I Have a Task Log

Chapter 250: Chapter 249: A Long War of Attrition

"There used to be a dragon here, you know? Back then, that Green Dragon would sell Dragon Heads for a high price. Only fishing boats with a Dragon Head statue on the bow were safe from being capsized. The dragon’s dead, but we keep the tradition. It feels like the decoration brings in a better catch."

The fisherman continued, "It’s a lot like the fishing permits in Three Bays City now. As long as you have that stupid piece of paper, the Water Police Team won’t come bother you."

"Is that so?" Colin said.

The fisherman fell silent again and said no more.

The ale in his cup was running low.

Just as Colin was wracking his brain for another topic, the other man spoke up again. freewebnøvel.com

"Listen, you’d best not get involved in this... Ah, forget it. If you really want to see what happened to your brother, then go check out Herring Alley. Just don’t say you heard it from me." The fisherman quickly finished the last of his drink, ran to return the cup, then picked up his fish basket and left without a backward glance.

"I haven’t given you anything yet." Colin didn’t dare shout, so he could only mutter at the man’s retreating back.

The fisherman didn’t reply, his stooped figure quickly disappearing into the fog.

Colin silently put away the money he had prepared.

He glanced again at the men on the docks who looked like gang members.

When he was sure they hadn’t noticed him, Colin downed the rest of his beer in a few gulps, hurried into the shadows, and returned to his companions.

"How did it go?"

"I got some information," Colin said helplessly. "Let’s check the streets next. From here on, we’ll have to rely on Orelia’s senses."

Yuri spoke up abruptly, "You’ve spent time in the slums before, haven’t you."

"Yes."

"Hmph. Nine times out of ten, a Wild Mage from the slums dies in some shitty place. But the ones who make it out alive are pretty damn good." Yuri crossed his arms, offering some ambiguous praise.

"So what do we do next?" Orelia asked.

"We go street by street, tavern by tavern, looking for information."

Ale frowned and asked, "The same way you just did?"

"Yes, it’s the only way."

Yuri continued, "The Water Police Team here doesn’t handle cases of missing vagrants. They don’t even keep records of them. So, the support we can get in this city is very limited. We have no choice but to go street by street, gang by gang. There’s no other way."

Colin sighed.

Although the answer was more or less what he had expected, hearing that they really had to check one by one was still frustrating.

After that, the group dutifully followed Yuri’s lead, winding their way through the city’s streets and alleys.

Yuri also became a little more talkative.

At least he wasn’t a complete ghost like before.

Because there were many refugees who had migrated here, their group didn’t stand out much after putting on their disguises.

The group also held off on checking Black Cat Alley or Herring Alley for the time being, to avoid alerting the gang members prematurely.

It was also worth noting that Yuri had spoken with several people in the city. Among them were merchants, fishermen, and even a talking fish.

These people appeared to be informants that Five-Stringed or some other organization had placed in the city.

And so, the party meticulously combed the streets and gathered intelligence.

They didn’t return to the cellar until just before dinner.

As soon as they entered the cellar, they saw Kase sitting at the table.

The Half-Orc was clutching his Longbow and Battle Axe, looking tense, as if he were ready to fight for his life against any monster that might burst in at any moment.

Seeing the group approach, he immediately asked, "What’s the situation?"

"It’s a messy one," Colin said as he sat down. "Orelia can indeed find places that have a ’sulfur smell,’ but it’s hard to pinpoint their exact locations. The only thing we can be sure of is that there are definitely Evil Demons here."

Kase scratched his head, looking a bit lost.

"In other words, we’ll probably have to search street by street and question gang by gang. It’ll likely take a long time to lock down the target." freēwebnovel.com

"What a pain."

After saying that, Kase frowned and asked, "So you’re saying we’ll be doing pretty much the same thing as today for the next few days?"

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Yuri retorted.

Kase glanced at Colin, and when he saw Colin had no intention of speaking, he just shook his head.

"Devil Cultists are ten times more cunning than you can imagine, and we have to be ten times more cunning than them to have any chance of catching those bastards," Yuri said. "Remember this: there are no shortcuts on a mission like this."

The room fell silent.

Afterward, the group didn’t bother finding a tavern to stay in, opting to live directly in the cellar.

Although the conditions in the cellar weren’t great, and it was a bit damp, it was fully equipped with rooms like a bathroom, kitchen, and bedrooms. The place was more than large enough to house four Adventurer parties.

After eating and showering, Colin lay silently on his bed and closed his eyes.

He had a faint feeling that the next few days were not going to be easy.

「Two weeks later.」

Colin pushed open the wooden door once again and walked into the room with the other two.

Kase, who was sitting at the table, said, "You’re back again?"

On the table were some grilled fish, fish soup, and some warmed bread. The Half-Orc had been spending his idle time catching fish or hunting a couple of rabbits to grill for his teammates’ dinner.

"It was alright. The haul from the past two days was decent." Colin took off his damp Cloak and tossed it aside.

This city was too damp. His clothes reeked of mildew, and wearing them was torture. On top of that, because they had to maintain their disguises, he couldn’t even ask Ale to clean them.

The other two also pulled off their Cloaks, straightened them out, and hung them nearby.

Over the past few days, the two young girls had shown impressive resilience.

Even when Colin himself felt miserable, they hadn’t uttered a single complaint.

Kase asked, "So when do we get to fight? I’m itching for a fight."

"We’ve narrowed the target down to the last few city blocks. It’ll probably be in the next day or two," Colin said.

"This whole thing is such a pain in the ass. It’s bullshit." Kase propped his chin on his hand, looking listless. "I feel like I’m gonna get sick just sitting around in this place. It’s even more boring than being on a boat."

Seeing someone finally start complaining, Colin chimed in, "We’re actually the lucky ones. That Paladin completed more reconnaissance missions than the three of us combined. If it were just our little squad that came, it probably would’ve taken us a whole month."

"This is way more tiring than hunting bears," Kase said.

Colin sighed and went with the others to wash his hands with the purified water in the corner of the room.

They hadn’t gone out to buy any supplies during this time. All their food was taken care of by Yuri using the Tier Three spell, [Create Food and Water]. This was the only way to ensure there was no possibility of being exposed.

After cleaning himself up, Colin sat down at the table.