Chapter 441 The Red Herring
The next day.
A stout man with a bald head and a long mustache that he was repeatedly twirling with his hand was walking along the large pathway that led to the Central Tower.
Around 200 meters away from him, a blonde haired kid could be seen following him while trying not to attract attention to himself.
This man was an Exalted Warrior who was just one step away from becoming a Champion, and as such, he was already in possession of a little of the advanced 'sense' that only a Champion had.
Hence, he glanced back, ready to catch whoever had been tailing him for the past one hour.
However, to his surprise, the spot where he had locked on to his follower was empty, and even though he looked around, there was no one to spot.
Grumbling, the man entered the Central Tower to get back to his training.
Meanwhile, Daneel was hiding around 50 meters away from that spot, thanking the heavens that he was in possession of the Basilisk's Breath that had enabled him to make this escape.
This was the target he had chosen: Alfonso the Wrangler.
Indeed, the man was known by his nickname even though the two didn't make a name which sounded very well, as this was the thing he was most famous for.
He was in charge of making the payments to the normal humans who lived on the borders of the sect who were responsible for mundane work, and he was notorious for not just shaving off a little of the money, but also withholding it to gain unwilling favors.
Apparently, he was also the father of one of those who had accompanied Percy's elder brother in those dastardly acts in the Black Raven Kingdom.
Like father, like son.
Daneel frankly hated such scum, and after seeing the characteristics of this man, he only looked forward even more to wiping away those 'weeds' as soon as possible.
Regardless, he was going to handle this man first.
His was a very high post that had been previously held by an Amateur Warrior many years ago, due to that Warrior somehow accomplishing the feat of subjugating the actual one in the post and even having him fight his battles for him.
If something happened once, then there was much less chance that it would draw a lot of attention if it happened again.
After seeing Alfonso enter the Central Tower, Daneel started to walk towards his second stop: the back of the mountain.
When he arrived, he was quite surprised to see that it was not at all like what he had expected.
In Daneel's mind, he had been thinking that the Border Village, as it was called, might be a destitute den of filth, like the camps which used to accompany armies in the history of Earth.
The Sect of Hedon was an all-male sect, and as such, there was an official brothel set up here to enable those who had distractions to eliminate them to focus on their training.
This aspect of this world was something that Daneel had only heard about before, but not seen.
In his Kingdom, and all the others around the continent, brothels were officially recognized by the governments and there were set rules which protected the interests of those who engaged in this business.
For example, there was a fast track court for those who resorted to force or excessive violence during said acts.
Also, anyone who dared to push women into this trade was given the death sentence without fail.
Thus, Daneel had heard that low-grade brothels were inhabited by those who had no other job to choose, whereas high-grade ones earned enough money to put most medium enterprises to shame. Hence, those who were employed in high-grade ones were even respected in society to some extent.
Back in Lanthanor, apparently, the previous king had loved to go to the best brothel in the city to choose his concubines.
Of course, since becoming King, Daneel had been too busy running around to save the continent to pay attention to such things.
Getting back to the matter at hand, Daneel had expected the Border Village to have mud roads, depressing thatched houses, and dreary inhabitants.
However, when he reached it, he found neat, tiled roads, professionally-constructed stone houses, and happy children running around and playing.
This was the regular section of the village, so thinking that he might find what he had been expecting in the section that housed the brothel, Daneel walked there and saw that he was wrong.
There were no scantily clad women or raunchy boards, either. Instead, there was a plush entrance through which Daneel could see a woman sitting in what looked like a reception desk.
Well, this was definitely a pretty posh setup.
In the underground information room, Daneel had seen that Alfonso loved harassing women in this institution in particular.
The sect had a population of around 2000 members, and the border village was inhabited by at least 3000 people.
Hence, as it was a pretty big village, there were multiple establishments like these.
After double checking the address, Daneel walked to the reception.
With a warm smile, the woman who was wearing a blue chiffon gown greeted him and said, "Welcome to the Red Herring! What are you here for today?"
"I'm-I'm looking for Jessica.", stuttered Daneel, surprising even himself.
Oh, yes.
He was from Earth, where there was a certain stigma about going to places like these, that wasn't helped along by the fact that they were illegal in most countries.
It seemed that that memory had surfaced, along with a nonsensical thought that Eloise and Sister Xuan might tear him apart together if they found him here.
"First time, dear? Did you recently join the sect, or did you only now manage to scrape together enough money?"
Hearing the question which had multiple meanings, Daneel stuttered a reply, deciding to keep up this 'act' as it had already started.
"I just became a Warrior the-the other day and managed to get some mo-money."
"I knew it! As they say back in the sect, distractions must be fulfilled, not ignored. It seems that Jessica is in. 20 Ker Gems, please."
If Daneel hadn't already heard about this price before, he would definitely have been sputtering in rage by now.
Apparently, this high price was to dissuade sect members from indulging too much in things like these, and it scaled according to the level of a sect member.
Wondering who the heck had thought up such a weird system, Daneel handed over the pile of gems with a breaking heart.
He had worked all day yesterday after getting the information and deciding on this plan to obtain these Ker Gems, and they were gone, just like that.
Well, it was necessary.
In Daneel's plan, the woman he was going to meet was instrumental, and although he could have chosen to covertly find her house and try to talk her there, he did not want to risk being seen and getting suspicion thrown on him after everything was done.
Instead, just meeting like this was the best method.
The woman handed over a key that had the letters 54 written on it, so Daneel went up the stairs and reached the room with the same letters before knocking.
"Come in."
As a sweet voice replied from inside, Daneel entered and closed the door behind him, using the lock to do so.
This lock also activated a formation around the room, preventing all sound inside from being heard outside.
Daneel didn't know what to feel about this perfectly thought out system.
Jessica was a pretty woman with brown hair. With a few freckles near her nose, she was actually pretty attractive, and she also seemed to be well-endowed which allowed her to be a popular draw in this institution.
She was wearing silk robes that she prepared to take off when she saw Daneel locking the door, but she stopped with a puzzled expression on her face when she saw the blond-haired kid raise his hands and shout, "STOP!"
She had seen all kinds of men, but this must be a first-seeing someone who wanted her to stop, instead of going faster.
"Shy? I heard this is your first time. Don't worry, I'll be-"
"NO!"
Shouting again, Daneel took a few deep breaths.
Things were already going out of control.
Calming down, he returned to a calmer state, putting aside the slight panic before when the woman had almost exposed her entire body.
"I came here to talk about Alfonso."
When Jessica heard this, a deep frown appeared on her face and she prepared to pick up a communication trinket beside her, which must be how she had heard that it was his 'first time'.
"Hear me out. I want him to get his due, but I need your help."
This made Jessica hesitate, but it was only for a moment.
Why should she believe this kid? After all, he might just be someone here to take advantage of her by telling her that he would fulfill her dream.
Seeing this, Daneel sighed and said, "Look, I'm telling the truth. I'm not even being selfless. I found a way to make him give up his post to me, before having his life destroyed. I know the way he threatens to withhold your son's wages to have his way with you, and others around the village. I know what he does to you women, and why you don't dare expose him. I can help you all, but I need your help. Just come to this spot at midnight with the others. That's all I need. Bye."
Saying so and putting a communication trinket on the desk beside him, Daneel turned around and walked out, leaving a gawking Jessica.
To Daneel's surprise, he found the woman from downstairs waiting at the edge of the corridor near the stairs.
Looking at him come out with a slightly flustered expression on his face, she exclaimed, "That was even faster than I imagined! So it really is your first time!"