Chapter 573 - Where is Alex?

In a small courtyard located in the northern region of Chaos City, there were eight black-robed men with black clothes obscuring their faces. They were sitting in a dimly lit room in front of a long table.

The black-robed man sitting at the head of the table looked at all of his companions as he said, “This is already the 10th day that we’ve been here in Chaos City, and our search has still remained completely fruitless. We’ve searched every nook and cranny, but were still unable to find any leads. As such, I propose a change in strategy. Let’s search for half-elf girls between three to five years of age as our target instead.”

“But Team Leader, before Commander Seuss left, he told us to continue searching each area according to our preconceived plan. Is it really a good idea to suddenly change our target now?” a thin black-robed man asked hesitantly. The other black-robed figures were also rather hesitant.

“Commander Seuss has actually already given up on Chaos City. Both he and the second prince think that it’s much more likely for him to appear in the Demon Islands instead of Chaos City.” Narson shook his head, and said, “But we haven’t received any orders to leave Chaos City yet, so we can only continue our search.”

“If that’s the case, then there’s no need for us to continue searching, is there? Perhaps Commander Seuss will find that person really quickly.”

“He’s right. Commander Seuss must have received some more reliable information that led him to the Demon Islands.”

All of the black-robed figured offered their own opinions for consideration.

“We receive news like this every single day, and we’ve been to the Demon Islands countless times, all to no avail.” Narson shook his head as he said, “I still think that he’s most likely hiding in Chaos City as hiding here makes him less noticeable than if he were hiding in a secluded forest or mountain.”

“You all know who that man is. We weren’t able to confirm his death three years ago, but if he really is alive and we find and kill him in Chaos City, all of us will become heroes of among us Black Falcons.” Narson looked at everyone and raised his voice gradually as he continued, “The massive reward we’d receive would guarantee us a lavish lifestyle, even if we were to retire with immediate effect. If you’d like to remain as Black Falcon, your accolades will ensure that you’ll become an esteemed figure like our commander, and you’ll be revered by all of the other Black Falcons.”

All of the black-robed figures’ eyes gradually lit up as they looked at Narson.

One of the black-robed figures was appraising Narson with a scorching gaze as he said, “Tell us what you want us to do, Team Leader; we’ll listen to everything you say!”

Narson nodded, and said, “It’s very simple: we’ll use the most crude and also the most effective method. Divide the city up into blocks and search for a half-elf girl between three to five years of age block by block. That would clearly be an easier target to find than a crippled young man. I’ll take a trip to the city lord’s castle tomorrow under the guise of searching for a missing half-elf girl. The city lord’s castle will then be led to helping us in our search. Make sure not to rush in your search; precision and care are more important than speed in this case.”

“I’ve been following Louis for over half a year and haven’t seen him exhibit any abnormal behavior or communicate with someone using a secret method. Perhaps he wasn’t all that close to Alex, after all? He’s just a crippled merchant now; maybe the prince was wrong to be skeptical of him? His probation period will be up in another month, and I can stop spying on him. Nothing has happened for so long; surely nothing will happen in this final month.” On a large tree outside a tavern, a black-robed man was lurking in the lush crown. His gaze was focused intently on the pacing figure in the room on the second floor of the tavern. After a while, the light in the room was snuffed out.

“Where is Alex?”

Bertley stayed on the tree for a long while, and only got down after verifying that his observation target had gone to bed. He quickly disappeared into a pitch-black alley. After a short while, a messenger pigeon flew out of the Chaos City, heading to the north.

Eight types of mooncakes required eight different cooking methods and posed eight different challenges. Mag honed each and every one to perfection, only beginning his sword practice after satisfying the system’s requirements.

The next morning, Mag was roused by his alarm clock. He turned off the alarm and got out of bed, once again basking in the sensation of his newfound strength. A smile appeared on his face, and he planted a kiss on Amy’s forehead before going downstairs to prepare ingredients for the breakfast service.

A long line had already gathered outside the restaurant. Many of the people in the line had seen the cooking contest between Mag and Ricky the day prior, and were arriving bright and early so they could have a taste of Mag’s roast beef kebabs.

When Sally and Yabemiya arrived, they were both stunned to see the line outside the restaurant-it was more than twice the length of the usual line.

“It must be because Boss won the contest against that rotisserie owner yesterday. All of these customers must be here for Boss’ roast beef kebabs,” Yabemiya said with a thoughtful expression.

“Roast beef kebabs?” Sally turned to Yabemiya with a perplexed look.

“Let me fill you in on what happened last night, Aisha. I didn’t have anything to do last night, so I came over to the restaurant, and Boss and Amy just so happened to have come back…” Yabemiya delivered an account of what had taken place the night prior. At the conclusion of her story, her face lit up with excitement as she said, “Boss’ roast beef kebabs are really super delicious! I’ve never had such delicious roast meat in my life. Also, Boss says we’re going to be holding a moon… a moon festival celebration at our restaurant today. We’re going to invite a lot of customers to have this thing called a mooncake, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

“I can’t believe I missed out on such a spectacular cooking contest.” Sally wore a wistful expression on her face after hearing Yabemiya’s story. She had visited the restaurant in the morning and at noon the day before, but Mag hadn’t returned on those occasions, so she didn’t visit the restaurant at night. In doing so, she had missed out on what had surely been a marvelous spectacle.

Sally and Yabemiya entered the restaurant, and all of the customers’ eyes lit up upon seeing that. The restaurant door soon opened, and Mag emerged from within with his bicycle. He was also slightly taken aback by the massive line outside. He looked at the countless pairs of expectant eyes staring at him, and gave an awkward chuckle as he said, “We’re not open yet. I’m taking my daughter to school first. I’ll open the restaurant when I get back.”