Ellyad remained silent for a long time, to the point where Thrett thought he might be dozing off while standing. Suddenly, Lena emerged, placing her hands on Ellyad’s shoulders and floating in the air, saying, “I am this person’s elf friend, named Lena. Please let us visit your home.”
“Wow! Such a beautiful elf. Your name is Lena, right? I’m Snowlight Whittington. You’re welcome to visit my home,” Snowlight rushed to Ellyad’s side, eagerly looking at Lena.
“Do you even eat food?” Thrett whispered to her because he had no idea that elves needed to consume human food; they usually drew power from magic.
“De-ceit-ful, cheat-ing, taunt-ing, food, sex-fiend, magic, in-ca-pa-ble, swindler,” Lena retorted silently, one word at a time, insulting Thrett. The two of them continued their verbal jousting.
“Lena, why did you agree without consulting me?” Ellyad was completely surprised that Lena would unexpectedly appear and agree to the invitation at this moment. Regardless, the other party was a stranger they had just met, and considering the recent tracking incident, the invitation seemed to have ulterior motives.
Even if Ellyad dismissed the unnecessary suspicions, he couldn’t sense any friendliness or harmony in the atmosphere of this country. A strange and lingering oppressive feeling permeated the air.
“Come on, let’s go~” Lena, who had always responded with an elder’s attitude, rarely acted cute and made a request to Ellyad. In the end, he nodded and accepted the invitation, attributing those feelings to his own psychological effects.
“Well then, sorry to disturb you.”
“That’s great, let’s go quickly. Oh, but,” the girl put on her cloak’s hood and continued, “as I mentioned earlier, your hair color easily attracts attention in this country. Be careful.”
Ellyad nodded in understanding. He had experienced it firsthand just now—being robbed three times in a row, and many people giving him strange looks as he walked on the street.
Snowlight led the way, with Crow by her side. Ellyad was about to follow, but Thrett stopped him.
“Wait a moment.” He took off the dark cloak he had just bought and draped it over Ellyad, then handed him a hat to wear.
Just now, Snowlight mentioned paying attention to their appearance, so she herself wore a cloak. Although Ellyad had Thrett with him, and nothing would happen, hiding away was an additional precaution.
“Thank you. Aren’t you cold?” After taking off the cloak, Thrett was left with a simple black outfit and weapons hanging on him. Considering the weather, it did seem like he wasn’t dressed warmly enough.
“Rather than being cold, I can’t stand others staring at you.” Thrett bluntly expressed his thoughts, unaware of the emotions in his words. He didn’t like others closely watching Ellyad.
“So, you’ll be cold then?” Ellyad immediately took off the cloak to give it back to Thrett, but he was stopped. Ellyad stubbornly stared at him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Qts vbc’a sbe agjvf wf atf rmjgo?” Ktgfaa, klat tlr cjaegjiis ibkfg ybvs afwqfgjaegf jcv jvjqajalbc ab mbiv, vlvc’a cffv wemt kjgw mibatlcu. Bcbklcu atja Siisjv vlrilxfv batfgr abemtlcu tlr rmjgo, tf rjlv la bc qegqbrf, pera lcafcvlcu ab afjrf Siisjv.
“Vegf.” Siisjv vlvc’a tfrlajaf jcv tjcvfv tlr rmjgo ab Ktgfaa.
Although Thrett didn’t expect him to agree, he also didn’t refuse. Smiling lightly, he accepted the scarf and wrapped it around his neck. The scarf still retained Ellyad’s body warmth and a hint of his scent, like a thick layer of snow, with a crisp and pure fragrance.
Suddenly noticing Ellyad smiling, Thrett quickly asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you smiling?”
“Nothing, I just feel that even though you haven’t worn this cloak for long, it still carries your scent,” Ellyad replied.
“Huh, is it a bad smell?” Thrett didn’t have a specific impression of his own scent, but it definitely wouldn’t be unpleasant. The scent of a Demon Lord shouldn’t be repulsive to a Hero, right?
Ellyad quickly shook his head, smiling as he whispered, “It’s just the scent of Thrett.”
Having seen Ellyad smile so little lately, Thrett felt a strange tightening in his mind when he suddenly smiled like this.
“Both of you, hurry up and leave!” Lena stood at the entrance of the alley, hands on her hips, shouting.
Ellyad quickly walked towards the entrance of the alley. As he stepped out, he collided with a woman.
“Wow, can’t you watch where you’re going… Oh, it’s you!” The woman noticed Ellyad and suddenly screamed, rudely pointing her index finger at his face.
“Oh…” Ellyad was rendered speechless by the appearance of Lofisso Gururu, with her long black ponytail high up and her gray eyes under feathered eyelashes.
Her outfit was no longer the practical light armor she used to wear. Instead, she was now adorned in an expensive and fashionable dress, exuding an air of a wealthy young lady.
“Since the person you hit was this guy it’s a good thing,” Thrett, showing no emotional fluctuations at Lofisso’s appearance, raised the corner of his mouth. “If you kneel down and apologize to him, I’ll forgive you.”
“The one who should accept the apology is me, right? This is my territory, after all,” Lofisso’s best reason was that this was her homeland.
“Sorry for bumping into you,” Ellyad apologized first, being honest to defuse the situation. Seeing Snowlight and Crow already walking away, he reached out, pulling Thrett’s sleeve. “We won’t catch up with them if we stay here.”
“Then let’s go,” without even a word of greeting or farewell to Lofisso, Thrett turned around and left with Ellyad. As far as he was concerned, if it was someone he decided he had no interest in, no matter where he met them or under what circumstances, Thrett wouldn’t give them the slightest bit of attention.
“Wait, where are you guys going?” But Lofisso, unwilling to give up, followed after them.
“To eat,” Thrett answered. He was grabbed by Ellyad on one sleeve, while Lofisso hooked onto his other arm.
“Then let me join you; I haven’t had lunch either.” Lofisso took the initiative to create an opportunity for more interaction with Thrett, and a new round of the game began.
Since the last game didn’t clearly determine a winner, Lofisso had no intention of giving up. Although she initially felt a bit frustrated and upset, whenever she thought of Thrett’s capricious personality, Lofisso couldn’t help but delude herself into thinking that he would eventually shift his attention back to her. Ellyad was also well aware of this fact, and a hint of unease arose in his heart. Compared to males, it was undoubtedly better to choose females; and compared to his unremarkable appearance, Lofisso, full of alluring charm, was undoubtedly a better choice.
“Oh, you’re quite fortunate~” Lena, who suddenly appeared, habitually teased Thrett by leaning on his shoulder.
Thrett suddenly felt a bit annoyed in his heart. He really disliked being noisy and entangled by others. After all, he was a Demon Lord. Shouldn’t he just blast Lofisso out with one hand, then grab the sprite on his head, turning her into a shooting star in the sky, and finally leaving only Ellyad? Thrett thought that if it were Ellyad grabbing him, he wouldn’t feel annoyed; in fact, it might even be quite enjoyable.
“Crow, this person is as dark as you are, but he’s quite popular. You should go ask him for advice.”
Snowlight, acting like a young lady, covered her mouth with four fingertips and giggled, and Crow immediately responded calmly, “I have no reason to be popular. I only need the young lady.”
“Crow, let’s not talk about that,” Snowlight patted her slightly blushing cheeks with both hands, walked to Lofisso’s side, and bowed, “Miss, excuse me for the disturbance. These are the guests I invited today. Please come and visit them another day.” The words were circuitous, but the implied meaning was to drive away Lofisso in a very polite manner.
“Who are you again…” Lofisso lowered her head to glance at the cloaked girl and then looked at Crow, who seemed like a black shadow behind her. She suddenly frowned, “Well, Thrett, if you’re done here, come to the Gururu mansion at Southwest Bridge No. 3 to find me.”
Before Lofisso left, she saw that Ellyad was still holding Thrett’s sleeve. She glared at Ellyad, and when Ellyad received her gaze, he just silently averted his eyes but didn’t let go of Thrett’s hand.
‘At least I’m more confident in winning Thrett than he is!’ Lofisso injected herself with a dose of self-assurance in her heart, although she didn’t know that between these two, countless bonds had already intertwined them to an inseparable extent.
“Then remember to come find me. In the Iron Gray Country, there’s not a single person who doesn’t know the surname Gururu.” Lofisso proudly lifted her chest, displaying a confident smile, and left the sight of everyone, flaunting her dominance.
“I didn’t expect to encounter the Gururu family’s heiress. This is worse than a robbery,” Snowlight murmured softly. Crow, standing behind Snowlight, replied, “Regardless, I will protect you, Your Highness, please rest assured.”
“Didn’t we agree not to call me Your Highness?” Snowlight scolded Crow, trying to lower her voice.
“Yes, Miss Snowlight.”
“Why can’t you just call me Snowlight directly?”
“That would be crossing the line.” Crow answered with a serious expression
Snowlight smiled meaningfully but quickly concealed her emotions. Lena, looking at the two from a distance, couldn’t help but reveal a bitter smile, but it was a fleeting moment, and no one noticed.
As they navigated between bridges, towers, and tunnels, the bustling street scenes gradually diminished. The once lively and crowded streets turned desolate and filthy, as if stepping into the abyss of corruption in this country.
Judging from Snowlight’s attire, way of speaking, and Crow’s address to her, one might think she was the daughter of some noble family. However, if she were a wealthy young lady, she couldn’t possibly live in such a squalid and dirty lower district. She should reside in a clean and neat environment with high-rise buildings, where skywalks and sunlight intersect.
“Here we are. Please come in, everyone,” Snowlight stopped in front of a door with a dilapidated and blackened sign hanging on it, faintly displaying the words “tea drinks.”
Crow opened the door, which didn’t require a key and made a creaking, grating sound. A few drops of black-gray water dripped down with the opening of the wooden door.
Snowlight stepped over the threshold, and the East Asian-style tea shop, with a small courtyard, came into view. In the Bridge Nation, a country connecting two continents, there used to be various exotic influences gathered, but unfortunately, after the rebellion, the former splendor was reduced to emptiness.
At the entrance, many broken pottery vessels were piled up, thick moss grew on the stone bricks, and under the eaves hung something damp and crumpled, possibly remnants of paper lantern decorations.
Inside the shop, a few wooden tables and chairs were haphazardly arranged, indicating that this was a shop that had been closed and abandoned for a long time.
The small tea shop was hidden deep in the heart of the Iron Gray Nation. Looking up from the open front yard, you could only see fragments of the gray-blue sky through the gaps of countless skywalks.
Without hesitation, Ellyad stepped into the shop, casually lifting the brim of his hat. Thrett followed behind, while Lena, reluctant to be dripped on by the dirty water, cautiously dodged the dripping droplets.
Thanks for the chapter!!
ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞