There were no clues about Lisa’s whereabouts.
And usually, when things reached that point, hardship followed right behind.
But.
"I have this."
The Sage’s Bookmark.
My very own all-purpose answer sheet—temperantal, limited, cryptic, but still the most reliable tool I had.
I hurried back to my quarters, sat down, and activated the bookmark without hesitation.
Soft light shimred over its surface, and glowing letters slowly started to form.
"Where is the woman nad Lisa, the one with pink hair, right now?"
The mont the question left my mouth, the bookmark began responding.
-Capital. Outskirts. Ambrosia. Old cathedral. Fallen wings.
A string of words appeared like so puzzle out of ancient scripture.
"Ambrosia...?"
I frowned, rolling the unfamiliar na around in my head.
Was there a place called Ambrosia in the Empire?
I tried to recall every region, every landmark, even the minor locations ntioned in the comic’s background lore—but no matter how I searched through my mory, nothing ca close.
No cathedral nad that.
No district with that na.
Not even a rumor.
So it must be a place that didn’t exist in the original comic at all...
"...Great."
I let out a long sigh.
I wish I could ask the Sage’s Bookmark one more question.
Just one more.
Sothing like, What the hell is Ambrosia supposed to be?
But no.
For all its usefulness, the bookmark had two fatal flaws:
Its answers were always short and cryptic.
And I could only ask it one question per day.
Both limitations felt especially painful at tis like this.
If only I could ask multiple questions...
Not unlimited—just a few follow-ups.
But thinking about it, if the bookmark allowed that, it’d basically be a cheat code.
A literal all-knowing oracle in my pocket.
"...Well, complaining won’t fix anything."
I closed the glowing page with a small click and leaned back.
Ambrosia.
Old cathedral.
Fallen wings.
If the bookmark phrased it like that, then Lisa was sowhere in the capital.
I just had to figure out what the hell
Ambrosia was.
’Ah.’
Maybe Berno would know?
The mont the thought surfaced, I didn’t waste a second—I swung open his door without even knocking.
"Berno!"
"Ahhh! Y–Young Master?!"
Berno practically jumped out of his skin.
He spun around with wide, terrified eyes, clutching sothing he had been stuffing into his bag.
...Suspicious.
But whatever he was doing could wait. I had sothing more urgent to deal with.
"Do you know where a place called Ambrosia is?"
"Ambrosia?" he repeated, blinking rapidly. "There... is a slum in the western part of the capital called Ambrosia. But... why are you asking about that so suddenly, Young Master?"
West.
A slum.
No wonder I’d never heard of it.
"But Young Master, why aren’t you at school yet? What are you doing here—?"
If it was in the western district, it was close enough to the Academy.
I could go there and co back before classes ended.
"...Young Master Louis?"
"I’m heading out for a bit."
"Y–Young Master...!!"
His voice cracked in panic as I walked past him without another word.
Ignoring his desperate calls echoing down the hallway, I stepped out of the dormitory and into the fresh morning air, already focused on my destination.
Ambrosia.
*
The slums on the outskirts of the capital always felt dim—
even in broad daylight, Ambrosia carried a kind of lingering darkness that clung to the air.
I moved through the center of it with as much confidence as I could muster.
Of course, I wasn’t reckless—I kept my hood low, a thick cloak covering my face from view.
If there was anywhere you shouldn’t show your identity, it was here.
Ambrosia.
The Empire’s most infamous slum.
A place where the desperate, the dangerous, and the forgotten all blended together.
My only clue was an old cathedral.
Normally, that would help...
But I’d already passed four different cathedral-like buildings just on my way here.
And none of them had looked particularly promising.
If Lisa was in one of these places, I had no idea which.
It was frustrating... but not hopeless.
Because there was one thod that always worked in situations like this.
The Information Guild.
A classic of any fantasy world—
a place that existed in secret, yet everyone sohow knew about.
And luckily for , I happened to know one of the more reliable branches.
Or... well, reliable by slum standards.
BANG!!!
I kicked open the wooden door with more force than intended.
"Co forth!!"
"AAAHH—!! What in the—?!"
The mont I shouted, half the people inside jumped like startled cats, whipping their heads toward .
A dice ga halted mid-roll.
A man spilled his drink.
Soone in the corner actually ducked under a table.
...Okay, maybe I overdid the entrance.
But subtlety was overrated anyway.
In an instant, every pair of eyes in the room snapped toward .
Good.
I’d gotten their attention—but it still wasn’t enough.
If I wanted the Guild Master to show himself, I needed sothing louder. Sothing ssier.
So without hesitation, I grabbed the nearest table and crack—snapped one of its legs clean off.
"Where’s the boss?!" I shouted, holding the broken leg like a club. "Tell the boss to get down here!"
"Is this guy insane...?!"
The n scattered around the guild hall—all of them with rough faces and bad tempers—began closing in on . Their steps were heavy, cautious, like they couldn’t decide whether to beat up or kick out.
But when I swung the table leg toward the closest one with a loud whack, he flinched back, raising both hands defensively.
"Tch. Annoying."
A tension-filled silence spread across the room as they ford a loose circle around .
I wasn’t strong enough to beat all of them—but that wasn’t the goal anyway.
I just needed the right person to show up.
And then—
"What’s all this noise?"
The voice cut through the air like a knife.
The Guild Master was here.
Now, I just need to focused on next part of my plan and then everything will be in one piece.
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