Leo took a second to think things through.

It's actually better for me to leave the party if I want to investigate freely...

And even though he had formed a bad impression of the mage woman in the party, he was sceptical whether Patric would really want her out. Though bitchy, a fire-attributed mage was a tremendous help in any battle.

Besides, everyone knew that a mage needed far more resources than other professions to advance, so her greedy nature was somewhat justified.

"You know what? You are right! I leave the party right now! Now that I think back, I decided to work alone just because of people like you. My Natalie is more than enough for me."

Saying that, Leo took his share of the money from the table and walked off.

"Yeah, yeah, go away and fuck your slave, don't appear in front of me again!"

Evan completely ignored Shreya's words, and after giving Patric one last respectful nod, he spoke his final words before walking away.

"Brother Patric, I have already left the fee on the table to cut my name from your party. Thanks for teaching me, and please don't think I have any grudge against anyone. I am simply incapable of working in a party..." Evan sneered at Shreya.

"Especially with bitches like these who think they are above everyone."

"Fuck you! I am indeed above your shitty self!" Shreya continued cursing as Evan walked away.

Natalie closely followed him, not forgetting to pretend she was completely scared out of her mind. She even faked tripping near the door.

"Natalie! Now don't make me angry on you!"

"S-sorry, Master!"

Their voices drifted in from outside as Patric and his party sat back down.

"Too bad. He was indeed a good fighter," Junni said, taking another sip of the wine in front of her.

"Hm, it was because of him that we dared to take that Peak 2-star mission bordering on Pseudo 3-star," Patric affirmed.

"Hmph! That nearly made us fall into debt. Look, even that fucker realised his mistake, making him give money to Liam for his losses."

Everybody nodded.

---

Inside the room of the inn...

"That woman, Shreya, really acts like a kid," Lily said, sitting on the bed and stretching comfortably.

What had been a headache for Shreya and the others was child's play to Lily.

"How would you know when you're simply standing in the back? Ask me how difficult it is to act in such a cringe manner..." Leo said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Oh? If that's the case, you can always be the one to act as my slave next time," Lily said with a teasing smile.

"I will think about that..."

Though Leo said that, he already knew he never would. Otherwise, he couldn't predict what Lily would do.

"By the way, stay here. I need to check something."

Saying that, Leo activated Stealth and left the inn to investigate.

Finding herself alone with nothing to do, Lily focused on her talent and tried practising it on a potted plant by the window.

She also didn't forget to create a wooden mannequin resembling Leo and place it on the bed, making it seem as though he was sleeping. So that when anybody came knocking on the door, she could simply say he was sleeping.

Meanwhile, Leo toured the city under Stealth, but every hour or so, he would pass by the inn they were staying at, then the bar where Patric's party was still drinking and enjoying themselves, and finally Lamar's party, which was still trying to recruit as many people as possible for the mission.

And this went on for two days.

During that time, Leo even pretended to take Lily out to wander around the city, only to return under Stealth and observe the situation again and again. During that time, he even registered for the escort mission towards Tilgarth in the adventurer's guild.

As expected, he got results.

While he and Patric's group were absent from the inn, some city guards came in and, under the pretext of an inspection, asked about Evan and Patric. Basically, they wanted to know anything unusual about them that stood out.

The innkeeper, frightened, told them everything she knew. Thankfully, she described Evan as just another hot-blooded adventurer who would go out, hunt, eat, come back, sleep with his slave, eat again, sleep with his slave once more, then repeat. She described Patric's group similarly—as an ordinary adventurer party that behaved normally.

The guards then paid the innkeeper some money to remain quiet about the investigation, saying something along the lines that a major incident had occurred in the city and needed to be investigated discreetly.

Before leaving, they even warned her that speaking about it would bring a death sentence upon her family.

Already terrified, the innkeeper simply agreed.

But Leo knew there had been no major incident in the city. These people were simply gathering information about those heading toward Tilgarth.

After all, it wasn't only Evan or Patric's group that had been investigated, but most of the people who would be joining the escort mission.

"Is the City Lord's son an accomplice?" Leo wondered.

But considering they might simply be taking advantage of the situation, he set the thought aside.

The academy had clearly stated that the city they were in was free from demonic influence.

Though that only meant the upper echelon and important figures were free of it. Lamar's wandering adventurer group or the fake city guards certainly weren't included in that.

When Leo and Lily discussed these things, they couldn't help but be astonished.

"It's really as the professor said; these demons are very careful with the way they operate," Lily said.

"Yeah. I even saw a man casually trying to strike up a conversation with Patric while he was drunk to extract private information about him—and about us. But thankfully, Patric was careful," Leo recalled.

"They really want to capture only those whose disappearance would make no difference and that they wouldn't prompt any investigation..."

"In other words..."

"We are their confirmed targets..." Leo said, an unconscious smile forming on his face.