After successfully entering the city, Rayleigh picked one of the inns marked as recommended on the map Hermes had given him and checked in.
After that, he went to the employment office.
This was the intermediary center of the Rakia Kingdom.
Not only could people post and accept jobs here, they could also find work through mediation, buy information, and so on.
He had come here to see whether there was any way to get in contact with the Phobos Familia.
Unfortunately, things were indeed not that simple.
He strolled through the streets and toured the city, but in reality, he was confirming whether the map in his head was reliable.
Standing on a bridge in the Lower City and seeing that there was no one around, he directly sat on the railing, eating the skewers he had bought while looking in the direction of the royal palace.
His current position was the outer part of the royal capital, also called the Lower City.
Besides that, there were also the Middle City, Upper City, Commercial District, Temple District, Noble District, and the Royal Palace.
To enter the Middle City or Upper City, one had to at least join some God's Familia and obtain Falna.
All the other "lower people" could only live on the edges of the city.
Trying to openly enter the Middle City or Upper City during the daytime was impossible.
'Mm.'
Rayleigh waited until nightfall.
Inside his room, he felt the timing was about right, so he used spirit particles to construct a set of black clothes, and also created a mask.
The mask had claw-mark-like patterns on it, giving it a sinister and terrifying look.
"Too bad it's just for appearances and It's not real Hollowfication."
Rayleigh sighed, put the mask on his face, then coughed twice and used the vibration of Reiryoku to alter his voice, successfully giving himself the same electronic distortion as White.
'Mm. Perfect.'
...
After nodding in satisfaction, he hid his figure with a light-bending effect, then leapt straight out of the window.
His figure bounded through the night sky, ignoring the district restrictions, and began searching according to the places he had memorized in his mind.
The first places he searched were the Middle City and the Upper City.
These two districts contained many of the lower-ranked Familias.
Given the circumstances of the Goddess Phobos, being thrown into a place like that would not be strange at all.
And if she was not there—then Rayleigh judged that the Temple District was the most likely place.
Because of Ares' dictatorship, the Rakia Kingdom did not permit temples to any God other than himself.
They didn't even allow statues of other Gods to be built.
So the so-called Temple District was really just where Ares' private military forces were stationed.
And wasn't a place like that perfect for keeping prisoners?
With that in mind, after finding nothing in the two city districts, Rayleigh went directly to the Temple District.
Thanks to his ability to turn invisible and his three-dimensional mobility through the air, infiltrating this place was like walking into an empty courtyard.
By now, it was already night.
The only brightly lit place left was the Great Sanctuary. According to the intelligence, this was the sacred place where Ares bestowed divine blessings.
As the Father of the Nation, the moment Ares granted Falna was considered a holy act within the kingdom, something that had to be displayed publicly.
At this moment, the Great Sanctuary was brightly lit. However, the lighting inside still relied entirely on firelight.
Unlike Orario, where Magic Stones had already been applied to daily life, even the street lamps there were powered by Magic Stones.
Rayleigh entered the sanctuary and erased the sound of his footsteps.
Then he saw a girl praying inside.
The girl wore luxurious clothes. Her hands were clasped together, her golden hair naturally hanging down.
Her eyes were closed, and the long eyelashes above them seemed to shimmer with a crystalline light.
'Hm?'
Rayleigh stared at that girl for a while and found that she was probably fifteen or sixteen years old.
Her skin was fair, delicate, and full of luster.
Together with those clothes, it was obvious that she came from the nobility.
And most likely, not just any noble either—but a very high-ranking one.
If he asked her, would he get the answer he wanted?
Just as Rayleigh was weighing whether it was worth disturbing her—suddenly, a group of three climbed in through the opposite window.
Rayleigh noticed them immediately. But Rayleigh was invisible, so the other side didn't notice him at all.
"Ah! You people are—mmph!"
The three intruders rushed forward without another word and seized the noble girl who had been praying.
'???' Rayleigh thought.
For some reason—either out of curiosity or a sudden whim—Rayleigh followed them.
"We did it!"
"Didn't expect it to go this smoothly."
"Those knights were probably afraid of offending this little brat, so they stayed far away."
"Y-you insolent wretches! Who are you? Put me down!" the noble girl shouted at the kidnappers.
But in the next second, a strip of cloth was tightly bound over her mouth.
"Mmph! Mmph!!"
The girl struggled desperately, but her strength was no match for theirs.
Her fair wrists were gripped hard, and after struggling, they turned red.
"Stay still!"
Smack!
The girl was slapped and fell to the ground.
Her eyes turned frightened, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Tch, troublesome little noble lady."
"This girl's skin is really nice. So pale it almost glows!"
"I've never touched a woman this beautiful before."
"If you don't want to die, then don't get any stupid ideas. Otherwise the money we were supposed to get paid will turn into a bounty on our heads..."
"Heh heh, I'm only going to touch a little. This little brat isn't old, but her body's already developed this much. Damn nobles, she must eat delicacies every day!"
Seeing the man licking his lips as he approached, the girl shrank back in terror.
'No, don't! Why... why is something like this happening to me? Big Brother!'
The girl shut her eyes in despair.
And at that very moment—a figure soundlessly appeared behind the man wearing that vile grin.
The leader of the three-man group was stunned for 0.1 seconds when he saw that scene.
'What the— How did this guy appear—no, wait, now's not the time to be shocked!' He hurriedly shouted a warning.
"Hey! Behind you—"
Swish!
The blade flashed once under the moonlight.
The man kept that disgusting expression on his face. Until the moment he died, he never understood what had happened.
Half of his body remained standing where it was, but his upper half had already fallen to the ground.
"Zack!"
The leader instantly dragged the remaining subordinate backward.
The two of them retreated two meters, staring at the suddenly appeared Rayleigh with horror and vigilance.
At that moment, the noble girl also opened her eyes again.
Then she saw a back.
A long, black silhouette.
'Mm...? Was this person here to save me?' In that instant, a glimmer of hope rose in the girl's heart.
The enemy leader, however, felt the exact opposite.
"This guy's not ri—gh... be careful, Lo—"
Halfway through speaking, the man suddenly discovered that not far away, a head was lying on the ground, wearing a stunned expression as it stared back at him.
'That face—Lo?'
Cold sweat poured down the man's body.
He stiffly turned his head and looked at the figure he had just been dragging with him.
The head—was gone...
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
The man let out a miserable scream, then his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground.
'T-too terrifying.'
He had absolutely no idea what had happened, and yet his two capable subordinates had already been cut down!
Aside from that first slash, he had not noticed at all how Lo's head had been severed.
If that slash had been aimed at him, then he would now—
'Huh?'
'Why does my neck feel hot?'
'What is this?'
'So hot.'
'This scorching red... what is it exactly?'
Thud.
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