used to investigating the whereabouts of demons or their supporters.
"Wait! You said something about 'bounty,' didn't you? I think I know just the person to help us," Matthew spoke up, his eyes twinkling. 'How come I didn't think of her before?'
Years before, Luke had to work for a few days as a bounty hunter to make up the gang's financial shortfall, and that made him meet 'Oracle'. Well... it was undoubtedly too cool a nickname for an old woman, but that didn't exclude the fact that she seemed to know everything that happened in Oukiwa.
However, the half-wolf didn't like her, both because of her smell and because she was not to be trusted. The 'Oracle' didn't have a name, didn't have a face, and was nobody, and this worried the young Luke.
In a small isolated warehouse in the Lower Town, Matthew knocked on a metal door three times. As soon as he heard the small metal hatch open, he smiled.
"What do you want?" A floating eye inquired grumpily and with a throaty hiccup.
"We need info."
"What kind do you need? Tournament participant's file? Someone's address? Whether or not your girlfriend is cheating on you?"
The man immediately transmuted from the fake smile to the most genuine expression of concern "W-what? Whether m-my girlfriend is cheating on me or not?" questioned Matthew, leaning his face against the metal door.
"Khumm!" Alexis pretended to clear his throat so that Matthew resumed his original plan.
He understood the message, and although he wanted to know a lot about the other subject, he answered for the 'Oracle':
"I want information about missing persons. Do you know anything about Meredith, and the others in my gang?"
Matthew did not mince words because he knew that the old woman knew absolutely everything about people's lives in the lower town. After he asked that, a second little door opened just below the first.
"Maybe I know something...and maybe if you give me ten gold coins, I'll be able to tell you." She said, pausing for emphasis on the words.
The short man hesitated because that was a considerable amount of money to spend on something that even Luke didn't trust.
Alexis Dmitry didn't think long and put the last gold coins that were in the bag delivered by Ayumi inside the metal part. It was already past eight o'clock at night, and the playoffs had already started, so they needed a lead to follow at all costs.
Indeed, after the Tournament of Legends, the bosses' attention would turn to the suburbs, and it would become more difficult to act unnoticed by watchful and unreasonable eyes. In the Lower City, if people see someone asking too many questions about some issues and when this reaches the ears of the crime bosses, this person is soon killed. For them, it is easier to kill a person and bury the body than to try to dialogue with a possible military man.
Soon after, she counted the gold coins and saw that the amount was correct. The old woman opened the little door again and revealed:
"A friend of a friend of mine saw a half-fox wandering two days ago near the old buildings on the north side of Oukiwa. Beside her was a man with long, black hair..."
'Meredith and Ynosuke.' Matthew immediately deduced.
"Apparently, they are living where the next Lower City sewer system should be, that is... before the Dungeon was discovered next door several years ago and the place was decommissioned. This is all..."
Then the 'Oracle' closed the hatch tightly without saying anything else.
"Come on! I know exactly where that place is!" Matthew revealed to Alexis, with a hopeful look on his face.
Negotiating information with informants always has a risk, and it's basically like a bet. Hence, they had to hope to get to the indicated location and actually find at least a gang trace to put their minds at ease.
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