Silva walked through the cold, damp hallways that led to the underground dungeons. The guards opened up the gate as soon as they saw him.
He walked in and headed straight for the dungeon holding the man who stole the blueprint.
Inside the dungeon, Lily was there, beside the man who was tied to a chair, her hand placed on his head as if praying for him.
“Have you gotten anything yet?” Silva asked as he walked into the dungeon.
“I have scoured his entire mind. I couldn’t find anything that points to what could have put the crystal in his head.
But since I could not find any memories about that, I decided to search for missing memories, and I actually found something.
This memory was about him going deep into the forest some days back. And then, for the next few minutes, five to ten minutes, his memory went blank.
It was like there was a jump skip, so I believe that that time frame was when this happened. And if this happened, there is a chance that the person or thing could still be there or around there waiting for the next person that would come, so that he will plant.
It is possible that they have moved on, but knowing the way humans think, when something works out, they start to gamble even more and more, with the belief that they will win more,” Lily said.
“I see what you are saying. If it’s only been a few days, that means the person would have tried again, and maybe he would have gotten someone else as well.
But there is an issue. How many people go through that path in the forest? If it’s not a popular path, then there is a high chance that the person is no longer there,” Silva said.
“That’s true, the path doesn’t seem to go through there, but I think I know something that relates to this issue.
Our economy works based on what you say, right? What you decide sells is what sells. Well, a small herb business opened up on the outskirts of town.
An old man runs it. I was going to report it in and have it shut down, but I decided to make an exception when I found out that he sold at your prices and also pays adequate tax.
What I’m saying is that the man set up some sort of quests, like that of the adventurer guilds, and that required people to go into the forest and find herbs.
Especially the forest that this man went to. This has been running for a week. I’m beginning to think that this old man had something to do with this case.
He is probably sending them there to get captured and get the chip implanted,” Lily said.
“Hmm, I see. Then we will go and check it out. But before we do, Lily, next time, make sure you destroy any business we didn’t allow.
There will come a time when people can do that, but not now,” Silva said and walked out. She followed behind.
—
Silva and Lily arrived at the little shop tucked away in a corner of the capital. Immediately, people saw them arrive, and everyone that was purchasing from the shop scattered.
They all knew that the shop was not using the correct system that was established, and they believed that was the reason Silva had come here.
Silva walked in without any care and headed straight for the counter where the man was seated.
The old man got up to greet Silva, but Silva raised his hand to stop the man.
“I’m not here for what you think. It’s not because I want to shut down your shop, even if it is being run illegally.
But I want to know something about the mission to gather herbs you have been sending people on. If you give me the true and honest details about this, I’ll let your shop be the first of its kind, and I’ll not close it.
But if you dare lie to me or withhold any vital information, I’ll have you publicly executed for treason and plotting against the kingdom,” Silva said, making sure that the man knew what he was up against if he lied.
“I-I swear I didn’t do anything wrong. The mission to get herbs was just because I needed the herbs. A man had told me that a particular type of herb is located at a specific place in the forest.
I went there myself the first time, and I confirmed that it was there, but because of my age, I couldn’t keep going, so I set up the mission,” the man explained.
“Hmm, someone told you about this herb? Who is that person? I want the full details and everything about him now,” Silva said.
“Yes, yes, he lives in the forest, I think, because the two times I went there, I saw him. He was also wearing pure white. He had white hair like yours, your majesty.
Even his eyes, they were blue, blue like yours. He was extremely handsome with a bright smile on his face. He said everything with a smile.
Oh, that reminds me, he told me that he would come to the kingdom. He said something about wanting to meet the king.
It was then that he showed me where to find that herb,” the old man said.
“I see. Well, thank you. When I return, we will talk about how to handle your business and what you need to do.
For now, you can run it how you want and do what you want. Thank you for cooperating,” Silva said and left with Lily.
“So we are heading to the forest, I’m guessing,” Lily said.
“Yes, but I’ll be calling Aris and Drake too. Follow as backup. We don’t want to be taken off guard by whoever is behind all this,” Silva said.
He contacted Drake and Aris, filled them in on what happened and where he was going, and then asked them to meet him there.