When Leya emerged from the item shop once more, approximately ten minutes had already passed.
Her expression remained perpetually grim, as if water might drip from her face.
This unsettling demeanor naturally worried Elina, who had been waiting outside. “Miss Leya,” she began, a hint of concern in her voice, “did something… happen?”
“…………”
‘What happened?’
Leya shook her head, a helpless, bitter smile gracing her lips. With a knowing look, she suddenly spoke in a mysterious tone: “No, nothing, I merely had a sudden realization… perhaps this place truly isn’t for me after all…”
“Eh?”
****
After this, Leya handed Elina a total of thirty gold coins and instructed her to return to the tavern ahead of her.
Naturally, Elina initially refused. Yet, it was to no avail; despite Elina’s repeated inquiries, pleas, and confusion, Leya remained resolute. Disregarding Elina’s persistent rejections, she forcefully pressed the gold coins into her hand before sending her away.
‘First, I wanted her to check if the clothes delivery had arrived and settle the bill. It would be rather awkward if I couldn’t even go home because of it. Second, it was also to have her buy some food for Erica, who was back at the tavern.’
“Host…”
It was clear that Leya’s mood was far from pleasant.
It hadn’t been like this before, no. But then, she had heard that woman’s words…
“Host, you truly don’t need to feel this way. That woman was merely…”
“Merely?”
Even though she knew the system was trying to comfort her, Leya simply couldn’t let it go. As she walked, she let out a cold laugh.
“Merely what? One after another… they’ve almost uncovered my entire ancestry. From Maxwell, to Harvey, and now this woman… Tsk, tsk, who knows how many more people are secretly watching me.”
“…………”
Indeed, Leya’s words rang true.
Just moments ago, that woman had revealed nearly all of Leya’s recent intel.
What was more terrifying, her information-gathering capabilities appeared to far surpass even those of Maxwell and Harvey!
While it was possible this was due to Harvey not yet having a firm footing here, it remained that, among everyone Leya knew, this woman was the first to confirm that Saber and Jeanne were not the same person.
Not only that, but she had also subtly hinted at the unknown connections Leya might have with Saber and Jeanne.
For instance, during the time Leya entered the Netherworld Forest, Saber inexplicably appeared, defeating the Netherworld Wolf King. Then, in the nick of time, Jeanne materialized to vanquish the gigantic serpent. Essentially, the woman’s implication was that such events would be far too coincidental if the three of them weren’t already acquainted.
Frankly, setting aside whether her deductions were right or wrong, the mere fact that she could possess so much information about Leya — this feeling of being watched, of every move being tracked…
It genuinely infuriated Leya!
This time, she had even vaguely guessed that either Saber or Jeanne, or perhaps both, might soon take certain ‘retaliatory’ actions against the Guild of Roseland.
Her evidence included the commotion caused by Saber at the earlier auction and Jeanne’s forceful intrusion into the underground prison yesterday.
In light of this, the woman had even proposed ‘cooperation and assistance to expel the Guild of Roseland from Volantis City with minimal cost.’
What a joke!
Why would she need that woman’s cooperation?
And ‘with minimal cost,’ no less…
Leya truly couldn’t fathom if the woman even understood the situation.
Moreover, what Leya sought was far more than simply expelling them.
****
Unconsciously, perhaps driven by instinct,
Leya found herself at the entrance of the Adventurer’s Guild when she finally snapped back to reality.
‘Well, I shouldn’t make a trip for nothing, right?’
Leya found a deserted dead-end alley. After confirming no one was present, she unhesitatingly chose to use the Saber transformation card.
“Tsk, tsk, I thought you would save it to use at night.”
“…………”
Speechless, she glanced at her attire, noticing that, as expected, it had reverted to the original blue and white checkered dress since she hadn’t made any special requests.
“Eh… is this really alright? Your actions tonight might fail because of this, you know~”
“…………”
Regarding this, Leya honestly didn’t wish to offer any further explanations right now.
“Uh… or rather, are you, in your current form, actually disapproving of tonight’s operation?”
“…………”
This time, Leya finally halted.
Her sky-blue eyes constantly radiated an intimidating aura, making it impossible to discern what she was thinking.
She merely frowned, replying softly, “I’ve said it before, I am me. There isn’t such a distinction between ‘now’ and ‘before.'”
“As for tonight’s plan, I never intended to act personally. Besides, even if something unforeseen happens, I believe that even if I’m outmatched in my Jeanne state, I can still protect myself.”
“Hmm… really? Let’s hope so, hehe…”
“…………”
****
Silence filled the journey.
Soon after, Leya quickly arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.
However, before seeking out the guild master, Leya happened to overhear a rather intriguing piece of news.
“What! Someone actually posted an S-rank subjugation quest!?”
“Ha!? Let me see, let me see! Location: Netherworld Forest… no limits on team members, and the reward is… Hiss—”
“The reward… the reward is actually six hundred gold coins!?”
“…………”
Ugh…
Six hundred gold coins…
To be honest, from Leya’s current perspective, it wasn’t particularly impressive.
‘Hmm, isn’t that just enough for a few potions?’
Therefore, compared to the reward, Leya was more interested in the quest itself.
After all, if her guess was correct… this subjugation quest, could it be…