Chapter 306: Detestable Method.

The city was ruled by the vassal of the Leonhard Dynasty who was a top-tier Rank-9 Mage.

Previously the duo was luckily able to avoid getting caught by any Rank-9 Mages until now but the reputation of Kenzie was far spread even among the Rank-9 Mages.

Even previously they had almost attracted the attention of one such Mage so they had to abandon the area for quite a while before moving back to it later after the matter was forgotten. So Blaze and Raven were on guard all the time.

The most difficult part would be infiltrating Kenzie's Manor. If they could somehow sneak in even a single capable man, they would immediately leave this city.

In the middle of a city, there were tall buildings everywhere but the tall buildings cast darker shadows in which lurked the rats and those who wanted to avoid any attention. Hence why Raven and Blaze were currently in one such alleyway.

The two were currently arguing to decide the method of infiltration.

"No! Directly causing any problems to his Manor would instantly bring suspicion. You are at least smarter than this," the woman in the black cloak shook her head, clearly tired of this but her expressions were not recognizable because the cloak also had a hood covering the upper half of her face.

"We will be as discreet  as possible! I know it would still be risky but you can imagine how much time it would take for the man to finally catch the good eyes of that Kenzie. There is not much time left, and you know that as well."

The man opposite the woman replied. He was also covered under the cloak, but those strands of cyan hair were a striking trait; not even the shadows could disguise that distinct color.

Hearing his reply made Raven go silent for a moment. It was true that they really didn't have much time.

"So what if we were able to do it in a short amount of time? If the spy was found out, not only would it all be in vain, getting another person to infiltrate the Manor would become impossible by ourselves!" Raven's voice slowly rose the more they argued.

Meanwhile, there was another person on the scene. He was a Rank-4 Mage who was also a member of the Three-Eyed Strangers. He was supposed to be one of the best in the branch in this area.

If one were to look closely at him, they would notice the beads of sweat dripping from his forehead at this moment.

It had already been a few minutes since Raven and Blaze were going back and forth and their growing aura frightened this simple man who had no idea why he was even suddenly brought to this alley.

But these two people had the proof that they were his superiors, so he had no choice but to obediently follow whatever they told him to.

His misery came to an end when Raven couldn't bother to waste any more time with Blaze, "Listen to me first! If you have any problem with my plan later, we can convince each other then..."

While Raven said that, two dark shadows started revolving around her hands, vaguely forming the shape of daggers.

Tch!

Blaze clicked his tongue in annoyance. If they were to fight, defeating Raven would not be an easy thing to do. Even though he was confident to be the last one standing, it would leave him in a vegetative state as well. 

By now, he had understood well not to start a fight with Raven. She just didn't know when to give up in a fight. Even when bleeding all over, she would continue to slash at her enemies without batting an eye.

Seeing that Blaze had no intentions to start a fight, Raven retracted the daggers.

Glancing at the sweating man, she ordered, "Follow us."

...

The three arrived at one end of the city near a tall building. 

It was not far from the forest but the tall tower still attracted a lot of attention despite the general public not causing any commotion near it.

It was rather peaceful but there was also a rather opulent atmosphere surrounding it. 

Only occasionally would one be able to notice someone entering or leaving the building. It was noticeable to see that all of them looked like they came from a wealthy family; some were even escorted by guards.

"What are we even here for?" Blaze asked curiously. He had almost no information of the prominent businesses around the city.

"This is supposed to be a teahouse but is also a restaurant," Raven replied, keeping her eyes at the main entrance of the building.

"It's actually very popular even in other cities, but it's so expensive that people who can't afford to enter aren't even allowed to lurk around this area."

"Hmm? So why are we here? I don't like tea," Blaze replied, again not understanding the reason for bringing him here.

"Did you even read the report? It had information on almost everything important around the city!" Raven seemed ready to summon her daggers again, knowing that he wasn't taking this seriously.

"I..."

Blaze's stutter was enough to prove that he hadn't read all those files at all.

But before she could summon her daggers, the other man with them hurriedly spoke, "Uhm- I... I can just e-explain it..."

He really didn't want them to start clashing again. He didn't have the confidence to stay alive if they really did start fighting.

Raven stepped back, hinting at the man to explain what was so special about the tower.

The man in question cleared his throat, "Cough! Although it might look like just another teahouse or a restaurant, it's not so simple because the actual owner of this place is the City Lord himself."

"City Lord? That Kenzie guy?" muttered Blaze.

"Y-yes... precisely," affirmed the man with another stutter. He looked around and only heaved a sigh of relief when he confirmed that there was no one around them to hear Blaze call the City Lord with such disrespect.

After all, one had to know that even if this was just a city, it was even superior to many kingdoms!

After all, most of the kingdoms only had some Rank-8 Mage's governing them, but the person ruling this city was a ruthless Rank-9 Mage!

This man who had been operating in this city for so long was well aware of the temper of this City Lord who was even more fearsome than tyrants ruling the kingdoms.

"What is even more important about this place is that the City Lord's..." the man paused for a second and again looked around them to confirm no one was eavesdropping before he leaned in and whispered, "...City Lord's daughter frequently visits this place."

"Ah! So that Kenzie's daughter is here? But how is that going to help?" Blaze looked questioningly at Raven.

"I have yet to explain that," Raven replied with a deadpan face. 

Meanwhile, the man was anxiously looking around, fearing that someone really might have heard them discussing the City Lord's daughter with how loud Blaze had been just now.

Just at that moment, the entrance opened again and two guards in casual clothing stepped out followed by a girl whose face was covered by a white veil, and behind were another two guards. All four of these guards were female.

"See that girl? She's the daughter of the City Lord. Her timing is not fixed, but she visits the teahouse every day. We can make use of this," Raven spoke while observing the guards around the girl.

However, Blaze only shook his head with a frown, "You know sending anyone after the girl and then rescuing her isn't going to work. Any man involved will be thoroughly investigated and that man would easily get to the truth."

Blaze understood that because they had already tried that trick before with an organization of a Rank-8 Mage. They ended up having to find other ways to infiltrate their ranks.

"We won't use any people this time," Raven answered confidently. 

"Hm? Are you saying we will do it ourselves?... Oh-" Blaze suddenly paused as he realized what Raven meant.

Although the forest wasn't near the teahouse, it wasn't much farther either. If they could instigate a Beast tide to attack that side of the city, it would surely cause a considerable commotion and in some rare chances, it might even endanger the life of the princess of the City Lord.

Beast tides were famous for being unpredictable and the City Lord wouldn't even be able to investigate the mindless Beasts. With them controlling the situation, it would almost be impossible for anyone to figure out that someone had purposely created the tide.

And in that desperate situation, a man putting his life on the line to protect the princess would surely earn some merit with the City Lord. He loved his daughter very dearly and wouldn't hesitate to generously reward anyone who helped protect her. 

"That can surely work even if it takes a long time... but are you sure you want to do it?" Blaze asked the question with a softer tone.

He had come to know Raven's past and knew how her own village was destroyed by an artificial Beast tide. Even though she didn't show it on her face, he knew that she despised such methods. Even harming innocents was something she would generally avoid unless they showed any malicious intent.

It was indeed a safer method than directly just messing with the Manor, but Blaze also realized how hard it would be on Raven.

Though Raven only cryptically nodded her head in response...