Chapter 295
Romina left the slums and entered Neo Seoul.
“Ugh! That rotten smell. Feels like my nose is going to rot off.”
It still felt as though the stench of the slums had seeped into her body.
Romina brushed off her clothes, trying to shake away the lingering odor.
The musty smell unique to the slums was torture for a sensitive elf like her.
That was why Romina never liked coming to the slums for missions.
“But it can’t be helped. I can’t disobey Lady Eli’s orders.”
The one who had ordered her to contact the Helbrin Mercenary Corps was Eli herself, the second-in-command of the North District.
Before entering the North District, Romina removed her robe.
A skintight black suit hugging her body was revealed underneath.
Romina immediately headed for Eli’s residence.
Eli’s residence stood in a secluded corner of the North District.
It was so shabby no one would believe the second-in-command of the North District lived there.
At the moment, Eli was under disciplinary confinement.
She was being punished for moving troops against the White Bear Caravan on her own authority.
At first, when she was ordered into confinement, Eli had confidently believed she would soon return. But even after quite some time had passed, Serian still hadn’t summoned her back.
Because of that, Eli’s anger had reached its limit.
No one could afford to give even the slightest opening to an enraged Eli.
Romina knew better than anyone that if Eli latched onto something, she would make that person her outlet for frustration.
After spraying on perfume strong enough to completely mask the smell of the slums, Romina 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, swirling a wine glass.
Romina knelt on one knee before her.
“I’ve completed the task you ordered.”
“And?”
“It went well. The Helbrin Mercenary Corps agreed to procure a hundred slaves.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes! They promised to take full responsibility.”
“As they should.”
“Um……”
As Romina trailed off, Eli looked at her with narrowed eyes.
“What?”
“Do you really have to obtain slaves?”
“Are you looking down on me too?”
“That’s not it. I’m just worried……”
Smack!
In that instant, Romina’s head snapped to the side.
Eli had slapped her across the face without warning.
Her cheek instantly swelled, and the inside of her mouth split open, blood dripping out.
Romina desperately suppressed the groan threatening to escape.
Because she knew that if she screamed here, Eli would only become more excited.
Eli grabbed Romina’s chin and forced her to look up.
“So trash like you is worrying about me now?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“So you think I’m nothing more than a kite with its string cut, is that it?”
“N-No.”
“Then why are you questioning my orders?”
“I deserve death.”
“You shouldn’t commit crimes worthy of death in the first place. Right?”
“Yes.”
Romina hurriedly nodded.
After patting her cheek a couple of times, Eli sat back down.
“There’s a reason for everything I do. I’ve calculated it all. All you need to do is obey when I give an order. Understand?”
“I’ll remember that.”
“That’s more like it.”
Only then did a satisfied smile appear on Eli’s lips.
Eli lifted the wine glass resting on the table.
Inside swirled wine as red as blood.
After taking a sip, she spoke.
“How long do you think I’ll stay buried like this? I’ll return to my rightful place. No… to somewhere even higher……”
At that moment, Romina covered her mouth.
Even though Eli had been exiled here, she was still the second-in-command of the North District.
There were still many followers loyal to her throughout the North District.
That was why even Serian couldn’t completely eliminate Eli and had merely exiled her instead.
Even in exile, Eli’s status as second-in-command remained unchanged.
‘A position higher than second-in-command… Don’t tell me she means Lady Serian……’
Romina barely managed to suppress the scream threatening to burst out.
Her heart was pounding so violently it felt ready to leap from her mouth.
Eli set down her wine glass and said,
“If you want to rise to greater heights with me, then work diligently. And don’t question anything……”
“Yes! I’ll do exactly that.”
Romina bowed her head as she answered.
At the sight of her complete submission, the corners of Eli’s crimson lips curled upward.
She turned her gaze out the window.
Far beyond it stood the tallest building in the North District.
It was where Serian, ruler of the North District, resided.
‘Just wait a little longer, Serian. I’ll be back soon.’
***
Old Man Clexi placed food in front of Zeon and asked,
“So you couldn’t find them?”
“No.”
“You really searched that entire area just because of what Brielle said? You’re unbelievably persistent.”
“It’s better to make sure of things.”
“That’s true enough. Then I’ll also look into whether any beastfolk or dwarves recently entered the slums. It’s an unusual combination, so if they really came in, they should stand out quickly.”
“Don’t beastfolk look exactly like normal humans on the outside? Can you really find them?”
Beastfolk were humans capable of transforming into beasts.
The most representative among them were the werewolves known as Lycanthropes.
They had been an extremely rare race even in Kurayan, but they crossed over to Earth along with the other races.
The defining trait of beastfolk was that, under normal circumstances, they looked exactly like humans.
There was almost no visible difference in appearance.
Of course, if one examined the finer details, differences could be found, but at a glance they were nearly identical.
That was why distinguishing beastfolk solely by appearance was nearly impossible.
“Still, we have to try looking.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“There’s no need to ask. This concerns Brielle, so of course I should step in. Brielle isn’t a stranger to me either.”
“Yes.”
Zeon smiled.
If Argos’s eyes began moving, finding the beastfolk and dwarves would become much easier.
After all, their eyes and ears were spread throughout the entire slum.
‘That’s one burden off my shoulders.’
If they really were the ones who kidnapped the real Brielle, then he would catch them and hold them accountable.
And if they weren’t, that wouldn’t be a bad outcome either.
Zeon relaxed and picked up his chopsticks.
The food Old Man Clexi had prepared was a noodle dish loaded with meat.
It looked like beef noodles, but there was no way real beef had been used.
Honestly, it was better not to know what kind of meat it actually was.
Slurp!
Holding the bowl in his hand, Zeon stuffed noodles and meat into his mouth.
Old Man Clexi asked,
“How is it?”
“It’s incredible.”
When Zeon gave a thumbs-up, Old Man Clexi wore a deeply satisfied expression, as if he had expected that answer.
Zeon finished the noodle dish in an instant and rose from his seat.
“Thanks for the meal. I should get going now.”
“Drop by once in a while and keep this old man company.”
“I will.”
Zeon gave Old Man Clexi a slight bow before heading home.
He had spent half the day on Brielle’s matter, but it didn’t feel like a waste of time.
It was better for both Brielle and himself to confirm things properly.
Suddenly, Zeon recalled the woman he had encountered earlier.
‘Why would an elf come to the slums?’
The demi-humans of the North District rarely entered the slums unless absolutely necessary.
They despised the filthy environment.
Elves especially preferred clean surroundings and almost never set foot in a place like this.
‘Could she be connected to them?’
The fact that demi-humans had entered the slums around the same time bothered him.
Zeon knew well enough.
Things that appeared completely unrelated could sometimes be linked by deep connections.
And sometimes, instincts that defied logic turned out to be exactly right.
“Hm.”
Zeon paused for a moment in thought.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, someone ahead of him spotted Zeon and let out a startled cry.
When Zeon looked forward, he saw an elf wearing a trench coat.
‘Seeing a lot of elves today.’
The elf in the trench coat was someone Zeon knew as well.
“B… Borin?”
She was none other than Borin, captain of the Blue Fallen Leaves Special Operations Unit of the North District.
Borin approached him with a slight frown.
“So it really was Zeon… sir.”
She wanted to speak casually like the first time they met, but she couldn’t.
Though the other party was still a human she looked down on, he was far too powerful.
She didn’t have the nerve to speak disrespectfully to a superhuman capable of single-handedly subduing a Balrog, an unpredictable demonic beast.
Naturally, her attitude toward Zeon became cautious.
“I never expected to see you here, Zeon sir.”
“I could say the same, Lady Borin. What brings you here?”
“I came for some personal business.”
Borin answered vaguely.
She couldn’t reveal that she was searching the area under Serian’s orders.
But Zeon’s reaction was strange.
“Is that so? I thought you came with that other elf from earlier.”
“That elf? You saw another elf besides me?”
Until then, Borin hadn’t thought much of it.
Even though elves disliked the slums, it wasn’t as if they never entered them at all.
But the next thing Zeon said instantly sharpened her focus.
“The Spider Queen, was it?”
“What?”
“I mean the second-in-command of the North District. The elf standing beside her.”
“What do you mean?”
“I remember seeing her beside Eli when she attacked the White Bear Caravan.”
At that instant, Borin felt the blood throughout her body turn cold.
“Are you certain?”
“My memory is one of my better qualities. I’m sure.”
“So one of Lady Eli’s close aides came to the slums?”
“Yes.”
“Why would one of Lady Eli’s aides come here……”
Borin muttered unconsciously.
Eli had been demoted for leading the attack on the White Bear Caravan.
Though it was called a demotion, in truth it was closer to disciplinary confinement.
Either way, she was in no position to act openly.
‘But she sent one of her close aides into the slums? Why? What is she after?’
Serian’s orders had long since vanished from Borin’s mind.
She had spent quite some time searching around Neo Seoul under Serian’s command, yet she still hadn’t the slightest clue about the source of that mysterious wave.
Because of that, she had grown somewhat exhausted.
Compared to chasing something so intangible, investigating a matter with a clear target suited her far better.
Borin felt the need to investigate the elf Zeon had mentioned.
She carefully asked,
“Do you happen to know that elf’s name or any distinguishing features?”
“I don’t know the name, but I remember the red hair.”
“Red hair?”
“Yes. It was an intense red, like blazing flames.”
At Zeon’s answer, Borin’s eyes gleamed.
Because among the elves serving under Eli, there was only one with fiery crimson hair.
‘Romina?’
Borin knew that elf as well.
And because they didn’t get along, she remembered her even more clearly.
Borin said to Zeon,
“It was good seeing you today. I’d like to talk more, but I have business to attend to, so I must be going. Let’s meet again sometime.”
“Sure.”
“Then……”
Watching Borin hurriedly leave, Zeon muttered,
“So something really is happening in the North District.”
Meeting Borin had been a coincidence, but bringing up the other elf had been entirely intentional on Zeon’s part.
Now that he had subtly stirred the waters, there would definitely be some kind of reaction.