22.Missing People

At noon, Klaw and Ludwig returned to the dock. Miss Charlotte had given him two days to retrieve the items stolen from the auction. Those items were now piled up in a guild location in the lower city, but Klaw needed to go back to the dock first to pass on some messages to the wandering children.

"Hey, it's really hot out here, not a place for people, right, buddy?" Ludwig said to Klaw.

Klaw felt an unusual affinity for this new companion. Captain Ludwig was a rather incompetent bodyguard; his mind was always filled with thoughts of seeking shade and drinking alcohol. He always looked lazy and had none of the demeanor of a fencing master. But Klaw thought he was very chic and rebellious - this was the quality most liked by the guild, and Klaw assessed in his heart that if Ludwig joined the guild, he would definitely become an object of children's admiration.

Troubles did not always haunt Ludwig because he had his own way of dispelling them, which was to follow his desires and go with the flow. Just like now, his messy golden hair was scattered by the sea breeze, shining brightly under the strong sunlight, but this was not the way he liked to live, so he staggered to the shade of a building, slid down the wall with his body, and sat next to a vagrant.

"Sorry, I'm taking a spot," he said.

"Aren't you here to help me?" Klaw walked over and asked with some curiosity.

"What's the help? The master said, those broken things are not worth a few cents, who cares about those?"

"Your lady is very concerned! And as far as I can see, she is the emperor of the Bard family." Klaw said sarcastically.

"I can't decide the character of the employer, and it's useless for you to complain to me! But buddy, since Miss Charlotte gave you two days, I suggest we take a rest for a day first, what do you think?"

"... You are really something, buddy," Klaw said.

"It's not easy to work for the rich, so we have to learn to treat ourselves well." Ludwig replied.

Rest, take a vacation, don't work. In fact, this is in line with Klaw's thoughts. He doesn't care whether Ludwig is sent by the Bard family to monitor him or not. As he had previously planned: to be half-believing and half-doubting, and to act accordingly, which gave Klaw a great initiative and made him more flexible in dealing with the Bard family and his own affairs.

The matter of retrieving the trash was not difficult to handle. Klaw felt that even the guild would not accept everything indiscriminately, as long as he explained to Uncle Bo. The problem was still Rat-Eye. Since Ludwig's presence gave Klaw a certain degree of freedom, he hoped to investigate this matter personally.

"Listen, I'll buy you a drink, but I still need to find someone. Can you help me? It won't take much effort, just follow me." Klaw said, and Ludwig agreed with a smile.

If the far-fetched guess of "Rat-Eye being kidnapped by a villain" is excluded, then finding someone in Silver Port is not difficult for Klaw. Organizations like the guild have many members who will pay attention to each other. This is also what Klaw told Yemir last night: to pay attention to places where Rat-Eye may have been and to collect clues.

Yemir was not at the dock, so Klaw had to pass the time by himself first. He had some guesses, so he went to the Sea Breeze Tavern.

The tavern was crowded, but this could not bring more income to the owner. The guys who are idle in the daytime usually don't have extra money in their pockets. Generally, they come here just to find a shady place to pass the time, and they will order a glass of diluted bad wine here. That thing is cheap, but disgusting, but it can serve as a ticket to sit down.

Klaw ordered a good drink for Ludwig, and he told the boss that he wanted to go on credit, and emphasized that Uncle Bo had come back and the guild would not deny the cost of the wine.

"Are you from the guild? Well... even if you didn't say that, I'd still give you credit... I dare not provoke Lide and Mason," the boss grumbled, handing over two glasses of wine. Lide is Uncle Bo's nephew, and Mason is Uncle Bo's assistant. In Uncle Bo's absence, it is they who control the operation of the Silver Port guild.

"Hey, have you seen a sly-looking guy lately?"

"The man who was at your table that day? No... I haven't seen him, and some other people have disappeared too..."

"Wait a minute."

Klaw said, handing a glass of wine to Ludwig, then returned to the bar.

"Who has disappeared?"

"Are you really from the guild?" The boss looked at Klaw, as if assessing whether he should be honest. The guild is indeed an organization that the boss can't afford to offend, but the man in front of him might just be a thug pretending to be from the guild to swindle food and drink.

Klaw didn't answer, but slowly drank the wine in his glass - the wine was strong, but not pure. Klaw felt the boss's insincerity from it.

He wouldn't indulge this attitude. After finishing the last drop of wine in the glass, he directly smashed the wine glass on the boss's face.

The glass shattered, and the boss fell backward, his fat body hitting the tavern behind him, causing all the cheap liquor in the cabinet to fall. Some hit him, some smashed on the ground, and the boss didn't know which outcome was more heartbreaking. In short, as a weathercock informer, he now understood the consequences of angering Klaw.

"Who has disappeared?" Klaw asked again, his tone unchanged.

"Tom, he hasn't shown up for two days."

Tom is also a thief, who likes to hide in crowded places to steal. He is not very brave, but he is quite scheming. He often stays near after stealing, and when the victim finds out that he has been stolen and is shouting, he will comfort him with the onlookers, saying some nonsense like "be more careful next time."

Tom is used to hanging out in the Sea Breeze Tavern and the Red Brick Tavern. It's not surprising, he and Rat-Eye are the same kind of people. Although he is not from the guild, he is quite good at gathering information, which is quite similar to the guild's style. Therefore, Klaw has no doubt that Tom must also be with Rat-Eye, they have the opportunity to meet, and they have similar interests.

"Are you saying that since that night, some of the regulars at the tavern haven't come back?" "Yes..." "Is it possible that they went to work inland or were taken out to sea by the press gang?" "Unlikely... Let's not even talk about Old Tom, but Gil and Blin have decent jobs, and as for the mayor's son, it's even less likely." "Are you telling the truth?" The boss patted his chest and swore that what he said was the truth. "That's strange." Klaw let go of the boss, muttering to himself. He returned to Ludwig's table.