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“Alright, time to resume our mission.”

Thanks to the conversation she overheard, Mira had a good idea of where to find August. More than likely, he was somewhere in the castle in the middle of the red-light district.
That also meant that the search turned into an infiltration mission.

Mira followed the street outside the restaurant, which led her straight to her destination.

“Hmm, it’s even bigger when seen from so close…”

Looking up at the castle, Mira asked if Wooftson had found a scent trail yet.

“Only the same type as earlier, nothing else, woof. I’d wager that he hasn’t come out himself in a long time, woof.”

There was August’s scent, but not directly from him, only that which remained on the escorts that visited him.
According to Wooftson, it took around a month for scent trails to become untraceable, which meant that August had never left the castle in at least that amount of time.

“Hm, I can easily imagine that being the case, considering his situation.”

Every one of August’s movements were monitored by the oracle Iris, so if he went outside too much, it could end up giving her a hint to his hiding spot. So he remained inside the castle at all times, limiting the amount of information that passed through.
But due to his perverted nature, he could not simply give up women. Now that was betraying his secret hideout.

If he had kept himself in check, he would have managed to avoid even Wooftson’s nose. But instead the escorts that visited him created a clear trail.
Now Mira had no doubts that August was within the castle.

“Let’s do a rough check first.”

While it was a large majestic building, it was not the kind of castle inhabited by a king. The first step was to learn what its true purpose was.

“What does this say here…”

Mira went a bit closer, looking up as she looked for clues to explain the castle’s presence, right in the middle of the red-light district.
A perimeter check, discreet questions…were not needed. A large signboard at the entrance explained what the castle was, and how to make use of it.

According to it, the castle was actually many different facilities built into a single building, almost like a mall.
There were lodging rooms, gambling, game, and sports centers, amongst other staple amusement facilities, including hot springs. All of them open to both male and female clients.

In some ways, it was like a large recreational park in a castle.
But it was important to remember that it was still in the red-light district, and everyone who entered went in pairs.
All of the games and facilities inside were meant to be enjoyed in the company of an escort.
Stripping was the most common punishment for losing, and they allowed other actions anywhere in the building as well.

(The existence of a building like this is actually terrifying…)

It was no exaggeration to say that the castle was the backbone of the red-light district. Mira could tell just by looking at it, while also realizing she had another problem.

It did not concern any sort of shame or morality on her part, it was something far simpler.
No matter where she looked, everyone who entered the castle was accompanied. Not all of them were a man and woman couple, as there was quite a variety lined up at the front desk, but entering alone would make Mira stand out either way.

Then again, there was no lack of potential partners nearby. She could easily approach any man and enter together, then put him to sleep as soon as he played his part, just like some female spy in action movies. But Mira rejected the idea right away.

Simply because she felt too bad for the man. She knew what being a man was like, and would never be able to just use and abandon one, never to see him again.

(Hmmm, I guess my only option is to call for someone to help…)

Success revolved around entering the castle without rousing suspicion and tracking down August’s location, making sure to corner him before he ran off somewhere.
Ideally she also wanted to make it quick, without involving innocent bystanders.
She also did not know who could be keeping guard inside the castle, so she had to watch herself to appear normal at all times.

For now the best plan seemed to be a tactical retreat to the city’s outskirts, and summoning someone like Worthramble to stand in as her partner.
Only that plan would prove useless soon.

“Over there!”

A mean looking group of men rushed out from the castle.

“What’s happening?!”

Mira quickly got into position, fearing that she had already been discovered, but the men were looking somewhere else.
She followed their gaze and spotted some black object that could fit in her hand, scurrying around rapidly.
Before she could get a clear look at it, one of the men quickly whacked it and destroyed it, and from his movements it was clearly not his first time doing that.

“Don’t worry, I got it back!”

He then picked up something from the remains and returned, finally noticing Mira’s inquisitive stare, which he replied to with a reassuring smile, saying, “Don’t worry, it’s safe now.”
Seeing that he was friendly, Mira asked, “So what was all that about?”

“Ahh, you see…”

He readily answered.
The small object scurrying around was actually a small Necromancy golem.
Because of how lax they were with rules in the castle, people attempting to steal from others was also a common occurrence.
The most common method was to do it remotely with a small golem, sending them in sneakily to pilfer everything that they could.

The fact that golems could be controlled from far away made it really tricky, as it was virtually impossible to find their masters, who could simply repeat their attempts over and over again.
It was the same as what Mira had witnessed. They had caught a small golem, but the spellcaster remained at large.