After dinner, Alex helped Nadia clean up before they headed down to the reception hall for a quick chat with the owner of the establishment.
If they wanted to make use of their little relaxation time productively, they needed information on the current state of the city.
Unlike BoneHaven where Nadia had a finger in almost all information going in and out of the city, Krobridge was a complete mystery to both of them, a fact that neither was comfortable with.
"Hello." Alex greeted as he strode over to the reception counter with Nadia in tow.
The young man available at the counter greeted them in kind and after a brief interaction with Alex, he asked them to wait while he left to meet his boss.
Coming back, his sunny demeanor from earlier was slightly dampened, leading Alex to believe his boss wasn’t as nice as he made himself out to be.
Whatever the case, however, he thought it best to meet with him first before deciding if he would be useful.
Receiving confirmation that they could meet with the boss, Alex made his way over to the man’s office with Nadia in tow.
Of course, not before handing over a 5 Kobo bill to the receptionist for his troubles, a gesture which the young man was quite grateful for.
Upon reaching the owner’s office which was just behind the lodge, Alex knocked twice and after a disgruntled answer to come in, he entered with an amiable smile on his visage.
"Well, hello. Glad you could make time to see us."
The middle-aged man, dressed in a simple white shirt and brown khaki shorts, met his gaze and nodded wordlessly acknowledging his greeting.
Letting out a slight cough, Alex remarked. "I hope you don’t mind but as you can tell we are foreigners and so..."
"What do you want?" The man gruffly asked, cutting Alex off.
"Information. A place where we can get information."
The man raised a brow, scrutinizing Alex and in extension, Nadia, before he raised three fingers.
Putting one down, he inquired. "Why?"
Alex flashed a smile as he replied. "We are journalists."
"Hmm..." the man furrowed his brow.
"Investigative journalists. We are currently searching for a criminal."
"I see..." The man was about to say more when a soft voice floated into his ears.
His eyes glazed over for a moment before he recovered, his initial reservations gone.
Letting out a sigh, he dropped down the second finger as he asked. "What kind of information do you want?"
"All... any and everything of importance," Alex replied.
The man nodded before dropping his third finger. "I can tell you a place but it would cost you and before you say anything, it would cost you there as well."
"That’s fine." Alex casually replied.
At least for the time being, he had no issues with money so he couldn’t let that stop him from getting what he wanted.
The man nodded yet again before gesturing with his palm open.
Before Alex could move, Nadia pulled out ten 10 Kobo notes and placed them in the man’s palm.
The man first glanced at her with what seemed like a pleasant surprise before looking toward Alex with clear disdain.
Coughing awkwardly, Alex had an inkling as to why that was the case but chose not to pursue the matter.
"Go down the street and then take a right and then another right and two lefts. You’ll get to Lucien Avenue. There’s a pub, Millie’s, on the surface it’s a bar but underneath..."
"I understand." Alex nodded.
The man seemed slightly satisfied though the disdain in his eyes remained. "Alright. you can get what you need there."
"Thanks for helping."
"Yeah sure, now leave and stop bothering me." The man said as he turned only to turn back to address Nadia. "You be careful, young lady, Lucien Avenue is a dangerous location for beautiful women like you."
With that, the man sat back on his chair and began to nap.
Alex blinked a few times unsure how to feel about the disparity in treatment between himself and Nadia.
Nadia seemed to notice this as she nudged him gently before pulling him along.
As they walked out of the compound, Alex couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
The disrespect he just experienced was quite embarrassing.
Nadia revealed a slight smile before putting her right arm over his left, after which they headed to the location described by the owner.
Krobridge was surrounded by 12 towns.
Each town was created due to a spillover of those desiring to stay in the city.
At a certain time, most speculated to be roughly 800 years ago, the criteria to enter Krobridge was that only students of Kro Institute could stay.
Every other person had to stay outside.
Of course, on occasions like festivals and the like, those from outside were hosted within the city but that was only once in a while.
In any case, these towns that were once merely placed for people to gain lodging when attempting to enter Kro Institute had evolved into societies that had most things a normal place would have.
Lucien Avenue in the 11th Extension, which was how the towns were called since they didn’t have an official name and under normal circumstances, didn’t qualify as a town.
From 1 to 12, each had the title extension, perfectly depicting how they came about.
Since they weren’t causing any problems and remained on the land acquitted to Krobridge, those in power saw no reason to destroy the extensions and didn’t even plan to.
In any case, the 11th Extension, just like the others, had most of its economy focused on hospitality, with structures ranging from hotels, bars, and even brothels scattered around.
Lucien Avenue which Alex and Nadia were currently walking through was a rather popular street for most men as quite a few brothels and bars were around the area.
For every three buildings passed, at least 2 would be a bar, brothel, or maybe even both.
It all depended on the whims of the owners.
Walking past, Alex got quite a few calls from women wearing rather tight-fitting attires with a face full of makeup while Nadia, despite her modest outfit, still got quite a few stares from the drunken men that prowled the streets.
"This place stinks." Nadia couldn’t help but comment as she shot a drunkard a glare for staring too long.
Alex nodded. "I agree."
It took them barely 20 minutes to get to Lucien and hadn’t even been in it for more than a minute but based on how repulsive the place was to them, it seemed like they wouldn’t be spending too long... not like they intended to in the first place.
Ignoring the comments that flew by, Alex and Nadia soon arrived at their destination.