"No," the butler hastily shook his head. "The young master was only responsible for a few minor matters. If someone were to investigate, it wouldn’t target him alone—our entire family would be affected. It’s probably a personal vendetta."
"A personal vendetta?" Cesar narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on Carey and Dana, who were conversing not far away. "Inform those spiders to transport the people away quickly. Someone might come to investigate. Additionally, tell them that Archbishop Antonio has likely already left Sigerno City quietly. Now is a good opportunity to act."
"Yes," the butler responded.
The murder at the tavern the day before was already common knowledge throughout the city. Stories involving Carey were circulating vigorously among his colleagues; even Carl had heard about them.
"So, you really have a first love? Did you also borrow money from colleagues to save her?"
Looking at Carey’s timid expression, it was hard to imagine such a romantic tale happening to him.
"Fiancée!" Carey emphasized, then covered his head with both hands, a look of dejection on his face. "Where is she now?"
"Not found?" Carl was taken aback. "Didn’t Brey tell you the location?"
"He did," Carey nodded. "It was a warehouse at the North Textile Factory, but we only found some spider webs there. There was no one at all!"
Spider webs? Carl frowned, instinctively thinking of the followers of the Spider Goddess Iris, who seemed to have some connection with the Fire Stealers of Kolon.
"Carey!" At that moment, Dana walked over. "The Chief wants to see you."
"Yes." Carey, looking dejected, stood up.
"Did you hear? The murderer is a giant over three meters tall, wearing armor that tightly wraps his body."
"How can there be someone that tall?"
"Yeah! If the murderer was really that tall, he would have been spotted long ago. It must be a rumor."
The crowd muttered softly. Compared to the gossip about Carey, there were more rumors about the murderer. It started off normal. Gradually, the descriptions grew wilder: several meters tall, covered in fur, wielding a large wooden club, a single strike capable of bringing down a house. It was unclear whether they were talking about a wild man or a giant.
Carl shook his head and continued browsing his books, dismissing the distractions. To him, these were all trivial matters of daily life. Even if Brey Foster had followers of the Evil God, it didn’t matter. He was about to leave Sigerno City. Whatever happened here was of no concern to him anymore and naturally didn’t need his attention.
However, there was progress regarding Freedom Port.
"Dried falling blossoms, rancid fats, dried fruits..." Ayala arranged the ingredients into the brewing pot in order, stirring methodically while occasionally checking the fire.
Carl, with his hands clasped behind his back, explained, "The paralyzing potion works slowly, but it is highly effective against massive creatures and can also be used for healing. Some people are injured and need to cut open their flesh and scrape their bones. At that time, they need to take a paralyzing potion for pain relief."
"Uncle," Ayala spoke. "I think even if someone buys the paralyzing potion, it’s likely used for hunting giant sea beasts. The possibility of using it to save people isn’t high."
The Endless Sea harbors many giant sea creatures, and hunting them is often troublesome. Using potions is equally inconvenient. But the paralyzing potion at least provided another approach.
"Hmm." Carl nodded, not denying it. "You just need to know what the potion can do. What people do with it is not our concern."
"Yes," Ayala agreed, then added, "Yesterday, Sister Susan of the Dragon King Chamber of Commerce came, inviting you to join the Chamber. The Dragon King Chamber of Commerce can provide a free shop in the Herb Market, and their shops can also sell the potions we make, with the condition that our potions are supplied to their chamber first."
This was reasonable. Carl slowly nodded.
He was currently making over a dozen types of potions. Most of them were healing potions, with a few having special properties, such as fire-resistant potions, paralyzing potions, and fragrant potions that slightly increased defensive power.
"People from the Sea God Association also came," Ayala said. "They are rather domineering, demanding that the potions we make must be sold through them, but they would share some of the profits with us. However, they can provide you, Uncle, with a Swimming Dharma Seal, which can also be exchanged for other equivalent Dharma Seals."
"Uncle." Xiao Nan’s voice came from outside. "People from the Scythe Brotherhood want to see you."
The Scythe Brotherhood, the Sea God Association, and the Dragon King Chamber of Commerce—these were the three largest forces in Freedom Port. Since the latter two had already visited, the former would naturally do the same.