For Ronald, the last leg of the journey on the train was quite boring.
The dinner organized by Raleye was of a social nature, and Ronald was not the type to boast about his abilities.
He finished the meal perfunctorily.
It was on the fourth hour after nightfall that day when they finally arrived at their destination station—North Quik—after several days on the train.
If the information received earlier was correct, Ronald's group needed to stay in this city for two days before they could catch the train to the capital of Entrode.
This was the actual condition of Entrode.
Unlike Gried, many things in this country needed reviving, but the facilities that were given priority to be established were mostly related to the military police—just like Albert-1377's soldiers, who had boarded the train and left North Quik the first dawn after their arrival.
And Ronald and his companions...
Although they traveled with Raleye, they did not make a special request to board his train nor did Raleye use his privileges. In this situation, they could only honestly wait for the civilian train two days later.
So, during the first afternoon of waiting,
Caster took the initiative to invite Ronald, who was sitting by the fire on the first floor of the inn.
"Ronald, shall we go for a walk?"
"Raleye has disappeared since he got here, we can't just honestly stay here for two days, right?"
Ronald glanced at the Magician.
"If we're waiting for the train, we'll just honestly wait for the train. There really isn't much interesting around here."
This answer was based on reality.
Already upon entering North Quik by train, Ronald had learned about the current condition of the city. North Quik was divided into two parts; the northern area was where the original city's residents had been living for the past century, with old stone-brick structures occupying this entire part of the town.
In the south, it was a completely new district established after the country's coup to strengthen control over this border city, aiming to build a more comprehensive national transportation network.
Indeed, there wouldn't be anything of interest.
However, Caster and Ronald clearly had different views. Hearing such a response, the girl pressed her body closer and whispered in his ear:
"According to what I know, North Quik has some really fun things. Come walk with me, it's so boring by myself."
Ronald furrowed his brows.
He didn't care about Caster's attitude towards him.
But letting her go out alone—even with Raleye and this guy's agreement—it still wasn't a good assurance that Caster wouldn't stir up trouble.
For the sake of Bapulor and Raleye.
He might as well make the trip.
"Costate, you stay here at the inn."
"If Raleye comes looking for something later, notify me immediately."
The maid responded as calmly as ever:
Seeing Ronald's attitude, Caster immediately stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ronald, and the two of them quickly walked out of the inn.
North Quik had just experienced snowfall in the past few days.
The city was filled everywhere with unattended snow.
The inn where Ronald's group was staying was near the station, and just stepping out and taking a casual look, one could tell the poor sanitation standards of this city.
Due to the lack of excellent municipal construction, much of the domestic wastewater took on the main task of melting the snow. People coming and going left countless dark footprints in the snow.
Everything in front of them.
Made the city seem very unclean.
After walking down a street, Ronald naturally frowned and said:
"Caster, is this what you wanted to see?"
Xie Sita didn't care about the environment here at all.
Or rather, having lived around the world, the cult girl was unimpressed by such sanitary conditions.
Maintaining her smile, she whispered to Ronald,
"Ronald, let me tell you a secret."
"In Entrod, there's a force ready to overthrow the current government. North Quik is actually their main area of activity."
He couldn't care less about the argument for overthrowing the government.
But to have Xie Sita divulge such critical information so casually?
Ronald didn't know how to respond to Xie Sita.
The cult girl didn't mind, she just continued on her own,
"I'm planning to attend a resistance meeting held today."
"How about it? Isn't it a surprise!"
Ronald replied with a taut face,
"It is... it is somewhat surprising."
"But have you thought it through? If R'lyeh finds out, how do you plan to explain it?"
"What's there to explain?" Xie Sita's tone carried no burden, "It's just a resistance formed by ordinary people. Without any help from the mystical side, it's completely amateurish."
"Just here to see a farce. R'lyeh wouldn't care about this, right?"
Ronald took a few seconds, then fully grasped Xie Sita's thinking.
For a mystical side cult magician, this seemed indeed to be no problem; such was the reality of this world.
If one talked about Gried, where commoners and casters, along with the queen, had established a balance, and where technological advances brought rapid developments,
Then in other regions,
Even if previous information had to be kept secret,
Those with magical abilities could definitely maintain an overwhelming advantage over ordinary people — that was the reality of this world. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝘯𝘦𝘵
"All right, let's go take a look."
So chatting back and forth, Ronald and Xie Sita left the newly established southern district and arrived at the ancient northern district, where an ancient and obsolete smell met them.
The houses, built of stone bricks, were large yet seemed ethereal, and after being covered in snow, they felt even more secluded. Only at some places where the wood-framed windows got stuck in the building gaps could one see traces of people's lives.
The cold weather, remote location, and this kind of architecture...
Considering all these factors,
This was indeed a very suitable place for concealed activities.
If ordinary people chose to plot an event or organize an action, the environment of North Quik's old city ensured safety in most scenarios as long as someone kept watch from the rooftop.
In such an environment,
Xie Sita led Ronald forward without a second of hesitation,
As if to her, North Quik was as familiar as her own hometown.
In just a little over a quarter of an hour,
The two had delved deep into this maze of stone-brick buildings.
At that moment, Xie Sita's lead came to a stop.
A man in worn cotton clothes then immediately emerged from around the corner.
Pointing at a large stone house, with wildly fervent eyes, he said to Xie Sita,
"Miss, it's right there—"