I opened an adventurer's guild in another world.

In the slums of the eastern district of Zijinlan City, several soldiers disguised as down-on-their-luck vagrants seem to be wandering aimlessly, but in reality, they are searching for suspicious individuals among the poor.

The underground sewers in the west of the city were filled with a nauseating stench.

The dark, damp ground was infested with disgusting creatures such as unknown insects, and sludge slimes swam in the filthy wastewater.

Under the hunter's control, several groundhogs scattered along the waterway, searching for the cultists.

The actions of these two groups of soldiers were exactly what Count Cass had instructed the captain of the guard to do before he left.

Their objective was not to immediately engage the cultists, but rather to investigate whether there were any traces of cultists in the two locations.

Count Cass believed Anno, but Anno only said that those locations were likely strongholds, without being certain.

As the soldiers began their operation, Count Cass brought Anno to the residence of Duke Howell Ingram.

The ranks of duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron are all ranked, with duke being the highest-ranking noble in human society, and those who hold such titles are extremely wealthy.

While in the capital city of Nigar, Anno had the most contact with the nobleman Prince Tester, and did not have much interaction with other dukes and marquises.

This was Anno's first time visiting the Duke's residence.

It is truly magnificent, with the entire estate covering an area of ​​several square kilometers.

But that's not the key point; the main thing is strength.

The soldiers guarding the Duke's manor are all at least at the fourth rank, and there are at least two hundred of them along the way!

As expected of the Roland Empire, which boasts the strongest overall strength, the Duke's power far surpasses that of the kingdom's nobles.

Following Count Cass, Anno also saw several elegantly dressed noblemen and women practicing swordsmanship on the lawn of the manor.

Their names indicate that they are all from the England family.

However, Anno did not see Sonny Englandm, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Howell, in it.

According to intelligence, only Sonny, who does not reside at the Duke's residence, is a high-ranking member of the cult; the rest of the Ingram family are not cult members.

As she was walking, Anuo suddenly felt a gaze fixed on her.

He turned his head and saw that a male knight with long white hair had appeared among the group of noblemen and women at some point.

"Seventh Rank!"

Anno glanced at it and then looked away.

After the soldier who had delivered the message returned, Anno and Count Cass entered the castle.

"That young man is Baron Anno from the Kingdom of Nigar. What does he want with His Excellency the Duke?"

The seventh-tier knight Tel was somewhat puzzled.

As the de facto master of Purple Orchid City, the Duke naturally received news of what happened at the city gate last night, and the seventh-rank knight Tel was also qualified to know about it.

According to intelligence, Count Cass and Baron Anno, from the Kingdom of Nigar and also the president of the Adventurers' Guild, met after dealing with the incident of cultists injuring people at the city gate.

Then Count Cass returned and contacted several nobles in the city, beginning to collect large quantities of grain and supplies, saying he had negotiated a big deal.

"This deal was negotiated with Baron Anno, right? But what's their purpose in coming to the Duke now? Do they want to continue negotiating?"

In fact, Cass taking Anno to visit the Duke of England was pretty much what Tel had guessed.

Sonny Ingham's identity is too special.

As the Duke's eldest daughter, she is currently around thirty years old.

Sony got married before she was twenty, but her husband died just one month after they got married.

After her husband's death, she returned to the city of Zijinlan and moved into a small manor, where she started a business through the Duke's connections.

Sony was very business-minded. In just a few years, she expanded her business and made it the largest chamber of commerce in Zijinlan City.

If such a strong woman were to become associated with cult members, it would severely damage the reputation of the Ingham family.

That's why Cass looked troubled when he heard Anno say that the cult's third stronghold was the manor where Sony lived.

If things go wrong, he is likely to be antagonized by the Duke.

Cass and Anno's plan was to approach Sony through normal means, under the pretext of Anno purchasing supplies.

The purpose of my visit to the Duke's Manor today is simply to say hello.

Sony will definitely be keeping an eye on what's happening at the Duke's Manor, and she'll know about it soon enough.

Compared to a hasty visit, this approach can significantly reduce Sony's wariness.

Not long after, Anno saw Duke Howell.

A robust man who is over fifty years old but still full of energy, and also a warrior at the peak of the sixth rank!

Howell walked up to Count Cass and laughed heartily, "Count Cass, it's been a while. Judging from your physique, it seems you haven't heeded my advice to exercise every day."

Upon hearing this, Earl Cass smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "I've been too busy with work lately to have time for training."

"Busy making money? That's good too. As a nobleman, you not only need the ability to eat, drink, and enjoy life, but also the ability to make money."

Seeing the outspoken Duke Howell, Anno thought to himself: Just as Earl Cass said, Duke Howell is a generous and straightforward person.

But the more this is the case, the less Anno can directly state his intentions.

If Anno were to walk up to Duke Howell now and say, "Your eldest daughter may have connections with the cultists in the city,"

The next second, Howell might throw a punch.

"This must be Baron Anno from the Kingdom of Nigar."

Howell turned and glanced at Anno, then smiled and said, "Welcome to Violet City of the Roland Empire. I heard you're here on business?"

"Your Grace, that is why I have come here."

Anno immediately followed the original plan and said to Howell, "There has been a lot of fighting on the dwarven border recently, and it is winter. I want to purchase a batch of supplies and food to support our allies."

In Zijinlan City, the number one merchant guild is still the Jinlan Merchant Guild under the Duke's name.

Time is tight, so I'd like to purchase these supplies from the Jinlan Merchant Guild. The transaction amount is around one million gold coins!

"Supplies worth one million gold coins?"

Duke Howell was momentarily unable to contain himself.

Who are you planning to wage war against by buying so many supplies?

At this moment, Earl Cass stepped forward and whispered, "Baron Anno bought it for twice the market price!"

"Oh~!"

Duke Howell suddenly realized.

In this way, one million gold coins can only buy supplies worth a little over three hundred thousand gold coins.

This makes it look like there are far fewer.

You can make a profit even at market price, but if you sell at twice the market price, the profit will be substantial.

Howell looked at Anno, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

In addition to being a baron, Anno is also the president of the Adventurers' Guild.

According to Howell's thinking, Anno must have accepted the commission from the Dwarven Kingdom to purchase supplies from human countries and transport them to the border of the Dwarven Kingdom.

"It's because of the war on the Dwarf Kingdom's border a month ago! If it's to support our allies, the Zilan Merchant Guild can sell these supplies, but you'll have to negotiate the price with Sony."