Having discerned Granny Kasi’s inner thoughts, Tyler gained further insight into his predicament.
He surmised that, in the worst case scenario, the “unknown enemy” was already aware of his identity as an otherworldly traveler.
Granny Kasi was the enemy’s informant, assigned to keep a watchful eye on him.
The enemy refrained from having Granny Kasi take direct action, likely because their objective necessitated personally dealing with him.
At present, the “unknown enemy” was unable to execute their plan for some reason, but sooner or later, the one that unleashed a sky-high pillar of fire in Ira Village would reappear.
Tyler was not afraid of being targeted by the enemy; his fear stemmed from not knowing their identity.
Since he was now aware that Granny Kasi was the enemy’s informant, and his mind-reading ability remained concealed, he could actually exploit Granny Kasi to inadvertently feed false information to the enemy.
However, a new issue had arisen: the presence of “another observer” whose identity even Granny Kasi did not know. 𝒐𝔳𝒍xt.𝐂𝒪𝑀
If Tyler wished to obtain information on this “other observer,” the most effective approach would be to read the “Earthly Ghost’s” mind, but this was clearly unrealistic.
Granny Kasi was a formidable level 67 Mercenary Sage, a third-tier profession, who had undergone two trials. Tyler could not fathom the terrifying extent of the power possessed by the “Earthly Ghost” who commanded such a strong individual.
Thus, attempting to track and monitor the “Earthly Ghost” would undoubtedly be akin to courting death.
Taking everything into account, Tyler was left with one option: to reveal the identity of “the other observer” within Sunny Town.
.
After dinner, Tyler took Tocchini to the market to purchase some food, then proceeded to the demi-human residential area to provide aid to the impoverished.
This was the same location Emilia had visited earlier. With Tocchini’s presence, the cautious demi-humans were somewhat more at ease around Tyler.
Following Tyler’s “captivating performance”, the demi-humans and even their children grew to trust him.
Upon reviewing the basic information of these demi-humans, Tyler noted they had neither production nor manufacturing occupations, and no combat occupations either. It was no wonder they had fallen to such depths.
Conversely, it was due to humanity’s discrimination that they were left without job opportunities, leading to a vicious cycle.
(To truly help them, it seems that someone at the level of branch chief Oleg is needed… I should find time to speak with him.)
Having achieved his goal of familiarizing himself with the locals, Tyler left with Tocchini.
As they walked, a sudden stench assailed their senses.
Following the source of the odor, Tyler discovered a mountain of garbage piled up near the impoverished area, where all of Sunny Town’s waste was dumped.
During the day, the smell might have been bearable, but at night, when a large amount of daily waste was deposited, the pungent odor wafted far and wide.
“Ugh… it stinks, it stinks! Let’s hurry, big brother!”
“Tocchini, you go ahead. I’ll take a quick look and catch up with you.”
Tyler endured the foul stench to investigate the garbage heap because he thought he saw something alive moving in the shadows.
As he approached, however, the creature fled, leaving Tyler with only a glimpse of its blurry silhouette.
Instead of giving chase, Tyler examined the footprints on the ground and furrowed his brow.
·
Late at night, after Tocchini had fallen into a deep slumber, Tyler ventured alone to the outskirts of Sunny Town on horseback.
Based on his findings near the impoverished area earlier that evening, he believed something else might be lurking beyond the town’s protective barriers.
If left unchecked, the consequences could be far more severe than the Treants encountered in North Sunny Wasteland.
However, Tyler was not entirely altruistic; his primary objective in this matter was to win over Emilia.
As time passed, dark clouds obscured the moon, leaving only darkness and occasional cricket chirps across the wilderness.
Tyler guided his horse at a slow pace, and between the clattering of hooves, he could faintly hear rustling noises.
The “squeaking” sounds reminded him of a particular animal.
(Silly Nissen: Mom… mom… mommy… I… I… I’ll have to excuse myself for a bit-o!!!)
The stupid loli was most ill-suited for such a dark and eerie atmosphere. Frightened, she abandoned her VIP viewing seat, closing her eyes to avoid seeing Tyler’s surroundings.
Tyler himself was somewhat tense, having made preparations to retreat at any moment.
His goal for this impromptu expedition was reconnaissance only; he had no intention of engaging in combat.
·
Amidst the normally crisp air, a subtle whiff of decay crept in. As Tyler continued to advance, the putrid scent grew increasingly potent.
In the darkness, he could vaguely make out “red points of light” flickering and moving about.
(I can’t get any closer.)
Tyler knew that by the time these creatures launched an attack, it would be too late.
He marked the location on his map and temporarily retreated to Sunny Town.
.
━━━━━━━━━
〖Prison Star Calendar〗
〖Year 187, June 15〗
〖5:45 AM〗
〖Countdown to Confession Death: 5 days〗
━━━━━━━━━
The next day, Tyler did not continue to follow and observe Emilia. Instead, he went early in the morning to purchase a large number of oil barrels, haystacks, and a new quiver, increasing the number of arrows he carried to 80.
Afterward, he bought some fresh food and returned to the impoverished area.
With the favorable impression from the previous night, the demi-humans warmly welcomed Tyler, even though he was alone.
“Thank you, young man. There’s a kind-hearted girl named Emilia coming at noon today. Would you like to meet her?”
“Yes, yes! Emilia works at the guild! She can help introduce you to tasks!”
The demi-humans accepted Tyler’s favor and wanted to repay him in any way they could.
Tyler smiled in gratitude, saying he would return at noon, and then left.
However, he did not go far, instead venturing alone to the garbage heap. Under the bright sunlight, the heap, over ten meters tall, resembled a three- or four-story dark tower, an impressive sight.
At the base of the “tower,” Tyler could clearly see three hidden underground cave entrances.
(During the day, they indeed don’t seem to come out as much.)
Tyler tied a cloth around his mouth, approached the garbage heap, and noticed numerous footprints on the ground. The identification information matched the “Footprints of Carrion Rats” he had found the previous night.
Continuing cautiously, he spotted a dark figure moving on the garbage heap.
He immediately activated “Focus” and shot an arrow, which hit the target with a “thwack.” A pitch-black lump covered in thin hairs rolled to the ground.
— “Successfully killed ‘Carrion Rat – Lv11’, occupation experience +0, current experience 4200/4200.”