After getting rich breakfast, Baston then accompanied Luke to stroll around the city. The fat boy didn't know what the next plan, but considering Luke's uncle had more wealth and influence than Luke himself, they
should not underestimate this matter. Because of that, Baston replaced himself
with the puppet so he would have a freedom to lurk around the city. While the fake him would walk together with Luke, he himself would take another path to see what kind of information he could get here.
"Let's go…" Luke started.
"Alright…" Baston replied expressionlessly.
Luke sensed something strange about Baston but he couldn't picture what was the difference. The only thing he could see was this Baston in front of him was quieter than yesterday. But since the fat boy was also like
this at the academy, he didn't think it thoroughly and just went outside. Beside the inn, the real Baston stared at Luke and the puppet from the alley before going to other way.
Actually, Baston hurriedly excused himself and told Luke that he needed go to the bathroom first after eating the breakfast. Luke surely wouldn't suspect anything since perhaps the fat boy's stomach was upset after taking expensive food. Unbeknownst to him, Baston quietly summoned his puppets
before hiding himself inside the book. One transformed into Baston and the other one transformed into another man. The fake one slowly went to Luke while the other man went out and watched the inn from the nearby alley.
At this time, he could sense the movement of his puppet well. Unlike the first one, he felt the puppet wasn't rigid anymore. If he
released more puppets into society, people might not find out whether the one they were having conversation was actually a puppet. The puppets he had already became smarter. It seemed the intelligence of the puppets could develop which the simple reply of words wasn't a trouble anymore. However, if someone asked for complicated matter, the puppet would surely fall into silence by then.
Baston knew the puppets were not perfect, so as long as they could handle simple interactions, it was alright by him. He then focused on his path and quickly went to the information guild. In this era, this big guild was very famous in the kingdom. When he stayed at Alicia's house, he happened to
encounter this kind of information from the library. As far as he could remember, there was not any book stating about this guild at Prius Academy. For sure, it was limited for poor person like him so he only found about it at another place.
Still, he knew why the information about the guild was never stated for poor person like him because just telling them about the request cost 1,000 pounds. Because of this, there was no need for poor and commoner to
know about this information. It was better to learn anything else rather than minding other matters. Taking a deep breath, the puppet in disguise entered and went into vacant area where the receptionist was already waiting for the business.
"Good morning, Sir. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I'm looking for information regarding this person…" the man handed a paper with a name of Luke's uncle.
"Do you just want general or recent one?"
"The recent one…"
"Alright. We will take your request, but first, you have to pay 1,000 pounds as the guarantee. Otherwise, we won't forward it to our people."
"Here is the money…"
The man paid by the cash directly which made the receptionist baffled. It was rare for any person to pay not by the card in these days. The receptionist giggled because the man seemed an amateur when dealing with the information guild. She felt bad taking the money easily, so she decided to explain about the usual transaction.
Looking at the expressionless man but with timid attitude, the receptionist thought he was just a servant of nobles. Either his lord
didn't tell him clearly or just wanted to harass him, she didn't know but to ensure the next transaction could be processed quickly, it was better to inform him. The fee of 1,000 pounds was just a front one, so when the job was finished, the man needed to pay the rest. As for the possibility someone wouldn't pay, it was better to think about it since the guild had many people with backings.
"You better get a Luminos card for the next payment because it's really troublesome if you choose to pay with cash. I won't have a time to count on it."
"Luminos card? What is that?"
"It's the same like a bank card, but the premise is, Luminos card can only be used at Luminos city. You might think since there's no difference, isn't it better to just use bank card? It looks the same but by using Luminos card, your identity will stay anonymous. If you use your bank card, people might know your identity and someone can use it to track you."
"I see… Where is the place to apply for it?"
"At the trading building. It's not far from here…"
"Thank you very much," the man bowed down, "By the way, how much I need to prepare for the rest of the payment?"
"Just bring about 50,000 pounds with you at tomorrow noon. The cost will range between that numbers, more or less. By the way, didn't your lord never tell you about Luminos card?"
"This… how do you know that I'm not the one who make the payment?"
"Just by your clothes, I'm pretty sure you don't have that much money. Anyway, if your lord wants to bully you, please don't make any trouble for us. If you plan to pay by cash, I will reject it."
The man looked embarrassed, making the woman proud of her hunch. She had been working in this place for many years so she could point it out who was the rich one and who was not. The man acted like a newbie which already told her this was the first time he visited the guild. Before he went back, the receptionist gave a sign to collect the money so the man quickly reached into his pocket for another 10 pounds. It was just a small tip and the woman just took it before another customer came in front of her. The receptionist gave a professional smile in no time which the man shook his head.
Back at nearby alley, the man suddenly transformed into someone else. Right at the moment, he looked like a fat wealthy man. The clothes he used looked expensive, different from the simple man before. There
was another place he wanted to visit, so he changed his disguise to make sure no one could track him. He came out from the alley and strolled around. In the meantime, he thought back what happened before at the information guild. As long as it was inside Luminos city, there was really nothing free. Even just asking for general information cost him money.
Thankfully, even Baston was a poor person, he had a stash of money inside the old book. From selling his accidental invention and auctioning the ice bead, he got about 600,000 pounds. This amount of money was big and no one would bring it out by cash for sure. He should put it inside the bank, but
since he was afraid the money would soon be deducted to pay his debt, he decided to always keep it inside the old book. It was really a hassle to use cash, not to mention if the amount was big. Fortunately, the receptionist gave him an important information regarding Luminos card. Although it could only be used in this city, it was better than nothing.
Baston hurriedly moved the puppet as the fat adult man to go to the trading building. Unlike the guild information, the place was packed with people. Since Luminos city cost much money to stay, people were eager to
do the transaction as soon as possible before they went out happily. The staffs here also were thrice much more than the information guild since it was very popular. They looked more professional and kept handling the money in short time before a special card was handed over to them. Since people here gave the money to apply for Luminos card, the staffs around surely were excited because it meant everyone here needed to spend the money here. It couldn't be transferred back so either people paid for the service here or the money would be buried quietly in Luminos card.
"Welcome, Sir. What I can do for you?" the staff greeted Baston.
"I want to transfer my money to Luminos card. The exact numbers are 300,000 pounds."
"It's really a good number, Sir…" the staff smiled before proceeding into the transaction, "Let me quickly put the number into the new card before you can use it."
"Alright. Here's the money…"
Baston lifted a big briefcase full of money inside. The staff glimmered for a few seconds before he came back to normal. He didn't dare to covet it since the punishment was very harsh. The commission was already good enough so there was no need to implicate yourself. After tapping a few
buttons on the instrument, a fresh new Luminos card was handed to Baston while
another staff took the money. Unlike the information guild, the staffs here could check whether the amount of money was right or not by using magic. They were not stingy to show their capabilities. Baston also nodded happily since the process was fast and the treatment that he got was quite good. The fat man then went out and looked at the card.
It had a color of silver and there were many magic circuits inside to make sure the amount was right plus the calculation when doing the payment would be quickly counted accurately. Baston took a deep breath because he just spent 300,000 pounds on this simple card. There were another 300,000 pounds inside the old book and he would keep it for now. Thankfully, he didn't
live extravagant with these money since the food was always free inside the academy. There would be someone kind enough to pay and deliver it to him.
At first, he thought he needed to spend a lot of money because since Levan was killed by him, he must take over the company and had to calculate every expense. However, since the supplier himself took most part of the money, there was a surplus so Baston didn't need to send his own money as the capital. Levan had already embezzled much for his greed so all the money would be then given back to the workers. Even though so, the fat boy couldn't just spread the truth and must act as the good Levan before the man could
disappear slowly from the company.
Anyway, with the money secured on Luminos card, Baston could proceed with the plan. He believed the quest would not be easy even though Luke's uncle seemingly predictable. Afraid of being trapped by the enemy, he needed to find other options to ensure the completion of the quest. Before
today, he discussed about everything he should know in Luminos city for much longer before he slept. Although he couldn't have the complete information regarding the whole city, it was better than nothing.
Right at the moment, Baston controlled the puppet disguised as fat man to certain area. In the bustling atmosphere around, many people tried to invite him to their shops since he looked rich just by his clothes. Surely, the first impression must be done by the outfit first. As for the appearance, the hideous face could even win here if money was the priority. There was no need to make the fat man looked handsome so Baston just picked the most ordinary one. He stopped at one of many small buildings around. Looking
left and right, the business was booming but only this store that had less customers. Still, he chose this one because Luke told something important regarding the place.
"I don't know if it would be expensive or not, but since I'm already here, let's enter first…" Baston thought.