One day later, Conrad arrived in Kakin, the capital city of the Kakin Empire.
As he stepped off the airship, his eyes moved across his surroundings, taking everything in.
The scale of the city was big, and it was easy to see.
Unlike Yorknew's chaotic environment, Kakin felt more like a traditional but still modern city.
Before leaving Heaven's Arena, Conrad had taken care of something important.
An identity.
Up until now, a name and a few words had been enough.
Most places didn't ask questions, and when they did, they rarely pushed.
But Kakin was different.
This was a nation built on authority.
Without proper documentation, doors would remain firmly closed.
So Conrad had paid the price.
Fifty million, Jenny.
A real ID. Not a forgery that would fall apart under scrutiny, but a registered identity embedded into official systems.
He adjusted his coat and blended into the flow of people leaving the terminal.
After walking for a while, Conrad entered a quiet coffee shop near one of the central districts.
He ordered a simple drink, took a seat near the window, and opened his laptop.
The moment the screen lit up, his expression sharpened.
"Alright," he murmured. "Let's begin."
Ancient Kakin advisors
Pre-imperial artifacts
Germanic historical references
Most results were shallow.
Academic papers dismissed the subject as folklore.
Conrad ignored them.
Instead, he followed patterns.
"For something like the Staff of Germanis, the surface world won't know anything."
He leaned back slightly and took a sip of his coffee.
"This is underground knowledge, not street-level underground. Political underground."
"Most likely, the three big Mafia families that I have seen in the original series are also involved."
Two hours later. He found out about a place that is called.
Broke Man Inn. pretty outskirts of the city, but he did not have other leads that he could use. He decided it would be best to try his chance at the inn.
He left the coffee shop and started moving towards the area; while he moved, he thought within.
"I need to be careful."
"As things are getting deeper, the Nen user will start to show himself."
"Even if there are non-users, I don't want to fight or get cornered by people with machine guns."
Conrad trusted his defense, but it did not mean that he was an enhancer and had a high level of mastery to just ignore high-caliber guns.
As Kurapika said, most 22-caliber guns would not work on Nen users, and 45-caliber guns would almost work on most Nen users if the Nen user was not a master or a monster and a master like Uvogin.
"From here and there, the mission starts for real."
The inn was located on the outskirts of Kakin's capital, far from the polished districts and administrative centers.
Not lawless.
Just neglected areas that most of the people from lower social status lived.
As he walked, his thoughts sharpened.
This wasn't paranoia.
Kakin was not naive. The empire didn't rely solely on Nen. Firearms here were modern.
Conrad trusted his defense, trusted his control of aura, and trusted his ability to react and adapt, but he was not reckless.
He was not an Enhancer.
He did not possess the raw durability to stand still and ignore bullets like some monsters of the world could.
At least for now, he was not capable of such a feat.
He could ignore and block most of the handguns with ease, but machine guns and other types of guns he should be dodging as much as he can.
After entering the Broke Man Inn, Conrad did not rush a single step.
His eyes moved first, not his head.
There were about ten people inside, not counting the innkeeper.
Too many for coincidence.
Too few for comfort.
Conrad's gaze lingered briefly on each of them.
Most were seated alone, spaced deliberately far apart to give some illusion of privacy to people who come to the inn.
Then there was the innkeeper.
She was younger than he expected.
A woman in her early twenties, perhaps, with jet-black hair tied loosely behind her head.
Her face was plain at first glance, but the longer Conrad looked, the more unsettling it became, not because of beauty or ugliness, but because of neutrality.
Her expression rested in a state of mild disinterest.
When Conrad stepped inside, her eyes lifted and met his.
They stayed there for a moment.
She said nothing.
No greeting.
Just looked at him with no emotion and then continued to clean the table.
Conrad felt a faint pressure brush against his senses.
He didn't react.
Instead, he shifted his attention elsewhere.
That was when he noticed them.
Four people seated together in the far-left corner of the room.
They spoke in whispers, leaning slightly toward one another.
And more importantly,
Aura.
Very hard to see for an amateur Nen user, but present and easy to see in the eyes of Conrad.