"The city of Dunvale truly lives up to its reputation. It's huge—no less than any other major city," Jason said admiringly.

He looked around at the crowds of people passing by.

Merlin, Leina, and Victor nodded in agreement. Merlin glanced at the buildings to his left and right, unable to resist comparing them to the city of Droswen.

Although the scale and neatness of its layout were slightly inferior, Dunvale still looked impressive.

The houses and shops were not too tall, all fairly standard, none exceeding ten meters.

The sidewalks were neatly arranged, while the main roads were wide enough for two horse-drawn carriages to pass side by side.

"What should we do now?" Merlin asked.

Leina rubbed her chin and said, "We should find a place to stay first. Over the next three days, we'll split up to gather information in the city. Jason, you and Victor will cover the west and south. Merlin, you'll come with me to the east and north. Do you understand?"

Jason and Victor nodded. "We understand."

"Then let's find an inn and rest for the day. Tomorrow, we'll begin the mission."

It was already late afternoon, with only a few hours left before nightfall.

No one objected. They immediately searched for a nearby inn to spend the night.

...

The next morning, the sun rose, casting its light over the entire city of Dunvale.

Merlin and Leina walked side by side, chatting casually.

"How about we get some breakfast first?" Leina suggested.

"Good idea. I'm a little hungry," Merlin replied with a smile.

They walked over to the food stalls lining the street. Merlin bought two chocolate-filled bread rolls, soy milk, and a few other items.

Leina bought the same things. They sat in the city square and enjoyed their breakfast.

Merlin chewed his bread as he looked around at the people passing by.

Others were also having breakfast nearby, most of them workers from the surrounding area.

"Aunt Leina, why did you choose to become a professor at the academy instead of staying at the palace?" Merlin asked curiously.

He had also changed how he addressed her to "aunt," since it was just the two of them.

Leina took a sip of the soy milk in her left hand before answering, "I don't want to get married."

"Get married?" Merlin asked in surprise.

"Yes," Leina nodded, her gaze fixed on the cloudy sky above. "My brother has been pressuring me to marry soon, and I refuse. It's not that I dislike men, so don't misunderstand, okay?"

Merlin chuckled and took another bite of his bread.

"Relax, I didn't think that," he said reassuringly. "So you became a professor to avoid a political marriage?"

"You could say that," Leina sighed softly, lowering her gaze before staring ahead with a dazed expression. "There's a prince from the Magic Kingdom of Arcadia who's interested in me. He's the king's younger brother and has been pursuing me for a long time. But I don't want him, and my brother keeps urging me to marry him. It annoyed me so much that I decided to run away from the palace."

Merlin listened to her story calmly. He understood Leina's feelings and did not blame her.

This world was similar to medieval-era Earth, where marriages of convenience were common among nobles and even royal families of different kingdoms.

Most of the victims were women, treated as tools for political interests.

Leina's decision was the right one. Since she refused to marry someone she didn't like, the best course of action was to escape the palace.

Moreover, the academy was the safest place. Professors and students there were guaranteed protection, so outsiders—including royal families from various countries—could not disturb them.

"Do you think I made a mistake, Merlin?"

Her sudden question made Merlin smile. He shook his head and replied, "I can neither justify nor blame you. But for me, as long as you take the path you believe is right, then it is the right thing to do."

His words briefly stunned Leina. She stared at the childish face in front of her, then smiled faintly.

"You're still young, but your words carry weight. Now I understand why the Academy Head wanted to take you as her personal disciple," she chuckled.

She stood up and stretched her stiff body.

"Alright, let's go carry out the mission."

Merlin nodded. He gathered the trash from their meal, threw it into a bin, and then headed north with Leina to search for information about the Dark Tunnel.

…

"Did you find any useful information?" Jason asked in a low voice.

"Not yet." Victor shook his head. "I've sent my insects into all the small alleys on the south side, but there's nothing of interest so far."

He had sent the monsters he subdued to scour the alleys on the south side in search of valuable information.

After all, narrow alleys were usually where criminals gathered, and that was where hard-to-find news often surfaced.

Unfortunately, an hour had passed, and he still hadn't found what he was looking for.

Jason frowned, but he wasn't angry. Searching for information in a city as large as Dunvale was indeed exhausting.

"Well then, let's keep looking."

Together, they continued searching the south and west sides of the city.

...

"Have you found anything yet, Merlin?" Leina asked.

"Not yet." Merlin shook his head, then handed her a bottle of water, which she took immediately.

"Thank you," Leina said softly. She was a little thirsty after an hour of fruitless searching.

"If we keep going like this, it's going to be very difficult, Auntie," Merlin said seriously. "We need to find a more promising area."

The method they used was to move through the market on the north side of the city. They split up and made small talk with the merchants, but the results were clearly nil.

Most people there knew nothing about the Dark Tunnel Organization.

"You're right. But do you have any ideas on where we should look for that information?"

To be honest, this was Leina's first time on a mission like this.

Since leaving the palace, she had spent most of her time at the academy, rarely going out except for urgent matters.

Merlin rubbed his chin and then suggested, "How about we go to the most famous tavern in the city? I remember it's called Bull's Horn, about three hundred meters from here."

A tavern was the most suitable place to gather information. Travelers usually gathered there, especially around lunchtime.

"The most famous tavern, huh? That's a good suggestion," Leina praised him. "Then let's go there."

Merlin nodded. Pulling their hoods back up, the two of them walked away.

What they didn't realize was that three soldiers were watching their every move from a distance.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.