Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

Ai Lin, like a lackey, grabbed the merchant by the collar and interrogated him.

The merchant's face was dark, but he dared not resist at all. This masked man had wiped out all the adventurers he had hired in an instant; his strength was terrifying.

"Those country bumpkins from the Far East have taken their 'goods' to find that guy Ted. Ha, ignorant fools."

"Ted? Who is that?"

Which guy has the guts to try and steal my person?

You have a way to die!

The merchant sneered, "Those are dwarves running an illegal casino in the city. Ha, those outsiders, do they think this is some small place like theirs? Wandering around the city with 'goods,' they've probably been caught by the guards by now, haha."

Charles frowned...

If what this merchant said is true, it would be fine if he were captured by Ganesha, but it would be difficult if he were sold to a casino.

The various entertainment venues in the bustling areas of Orario belong to different foreign powers, and the relationships between them are complex. Even the secret factions rarely dare to provoke them.

This is troublesome... but it's alright. When it comes to power, I've never been afraid of anyone.

After finding out the location of the dwarf Ted's casino, Charles turned and left.

Ai Lin was about to follow when Xia Er interrupted her: "You should be able to handle the problems here, right?"

"Yes."

……

A corner of the city, the Hall of Stardust.

Charles stood once again before the dwelling that seemed to be sprinkled with starlight and knocked on the door.

A moment later, Leila, who was leaning on a cane and whose lower body was immobilized by a thick plaster cast, opened the door.

"Tch, it's you."

"What do you mean 'it's you'...?"

"Is something wrong?" Leila pursed her lips. "If you're looking for Iska, sorry, she's not on the ground."

“I’m not here to see her. Is Leon here?” Charles entered the room and looked around.

"Tsk... So you really have your eye on that guy!" Lyra said protectively, her breath tickling him. "Give up, I won't give you a chance to make a move against Leon."

"Boring. Move aside, I have important business to attend to."

At that moment, Astraea, startled by Lyra's voice, slowly walked down the stairs.

"Oh my, isn't this Ciel-chan? What a rare guest."

"Lady Astraea, could you tell me where Leon is?"

Astrea tapped her chin: "Lion should be patrolling the city. At this time, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should be able to find her near Daedalus Street."

"But what happened?"

Charles casually said, "The children from the orphanage have disappeared. I've investigated and found out that there's a large-scale human trafficking operation. But it seems to involve casinos, so I've come to Leon for help."

Leila was stunned: "Human trafficking? Hey, isn't that a huge deal?"

Astraea asked gravely, "What are the specifics?"

"The scale is probably over 1000 people..."

Chapter 280 Yamato’s Fate

“1000 people? Are you sure you didn’t say 100?” Leila gasped.

"The city is getting more and more outrageous." Astraea frowned her beautiful eyebrows, her eyes sharp.

"The Ishtar Familia has fallen. Many battle prostitutes have either perished in battle or been taken into the 'Noname' group, and recently they've all been cooperating with Finn's operations." Charles sighed.

"The timing also coincided with the end of the great conflict, a time when adventurers needed to vent their frustrations the most. Coupled with the wars in various countries outside the city, one side's demand increased while the other side's production capacity was excessive, so it was quite normal for them to hit it off."

"Sir Ciel, do you know where these people are?"

“The warehouse behind the free market. But I’d rather rescue the children kidnapped from the orphanage first. After all, it’s a casino, and given my status, it’s not convenient for me to handle it,” Charles admitted.

“I understand.” Astraea read the unspoken meaning.

Casinos fall within the reach of foreign powers, and to ensure diplomatic security, they have always been a key patrol location for the Ganesha clan.

If the Joker gets involved, things might get out of control.

“I’ll go with you.” Astraea nodded, then gave the order:

"Laila, go and tell Alexandra to go to the black market. This quantity is too large; even I can't ignore it."

“I’ll go,” Leila grinned and said defiantly. “I know the smell of those rats best.”

"No, you can't do strenuous exercise with your injury."

Without giving Lyra a chance to argue, Astraea took Ciel and left the Mansion of Stardust.

……

The two found Ryu on patrol near Daedalus Street. After hearing about Ciel's problem, the upright girl immediately pulled Ciel along.

"First, we need to confirm the children's location. Let's go see if the Ganesha Familia has any clues."

"it is good."

The three then turned and walked to the settlement of the Ganesha's clan.

"Ta-da! It's Adidas, the unsung heroine who hasn't shown her face in ages!"

"So who are you introducing yourself to this time?"

Adi kept the atmosphere lively as always.

"Liang, what happened that you came to see me?" Adi asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't you be on patrol at this time?"

"Adi, I'd like to ask, have any illegal human traffickers been caught in the city recently?" Liu asked frankly.

"This one……"

“Tell me, Adi!” Liu shouted.

“Yes, there is, but my older sister said it’s difficult to handle. Come with me…” Adi said, troubled.

Is it difficult to handle?

Charles and Liu exchanged a glance, then followed Adi into the reception room. After passing several offices, they stopped in front of a wooden door.

Adi knocked gently on the door: "I'm coming in."

Before they even entered the room, the door was pushed open from the inside, and a young girl with short black hair, dressed in a tattered purple Far Eastern kimono, rushed out.

She grabbed Adi's clothes and asked anxiously, "Have they caught those bad guys? Where's Chunji?"

Ciel's pupils contracted as he carefully examined the girl.

Round eyebrows, a fringe falling from the tip of her nose, and the name she mentioned.

"Yamato·Ming."

"Eh? You know me?" the young girl exclaimed with a strange speech pattern. "Did you hear that from Lady Haruhime? Where is she? Is she alright?"

"That's not important. Why are you here?" Charles asked with a strange expression.

He had only come to check it out of curiosity, since Haruhime was kicked out for stealing the offerings, but he never expected to encounter Yamato no Mikoto here.

Adi explained:

“This child escaped from the slave traders. Despite her appearance, she is also a benefactor.”

His life was taken away?

Charles was increasingly surprised.

Yamato no Mikoto's eyes were filled with disappointment: "We were playing in the back mountain with Lady Haruhime, who had sneaked out, when suddenly that group of people appeared and kidnapped her. To save her, I went with them onto the ship alone. Finally, when they were off guard, I tried to take Lady Haruhime away, but I failed. I was the only one who got out."

"If only I hadn't brought Lady Haruhime out to play..."

hiss……

Good heavens, which slave-hunting group is so audacious? Going to attack Takemikazuchi's men?

"Isn't it a bit too extreme to bring Orario from the Far East to sell?" Charles asked with a strange expression.

From the island nation in the Far East to Orario in the far west, that's a journey across half the map. Considering that travel in the DanMachi world is mostly by horse-drawn carriage, this is somewhat unbelievable.

Yamato recalled, "I heard in the caravan that there was a rumor that some big shot in Orario really wanted the Fox Girl and was willing to pay an extremely high price."

"Later, it seems that we heard that the big customer had fallen from power. Enraged, he refused to give up and sold Lady Chunji to the merchant who offered the highest price."

Xia Er found the moon's appearance strange; could it be that his older brother was behind it?

It seems like Xia Er only mentioned it once two months ago. How could he be so efficient, directly offering a bounty for people to steal it?

However, it seems that in the process of spreading the news, the identity of the major customer was mistaken?

These things are unimportant. Now that it's confirmed that Haruhime is in the city, there are no other options.

"Do you know the name of the merchant guild owner who bought Chunji?"

“Ted! He’s a dwarf.”

"very good!"

Ciel and Ryu exchanged a glance: "Let's go!"

"Huh?" Adi exclaimed, "You're not going to cause trouble at the casino, are you? It's owned by other clans. If you do something reckless without evidence, my sister will be angry."

"Moreover, those guys are rich and powerful, and they have quite a few bounty hunters and the like under their command. If it were just one person..."

Astrea said sternly, "This kind of illegal casino that uses slaves and young girls should not exist in Orario, and we have the right to drive them out."

"Don't worry, we won't make things difficult for Shakti. If any problems arise, I will take full responsibility."

"So, what are you going to do?" Adi pondered. "We only know the name, but what about the exact location of the casino? The number and strength of the enemy? We know absolutely nothing."