Alec and Millie entered Gorao through the path Dario showed. Millie then showed the way to Old George’s shop. They considered going to Dario first to tell him about their theory, but Dario was probably out and about. He wasn’t the type to sit still and wait for things to happen, after all.

After a little bit, Alec and Millie hid in the shadows of the chimney on the rooftop opposite the road from Old George’s bakery. Millie stayed close to Alec to borrow some of his warmth.

It wasn’t like they were expecting to see Old George grab a kid and sell him to the next customer. They just wanted to investigate him a little, and they had nothing else to do while waiting for him to close up shop and go to sleep.

To their non-surprise, it didn’t take long for him to get a customer. The delicious smell of freshly baked bread spread through the streets like fog during an autumn morning. It filled the area and drew people in like iron nails to a magnet.

But paying customers weren’t the only ones drawn to it.

As soon as there was a small crowd inside his shop, a few ragged-looking kids with nothing but skin on their bones snuck inside and grabbed two buns each before darting out.

Old George saw their backs and rushed out.

“Goddamn thieves! Get back here or I’ll have the skin on your backs peeled off!” Old George then bent down and picked up a rock. He threw it at the slowest kid without hesitation, hitting his shoulder.

The kid dropped a bun but didn’t stop running and hurriedly stumbled forward until he regained his balance before Old George could think of trying to catch up. Before long, he darted around a corner and disappeared along with the rest of his crew.

“What do you think?” Millie asked Alec.

“Their technique needs work. They start running to quickly. If they had been more calm, Old George wouldn’t have noticed them until the bell on his door chimed.”

“And…?”

“Old George carries a fat grudge. If I wanted to kidnap orphans with the help of a local, he’d be the first I would ask.”

“Should we tell Dario?”

“Yeah. I’ll stay here and wait until he closes. Do you know when that usually is?”

“Noon or thereabouts.”

“Good. I’m going to break in and look around. He slips on the second floor, right?”

“Probably?”

“Ask Dario to send a lookout and someone good at finding secrets.”

“I can be the lookout.”

“I would rather not put you in danger, but…”

“I don’t need coddling.”

“Alright.”

Several hours later, Alec was starting to get as stiff as the chimney he was leaning on, but Old George was finally closing up, so he stood up and slowly extended his limbs until they regained mobility.

Right on time, Millie returned with a familiar curly-haired young boy.

“You…!” The boy pointed at Alec with a sharp finger while looking between him and Millie.

“You’re the guy from yesterday!”

“Weren’t you at the meeting?” Alec asked.

“How do you know about that? Did you follow me?”

“I mean, yes, but weren’t you there when I talked with Dario?”

“What?” The young boy lost his momentum as he tilted his head in confusion.

Millie put a hand on his shoulder.

“Red, calm down. He’s legit. You probably left early yesterday, like usual, so you missed it, but he’s an outsider cooperating to track down the people taking our brothers and sisters.”

“Huh?”

“I’m Alec.” Alec nodded toward Old George’s bakery.

“We can do this now. But he just left, so I would prefer it if we deal with it later. Deal?”

Red narrowed his eyes and poked Alec’s outstretched hand.

“I’m dipping at the first sign of trouble.”

“Yeah, I want you to. I can deal with whatever trouble arises, and it will be easier for me if I do that alone.”

“Hah? If you’re that capable, why even ask for me?”

“Precaution. There might be something my magic misses?”

“Wait, magic?”

“I didn’t tell you? I’m a mage.”

Red stared at Alec’s back in a daze until Millied pushed him from behind. If he didn’t snap out of it, he would fall from the rooftop. Naturally, he snapped out of it and hurried down the drain after Alec.

They went around to the back. Breaking in from the front entrance would be a little unwise in the middle of the day, even if the street was relatively barren in the middle of the day since it was a mostly residential area.

The back entrance, on the other hand, was a little more secluded since it was surrounded by the backs of other buildings.

Alec cast a metal manipulation spell to open the lock before pushing open the door. Millie stayed outside as the lookout to wait for when Old George returned.

Alec and Red entered and immediately bounded up the steps to the second floor.

If Old George hid anything of use, such as papers or money, it would be in the most secure spot in the house, which could only be his bedroom.

As they looked around the room, Alec’s suspicions were all but confirmed.

It hadn’t been apparent from outside or when looking in through the glass storefront, but Old George had a lot of money. He had fancy decorations, well-made paintings on the wall, and the doors were exquisitely crafted from beautiful wood.

He hadn’t done a lot on the outside of his house, but the inside was well taken care of.

Even if he was the best baker in town, he shouldn’t have had that much money.

Alec even found a drawer of gold rings in the desk in the bedroom. Next to it was a drawer of bracelets, also of gold.

He had a bookshelf with books that were more for appearance than reading. Old George didn’t even seem like the type of guy who read more than the newspaper.

Alec closed his eyes and cast Mystic Scan to analyze the house in search of any hidden compartments.

“Find anything?” He asked Red, who had put his ear close to the wall after pulling down a painting of a strange-looking bird. Alec couldn’t even identify the bird, despite all the knowledge in his head.

“Yeah—”

A bird call that might have been from the type on the painting barely reached them. It was Millie’s sign that Old George was on the way.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep