1175  Trusting a Degenerate

As the forces of change gathered in Kera, with fiery eyes staring at the capital, Oriole was panic-stricken after Reece revealed the secret. If the rulers manage to summon a G.o.d, then there will not be hope for Arthur to save Emma Agard, his friend from their days in Jerano.

Since things came to this point, Oriole decided that he must act now. This is the moment that he has been waiting for, where he would be Arthur"s aid behind enemies" lines.

In his time with Mistletoe, Oriole did not become a hostage. He became a dependable member of the team, although Sier still treated him with suspicion. However, there was a bigger reason behind Oriole joining the seer.

Gala told him what happened in Alka after the two of them left the timeline. Paradise was founded through the memories of people that Oriole helped in his twelve years in the other world, but this was far from enough.

The witch told him that Kar also obtained the memories of the alternate timeline, and so did the elven guardian, Lyari. This caused a change of their plans, since their desire to incarnate the Horseman of Death has been sabotaged by Arthur making the impossible choice.

Throughout his journey in Mistletoe, Oriole made sure to gather their forces in Alka. In normal times, that would be impossible.

However, if he used Mistletoe"s knowledge to pinpoint convergence point necessary to transmit his letter, and then erase his memories after he succeeds, then it would be possible to fool the seer guardian.

Oriole always believed that his power was useless, but after awakening the spiritual control of his, he found that he unlocked the secrets of souls. The strongest powers require the finest control, and his microscopic telekinesis allowed him to achieve that.

The flames of his fireplace could not erase the loneliness he felt in this room. It has been months since he met someone who knows him. Throughout this time, he had to live behind masks and lies.

"Our meeting will be soon, it seems," said Oriole with a smile. "As he raised a sleeve to reveal a bracelet he had. It had the three letters, AOE, engraved on its metallic surface. These initials stood for Arthur, Oriole, and Ellen. Oriole and Ellen created this bracelet when Arthur won the Apprentices Runic Cup. At that time, it was lame. But now, it was his most precious possession.

After caressing the initials with his finger, Oriole"s expression hardened before he took his robes and wore it again. He has been looking for Emma Agard nonstop, but he could not waste time resting here. If he wanted to help Arthur, he needs to work harder.

Oriole took his usual seat in front of the mirror and raised his hands. Mana leaked out as they pa.s.sed through his soul, turning into microscopic needles. His eyes shone as he looked deep into his own eyes, and began altering his memories.

The process was not painful, but tedious. Oriole would use his spiritual energy to protect the neurons responsible for certain memories. He found them using his eyes, which he evolved using alchemy.

After an hour and half, Oriole was done. The memories were now replaced with others if Sier ever sneaked a peek into his mind. Oriole just wanted to make sure that Reece"s message would never reach the Omniscient Vessel.

After that, he made his way out of the house. Vihan was drunk and wasted at the guest room, not even noticing Oriole leaving the house. As he embarked on the restricted streets of Yalenia, he entered another endless search for the daughter of the Agard Family.

Oriole entered countless prisons, dungeons, towers, and even knight headquarters looking for the previous fiancé of the crown prince. Even though the two studied together in Jerano, Oriole never interacted with her, just heard stories from Arthur.

This made his mission almost impossible, but he left the mansion because he had a different idea this time. Instead of looking for the princess, he should look for the prince, and he would eventually lead him to her.

Oriole used his phone to enter the prince"s social media page. As always, he was posting countless photos per day. Today, he cleared a dungeon all by "himself" which made the fangirls go crazy for him.

Nicknames like the handsome devilish prince were thrown around, but Oriole could not see it. He would rate him a six in good lighting. Using his excellent navigation skills in this information era, Oriole found out that the prince posted that he would be challenging the Jailbreak Dungeon today.

A patrol of knights appeared from the alley ahead, making Oriole take a detour before heading to the dungeon. After many detours and evasions, Oriole found the dungeon which was heavily guarded with knights. No one was allowed to enter or leave the premises.

Oriole kept a safe distance, enough to monitor the situation. Lucky for him, it was a rainy night, making it impossible to see him through the darkness. His curly hair hated the rain, so Oriole raised his hood to shield himself.

At some point, Oriole doubted that he got the right address or if the prince was just bluffing. After all, it was dangerous to reveal his whereabouts given his status. It was even idiotic.

After half an hour of waiting, a group of awakeners left the dungeon under the knights" protection. Oriole realized that this was his target, since the knights accompanying him were enough to conquer the dungeon alone.

The prince took a luxurious car away from the dungeon, and Oriole followed from a distance. He knew that getting too close was dangerous, but he did not want to lose the prince. The car kept going for a few minutes before reaching a fancy hotel.

Oriole watched as the prince left the car, entered the hotel, and then left the hotel to enter the car. His movements made Oriole confused, and he did not give chase after the car. Instead, his instincts told him to wait at the hotel.

16:55

True enough, a group of people left the hotel in the rain. All of them wore fancy cloaks that hid their ident.i.ties while entering a dark alley that no soul would take. Oriole gave chase following his instincts.

The group was as slithery as a snake, making Oriole lose them several times before finding them. In the end, he saw them enter an old mansion in the red district of Yalenia, best known for its brothels.

"Caleb Yalen was always the womanizer," muttered Oriole with doubts. "I will roll these dices believing that you would be such a degenerate."

Oriole no longer had a reason to hide himself. He walked into the brothel with the confidence of shamelessness. As soon as he entered, perfumes and alcohol stung his nose, making him frown. A large woman was sitting at the front desk, smoking a pipe.

"Welcome here, dear customer," said the woman while puffing out her acidic smoke, and it smelled like cherries. "What do you prefer, men, women, or both?"

"Women," said Oriole as he placed a gold coin on the table. He wanted to chase after the prince and see for himself whether it was him. "Give me your finest woman."

"I"m afraid that my finest is already occupied at the moment," said the woman as she stared at the gold coin on her desk. "And this amount of gold is far from enough to satisfy her."

"Already occupied?" asked Oriole with raised brows, his instincts tingling again. "Even for this sum?"

Clink! Ching!

The coins clinked against each other in the bag that Oriole dropped, spilling on the table. Gold and more gold laid before the woman, making her drop the ashes in her pipe on the carpet. She stared wide-eyed at the gold before reaching toward it, but Oriole placed a hand between them.

"Is she available or not?" asked Oriole again, and the woman gulped. After licking her lips, she smirked at him and picked out a key from the wall behind her.

"Third room on the third floor. Wait there for a few minutes and she will be there."

"Good," said Oriole with a smile before taking the key and walking away. The woman hugged the gold and pulled it in an embrace, feeling like this was her lucky day. As for Oriole, he climbed the first step of the stairs before hiding behind its curtain.

As a man of fine taste, Oriole would never enter a brothel for pleasure. His aim was to lure out the prince, who should be the customer that occupied the finest of this establishment. As long as he interfered with his pleasure, the prince should come down to protest.

After a certain while, a veiled woman came to the stairs. She flinched when she saw Oriole standing there, but he quickly showed her the key he was given. Understanding that this was her customer, the woman calmed down.

"Wait for me there, beautiful," said Oriole with a smile as he placed the key in her red seductive lips. She bit the key and nodded before taking the stairs. As he watched her back figure ascend the stairs, even Oriole was tempted to follow.

"What is the meaning of this?!" shouted someone from the reception hall, making Oriole thrilled. The voice was familiar, and his instincts proved to be right!