There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

Chapter 794: Chapter 676: Is This the Nobility?

As the sun was about to set,

the Maple Leaf Mercenary Group finally emerged from the Amiciya Mountains and arrived at the northern slopes of Steep Angle Peak.

At the foot of Steep Angle Peak was a lake where the Mercenary Corps could rest for a bit to catch their breath and have a drink of water.

In order to leave no trace, the route taken by the Order of the Sun Knights to come down the mountain was staggered with theirs.

The Amiciya Mountains weren’t a common route either, usually trodden only by Hunters, meaning it was almost unheard of for other groups to step foot here.

It should have been the case.

But not long after the team had stopped to rest,

the Mercenary Corps Captain seemed to have something on his mind, his expression hesitant as he approached the carriage of Xu Shuo and another.

Since the rest was brief, even after dismounting the carriage, they only stayed nearby to breathe in some fresh air, without any intention to wander around too much.

Seeing the Mercenary Corps Captain heading their way, Xu Shuo turned his head and shot an inquiring look from an angle Sola could not see.

The Mercenary Corps Captain said with an apologetic tone, “Because of the frequent wild beast attacks last night, many of our men are yet to recover. I’ve been thinking, we might stay here a bit longer, what do you two think?”

Sola was momentarily stunned, her gaze instinctively turning towards the youth beside her.

It wasn’t that she lacked her own opinion.

But since they had hired this Mercenary Corps, even if she had thoughts on the matter, it wouldn’t be proper for her to express them.

Xu Shuo pondered, “Resting a bit more is fine, I just worry about tonight…”

The Mercenary Corps Captain quickly said, “Don’t worry, we can absolutely make it to Castle Kasai by nightfall! How about this, I’ll send someone ahead to Castle Kasai to prepare a place to stay for us, so when you both enter the city, you can rest immediately.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Shuo’s expression eased somewhat.

However, he did not immediately agree, instead looking questioningly at Sola beside him.

Xu Shuo said gently, “They did indeed give it their all last night, and have been on the road all day. Let’s let them rest here a bit longer.”

To her own surprise, Sola felt a slight start, hastily waving her hands saying, “No problem at all, of course.”

It would only be a few hours late, after all.

Moreover, even if they reached Castle Kasai, they wouldn’t head to the Far North Mountain Range until tomorrow morning, so this little delay meant nothing.

Sola was surprised that the youth would actually consult her opinion. He really was a very pleasant person to be around.

Having received permission, the Mercenary Corps Captain was overjoyed and, after repeated thanks, he turned and left.

Since they would be staying for more than just a short while, the previously battle-ready stance of the Mercenary Corps relaxed somewhat, with some mercenaries visibly sighing with relief and lying down on the grass to rest.

Xu Shuo leaned against the carriage, reading a book for a while.

Then, as if he felt tired, he set down the book and rubbed his eyes, standing up to look into the distance.

The sky grew darker.

The sun continued its descent, creating a fiery red glow in the sunset, reflecting off the vast lake and causing it to sparkle.

The scenery here was quite lovely.

Xu Shuo took a walk in the vicinity.

Sola’s gaze at first casually followed him, but then gradually she diverted her attention to enjoy the beautiful scene.

At that moment, a Mercenary Corps member came over and offered her some mare’s milk, then asked for her thoughts on dinner.

Sola looked towards the lake, “How about fish.”

They had been eating dry game all day in the mountains yesterday, which had thrown off her sense of taste.

Although the Mercenary Corps had also camped near a water source last night, they were too busy dealing with wild animals all night to think about fishing in the lake.

She smacked her lips, wanting to improve the meal situation.

The mercenary responded with a smile, “Please wait a moment. We’ve seen fish in this lake, so catching some shouldn’t be difficult.”

Feeling a bit bored just sitting there, Sola picked up her skirt in a feigned demure fashion and trotted forward.

“I’ll watch you guys catch some fish.”

…

While the girl eagerly awaited her fish dinner, Xu Shuo wandered around the nearby area until he reached the Mercenary Corps Captain.

“What’s the matter?” he asked softly.

“Someone had briefly stopped by here, and it wasn’t a hunter. They even went into the mountain,” the Mercenary Corps Captain said in a hushed tone.

“When?”

“It should have been between noon and the afternoon.”

Having said this, the Mercenary Corps Captain stretched out a hand from behind his back and carefully handed a stem of grass to Xu Shuo.

Instead of grasping the grass stem directly, he pinched the base of the stem carefully between two fingers as if afraid of damaging something on it.

Xu Shuo took the grass stem, noting the undissolved frost remaining on it.

The white frost was granular to the touch, and holding it one could clearly feel a chill, ice-cold to the bone, as if it were colder than the harshest winters of the Far North.

He gently rubbed it with his fingertip, spreading the frost but also causing the stem to shatter.

It wasn’t that Xu Shuo had broken the stem.

It was that the stem had already been fractured by the frost.

“There are remnants all around that patch of grass,”

the Mercenary Corps Captain said, pointing to a location near the lake.

The lake was neither too large nor too small, spanning roughly seven or eight hundred square meters, with its source being a spring flowing down from Steep Angle Peak.

Given its expanse, the Mercenary Corps had only selected a corner at random to station themselves.

Yet, as the Mercenary Corps Captain habitually scanned the surroundings, he suddenly noticed something peculiar.

He found it very strange.

After giving it some thought, he still decided to have the adult take a look.