Five days later, that evening, Raymond headed to CommercialStreet as usual, only to find Manik already there, looking unusually distressed. He was scratching his hair in frustration.
"Mr. Rose, you're here!" Manik greeted him immediately, but his tone was far from cheerful.
Raymond raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
Manik hesitated, looking sheepish. "Well… I only managed to collect six herbs today."
Raymond was surprised. "What happened? I thought with the price I offered, gathering herbs wouldn't be an issue."
Manik let out a sigh. "It's been tough. I heard a group of powerful bandits have appeared outside Wittes Town. They've been attacking caravans and adventurers over the past few days, and now, many adventurers are too scared to take on commissions or go out on missions."
Raymond's thoughts immediately drifted back to the robbers that Freya had mentioned when she left the guild. "Hasn't the Knights already sent people after these robbers?"