Chapter 953: Chapter 951: Want… Want a Plate?
Richard sat down, and shortly after, the food was brought to him.
Richard scanned briefly and found it to be quite decent.
Vegetable salad, just cabbage, lettuce, lima beans mixed together, nothing much to say about that.
In comparison, the mushroom soup was much more impressive, milky white like creamy milk, in a green-gray ceramic bowl, with diced small mushroom pieces floating on top, exuding a sweet yet refreshing scent.
Of course, the highlight was still the specialty sausage, over ten centimeters long and about a centimeter thick red sausage, placed on a shallow plate, coated with buckwheat batter, slathered with maple syrup, carrying a strong sweet aroma.
The waiter from before wasn’t wrong; it was indeed a perfect match with pancakes.
However, Richard merely sniffed it, without tasting, instead picked up the mushroom soup and poured the milky white soup towards the shallow sausage plate, filling it up.
Then, pushed the shallow plate to the corner of the table, Richard sat patiently waiting.
Soon, a sneaky, narrow-eyed young man appeared, glanced at the sausage plate filled with mushroom soup, quickly surveyed the surroundings, and came forward.
“Sir, you seem a bit bored, how about finding some fun?”
Richard raised an eyebrow after hearing that, looked at the other party, couldn’t help but smile internally. Although he knew the other party was speaking in code, he couldn’t help feeling the person resembled those on Earth selling certain illicit goods, just short of saying, “Want a plate?”
Keeping a calm face, he asked, “What fun do you offer?”
“Whatever you desire, we can provide.”
“I want some northern-style noble fun, do you have it?”
“This, well, is a bit difficult, but not impossible. We need to change places to talk in detail.”
“Alright, lead the way.” Richard said, placing a silver coin on the table as the meal fee, standing up.
“Follow me.” The narrow-eyed young man whispered, quickly heading towards the door.
Richard followed him out of the tavern, walking continuously through the street. The other party remained silent, marching through three streets, sharply turning into a secluded alley.
At the alley, there was a gray-white wooden door. The other knocked rhythmically, three long and one short.
“Knock knock knock, knock! Knock knock knock, knock!”
A few seconds later, with a creak, the door opened, and a skinny old man in his sixties appeared at the door.
The narrow-eyed youth sidestepped, deftly swerved past the old man, leaving Richard to face the skinny old man alone.
The skinny old man’s eyes were bright, scrutinizing Richard and asked, “How should I address you?”
“Gray Crow.” Richard replied with his code name, marking the real completion of the contact. If there had been any mistakes in the previous process, he would not meet actual intelligence personnel but be led to some third-rate gold drain.
Upon hearing Richard, the old man straightened his expression, showed a respectful gaze, “So, it’s Lord Gray Crow, huh? I’ve heard of your arrival from the north, please come in.”
Saying that, the skinny old man retreated inside, giving Richard access to the door.
Without courtesy, Richard stepped inside.
Several dozen minutes later.
Inside a room filled with books and scrolls, Richard and the skinny old man sat opposite each other at a table, roughly clarifying the latest information about Saint Louis City and the Pompo Family.
Actually, not much differed from what was gained from star pattern paper, the only change was in the number of Wizards and Magic Knights controlled by the Pompo Family.
For example, the number of Wizards initially acquired from star pattern paper was that the Pompo Family had three Third-level Wizards, nine Second-level Wizards, twenty-three First-level Wizards, and forty-seven Wizard Apprentices.
Now, it was three Third-level Wizards, ten Second-level Wizards, twenty-five First-level Wizards, and forty-five Wizard Apprentices.
Additionally, the Magic Knights previously obtained from star pattern paper showed that the Pompo Family had one hundred seventy Three-pattern Magic Knights, forty Five-pattern Elite Magic Armor Knights, and five Seven-pattern Great Magic Knights.
Now it was one hundred eighty-five Three-pattern Magic Knights, forty-two Five-pattern Elite Magic Armor Knights, and five Seven-pattern Great Magic Knights.
Not sure if they updated the numbers based on this evening’s battle outside the city; otherwise, the actual numbers could shift, but it wouldn’t affect much… Richard pondered.
“That’s about it for the information on Saint Louis City, Lord Gray Crow.” The skinny old man directed his gaze at Richard and, after pondering for a moment, spoke again, “As for the opportunity you seek to infiltrate the Pompo Family, besides taking risks to explore secretly, there is now a dignified opportunity.”
“A dignified opportunity?” Richard asked, “What is it?”
“According to recent information we obtained, the Pompo Family will hold a small selection test tomorrow noon, choosing capable Wizard Apprentices to serve their family. The news has just been released, not yet fully spread, we learned it through rather special channels.” The skinny old man explained.
Upon hearing this, Richard blinked, finding it somewhat odd, questioned, “Why is the Pompo Family anxious to recruit? If they truly recruit, they wouldn’t just give half a day to prepare, right? Isn’t it embarrassing if no one goes? Even if people do go, too few going won’t meet the selection purpose, right?” Updates are released by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩
Though he didn’t think the Pompo Family intentionally set up a trap for him to walk into, he still felt it better to clarify.
The skinny old man responded, “Lord, you don’t need to worry about this; recruiting poses no issues. Although only half a day is given for preparation, the Pompo Family’s capabilities would be sufficient to inform many; they can attract a significant crowd of Wizard Apprentices to participate.
Indeed, no matter how one looks at it, half a day seems somewhat rushed. From the sources where we acquired this news, it appears recruiting was a last-minute decision. Originally, the Pompo Family planned to recruit Wizard Apprentices three months later, but tonight, for some unknown reason, one of their core members suddenly dismissed two Wizard Apprentices. Unable to find qualified replacements at short notice, they resorted to recruiting urgently.”
After hearing this, Richard suddenly thought of the two Wizard Apprentices by Annie Pompo’s side outside the city.
Could it be those two were dismissed?
Judging by Annie Pompo’s previous displeasure, it seemed likely. Everything made sense; while perhaps coincidental, it conformed to logic—precisely because of the attack event outside the city, it opened a legitimate opportunity for him to infiltrate the Pompo Family.
Thinking this, Richard nodded, looked at the skinny old man, and said, “In that case, I’ll go try it tomorrow, see what the situation is.”