As soon as he chased out of the shop, Laine was called by a young knight: "Hello! Lord Laine, we meet again!"

"Hello, Mr. Mathew Bade," Laine looked up, and there was no black carriage in sight. In contrast, he was stopped by a young knight he knew before: "Is Lord Laine here for shopping too?"

"Ah, yes, I'm here shopping with Surya and the others." Amid the crowd, Laine couldn't locate the black carriage. The Holy Grail Knight thought he might have been overthinking it, so he spoke a few more words with Mathew Bade: "Mr. Mathew Bade, why are you carrying a large bouquet of roses?"

"Oh, well, Lord Laine, how should I say this, even though I'm an unmarried knight, I surely hope to find my true love." Mathew Bade seemed regretful, but his expression was rather cheerful: "And my target is Marchioness Surya!"

"Hehe~" Laine smiled without commenting further.

"Of course, I understand, since Marchioness Surya is your companion, I naturally understand," Mathew Bade quickly added: "So we'll compete fairly, and I'm also looking at what other options there might be."

"...Well, I wish you find someone you like. I have something to attend to, so I shall take my leave first." Laine didn't want to say much more to him, despite Mathew Bade's friendly demeanor. Soon, Laine spotted another familiar figure, the Demon Hunter Abel.

Watching Laine walk away, a flicker appeared in Mathew Bade's eyes.

The young knight hadn't lied; he indeed came with the intention of approaching Marchioness Surya, but upon seeing Laine, he realized achieving his original target would be rather difficult.

For regular circumstances, Mathew Bade might seem favorable, but in front of Laine, he really had no edge, except perhaps for being more handsome.

Alright, it's time to find the next target.

Mathew Bade quickly found an interesting target, a girl guarded by many clan knights, with her hands on her hips, sporting beautiful golden short hair. Even in such cold weather, she was wearing aristocratic attire in red and blue hues, and a knee-length skirt. She stood with hands on her hips, her face full of arrogance and pride, as she directed her clan knights to trouble a merchant.

He remembered her name was Fiona, the granddaughter of Duke Theodoric of Borelion.

Borelion Duchy, hmm? Interesting.

......

"Mr. Abel, have you found the witch named Jelena?" Walking on the heavy stone slab-covered street, Laine asked the white-haired Demon Hunter Abel.

In the city of Bodlukes, with its mixed populace and free trade, merchants from the north and mercenaries from the Southern Realm, elves, and dwarves can all conduct business here. This made the city's resistance to outsiders less pronounced, and the Demon Hunter did not face obvious discrimination here.

"Actually, I arrived at Bodlukes by ship, but I didn't have the energy to thoroughly search for Jelena's whereabouts at the time." Abel's voice carried a hint of helplessness; knowing the Holy Grail Knight in front of him was quite approachable, his tone became somewhat relaxed: "But when a witch doesn't want to be found, finding her becomes very difficult. Most witches are skilled at disguising themselves, and they're often adept at using arrays to prevent unwelcome guests from visiting their homes."

Laine thought to himself, is that so?

It seemed quite different from the situation he encountered. Laine remembered that after meeting Veronica, he would sometimes visit Celestial Vault Castle to find her, and it was always easy for him to enter her room.

Then, she would kiss him, and as they embraced, things would escalate... Laine briefly thought about various scenes, coughed once, and continued to ask, "So what's the way to find her?"

"Hmm~ witches typically enjoy crafting potions, jewelry, and various trinkets, many people fancy these things, which could be a clue for investigation. Furthermore, they usually collaborate with alchemists in the city as well as apothecaries, but getting them to disclose a witch's whereabouts is extremely difficult. Besides that... there's another way, which is leaving marks. Some wizards would reach out if they see the marks; however, the wizards here in Boldro are numerous. I met three, and none were who I was looking for, then I received a task from Lord Bodrick to deliver a letter," Abel continued.

"Hmm, tomorrow is Lord Bodrick's banquet. Mr. Abel, you won't be attending the banquet in your current attire, right?" Laine thought it would indeed be hard to find a witch if she decided to evade people, and dwelling on this topic seemed meaningless, so he changed the subject.

The Demon Hunter was in a snug outfit, wearing scale armor, with two longswords strapped to his back.

"Uh, I do have an outfit for attending the banquet, rest assured, Lord Laine, though it's been a while since I've worn it," Abel said with a helpless expression: "I don't particularly like wearing such tight-fitting clothes."

"But you must wear appropriate and fitting attire for the banquet." Laine's tone was firm: "Otherwise, you'll be dragged out by Lord Bodrick's attendants, and I won't be able to help you."

"I understand, my Baron." Abel replied: "It might not be perfect, but it will certainly meet the banquet's requirements."

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