Chapter 13: The First Step in Gathering Intelligence

“Interesting, truly interesting.”

Li Si murmured to himself. The girl named Yaer from earlier was quite peculiar. Her manners clearly showed she had been trained in noble etiquette, yet she exuded an air of untamed freedom—an intriguing contradiction.

When he gently touched her delicate hand just now, although well cared for, he could distinctly feel the resilience in her palm and the fine calluses formed from long use of weapons. This seemed at odds with her identity as a noblewoman.

Moreover, the man who left with her earlier was none other than Arsen Hard, the youngest son of Duke Hard’s family, whom Mora had mentioned before. Judging by Arsen’s cautious gaze toward Li Si and the subtle deference in his eyes when looking at Yaer, it was evident that Yaer’s status was extraordinary.

Shaking his head, Li Si dismissed these thoughts. After all, they might rarely meet again! As for the golden silk shrimp balls the girl wanted to eat—perhaps fate would allow it another time.

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“Miss Yaer, please don’t do that again next time. I only went to say hello, and in the blink of an eye, you vanished.”

Arsen Hard spoke with some helplessness to the girl beside him.

“Oh, I was hungry! There were so many delicious things here, and I didn’t go anywhere else!”

Yaer waved her hand happily, utterly unconcerned by Arsen’s tone of mild exasperation.

“The man beside you just now was—?” Arsen inquired, sensing something unusual about Li Si. He did not seem like the kind of noble who loved socializing or indulging in pleasures. His unique aura made him stand out the moment one’s eyes landed on him in a crowd.

“He said his name was Li Si Cain. Apparently, he’s a very skilled chef!” Yaer pondered before answering.

“Li Si Cain...” Arsen mused, ignoring the latter part, and asked with some puzzlement, “Is he that Viscount Cain? The recluse magician?”

“I don’t know, but he’s a fascinating person! He even said he’d make me golden silk shrimp balls someday!”

“Shrimp balls... is that a dish?” Arsen was speechless. What was going on? If it really was that Viscount, though not a major noble, he surely wouldn’t be cooking.

Yaer paid no heed to Arsen’s thoughts. Humming a tune and tapping her feet along the night street, her fiery red skirt fluttered with each lively step, mirroring her joyous mood.

Arsen had no choice but to keep close behind her. Though Miss Yaer’s strength far surpassed his own and she disguised her appearance with magical artifacts, if anyone dared to offend her, it would be a failure of his duty as her protector.

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Having finally finished following his father’s speech, Mora had danced the first round with a shy noble lady before stepping back and leaving the center of the ballroom.

A friendly smile graced Mora’s face as he weaved through the crowd, seemingly searching for something.

“Well, I was working hard up there, and here you are hiding and eating?”

Mora found Li Si tucked away in a corner. Seeing the plate and leftovers before him, he knew Li Si had been seated there the entire time without moving.

“This is your birthday ball. Am I supposed to get up there and say a few words?”

Li Si focused on devouring the freshly served chocolate vanilla ice cream. He had to admit, feeling that coolness in the June heat—likely made with ice magic or ice stones—was a rare luxury, but he enjoyed it.

Mora waved to summon a servant to bring him some food and took a delicate sip of golden champagne, exhaling deeply as he watched the lively scene before them.

“You know full well that celebrating my birthday is only part of the reason. The main purpose is to provide a social occasion for networking and diplomacy.”

“Ah, yes, yes...”

Li Si barely bothered to respond. He could guarantee that if the ball wasn’t held, Mora would be worrying if his merchant guild was going bankrupt.

“You scoundrel!” Mora playfully punched Li Si’s arm, though without much force.

“But it’s rare for you to come. This is your first time attending my family’s ball, isn’t it?”

Li Si thought for a moment. It did seem to be his first. Apart from the annual royal balls he had never been able to avoid, he hadn’t attended any others, which made the other nobles consider Viscount Cain somewhat of an outcast.

“Enough of that. What about Bernie? I came, but he didn’t?”

“I heard he’s busy with an important breakthrough in the school’s magic workshop and couldn’t leave. But he did send word and brought a gift.”

Mora held out his right hand to Li Si, displaying a ring set with a transparent gem that shimmered faintly with magical light.

“An ironclad ring, enchanted with a triple-layer iron armor spell, usable three times a day. The best part is it can activate automatically in danger.”

“How thoughtful.”

This protective ring must be worth hundreds of gold coins. Bernie’s family wasn’t wealthy, so giving such a precious gift must have taken considerable effort.

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“What about yours?” Mora openly stretched out his hand toward Li Si.

“My surprise isn’t ready yet, but it will definitely satisfy you.” Li Si shrugged. He had some ideas he wanted to implement with Mora and Bernie, but they were not yet ripe and needed more time.

“Alright, I’ll wait then.” Mora trusted Li Si wouldn’t deceive him on this.

“I actually have a favor to ask.” Li Si said to Mora.

“What is it? New experimental instruments, magical ores, or enchanted scrolls?” Mora replied casually. Previously, whenever Li Si sought help, it was always about buying such items.

“Not buying anything. I want you to help me gather intelligence on Cuiliang City, mainly about various price levels and any unusual incidents.”

Li Si considered his words carefully. He still knew nothing about the mastermind behind the scenes, only that they planned to assassinate several nobles, including himself, during the Saint Festival three months from now. He hoped to glean some clues from Mora.

“When did you start caring about this?” Mora glanced at Li Si, somewhat surprised.

“I have my reasons.” Li Si didn’t want to elaborate. After all, he couldn’t exactly say he foresaw his own assassination three months ahead—that would be dismissed as nonsense and might alert the enemy prematurely.

Seeing that Li Si was unwilling to explain, Mora didn’t press further. Helping a friend was no trouble, especially when it was a simple matter.

“Alright, I’ll send you a weekly summary of our merchant guild’s intelligence, but only the non-confidential stuff. I’ll also keep an eye out for other information and send it to you if I find anything.”

“Thanks.” Li Si nodded. He had considered having servants or guards gather intelligence, but that was inefficient. It was better to rely on Mora.

The Golden Vine Merchant Guild was a renowned large guild with a dedicated intelligence department. Merchants paid close attention to all kinds of information since ordinary news could conceal tremendous business opportunities and glittering gold coins.

“Enough about that. Look over there—that’s the second daughter of Count Xiani’s family. She’s a captivating rose. How about it? Feeling tempted?”

Mora, having composed himself for a moment, reverted to his usual mischievous self.

Li Si sighed, embarrassed to be in such company.

“Good heavens, that’s huge...”