Chapter 295

Chapter 295

Romina left the slums and entered Neo Seoul.

“Ugh! That rotten stench. My nose feels like it’s going to rot.”

It still felt as though the slums’ rotten smell had seeped into her body.

Romina shook out her clothes to drive away the lingering odor.

The musty smell unique to the slums was nothing short of torture for a sensitive elf like her.

Because of that, Romina did not particularly like coming to the slums for missions.

“It can’t be helped. I can’t disobey Lady Eli’s orders.”

The one who had ordered her to make contact with the Helbrin Mercenary Corps was Eli, the second-in-command of the North District.

Before entering the North District, Romina took off her robe. A black suit clinging tightly to her body was revealed beneath it.

Romina headed straight for Eli’s residence.

Eli’s residence was in a secluded part of the North District.

It was a shabby residence, difficult to believe it housed the second-in-command of the North District.

Eli was currently under confinement.

She was being punished for moving troops as she pleased against the White Bear Caravan.

When she had first been ordered into confinement, Eli had been certain she would return to her post before long. But even after quite some time passed, Serian still had not called for her.

Because of that, Eli’s anger had risen to the top of her head.

One could not give the angry Eli even the slightest pretext.

Romina knew better than anyone that if Eli found fault with her for no reason, she would become the target of Eli’s anger.

After spraying herself with perfume strong enough to completely cover the scent of the slums, she knocked on Eli’s door.

“Lady Eli! It’s Romina.”

“Come in!”

When she opened the door and entered, she saw Eli sitting in a chair, tilting a wine glass.

Romina knelt on one knee before her.

“I went as ordered.”

“And the matter?”

“It went well. The Helbrin Mercenary Corps agreed to secure one hundred slaves.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes! They promised to take responsibility for it.”

“They had better.”

“Um......”

When Romina trailed off, Eli looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“What?”

“Must you really secure slaves?”

“Are you looking down on me too?”

“That’s not it. I was worried......”

SLAP—!

In that instant, Romina’s head snapped to the side.

Eli had struck her cheek without warning.

Her face swelled up in an instant, and the inside of her mouth split open, letting blood flow out.

Romina forced down the groan that was about to escape.

She knew that if she screamed here, Eli would become even more excited.

Eli grabbed Romina’s chin and looked at her face.

“You, of all things, are worried about me?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“So what you’re saying is that I’m now like a kite with its string cut?”

“No, my lady.”

“Then why are you talking back to my orders?”

“I’ve committed a sin worthy of death.”

“If it’s a sin worthy of death, you should never have committed it in the first place. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, my lady.”

Romina hurriedly nodded.

Eli tapped her cheek a couple of times, then sat back in her chair.

“It’s all necessary, and I’ve calculated all of it. You simply need to follow when I give an order. Understand?”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You should.”

Only then did a satisfied smile appear on Eli’s lips.

Eli picked up the wine glass on the table.

Inside the glass was wine as red as blood.

After taking a sip, she said,

“Do you think I’ll stay crushed down like this forever? I’ll return to my place. No, to somewhere higher......”

In that instant, Romina covered her mouth.

Although Eli had been exiled here, she was still the second-in-command of the North District.

Many followers of hers still remained in the North District.

That was why Serian had not been able to remove Eli completely, and had only exiled her here.

Even in exile, the fact that Eli was still the second-in-command had not changed.

‘If it’s a position higher than second-in-command...... don’t tell me she means Lady Serian......’

Romina held back the scream threatening to burst out.

Her heart was pounding so wildly that it felt as though it might leap out of her mouth.

Eli set down the wine glass and said,

“If you want to follow me to a higher place, move diligently. Without holding any doubts......”

“Yes! I will do so.”

Romina lowered her head as she answered.

At the sight of her appearing completely submissive, the corners of Eli’s red lips curled upward.

She looked out the window.

Beyond the window, far in the distance, the tallest building in the North District could be seen.

It was the building where Serian, the ruler of the North District, resided.

‘Wait just a little longer, Serian! I’ll be back soon.’

---

Old Man Kleksi set food in front of Zeon and asked,

“So you couldn’t find them?”

“No!”

“To think you searched that whole street just because of what Briel said. You’re quite something too.”

“It’s better to make sure of things and move on.”

“That’s true. Then I’ll also look into whether any beastfolk or dwarves entered the slums recently. It’s an unusual combination, so if they really came in, they’ll stand out right away.”

“Don’t beastfolk look exactly like ordinary people on the outside? Can you find them?”

Beastfolk literally referred to humans who could transform into beasts.

The most representative among them were the wolf-men known as Lycanthropes.

They had been an extremely rare race even in Kurayan, and they had crossed over to Earth with the other nonhuman races.

The defining trait of beastfolk was that, under normal circumstances, they looked exactly like humans.

They were almost impossible to distinguish by appearance.

Of course, if one dug into the finer details, differences could be found, but at a glance, they were hardly different at all.

Because of that, distinguishing beastfolk by outward appearance alone was nearly impossible.

“Still, I should try looking.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“There’s no need to ask. It’s about Briel, so of course I should step in. Briel isn’t a stranger to me either.”

“Yes!”

Zeon smiled.

If Argos’s Eye moved, finding the beastfolk and dwarf would become much easier.

Their eyes and ears were spread throughout the entire slums.

‘That’s one worry eased.’

If they truly were the ones who had kidnapped Briel, he could catch them and hold them responsible. If they were not, that would not be bad either.

Zeon picked up his chopsticks with peace of mind.

The food Old Man Kleksi had served was a noodle dish packed with meat.

It looked like beef noodle soup, but there was no way it contained real beef.

It was better not to know what the meat actually was.

Slurp!

Zeon lifted the bowl and put the noodles and meat inside into his mouth.

Old Man Kleksi asked,

“How does it taste?”

“It’s incredible.”

When Zeon gave him a thumbs-up, Old Man Kleksi looked satisfied, as if he had known it would be.

Zeon finished the noodle dish in an instant and rose from his seat.

“Thank you for the meal. I’ll be going now.”

“Drop by from time to time and keep this old man company.”

“I will.”

Zeon bowed his head slightly to Old Man Kleksi, then headed home.

Because of Briel’s matter, he had spent half a day just like that. Even so, he did not feel it had been a waste of time.

It was better for both Briel and Zeon to confirm things clearly and move on.

Zeon suddenly recalled the woman he had run into not long ago.

‘Why did an elf come to the slums?’

The nonhuman races of the North District almost never entered the slums. That was because they disliked the filthy environment of the slums.

Elves in particular liked clean environments, so they almost never set foot here.

‘Could she be connected to them?’

The fact that nonhuman races had entered the slums around the same time bothered him.

Zeon knew.

Things that seemed to have no connection sometimes turned out to be linked by a deep chain.

He also knew that sometimes, a sixth sense that could not be explained logically turned out to be exactly right.

“Hmm!”

Zeon stopped for a moment and fell into thought.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, someone ahead of him let out a surprised cry after seeing him.

Zeon looked forward and saw an elf wearing a French coat.

‘For some reason, I’m seeing a lot of elves today.’

The elf in the French coat was someone Zeon knew as well.

“Lady Bo......rin?”

She was Borin, captain of the North District’s Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit.

Borin frowned slightly and approached Zeon.

“So it really was you, Mr. Zeon.”

In her heart, she wanted to speak casually to him as she had when they first met, but she could not.

The other person was a human she despised, but he was far too strong.

She did not have the nerve to spit out casual speech at an absolute powerhouse who had subdued a Balrog, a monster beyond estimation, alone.

Naturally, her attitude toward Zeon had to be cautious.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here, Mr. Zeon.”

“I did not expect to meet you here either, Lady Borin. What brings you here?”

“I came for a personal matter.”

Borin answered vaguely.

That was because she could not reveal that she was searching the area under Serian’s orders.

But Zeon’s reaction was strange.

“Is that so? I thought you had come with the elf from earlier.”

“The elf from earlier? You saw another elf besides me?”

Until then, Borin had not thought much of it.

Although elves disliked the slums, it was not as if they never entered at all. But Zeon’s next words snapped her fully awake.

“Was it the Spider Queen?”

“What?”

“I mean the second-in-command of the North District. It was an elf who was beside her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I remember her because she was beside Eli when Eli attacked the White Bear Caravan.”

In that instant, Borin felt the blood in her entire body turn cold.

“Is that true?”

“My memory is good enough to be useful. I’m certain.”

“You’re saying one of Lady Eli’s close aides came to the slums?”

“Yes!”

“Why would Lady Eli’s close aide come here......?”

Borin muttered without realizing it.

For leading the attack on the White Bear Caravan, Eli had been demoted. They called it demotion, but in truth, the punishment was closer to confinement.

In any case, she was in no position to act publicly.

‘And yet she sent a close aide to the slums? Why? What is she aiming for?’

Serian’s order had long since vanished from Borin’s mind.

It had already been quite some time since she began searching the area around Neo Seoul under Serian’s orders, but she had not even gotten a sense of what the source of that mysterious wavelength was.

Because of that, she had grown somewhat tired.

A task with a clear target suited her better than something formless like this.

Borin felt the need to investigate the elf Zeon had mentioned.

She carefully asked,

“Do you perhaps know that elf’s name or any distinguishing features?”

“I do not know her name, but I remember her red hair.”

“You mean red hair?”

“Yes! It was vivid red hair, intense as a burning flame.”

At Zeon’s answer, Borin’s eyes gleamed.

Among the elves under Eli’s command, there was only one with fiery red hair.

‘Is it Romina?’

She was an elf Borin knew as well.

Because they were not on good terms, Borin remembered her even more clearly.

Borin said to Zeon,

“It was good to meet you today. I would like to talk more, but I have work to attend to, so I must go first. I’ll see you again next time.”

“Of course.”

“Then......”

Watching Borin leave immediately, Zeon murmured,

“So something really is happening in the North District.”

Meeting Borin had been a coincidence, but bringing up the other elf to her had been Zeon’s intention.

Now that he had given it a slight push, some kind of reaction would surely come.