The next day, Chris went to report to Lucas about the events of the previous night.
Knock knock knock…
Chris knocked firmly on the door and called out in a steady voice, "City Lord, Unit One requests an audience."
"Come in," Lucas's lazy voice replied from inside.
Creaaak…
Chris straightened his clothes, pushed open the door, and walked in—only to see the City Lord in the middle of helping Miss Mina with her disguise.
"How's the effect?" Lucas asked, not even lifting his head. His focus was entirely on Mina's face, carefully brushing makeup across the cat-eared girl's features.
Attending tonight's auction was no small risk. Ever since he'd decided to auction items under the "Divine Heavenly Kingdom" label, danger had been following them closely. There was always the chance someone would try to strike from the shadows.
"City Lord, the effect is excellent. Everyone outside is talking about the Divine Wine today." Chris promptly reported.
He had gone out early in the morning to gather information, and it hadn't taken long to hear people gossiping about the Divine Wine—though most didn't actually believe it was real.
"Good, well done. You can keep the remaining funds." Lucas nodded slightly.
"Yes, sir." Chris gave a respectful military salute, then continued, "However, many people still don't believe the Divine Wine is real."
"Of course they don't. They'd be fools if they did," Lucas said as he set down the makeup brush and picked up an eyebrow pencil. "What matters is that they know about the Divine Wine. At tonight's auction, whether they believe it or not won't make a difference."
This whole hype campaign was meant to give people just enough time to react—so that when the real item appeared, most would believe it was genuine. The reaction he was aiming for was: "So the Divine Wine really does exist!"
"…" Chris blinked blankly, not quite understanding what Lucas meant. Then he continued his report, "City Lord, we were attacked last night."
"Oh?" Lucas's hand paused mid-stroke as he was drawing Mina's eyebrows. Then he calmly resumed his work and asked, "No one was hurt, I assume?"
"No," Chris shook his head and replied with a firm tone, "There weren't many of them."
"Knights?" Lucas asked.
"No, it was a group dressed in black. They were trying to find out the whereabouts of the Divine Wine." Chris said coldly.
Last night's ambush had indeed been unexpected—but the assailants weren't particularly skilled. They had been dealt with swiftly.
"Identities weren't exposed, I hope?" Lucas asked calmly. This was something he had expected—it just came a bit earlier than he thought. He had originally anticipated trouble during the auction tonight, but clearly, some people reacted quicker than anticipated.
"No, we were all in disguise, and we left through the window." Chris replied quickly.
"Good. Tell everyone to be extra cautious today. The enemy isn't simple." Lucas set down the eyebrow brush. The fact that their opponents could react so fast meant they couldn't be underestimated. Getting careless would only end in embarrassment—or worse.
"Yes." Chris nodded respectfully, then said in a low tone, "My lord, we've already spotted several suspicious individuals. They're clearly snooping around about us. Shall we… silence them?"
"No need. Don't make any unnecessary moves. Just have everyone act more normal." Lucas shook his head. The members of the War Wolves squad had an unmistakable presence—sharp, dangerous, hard to miss.
"Yes, I understand. I'll remind everyone to tone it down." Chris said seriously.
"Did you manage to find the route to the Sahara Grasslands?" Lucas asked, smoothly switching topics.
"Yes," Chris answered as he pulled a rolled-up sheepskin map from his coat and handed it to Nicole, who was watching the makeup process intently. "This is a map I bought, my lord."
Nicole had never seen anything quite so magical. The young master held a few little bottles and jars, rubbed some creams on Mina's face, dusted on a bit of powder, and just like that—Mina looked uglier. It was like she'd become a completely different person.
Lucas stared at the cat-eared girl, now sporting bright blush, cherry-red lips, and scattered black spots across her cheeks. His mouth twitched involuntarily—it was honestly hard to look at. His makeup skills were so "impressive" that he'd managed to turn a stunning catgirl into something of a walking disaster.
"Oh?" Lucas took the map and gave it a look. Alright, this thing was very abstract… barely legible, but just enough to make sense of.
"So the route goes through Rivenden City's river?" he frowned.
If the path from Sedona City to Pentos City formed a straight line, and the path from Pentos to the Sahara Grasslands was a horizontal one, then the route from Rivenden City to the Sahara formed a diagonal—creating a kind of rhombus-shaped map.
Rivenden City wasn't located directly on the Whispering River—it sat on one of its branches, the Rivenden River. It was a three-day journey from Sedona City, and likewise, three days from the Sahara Grasslands.
If Lucas chose to send ships down the Rivenden River to reach the Sahara, it would take only six days in total. Compared to the route through Pentos City, that shaved off four full days of travel. However… There were some issues with the Rivenden River route.
"We'll study this later," Lucas said, putting the sheepskin map away. "Tonight's auction is the real priority. If we don't make a good amount of gold there, we might not even be able to afford lamb for dinner."
He turned to Chris and ordered, "Have everyone ready. We'll return to the ship tonight, and we leave Pentos City first thing in the morning."
"Yes, sir." Chris straightened his posture, waiting for further instructions.
"After the auction, there will definitely be chaos," Lucas said, glancing at him. "When it ends, I need you and the others to cover Mina's retreat outside the city."
Tonight, Mina was going to be the one stepping onto the auction stage to sell the wine. Originally, Lucas had planned to go himself—but who would've thought the cat-eared girl and Nicole were dead set against it? They insisted that their young master was too valuable to take such a risk.
"My lord, aren't we going to create some chaos outside the auction?" Chris asked with a frown. It was common knowledge that auction security would be extremely tight. Without a proper diversion, Miss Mina would have a hard time leaving the venue, let alone escaping the city.
"No need," Lucas replied with a mysterious smile. "The auction will become chaotic on its own when the time comes. All you need to do is block any pursuers at the city gates."
He grinned knowingly. After all, he had a secret weapon from Earth up his sleeve—when the moment came, not even a tightly sealed auction hall door would stay shut.
The most concerning part was what would happen after they left the city. Those people would certainly have set up ambushes outside the city gates, waiting to take advantage of the situation. After all, the Amos Notes were extremely valuable. And now, with the wine being regarded as divine wine, the danger would be even greater, as it suggested someone had actually been to the "Divine Heavenly Kingdom." That would drive people to madness.
"Understood," Chris nodded. He didn't question why, just accepting the orders.
"Go prepare. We leave at dusk," Lucas said calmly.
"Yes, sir." Chris saluted and then turned to leave.
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