As she ventured deeper into the underground trade district, the lights grew dimmer.
Holding Vidras in her arms, Vanessa leisurely walked through the still bustling stalls.
Moonlight grass, stardust sand, shadow butterfly scales… these materials, cherished as treasures in the outer areas, were merely fleeting smoke in her eyes.
Her destination lay deeper.
After passing through an unremarkable alley, the light suddenly dimmed.
The air was thick with cheap tobacco, forbidden potions, and all sorts of indescribable decaying odors.
On both sides, dim lamps spaced far apart stretched shadows into distorted shapes.
This place was completely different from the outer area.
No neat stalls, no polite bargaining.
Instead, there were “shops” hidden in the shadows.
Some were just a cloth spread on the ground with the owner sitting beside it, displaying shady items.
Others were simply closed wooden doors marked with symbols only regulars understood.
However, when their gazes fell on Vanessa and lingered on her obviously expensive black robe and the black cat in her arms, they tactfully looked away after a few seconds.
Further away, an argument broke out, mixed with curses and sounds of physical scuffles, but it quickly subsided.
A tall, thin man was shoved out of a shop, stumbling to the ground.
“Get lost!”
A harsh door slam came from inside.
The man got up, covering his bleeding nose, and disappeared into the darkness while cursing.
Vanessa didn’t even blink.
This was the deep zone of the underground trade district.
This was a place that shunned sunlight, where the city’s dark side was fully embodied.
Rules became blurred here, while fists and gold coins became hard currency.
If you had money, you could get any goods you wanted; if your fists were strong enough, you could also snatch others’ property for yourself.
Vidras nestled in her arms, its emerald eyes half-closed, indifferent to the surrounding chaos.
Only occasionally, when a reckless gaze swept over, it would lazily glance back.
Its emerald vertical pupils carried magic, and the moment those gazes made contact, they would shrink back as if scalded.
Vanessa’s steps didn’t pause at all.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t come to such a filthy place.
But here, there was an acquaintance and the goods she wanted.
That was all.
***
Back at the Akihiro Inn that day, the other person gave her an indescribable sense of dissonance.
It was as if a noble monarch had been forcibly stuffed into an ordinary person’s shell.
And the moment she saw that woman, Yiruo almost instinctively wanted to rush in that direction.
Her intuition was warning her.
That woman was dangerous.
Yiruo even stubbornly labeled her as such.
She couldn’t explain the feeling, but she clearly remembered that aura.
So the moment she sensed that surge of magic, Yiruo was sure the other party was Vanessa.
She must be plotting something.
Yiruo had just taken a step when her hand was firmly grabbed.
“Little Yiruo~”
Yilena held Yiruo’s hand.
After scanning and finding nothing, she turned around and said helplessly:
“Are you that eager to chase after her?”
“Not at all!” Yiruo turned back, her sapphire-like eyes full of urgency. “She must be up to something! We need to find out what she’s doing!”
Yilena looked at her, a complex emotion flickering in her ocean-blue eyes.
It carried a hint of relief and some helplessness.
“Yes, yes~” she sighed and ruffled Yiruo’s hair. “Our little knight can’t wait to judge the villain~”
“Yilena! Now’s not the time to tease me. She’s already out of sight.”
“Alright, alright~” Yilena raised her hands in surrender with a smile. “I’ll take you, I’ll take you.”
The next moment, her smile faded as she crouched down to look Yiruo in the eye.
Her usually smiling eyes now turned serious.
“But, Little Yiruo, listen carefully.”
Yiruo nodded.
“Once we enter the deep zone,” Yilena’s voice dropped low, “rules won’t necessarily apply.”
She paused, reached out, and gently stroked Yiruo’s cheek, looking at her with some worry.
“It’s different from outside. No patrols, no mediators. That’s the gray zone of the city, a dark area that exists in any city.”
“So you must stay close to me.”
“Don’t say anything rash.”
Yilena stood up and stretched.
“We’ll just go in and see what she wants to do. Once she leaves, we’ll deal with what she got.”
“After all, the beautiful and kind witch has to maintain peace today too~”
***
The wooden door slowly closed behind her, sealing off the chaos outside.
The room was very quiet.
But it was also incredibly messy.
From ceiling to floor, shelves were stacked high, filled with faintly glowing jars and bottles, as well as magic stones of various colors.
There were old parchment scrolls, skulls of deep-sea giants, and even some unidentifiable terrifying items that exuded dangerous auras.
But what was completely out of place in this scene—
In the middle of all this chaos, on a large chair, a small figure was sound asleep.
It was a young elf girl.
Her golden short hair was messily sticking up, and her pointed ears twitched slightly with her breathing.
She was curled up in the chair, hugging a bulging money pouch, with a suspicious strand of drool at the corner of her mouth.
Vanessa looked at her, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.
Aurora.
The most famous “special merchant” in this deep zone.
As long as you could pay the price, there was nothing she couldn’t get.
Of course, the prerequisite was that you could tolerate her headache-inducing personality.
Vidras stirred in Vanessa’s arms, its emerald eyes casting a disdainful glance at the sleeping figure.
Vanessa lowered her head and exchanged a glance with the black cat.
Then she let go.
The black cat leaped down gracefully and silently approached the chair.
The little elf was still sleeping, mumbling something incoherently.
“Gold coins… more gold coins… all mine…”
Meow!
Vidras pounced, its front paws landing squarely on the little face.
“Waaaaaah——!!!”
Aurora shot up from the chair, the money pouch flying far away, and she nearly tumbled to the ground.
She flailed her arms frantically, finally managing to peel the cat off her face.
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