“What’s wrong?”
Al tucked his tail a bit further, pulling himself closer to the inside of the table, hiding in the back where he was difficult to see.
At that moment, Liya heard the bell above the Adventurer’s Guild door ring.
Then, the sound of high heels clicking on the wooden floor echoed through the quiet Adventurer’s Guild.
“Has an adventurer arrived?”
“…Boss, a bit late. I hope the food and lodging Mr. Carver asked you to prepare are still available.”
The voice was clear and cold, even chilling, yet the tone sounded somewhat mature.
Liya glanced over.
The newcomer wore an exquisite leather coat and small heeled boots. Silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, revealing her long elf ears and a pale but perhaps charming elven face.
Coupled with a captivating figure, it was no wonder she was an “elf” who could drive humans crazy.
This reminded Liya of a half-elf who was now living a blissful queen’s life in the royal family.
Someone visiting the Adventurer’s Guild at this time? Especially since Al the clumsy dragon had unilaterally pressured adventurers, The End Ash was practically blacklisted by adventurers behind their backs.
“Her aura is very unusual. She must be a powerful adventurer.”
Al didn’t even dare to peek, fearful of attracting attention. He rolled his eyes, motioning for Liya to observe for him.
“Yes, Miss Grace. Mr. Carver did indeed give instructions that you and everyone from the White Castle would be staying here for a week to clear The End Ash dungeon, correct? We also need to start preparing the relevant equipment and infrastructure. However, the White Castle side hasn’t…”
“Yes, that’s absolutely right. Don’t mind them. This time, I’m a direct subordinate to Mr. Carver, the inspector. They and I can be handled separately.”
Grace…
Could she be the one…?!
Well, Liya couldn’t recall.
She knew nothing about famous adventurers in the Adventurer’s Guild. After all, witches were a “race” that distanced themselves from the Adventurer’s Guild. If Will were here, he’d probably remember immediately.
No…
This person explicitly mentioned “Carver’s” name, and she was directly under Carver. Perhaps Will’s absence was for the best.
She, a witch…
Thinking this, Liya took off her witch’s hat and tucked it away.
*Cough cough,* if she took off her hat, no one would recognize her as a witch, and she’d be better suited than Will to inquire about Carver.
“Grace. An independent adventurer ranked in the top ten of the Adventurer Ranking List, an elf, an archer. She specializes in ice-elemental archery and also likes to hunt… and kill dragons. She’s about forty years old, but elves live a bit longer… probably around the prime human age.”
Upon hearing the name, Al rattled off a string of information in a whisper to Liya as if reciting a menu.
“…Why do you know so much!?”
“The Adventurer’s Guild’s doors aren’t closed to me, and recently they’ve been fond of those point systems and ranking lists, which are often posted right outside the door. I naturally like to come here and look around,” Al explained, stroking his chin with satisfaction. “Besides, watching various teams and adventurers rise and fall, and when there were more adventurers here in the past, listening to them argue was an unmissable pleasure.”
Liya never expected…
That Iaar, whose descendants were more and more reclusive, wishing to hide away from humans, would be… would be someone who loved to frequent the human Adventurer’s Guild.
“She’s sat down. It seems she hasn’t noticed us.”
“Then let’s listen to what they’re saying. After all, no one would suspect that the girls eating at the next table in the Adventurer’s Guild are the Emperors of the Dungeon.”
Al said this himself, crossing his arms confidently.
“You’re quite confident. What if they discover us and a fight breaks out?”
“We’d definitely die. Because my confident Unit 01 Dragon isn’t with me.”
“Then don’t be so confident. Wait, what’s Unit 01 Dragon…?”
Liya realized that from the very beginning, she hadn’t understood Al’s explanations about “cockpits,” “Unit 01 Dragon,” and the like.
“Aren’t you curious? What’s Grace’s purpose here? And who is she?”
Of course, Liya was curious.
She was an elf? An elf of this age, following Carver’s orders, could she be one of Carver’s rumored elf lovers?
“Alright, I’ll listen a bit longer with you.”
“Lady Grace, these are the equipment and repair shop details here. If you see anything you like or want to hire, you can mark it directly.”
“Basically, the first few days are for meetings, and we’ll finish on the last day. About seven days, no need for the repair shop. Throw it away after use. The Hysterm Family can afford it.”
“The White Castle is best at ice-attribute defense magic. Leave the defense to them, and I’ll take two to three hundred arrows.”
“Anyway, that unruly dragon won’t live past this week.”
…
Liya understood that this group was going to raid The End Ash—no, coming all this way, there couldn’t be any other purpose…
“Liya, the detection magic orb behind her is scanning the entire Adventurer’s Guild. Let’s slip away through the side door.”
“Huh?!”
While Liya was staring at Grace, she hadn’t noticed at all that she was carrying a detection magic orb.
And after Liya heard Al’s words, she looked up, and Al had already vanished.
“Hey, hey, hey—!”
Liya could only tidy up. She still felt a pang of regret for the feast left on the table, grabbed a small roasted chicken leg, and followed Al out the side door—fortunately, Al seemed to have deliberately chosen a seat near the side.
…
Running outside with Al’s short legs, Al took off his hat and stood with his hands on his hips, looking exceptionally confident.
“Hmph, hmph, hmph, everything is fine. We escaped!”
“You, don’t get happy too soon. She explicitly said you wouldn’t live past this week.”
“…You guys didn’t plan for me to live past this month either, right? It’s about the same?”
“That’s true.”
However, even though Will hadn’t written to her yet, Liya had to go back to advance the plan.
No matter the situation, the raid had to proceed.
Because…
Because even in death, the “Iaar” before her would surely prefer to die by a witch’s hand.
“However, I will be waiting for you.”
“Why…?”
“Compared to that group, I feel like… fighting you all might allow me to see more peculiar magic.”
“You. Then we might have to part ways for now. I’ll go find Will myself. The carriage leaves tomorrow morning and will arrive in the afternoon.”
“That person—is that the witch lady?!”
Just as Liya finished speaking, a young man from the Adventurer’s Guild’s post office tapped her shoulder—
“You’re… the witch lady? There’s a letter for you.”
“…Will’s?” She smiled wryly. “It’s… quite timely.”
