Early the next morning, Li Xiuman arrived at the Adventurer's Association, fully equipped.
To get to Iron River City, there were three possible methods.
The first, which Li Xiuman called the worst plan, was to leave the city alone, out in the open, and simply walk or fly there.
The second, which he called the mediocre plan, was to fully equip himself and sneak all the way to Iron River City.
The third, which he called the best plan, was to accept a group escort mission to Iron River City at the Adventurer's Association and travel together in a party. That way, he could even get paid for his troubles.
On the surface, it would look like Li Xiuman and other adventurers were escorting an employer out of the city. In reality, the entire party would be escorting him for free.
This way, even if Lucia caught up to him, he would have lovely teammates to help him.
And if his teammates turned out to be useless, he could just ditch them and run, leaving them to take the fall.
A truly superb plan, worthy of its name.
The fact that he came up with this method proved he was a once-in-a-generation genius.
Li Xiuman adjusted his armor and stepped into the Adventurer's Association.
...
Meanwhile, at another entrance of the Adventurer's Association, a red-haired woman wearing light armor with a longsword at her waist adjusted her clothes.
My name is Lumina Dolly, and I am a beautiful young thief.
Lumina had flawlessly executed a heist, stealing an extremely valuable treasure from White Bear City's castle.
Because of this, she was now a wanted criminal.
She had laid low in White Bear City for a month. Everyone thought she had already left, but she hadn't.
She had stayed behind to wait for the heat to die down—something she had plenty of experience with.
Now that things had settled, she planned to leave White Bear City according to plan.
Her destination was Iron River City, where she would deliver the stolen item.
To get to Iron River City, she had three methods.
The first, which Lumina called the worst plan, was to sneakily scale the city wall and stealth her way to Iron River City.
The second, which she called the mediocre plan, was to disguise herself as someone else and sneak her way over.
The third, which she called the best plan, was to use her adventurer identity to accept an escort mission to Iron River City.
On the surface, it would look like Lumina was escorting someone. In reality, the entire party would be escorting her.
This way, even if the city guards pursued her, she would have free bodyguards.
Even if her teammates turned out to be useless, she could just flee and leave those free shields to take the fall.
Plus, she would still get paid.
A truly superb plan, worthy of its name.
The fact that she came up with this proved she was an absolute genius of a beautiful young thief!
At this thought, Lumina's lips curled up. She took out a pocket mirror to check her appearance one more time.
...
At the exact same time, in another location, behind the Adventurer's Association, there was a merchant caravan.
The caravan leader, Manshius Quentin, was walking into the building with a quest application in hand.
On the surface, Manshius appeared to be a regular merchant, but he was actually a smuggler.
He was smuggling Fireheart Iron, a specialty ore found deep within the lower sections of White Bear City's dungeon, only accessible below the 30th floor.
Because it was extremely valuable, it was strictly controlled by the nobles of White Bear City, with almost zero civilian exports allowed.
He mixed the Fireheart Iron with lava iron, masquerading as a standard caravan to smuggle it to the city of blacksmiths, Iron River City.
Because of how precious the cargo was, he had devised three possible plans.
The first, which Manshius called the worst plan, was to bribe the guards and openly transport it out.
The second, which he called the mediocre plan, was to split the shipment and sneak it out in small batches using hired hands.
The third, which he called the best plan, was to execute a classic bait-and-switch: put together a small, legal batch, hire the Adventurer's Association to escort it out of the city, and use it as a distraction.
Meanwhile, he would smuggle the main bulk out using physical labor while the attention was elsewhere.
Once the adventurers left the city with the bait, he would immediately report the caravan.
He would make the adventurers take the fall, leaving them holding the bag while he slipped away.
This would give his real smugglers the perfect window to slip past.
Although the commission fee was steep, it was absolutely worth the price.
As expected of a genius businessman like himself; such brilliant ideas came to him naturally.
Manshius smirked as he thought about it, raising an eyebrow as he walked into the Adventurer's Association.
...
And so, in the lobby of the Adventurer's Association, Li Xiuman, Lumina, and Manshius crossed paths.
“These are your hired adventurers, Lord Skeleton and Lady Red Sparrow.”
“And this is the client for this request, Lord Manshius.”
The receptionist at the counter introduced the three of them.
They exchanged polite greetings.
“This is the deposit for the payment. The remainder will be settled once we reach Iron River City.”
Manshius pulled out two pouches of coins, handing one to Li Xiuman and the other to Lumina.
“I will be relying on you both for the escort.”
Manshius said with a warm, friendly smile.
He internally was quite surprised. He hadn't expected that two Mid-Tier Adventurers would accept his request.
One of them was even the Skeleton, who had been making quite a name for himself lately.
But looking at him, aside from a slightly intimidating aura typical of monsters, he didn't seem nearly as terrifying as the rumors claimed.
Both of them looked highly reliable and honest. This run was as good as secured.
Li Xiuman accepted the coin pouch.
Seeing how generous and straightforward his client was, he felt a tiny twinge of guilt.
After all, he had come here with the sole intention of using him as bait.
Well, no point overthinking it. If he didn't use this guy, he'd just use someone else.
Besides, he hadn't expected another Mid-Tier Adventurer to join. If things went south, he could easily throw her under the bus as well. This was foolproof.
Just his bad luck, then.
Lumina took her pouch right after Li Xiuman, her mind racing with her own thoughts.
This was brilliant. She hadn't expected to be paired up with the infamous Skeleton whose reputation had been skyrocketing recently.
Word on the street was that the Skeleton was already on bad terms with the nobles of White Bear City.
When the pursuers caught up, she could just use the Skeleton to stall them. It was a flawless plan.
The three of them stood there, each harboring their own devious hidden agendas.
Yet on the outside, they were exceptionally amicable.
The honest and generous smuggler Manshius, the shy and innocent thief Lumina, and the upright and reliable monster Li Xiuman.
The three of them all had bright futures ahead of them.
“It's time to set off. I'll be in your care, my esteemed protectors,”
the honest and generous Manshius said, leading the shy and innocent Lumina along with the upright and reliable Li Xiuman over to the caravan.
Li Xiuman and Lumina then mounted their horses, taking up defensive positions on either side of the carriage.
Manshius sat at the very front of the leading carriage, while his slaves dispersed throughout the convoy to keep watch over the cargo.
With a shout from Manshius, the caravan finally set off, the wooden wheels creaking as they rolled over the stone-paved streets.
The entire convoy slowly made its way toward the city gates.
It seemed...
perfectly... peaceful.
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