Claude walked out of Hurian's store and chose the alley that led to the lake.
The store was at the intersection of four alleys. Claude no longer had any interest in taking the Granite Alley that led to the old street.
The upper alley led to another main road on the edge of the old street. It was in a completely different direction from his house and he didn't want to make a detour.
The upper alley led to the square at the center of the town and should be the place with the most people.
Nobody would notice him in the old street with his getup, but he would stand out if he walked into that alley. Anyone who passed by would look at him.
Claude didn't want to attract too much attention, so he didn't choose that alley.
The last alley was the path that led to the lake. Claude had walked that path a few times before.
Even though he would have to take a detour to cover a few hundred meters, there weren't many people on that path at night and there weren't many houses either.
Past the residential area was a small forest and beyond it was the lakeside. He could remove his robe and mask in the forest and pretend to be taking a stroll home along the lakeside path.
What he had to consider now was how he was going to carry out the trade the next night.
Bringing a bag of shaliuns to Hurian's door wasn't a good idea. If he didn't want people to find out about his identity as a magus, it would be best not to do so.
There was no knowing what was in a man's heart. Hurian, this fat old man, was greedy for money.
Claude didn't feel comfortable letting him know his true identity. Who knew what would happen if the old man sold his identity for a good price? Then, he would be visited by one rogue magus after another. Of course, that visit was in quotation marks.
If he went to carry out the trade the next day, he could disguise himself so that no one would recognize him.
But the problem was that the items in the trade were obviously going to be a big bag, and the weight wasn't light either. So how was he going to bring that big bag back?
Any form of transportation would be overlooked. Regardless of whether it was for personal use or rented, it would be discovered after a little effort by someone with ulterior motives.
Whitestag was too small and as the second son of the chief executive, Morssen, he would be easily recognized.
Regardless of whether he was going to rent a carriage or a mount, he couldn't possibly go there with his face covered. If he did, the owner of the carriage would report it to the police immediately.
He couldn't go to Hurian's store dressed as a masked man during the day.
Even though he could cover his face at night, he couldn't guarantee that nothing would happen on the way back. After all, carrying such a large bag of goods wasn't as convenient as going back empty-handed.
Even though Claude was quite happy that he was able to gather all the necessary materials for the alchemy formation at Hurian's underground store, he didn't mind the high price. But now, he realized that bringing them back was a huge problem.
Apart from that, there was another problem. He had to consider whether he should eat at home like he did today or come directly from the wood.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt a headache coming on. If he came directly from the wood, he would have to consider hiding his identity. Would Siori and his wife find it strange that he left so late at night? Given how far the wood was from here without a means of transportation, how long would it take him to get there on foot? If he went home for dinner the next day, his father would definitely ask why he had to go home for two days straight and tell him to work harder.
Sometimes, a person's brain wouldn't be able to think straight for the time being. That was exactly what Claude was currently experiencing.
He realized that it was impossible for him to carry a large bag of materials back to the wood without anyone noticing. His means of transportation, passersby, the timing of the trade, and his own safety were all problems. He couldn't figure out what he should do no matter how hard he tried.
However, the alley that led to the lake was rather quiet. There weren't many passersby. When they saw him dressed like that, they hurriedly moved to the side of the road. Perhaps he could use this path after the trade, but he couldn't carry the bag of materials all the way back to the wood, could he?
Just as he was thinking about the trade tomorrow, he saw a group of people gathered in front of the courtyard of a two-storey building. Thanks to the candlelight from the building's windows, it seemed like two groups of people were having a standoff. Their curses and laughter could be heard from afar.
Claude slowed down his footsteps and approached slowly. He couldn't just turn around and leave, nor could he go around the group of people in front of him. The two groups of people occupied almost the entire alley.
What Claude found strange was that despite the loud commotion in front of the two-storey building, none of the residents or neighbors on either side of the alley came out to watch the commotion.
It wasn't that the residents weren't at home. He saw quite a few houses still lit their oil lamps. There were even some people moving behind the windows of the two-storey buildings. However, nobody went out to watch the show.
Claude stopped in his tracks and hid himself in the shadows.
He was now only about ten meters away from where the two groups of people were confronting each other. With the sound of cursing and shouting, he finally heard what was happening in front of him.
The group with the most people was Blacksnake from the slums. The group with only four people was from Shark, one of whom was a woman.
There were about seven or eight of them from Blacksnake and they were teasing the woman while cursing and provoking the Shark members.
The Shark members, on the other hand, didn't dare to make a move due to their small numbers. The two sides had been locked in a standoff for more than half an hour.
Claude had long heard of Blacksnake and Shark, two underground gangs in the slums.
Blacksnake was a group of ruffians in the slums. It was said that Love Street was their territory and even the prostitutes on the streets had to pay a protection fee to them.
Shark, on the other hand, was originally a group formed by sailors, fishermen, and dockworkers to protect themselves. Later on, it evolved into an underground organization that dominated the market. The public docks in the slums were under their control and the seven taverns in the docks were forcefully invested in by them. Every fishing boat that docked at the public docks had to pay a monthly docking fee.
The two gangs were cancerous tumors in the slums of Whitestag. The two gangs would often get into bloody conflicts over territory in the slums. Murders and gang fights were a common occurrence. The efforts of the town's security department to improve order in the slums were all for naught.
In comparison, Shark was more law-abiding than Blacksnake and generally wouldn't make a move on the poor residents of the slums.
The public docks alone were more than enough for them to live a good life and earn a large sum of money every month. Almost all the captains in Whitestag were on good terms with Shark and none of them were willing to see their sailors disobey orders.
On the other hand, the Blacksnake Gang's actions were looked down upon. Not only did they plunder money from the prostitutes, but they also organized underground casinos to lure people to gamble. The poor security in the slums was largely due to the Blacksnake Gang. The theft, robbery, and other violent incidents were all related to the Blacksnake Gang.
It was said that Blacksnake's backer was someone in charge of the town hall. The current mayor, Baron Robert, had spoken up for Blacksnake many times.
There were rumors in town that the Blacksnake gang had offered a large sum of money to the mayor, Baron Robert, and the others, which was why they had the qualifications to rule the slums. This was also one of the main reasons why Baron Robert couldn't convince the people in the town council.
It was no wonder the residents on both sides of the alley didn't dare to come out to watch. Not only did no one dare to interfere in the affairs of the two gangs, they were even afraid of provoking them. The doors of the neighboring houses were tightly shut and some even turned off their lights, pretending that no one was home.
Claude listened patiently for a long time and finally understood why the two sides only cursed and didn't fight. It turned out that it had something to do with the merchant fleet heading to Nubissia.
As the route had only just been opened and was still kept a secret, it was said that the merchant fleet was heading to the south for trade. As such, the sailors chosen were mostly members of Shark and they were the main elites of the gang. The boss of Shark, Ironaxe Hanbas, was the leader of the escort force for the merchant fleet.
Before the merchant fleet set off, some of the more influential figures in town had promised Hanbas that no one would dare to provoke Shark before the merchant fleet returned. Otherwise, the instigators would definitely regret it.
Those with a discerning eye could tell that the promise was aimed at Blacksnake and the gang knew that it was best for them to keep a low profile for the time being and live with their tails between their legs.
If they really incurred the wrath of the masses, the day of Blacksnake's demise would be right before their eyes.
Even though Baron Robert had accepted their money, the one in charge of Whitestag wasn't the mayor in name. The big shots in the town hall didn't care about the mayor at all and only maintained a polite facade.
The confrontation that happened that night was a coincidence. The third boss of Blacksnake, Squinted Kamadi, had brought a few of his men out for a meal and was preparing to return to the old street. They walked through this alley.
The younger brother of Shark, Ironaxe Hanbas, Gerrard, was also about to return home with his girlfriend. The two sides met at the entrance of Gerrard's girlfriend's house.
He should know Gerrard's girlfriend. She was the elder sister of Kefnie, the former owner of his body before he transmigrated. She worked as a waitress at the Mermaid Tavern in the docks, Kathlyn.
Claude had heard from Eriksson that Kathlyn used a dagger to pierce the right hand of Squint-Eye Kamadi, the third brother of Blacksnake, in the tavern. That caused a huge fight between Shark and Blacksnake. In the end, Blacksnake suffered a huge loss and had no choice but to swallow their anger.
The Blacksnake Gang's third boss, Squint-Eyed Kamadi, happened to bump into Gerrard and his girlfriend, Kathleen. It could be said that enemies were enraged when they met, so he immediately led his men to surround them.
However, he didn't let his hatred overwhelm his rationality. He understood that if he were to instigate a bloody conflict between the two gangs, not only Shark, but even the boss and second brother of Blacksnake wouldn't let him off. They might even offer him up to appease Shark.
That was why even though the Blacksnakes had doubled in number, they were still rather well-behaved under Squinted Kamadi's control. They didn't plan on making the first move and only cursed or used words to tease Catherine.
Their idea was very simple. If Gerrard and the other two members of Sharks started the fight, then they would beat them half to death in the name of self-defense. That way, they would be able to make the other party speechless.
On the other hand, Gerrard was aware of Squinted Kamadi's intentions. He didn't want to give the Blacksnake Gang a reason to make a move. Even if the Blacksnake Gang cursed him harshly, he could only forcefully restrain himself and his two men.
However, his girlfriend, Kathlyn, was a hot-tempered one. She had been angered by Squinty Kamedy's filthy words a few times and wanted to fight to the death with him.
Gerrard could only hug her tightly. He knew that he didn't have many people on his side and he would only be humiliating himself if he charged forward.
On the other hand, even though there was no one in the alley, there were many neighbors watching from behind their windows and doors.
If they made the first move and a conflict ensued, those big shots who supported the Sharks wouldn't come forward to seek justice for them.
So, the two sides were stuck in a stalemate and neither dared to make the first move.
Gerrard and his men were blocked outside by Blacksnake and couldn't return home. Kamadi wasn't willing to let them go just like that. Leaving meant that he was admitting defeat.
Claude looked at the sky and estimated it to be half past nine.
Darn it, are we going to fight or not? If not, then scram! Don't delay my return home. My parents are going to nag me again if I'm late.