Just then, Starlight’s gaze inadvertently swept over the counter. He saw Nicola emerging from the office carrying a stack of documents, a hint of frustration visible in her eyes behind her round-rimmed glasses.
Seeing this, Starlight took advantage of the gap while Po Kong was still focused on flipping through the materials to quietly walk over and strike up a conversation with her.
“Good morning, Miss Nicola! You look like you’ve run into some trouble,” Starlight asked with concern.
“Oh! Good morning, Starlight~ I haven’t run into trouble myself, it’s just that I feel the recent commissions have been a bit unusual, but the guild leadership doesn't seem to be giving it enough attention. I was just discussing this with the director, but it was rejected again.” Nicola sighed, her expression somewhat helpless.
“Unusual? In what way? Do you mind telling me about it?” Hearing this, Starlight blinked and asked curiously.
“Well... there’s no harm in telling you, though it probably doesn't have much to do with you guys...” Nicola set down the documents in her hands and began to explain in detail.
After her explanation, Starlight gained a general understanding of what she meant by 'unusual.'
Normally, aside from seasonal commissions that fluctuate with the calendar, the number of other types of commissions should remain relatively stable.
However, starting from last month, the number of missing person reports and search requests registered in the guild had suddenly spiked. As of today, there were as many as several hundred related commissions recorded.
It wasn't just commoners; even the names of certain adventurers had appeared among them, which gave Nicola a faint sense that something was wrong.
But as the headquarters for adventurers, the Violet City-State saw a massive flow of people at all times. Combined with a total population measured in the tens of millions, missing person commissions were exceptionally difficult to fulfill.
Another practical issue was that the pay for these commissions was not high. Most adventurers were unwilling to take on such labor-intensive and unrewarding tasks, only treating them as something to keep an eye out for in their spare time.
This meant that even if the guild’s higher-ups knew about the situation and understood the underlying issues, they couldn't find a reasonable solution. After multiple rounds of discussion, the matter was simply left unresolved.
“Missing persons? I think I have a general idea of what’s going on. I’ll keep an eye out as well. If I can help, that would be best.”
After understanding the situation, Starlight nodded to Nicola, indicating that while he wouldn't specifically go looking for people, he could help keep a lookout during his adventures.
At that moment, Po Kong also happened to put down the materials in his hand and walked over to join their conversation, catching the last part of their dialogue.
“Speaking of missing persons, didn't that scar-faced man yesterday mention that Moen and her sister were looking for someone? Could it be that their companions have gone missing?” Po Kong said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Eh? Now that you mention it, that’s actually quite possible! Po Kong, why are you suddenly so sharp today? If Noah were here, he might actually praise you!” Starlight looked at Po Kong in surprise, finding his insight quite impressive.
“Ahem! I’ve always been sharp, okay? I just don't usually feel like using my brain too much. Besides, with someone as smart as you around, it’s normal for me to slack off occasionally.” Po Kong chuckled easily, not forgetting to give Starlight a flattering compliment.
“Alright then~ Should we ask Miss Nicola for the details on the missing person commissions now?” Starlight suggested.
“Sure, let’s do that!”
Thus, the two immediately requested the missing person records from the past month from Nicola. They then buried themselves in those hundreds of documents, beginning a careful search for clues.
During their study, Starlight finally understood why almost no one was willing to take these commissions.
Compared to the simplest tasks like clearing beasts or gathering materials, the difficulty of finding a person was not low at all, yet ordinary families could not afford high commissions.
Sometimes, you might spend over ten days to find one person only to receive one or two gold coins as a reward. For most adventurers, this was clearly unacceptable.
Po Kong shook his head as he flipped through the files. He hadn't realized until he saw the details that so many disappearances had occurred in just one month.
And this was only the part that had been officially recorded. If they counted the homeless and vagrants that no one cared about, the number would likely be even larger.
It wasn't until nearly noon that the two finished reading through all several hundred commissions.
Gazing at the blazing sun high outside the window, Starlight couldn't help but sigh. They had overestimated their own efficiency. Despite their best efforts to search, they hadn't found any specific connection in the data.
But Po Kong still wouldn't give up. Before leaving, he specifically asked Nicola for a copy, intending to take it back for further study. Then, the two left the guild hall together.
After a quick lunch on the street, the two hurried back to their residence and resumed the process of going through the materials.
It had to be said that compared to this tedious work, Starlight much preferred reading and meditation. Halfway through the reading, he already felt a wave of drowsiness hitting him.
In contrast, Noah, who was beside them, spoke up for once, indicating that he could also help.
Thus, a strange scene appeared in the room: a tall, blond man sat at the table with a book in hand, constantly flipping through documents and occasionally recording key information.
Starlight, meanwhile, went outside alone to get some fresh air and planned to buy some ingredients while he was at it.
Having learned about the anomaly regarding the missing persons, Starlight specifically observed the homeless people gathered at the alley entrances on his way to the market.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the number of homeless people seemed significantly lower than usual.
As he planned to walk closer for a better look, a patrolling soldier happened to pass by, blowing a whistle to drive those few homeless people back into the alley.
Walking nearby, Starlight saw the homeless people filing into a sewer entrance at the end of the alley, disappearing into that opening.
Filled with curiosity, Starlight hurried forward to ask the soldier about the situation.
“Officer, please wait a moment! I’d like to ask about the situation with those homeless people?”
The soldier turned back to look at him. He was initially a bit impatient, but after glimpsing the blue adventurer badge on Starlight’s chest, his attitude improved considerably. He patiently began to talk with him.
“You don't need to call me officer~ I’m just an ordinary patrol sergeant. Do you want to know why those homeless people are here?”
“Indeed. I noticed this problem when I first arrived in Violet City. If this were the outer city, I could understand, but doesn't the inner city require inspections? How exactly did they sneak in?” Starlight asked the soldier humbly.
Seeing Starlight’s humble and inquisitive attitude, the soldier began to talk at length.
The Violet City-State had undergone two large-scale reconstructions in its history. But in fact, each reconstruction didn't involve completely demolishing the ruined old city. Instead, a large portion of the original streets and facilities were converted into a sewer system.
Because of the assistance of magic, completing this project wasn't particularly difficult. The problem was that after several more wars, the original construction blueprints were mostly lost.
Those intricate waterways twisted and turned, forming a massive underground road network. Combined with the filth accumulated over the years and scavengers that had mutated due to residual Demon power, most people never realized that a space as vast as the surface was hidden beneath the Violet City-State.
But for those who were homeless, this underground space undoubtedly provided an excellent hiding place. Although the underground held certain dangers and the comfort was poor, it was much better than being exposed to the elements on the surface.
Over time, those homeless people gradually mastered how to use these sewers to evade the soldiers' pursuit. It wasn't a difficult task to bypass the inspections for entering the inner city.
In fact, the City Lord's Mansion should have organized people to solve this problem long ago, but the official garrison of the Violet City-State was small. Just maintaining order in the city districts and dealing with small-scale battles in the surrounding areas already kept them busy.
Meanwhile, several other related organizations intentionally chose not to interfere with matters concerning the sewers. Because many shady transactions existed, the sewers, where ordinary people were unwilling to go, were undoubtedly the best location.
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