Vlita City.

Redlight district.

A muscular and scarred man sat in a corner inside a sleazy pub. Before long, a middle-aged merchant entered the pub, found the man, and sat opposite him.

"What do you want?" The scarred man asked.

"I look for the rising star." The merchant said, placing a full coin pouch on the table. "This is for your timely tip and a few questions of mine."

The scarred man opened it and saw 100 Gold Coins worth 1,000 Silver Coins.

"Okay, you have my attention." The scarred man nodded, taking the pouch.

"First, where is he?" The merchant asked.

"He disappeared. I don't know how he did it, but my men never spotted him leaving the city. He likely used an unorthodox method." The scarred man shook his head. "However, his new house went for sale, so I think he left the city for good."

"So I arrived too late, hah?" The merchant muttered.

Shaking his head, he started asking some other questions.

"Tell me what you know about him. What significant actions did he perform recently?" The merchant asked.

"Hm... Well..."

.

.

.

Twenty minutes later, the merchant left, noting a few key points he deduced about Gerhart.

1. A month ago, he likely half-died at the hands of Emerald Flame, and the shock awakened him.
2. He experienced a growth spurt and a sudden increase in strength.
3. Emerald Flame was exiled or sold, with Gerhart and his orphanage receiving a sizeable amount of money.
4. There are rumors Vice Guild Leader Scarlet has a romantic interest in Gerhart. (The merchant interpreted it as Scarlet supporting Gerhart)
5. Gerhart bought a house.
6. Gerhart bought a beautiful female Mousekin Combat Slave.
7. Gerhart disappeared without a trace with his slave.
8. Gerhart's new house is for sale.

"Points 1 and 2 confirm he is a late bloomer, and points 3 and 4 show the guilds support him." The merchant deduced. "From points 5 and 6, he planned on settling down in this city, or perhaps it was a deliberate distraction. From points 7 and 8, either he was captured and held captive, died in the dungeon, or was sent on the Youvamor genius protection program. If it is the latter, he is likely already in some backwater village in the middle of nowhere."

If that is all, the man would let the matter go. But there was one point that had a contradiction. The man's cover was that of a slave merchant, so he chatted with one of the local slave stores and found that Gerhart bought a slave there. After conversing, he heard that the so-called Beautiful Mousekin was frail and sickly, the size of a nine-year-old girl. It was very memorable to the slave store owner because such slaves were too rare.

Since it was unlikely that Gerhart magically switched slaves, the merchant assumed it was the same slave. And that means a frail and sickly girl turned into a beautiful woman who can fight in the dungeon. That could only mean one thing.

"Did that Mousekin also awaken as a late bloomer? But how? Why now? Being a late bloomer is one thing, but buying another late bloomer who awakened shortly after being bought? And if she did awaken, why didn't she run away? From the info, she didn't have a contract, only a cheap magic collar. Did she swear loyalty to him? There are too many coincidences." The merchant thought.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, it was useless.

"No matter. I will add this to my report." The merchant thought and left.