Central Residential District, within a two-courtyard estate on the outermost perimeter.
This was a Byzantine-style residence, mixed with some European elements. The house itself wasn't particularly large, but it had a considerably spacious courtyard.
It exuded a sense of refinement, both inside and out.
However, the lush weeds in the courtyard and the moss growing along the base of the surrounding walls indicated that the estate had been abandoned for some time.
In the Imperial Capital, a house of this style would certainly not have been affordable or habitable for ordinary people in the past, as it was a place reserved for nobles.
Even the lowest-ranking nobles, that is, before the Blood Emperor ascended to power.
In the spacious courtyard.
"Roar!" A sudden, mournful roar echoed, though the sound clearly lacked power.
This was a Troll.
Standing around two and a half meters tall, he was considered relatively short among adult Trolls.
He was currently bound to a sturdy stone chair, his head twisting incessantly, but his massive body showed no movement, only occasional, reflexive twitches.
This peculiar condition proved that the Troll had suffered some severe trauma, rendering only his head capable of movement.
"It fell out again. All this roaring, it's not good if people nearby hear it."
Lyle sighed lightly and emerged from behind the Troll, holding two fist-sized, blood-soaked bones.
By their shape, they were clearly cervical vertebrae, which he had just removed from the back of the Troll's neck.
Severe damage to the cervical vertebrae would not kill the Troll, given his powerful regenerative abilities, but it would cause his body to lose control, becoming paralyzed, with only his head able to move.
Bang!
Lyle casually tossed the two cervical vertebrae in his hand to the waiting Imp Hound.
"Whine."
The Imp Hound excitedly raised his head and bit down on both bones at once.
"Eat slowly. Next time will be in five days."
Lyle casually reminded the Imp Hound, then walked over and re-stuffed the torn rag that had fallen to the ground back into the Troll's mouth.
The roaring immediately ceased.
The Troll's regenerative abilities meant that Lyle had to remove his spinal bones approximately every five days to prevent him from breaking free.
He glanced at the Imp Hound, who was happily gnawing on the Troll's spinal bones and had visibly grown larger.
With ample food, the monster's growth rate was much faster than Lyle had anticipated.
When he left "E-Rantel" a month ago, the Imp Hound's head only reached his shin. Now, when he raised his head, he was already past his knee.
His body length had also exceeded eighty centimeters, and he now possessed the dangerous aura of a monster!
That's right!
Lyle had left "E-Rantel" on July 18th, and it had been over a month since he entered the Baharuth Empire.
It was now the 20th of the Middle Fire Month, August.
The operation was not going smoothly!
Renners's family, the Rocoburrs, had long since cast out Renners, who was cursed and disfigured.
This matter had some impact in the Empire, and Lyle had originally intended to use the Adventurer's Guild's intelligence network to find Renners's whereabouts.
But!
Even the Adventurer's Guild didn't know Renners's location. After being expelled from her family, she seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Lyle could only use the limited clues he had to search, but he still found nothing, not even a shadow of her, and wasted half a month in vain.
His purpose in coming to the Baharuth Empire was twofold: first, for the "Curse Knight," and second, for the "Immortal" professions.
Renners's whereabouts were unknown.
Fluder, however, had a clear location, but the problem was, what was Fluder's status?
What was his own status now?
The disparity in their statuses meant that let alone acquiring his profession, even meeting him was impossible.
The only person in the entire Empire who could easily meet Fluder was the Blood Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, and even he couldn't meet him whenever he wished.
This situation.
Made Lyle realize that he had to change his approach.
Therefore.
For the latter half of the month, Lyle began producing inexpensive alchemical potions and selling them to quickly establish his reputation.
And he deliberately spread rumors that he could create alchemical potions that could heal any injury!
However, currently.
His "fishing plan" had not yet hooked any actual fish.
Lyle left the struggling Troll and walked over to a nearby stone table, sitting down with a troubled expression: "A month has already been wasted. I wonder if this plan will work?"
If the fish never bite,
Lyle naturally couldn't just stay here and wait.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a figure in a black robe flipped over the wall and entered the courtyard.
After confirming Lyle's location, this figure strode forward.
As she walked!
The black robe opened slightly, revealing brown knee-high boots and the slender figure of a skirmisher in light leather armor underneath.
Her head was covered by a black hood, making her face unclear.
"How enjoyable, living in such a large courtyard all by yourself." A cold, crisp voice came from the slender figure's mouth.
"Roar."
The Imp Hound, who was lying at Lyle's feet, released the bone in his mouth, immediately stood up, and glared ferociously at the slender figure.
"I rented this for 50 gold coins a month."
"This kind of noble residence is quiet, well-located, and has patrolling soldiers."
Lyle glanced at the arriving figure and spoke with a calm smile, "By the way, can't you just use the main entrance?"
Ever since the Blood Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix ascended the throne and began purging a large number of "incompetent" nobles, not to mention minor nobles, even some top-tier nobles were cleared out, causing many residences to become abandoned.
Furthermore, due to severely reduced income, some minor nobles couldn't even afford basic daily expenses, but to maintain appearances, they incurred debts.
This meant that although some noble estates were still nominally under these nobles' names, they had actually fallen into the hands of some merchants.
"Don't you know that many people are watching you now?"
The slender figure retorted unceremoniously, then a pair of eyes, which were inherently gentle but appeared somewhat fierce due to their narrow shape, glared at the Imp Hound from beneath the hood.
"What's wrong with your little Blackie? This isn't my first time here."
Lyle shrugged and smiled: "Perhaps he hates being called by that name, or perhaps he just purely dislikes you."
"Hmph."
The slender figure let out a soft hmph, still retorting without hesitation: "I dislike him too."
After speaking, she glared at the Imp Hound again.
Which made the Imp Hound bare his teeth.
Hearing this.
Lyle's mouth twitched. This personality, which even provoked the Imp Hound to retort, would definitely be labeled with "oppositional defiant personality" in his previous life.
As the slender figure approached, the black robe wrapped around her was also pulled off.
A purple-haired woman with twin pigtails and a cool expression appeared before Lyle. Most noticeable were her pointed ears, indicating that she was not human, but a half-elf!
Imina.