To be fair, Ronald thought the idea of accepting Anthony as a companion was rather hasty.

Neither side knew the other's background.

It was simply because of a chance encounter that they embarked on such a dangerous journey together.

Especially since the starting point of the matter was Ronald's plan to gather intelligence, which was why he sought out someone as strong as Anthony.

But over the next few days, things gradually changed.

Under Ronald's constant surveillance, Anthony showed no hostility in either his thoughts or actions. When discussing concepts, his attitude was completely consistent with their actions.

Until they arrived at the next city.

As agreed beforehand, Anthony took charge of negotiations, effortlessly handling the identification issues without any secret transmissions.

At this point, Ronald finally began to change his attitude.

And the decisive factor was the influence of the environment they were in.

While traveling through the territory of the [Nine Commandments Secret Meeting], regardless of the city or town size. Ronald found that in places inhabited by humans, the closer to the capital, the more the ordinary people's situation was ignored.

With such a mindset, no one would ever say—'Someone willing to risk exposing secrets to save an innocent life would never do such a thing!'

That night, the three of them checked into an inn to rest.

With Ronald and Costate's stamina, such news was certainly unnecessary.

But considering Anthony's age.

Ronald decided to slightly slow down, at least not to let this elder suffer too much from the travel.

Before resting, the three sat together discussing, and Ronald asked first:

"At the current speed, how long until we reach the capital of [Nine Commandments Secret Meeting]?"

Anthony confidently replied:

"If the speed doesn't change, we'll reach the capital in five days."

Costate was most sensitive to numbers. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

As soon as Anthony spoke, Costate, remembering a piece of data, said directly:

"In that case, we'll arrive just a few days ahead of those merchants."

Ronald knew what Costate meant.

That was the group of merchants they first traveled with after entering the [Nine Commandments Secret Meeting]. But they discussed many things together, naturally not missing details about the journey and time.

Just that the information gathered at the time slightly contradicted the current reality.

After all, while traveling in the wilderness, Ronald and his companions often used the Flying Spell.

There was no reason their speed would only slightly outpace a merchant's pace.

Ronald and Costate's eyes turned to Anthony.

Since, after the meeting, the journey was led by this elderly Caster, the issue naturally arose from him.

Faced with doubts, Anthony remained unflustered, even taking a moment to sip water and clear his throat.

"It's precisely because we're fast that I planned this route."

"To be honest, not everyone on this land supports the [Nine Commandments Secret Meeting]'s policies. In private meetings among us local elders, some have expressed rather negative sentiments."

Anthony intended to seek help from others.

Ronald understood Anthony's idea. This kind of action, leveraging personal connections for advantage, was often quite effective. So Ronald continued to ask:

"Anthony, are such people along this route?"

The elderly Caster nodded, feeling somewhat proud:

"Not on this route, but in the city we're staying in!"

"It's just a bit late now."

"To ensure everything goes smoothly, it's best if we only deliver a letter of introduction now and visit formally tomorrow."

The discussion ended, and Anthony wrote an introduction letter on the spot, handing it to the inn's front desk for delivery.

Ronald activated a spell to sense the actions downstairs.

Perhaps because their inn was quite luxurious, the staff was diligent. It took just a little over a quarter of an hour for someone to leave with the letter after Anthony handed it over.

With the discussion and tasks done, it was naturally time to rest.

Surprisingly, after just lying down for an hour, they heard carriage noises from the street outside.

Then someone disembarked, walking straight into the inn towards their rented room.

"..."

In the dark room, Ronald and his companions quietly got up.

They knew they were engaged in a dangerous mission, so naturally, they couldn't sleep like the dead. As soon as the carriage people entered the inn, they uniformly reacted.

Soon, a knock came at the door.

Knock knock knock—

"Mr. Anthony?"

"I'm Joey. You haven't gone to bed yet, have you?"

Hearing this voice, Anthony first heaved a sigh of relief, "This is my friend's butler." He explained, and then the elderly Caster went to open the door.

Behind, Costate took the opportunity to light the oil lamp.

Ronald moved to the side of the room to avoid being immediately noticed by the visitor.

Click—

The door opened, revealing a man dressed as a butler, who immediately bowed and apologized:

"Mr. Anthony, I apologize for visiting so late at night."

"Hahaha." Anthony naturally didn't mind, "What of it? I'm not so old that I'm afraid of being disturbed from sleep!"

"Joey, it's unusual for you to visit me this late."

"Your master must have instructed you, right?"

As they spoke, Anthony welcomed the butler inside and introduced Costate as his apprentice.

In contrast, the butler dared not sit down.

He stood before Anthony, speaking with respect:

"Your wisdom impresses me."

"I came this late because my master hopes you can visit the academy tomorrow morning; those people from the east have organized another academic inquiry, and it doesn't seem to be with good intentions."

"Academic inquiry." Hearing this term, Anthony immediately frowned, "Starting tomorrow morning, at the academy?"

Joey promptly replied:

"Eight in the morning, with no other location specified."

After answering, the butler added:

"Lord Anthony, this sudden inquiry is very peculiar, and my master is quite anxious. If you hadn't happened to appear, even sending messages for assistance wouldn't have brought anyone in time to help."

"I understand." Anthony nodded, "Since it's a critical situation, you should hurry back. Tell your master I'll be there on time tomorrow, come rain or shine."

"Thank you for your acceptance." Joey bowed deeply and left in a hurry.

Once the door closed and the carriage departed.

Ronald silently emerged from the shadows:

"Based on the butler's behavior, it seems the situation is indeed urgent?"

Anthony admitted with a bitter smile:

"It certainly is tense."

"Because those engaging in these academic inquiries are [Nine Commandments Secret Meeting] supporters in the area."