166 In the alley. (1/2)

Ozul already had the conical hat on top as they walked through the streets.

This Shawell city was prospering as they could see from the bustling of the crowd everywhere.

Unlike before, Ozul's conical hat and Clara's veil attracted a couple of eyes towards them. The previous towns or cities had many people who did not want their identities revealed, so the locals did not pay much attention to them.

However, Clara's veil and expensive-looking clothes made some assume that she could be a rich lady of a noble house. Cyril and Mark disguising themselves into two burly men certainly did not help the situation either.

The duo immediately understood the misunderstanding they caused by their appearance. Since others had already assumed so, they acted their part by glaring at anyone who looked their way.

Everyone was quickly too scared to look stare anymore at the young miss after that.

There were a couple of city guards passing by, but luckily, they did not stop them for asking any questions. After giving them a simple but curious glance, they walked by them without any inquiries.

”Do you know of any hotel here?” Ozul asked as Mark nodded his head after giving it some thought.

Naturally, there were just too many places in his mind. So even he had to think for a while before he remembered a place.

”Lead the way,” Ozul said as Mark began to lead the group through the city.

Along the way, they saw how the city was flourishing. Ozul credited it to the geographical location of the city being so close to the Neutral Lands.

However, such a place would have normally been a lawless city if the City Lord was not competent enough.

”Who has the jurisdiction over here?” Ozul inquired.

”The cities all around the Neutral Lands have different powers governing them. As far as I remember, this city should be directly under an official of the Leonhard Dynasty,” Mark explained.

'Leonhard Dynasty...' Ozul had naturally heard of it.

The Leonhard Dynasty had a history of almost a thousand years, ruling a significant part of the continent. However, it was almost on the other corner from the Silverbird Kingdom.

It was said that the Dynasty had the backing of a Rank-10 Mage who was actually the person who had set the foundation of it a thousand years ago.

With such a powerful individual supporting it, there weren't many who went against the Leonhard Dynasty.

At once, Ozul realized why this city was so thriving. Under the iron fist of the Dynasty, who would dare to care trouble here?

Under Mark's lead, they passed by many famous places such as first-rate restaurants and gambling houses.

”Uhm... If I remember correctly, it should be in this alley,” Mark said, a little unsure of his memory.

He was uncertain only because he remembered many of such alleyways in different cities. He was doubtful if what he remembered was in some other city.

”What's that? Do I hear uncertainty?” Cyril teased from the side.

”Shut up. These dark alleys all look the same,” Mark rebuked.

Ignoring their banter, Ozul stepped in the dark as Clara followed right behind him.

There weren't many people around this part of the city, and Ozul almost thought that Mark had indeed made a mistake this time. But he changed his mind after he focused on his surroundings.

There was indeed a small hotel in this dark alleyway devoid of any life.

They did not have to find it since only a single building in this alley had torches lit up at its entrance.

Though the light was dim, it was enough for people to notice the building. Ozul and Clara walked towards it as the duo hurriedly followed behind after noticing their absence.

An old man sat behind the counter with a newspaper in his hand. Looking at his appearance, Clara even wondered how he was still living.

Ozul was about to ask for a room when Mark said, ”We can just take the keys from there. This old man is useless.”

Mark pointed towards the row of keys hung on the wall with hooks that each had a room number written above it.

Ozul did not question the reasons and just took a random key before walking away to find the room with that number.