I read both messages multiple times. The thief wants me to do what…? Humiliate Ilyrana?
But why?
And I cannot tell anyone about them or the task!? Why didn’t they mention it yesterday? I already told Marianna!
[I am having a hard time believing anyone could find out that you told Marianna. Unless either she or you let it slip somehow. But if you decide to tell anyone else, though? It might be within their capability to find out— especially Ilyrana herself or the people close to her.]
But again, why? This is so fucking silly it’s making me mad!
They stole Nina’s egg just because they want me to do this!? Who would even want this!?
[Oh, I can think of a few people. You may find this silly, but it is kind of a big deal.]
{Yes, master. Ilyrana is the princess of White Elves after all. You already defeated her with my help—}
Don’t remind me of the shit you pulled, Black.
{— and we saw how much that affected her image among the Elves.}
[Exactly. Also, as that guy, Aeson, told you, any young Elf who beats Ilyrana in an official duel can claim her golden badge and replace her as the heir to the throne. That gives many people an incentive to target her. Directly, or indirectly, like this. And getting her humiliated, especially by you, who defeated her in a duel, is one way to further damage her reputation.]
Fuck…
I still cannot forget the cold and ruthless expression on Ilyrana’s face when she trashed Saria in the duel. The power difference between them was scary, and the reason why Ilyrana didn’t hold back was that Saria, too, tried to humiliate her in front of everyone in the academy.
It makes me shudder just thinking of what she might do to me…
Wait… Saria!
[What about her?]
Holy… isn’t she very suspicious!?
[She is?]
Yes!
She already mocked and challenged Ilyrana to an official duel because she wants to be the heir (apparently, she does this often). Then she got beaten up by her and ended up getting humiliated instead. She clearly has a deep grudge and resentment against Ilyrana.
AND! Even more importantly! She was the last person I talked to yesterday at the café— right before I met the guard and he told me about Nina! And you remember what she asked me, right?
[… to tell her about the spell you used against Ilyrana.]
Exactly! What if she followed me after that! Then listened in to my conversation with the guard, reached the monster prison before us (we weren’t exactly quick to get there), and stole the egg!!
Tell me this doesn’t fit perfectly!
[So, she became what she accused you of? A stalker.]
That bitch! She failed to get the spell from me, so she probably decided to resort to such bullshit!
[But why would she follow you? It’s not like she knew that the guard would be looking out for you to tell you about Nina.]
Of course, she didn’t. But maybe she followed me to discover something— anything that she could use to make me obey her. And she found this.
[That actually makes sense. Moreover, the message said ‘first task’. She clearly implied that there would be more. Maybe the last one would be for you to simply reveal the details of the Chaos ball to her.]
I can bet you anything that that would be it! And it’s also the one thing I cannot tell her about.
[I don’t think we will get to that point. It’s amazing how quickly you figured out who the most probable culprit is, and with such a big lead, you can easily recover the egg.]
Yeah, I think so, too. I need to confront Saria about it.
And just so we can actually prove her guilt, we need Nina. She wouldn’t be able to deny her involvement once we find the egg in her possession!
[Then what are we waiting for? I think Nina’s had enough rest.]
Let’s go, then.
I step back inside the room and gently wake up Nina. She stirs a little before slowly opening her eyes (they’re still red even after so long).
“Are you ready? If you’re still tired, we can wait for a while,” I say, grabbing her hand.
“No, I feel better.” She gets up from the bed. “I think I will catch the scent of my egg once I leave this closed place.”
No need to say anything further. Nina just washes her face, and changes into some clothes Layla gave her before we leave the Tree-palace.
The moment Nina steps outside, she flaps her wings and takes off the ground— not too far away from me, though. Once high enough, she begins flying in a circle for a few seconds before coming back down. And I can tell that she has some good news.
“I got it!” She exclaims. “Follow me! Quick!”
She starts flying forward frantically, and I have to basically run in order to keep up. I cannot let her get more than a hundred meters away from me.
It’s early in the morning, and this is the busiest time to be on Elven streets. They all like to be out under the natural sunlight. And thus, everywhere Nina passes by, she gets shocked stares from crowds of Elves. Some notice her bracelet first, then see me running behind and have an understanding look, while others continue to frown, wondering how a Harpy got inside and is flying freely.
I feel like I’m already pushing the limit of what I can allow Nina to do inside the city. Maybe I should’ve just told her to walk.
Luckily, nobody tries to stop us because I don’t think Nina would.
“We are close now,” Nina calls out a few minutes later. “The scent is getting strong.”
Thank God, I am starting to get tired.
But is Saria poor? I mean, no elf is actually poor, but you know, comparatively. Why is her house so far away from the central area?
[Hey, doesn’t this look familiar to you? This is the exact path we took yesterday to the monster prison facility.]
Wait, true…
My suspicion grows as Nina and I step into the clearing at the border right before the forest starts. Though to my relief, she actually starts flying in the opposite direction of the encampment.
Phew, maybe Nina is following the actual path those thieves took. That makes sense.
But after just a few more seconds, she stops and comes down to the ground. As I reach her, she bends down and picks something up carefully.
“Found it!” She turns around gleefully, showing me a wooden box.
Huh…? What?
“Open it,” I say, having a hard time believing that the egg was just lying here randomly.
And yes, the moment Nina opens the box, her face falls.
“It’s empty…” she tells me, looking super confused and disappointed. “But how? Even now, the scent is telling me that the egg should be right here in front of me. This is impossible. Maybe it fell outside the box?”
She shoves the box into my hands and starts looking for the egg on the grassy ground.
“What’s this?”
I notice something white peeking out from the box. A piece of paper with something written on it.
*You think I am that stupid? The Harpy won’t find anything. Complete the task in 48 hours or forget about seeing this egg again.*
Roeselawik's Web Novels 