While casually chatting with Elena, the two arrived outside the treasure house their team had previously opened. Observing the people coming and going around the excavation site, Ed saw most were dressed in workers' clothes, busy digging.
Various building materials, along with the machinery and tools needed for construction, were piled up nearby.
Seeing this, Ed turned to Elena with a confused look.
Understanding his silent question, Elena explained, "This is Thaad's treasure house, so the government of Meister Island is building a tourist attraction here. It will bring them a lot of visitors."
Hearing this, Ed couldn't help but complain, "Did you guys deliberately leak this vault's location? So you could sell the treasures to the island government above market price? After all, they're perfect bait for tourists if displayed properly."
After seeing the scene and recalling Elena's earlier words, Ed immediately suspected this shameless operation. Previous information suggested the treasures in the small treasury were worth around fifty gold sails, but she mentioned getting 60, which is obviously not normal, how can the system be wrong?
"How clever! I didn't expect you to guess so quickly," Elena said with surprise, a bright smile appearing on her face. "After all, converting treasure into greater value is what a hunting team should do, right?" As she spoke, she winked.
"I thought it was all about the digging and selling," Ed said, rolling his eyes. He then changed the subject. "Is there anything special about this place that made you target it?"
"In the island's stranger rumors, this area is called the Dismemberment Ground. Legend says scattered corpses often appeared here years ago," Elena said in a mysterious tone. She leaned closer, whispering softly in his ear and sending a chill down his spine, "In fact, it was one of Thaad's sons who had a habit of killing and dismembering people. This is where he committed his crimes."
As she spoke, she raised her chin toward the construction site below. "If you're interested later, you can go look. Among the treasures inside are Thaad's original manuscripts and the murder weapon. I just don't know why he would hide evidence of his son's scandal in a treasure house."
I don't think it was his son. Thaad himself probably killed all those bastards who claimed to be his children. It's a reasonable reaction. If my woman made me wear a green hat and then claimed the child was mine, I'd burn them alive too, Ed thought, his respect for Thaad increasing by a few dozen points. But suddenly, he raised his eyebrows.
At that moment, a group in strange clothing entered the construction site, spoke to the foreman, and then walked straight into the treasure house without a glance in their direction.
Ed turned questioningly to see Elena frowning, staring at the group that had entered with clear unfriendliness. She evidently knew them.
"Do you know them?" He asked casually.
Elena nodded, rubbing her temple as she explained. "They're from the Shark Bite Gang. I don't know where they got their news, but they also came to this island recently looking for treasure."
"Competitors?" Ed asked, getting a bad feeling.
"Yes, and they're very annoying with a terrible reputation. If you meet one alone, be careful. It's best to just run. They won't hesitate to attack if they get the chance," Elena replied seriously, her red eyes fixed on him, worried that he might do something stupid, like a random character in a third-rate novel looking for his death.
Hearing her grave tone, Ed nodded, already thinking about how to handle this new complication. It seemed this rival group's reputation might be even worse than he feared, willing to injure or kill anyone who came in their way.
Ed carefully committed the group's faces to memory, though he wondered how long he'd remember them.
"How is it? Any insights?" Seeing Ed lost in deep thought, Elena suddenly asked, misunderstanding his silence.
Ed, snapping back to the present, shook his head without a word. Instead, he spread out the map he had been carrying. The location of the treasure house was marked on it. Comparing the white dot with the blue dots again, he saw that the three points were randomly distributed with no obvious pattern.
"I'm not familiar with this island. I need to walk around to understand the lay of the land. I have a hunch I can find something," Ed said with convincing seriousness. He then looked at Elena and added, "But you drew this map very well. You're a real talent."
"Really? Thanks for the compliment," Elena said, a beautiful smile appearing as if the small praise was all she needed to move past the previous children's incident.
"Anyway, I have nothing to do right now. Do you want me to show you around the island? There aren't many likely spots for treasure."
Hearing a beautiful girl offer to be his guide, Ed would have to be kicked in the head by Sigurd ( donkey ) to refuse. He quickly nodded with a smile. "If it's not a bother, of course. I'd be happy to have a beautiful lady accompany me."
"You have a sweet tongue. Alright, let's go then," Elena said with a smile, leading Ed to stroll around some of the marked locations on the map. The real blue dots weren't at their marks, but nearby, so they might just pass by them.
Ed followed, observing his surroundings as if genuinely searching. After visiting several potential sites and listening to Elena's reasoning, he understood their logic. The team had inferred these locations based on the geographical conditions suitable for building a treasure vault, similar to the one they'd already found.
Following the path, they finally arrived near a blue dot. The location was a small, tree-covered hill with an abandoned tower.
"Elena, what's that abandoned tower?" Ed asked directly, now comfortable enough after almost an hour of friendly chatter to forgo formalities like 'Miss.'
Hearing his question, Elena, who also didn't mind such minor things, turned to look. "That's a watchtower built a long time ago. It was abandoned after the island joined the Blood Gold Alliance. There are many like it are scattered around."
"I see," Ed nodded in understanding.
So that tower is likely Thaad's hint. Now I just need to investigate what makes this tower different from the others and work backward from there. Get the answer first, then reverse-engineer the cause. That's much easier, Ed thought with an internal smile.
After all, Thaad built the treasure house intentionally. When he spread secrets about the treasure, he also hid clues to its location. They don't even need to be precise. As long as they make sense, you can explain them with possibility and intuition. Trial and error is standard in treasure hunting.
Having achieved his goal, Ed suggested they head back after the tour. As dusk approached, the two returned to their team's small cabin.
"You're back. How did it go? Any clues?" Jason asked, looking up from sketching something with a feather pen on the wooden table. He had apparently returned before them, contrary to what one might assume. Who would think this guy has already gone to have fun with some beauties, and come back before them?
Ed shook his head. Elena answered directly, "I just took him to familiarize himself with the island and our suspected treasure locations. You can't gain anything just by walking around."
"Really? That's a shame," Jason replied with a disappointed expression that held no real sadness; he had expected as much. If they had found something so quickly, it would have been the biggest shock since learning about the magical side of the world.
Listening to their exchange with only half an ear, Ed sat back down at the wooden table. He began casually flipping through the documents covering its surface, all the information the team had collected about the island and Thaad, including his biography and preferences. It's clearly not entirely reliable, Ed mused. If they missed the most important thing about him, who's to say the rest isn't fabricated?
After a moment's thought, Ed, his plan already forming, asked, "Is there any information about those watchtowers?"
"You're still thinking about what we saw earlier," Elena said, sounding confused. Nevertheless, she came to the table, rummaged through the documents, and handed him a few pages.