Chapter 54 Red Letter
After arriving at the gate of the Elven Kingdom, Dantalian showed Duchess Marian's letter and discussed the current situation, obtaining permission to enter. As they entered, the once magnificent place was now shrouded in a thin mist, but only Fiona could see it.
"Dantalian, can you see this?" Fiona spoke, rubbing her finger.
"Are you referring to the diluted Krintoin energy in the air?"
Upon hearing this, Freytan covered her nose and looked at Dantalian, saying, "What do you think you're doing? Have you forgotten what happened last time?"
"What happened? Was it something that occurred before we met?" Amanda asked, looking confused at Freytan.
"It wasn't exactly before we met, Amanda. To put it briefly, you were in the same state as the people of this kingdom, but the only difference is that you weren't in a worse condition."
"Worse? So, that means..." Fiona spoke.
"Yes, she encountered the Destruction, one of the fifteen," Dantalian replied.
"So he really exists? He's the only one I doubted the existence of" Freytan said.
"Yes, it exists, but I've never seen it in person, only its shadow," Fiona explained.
"Now I understand why my body feels so uneasy in this place... Master, forget what I said, I don't want to live here."
Fiona hugged Amanda from behind and said, "Relax, relax, Amanda. Dantalian must have already thought of something, and once we take care of that pawn, we can have some fun."
"So, Dantalian, what Fiona said is true? Have you already thought of something?" Freytan asked.
"I don't have a definite plan yet, but I've thought of something. We'll discuss it in the meeting."
Dantalian stopped walking and looked around, seeing the despondent expressions of several elves, resembling zombies walking through the streets. "Don't you find it strange? We are important, and they're making us walk all the way to the center tree."
The three smiled, looking at each other. "Can I?" Freytan asked.
"Go ahead, you're the one who enjoys doing that the most," Fiona replied.
"Just don't go too hard on the master."
'Did I say something foolish?' Dantalian thought, reviewing everything he had said.
"Nature is just that, simply that, even Amanda knows it."
'I thought it was something more serious' Dantalian thought.
"So it's just a tradition... I see."
Shortly after this brief conversation, the four arrived at the city center, where there were three elves with blond hair and black eyes. The three were wearing gray uniforms with green details, and they were equipped with a bow and some magical stones wrapped around their right arms.
"Mr. Dantalian, am I correct?" the elf on the left spoke.
"Exactly, Dantalian Lancaster-Steele at your service."
"Well-mannered, I see... And who are these three?"
Dantalian looked at the three.
Amanda clenched her fist. If she exerted just a little more force, it would be enough to draw blood. She cleared her throat and said, "My name is Amanda, I'm an adventurer and Mr. Dantalian's secretary."
The elves glanced at each other before returning their gaze to Amanda. Her way of speaking seemed too robotic, but the two ignored that as they noticed Amanda's right hand trembling and the sound of her accelerated heartbeat.
"I don't think I need to introduce myself. You must know me, right? I've come on behalf of Guild Master Dantalian," Freytan said.
The elf removed one of the magical stones from his right arm. It was red, but within a few seconds, it turned green.
"Alright, and please don't take offense, you know? It's just security measures."
'You could have done this at the entrance, you imbeciles,' Dantalian thought, maintaining his smile.
The elf on the right raised his hand, pointing at Fiona. "I might be intruding a bit since I can't be certain just by listening to her body sounds, but she doesn't seem to have any vocal problems, so why is she silent?"
Fiona took a step forward, looking at Dantalian, who waved his hand, giving her permission to speak.
"The master told us to only speak when asked, and you completed the test before it was my turn. What can I do about it?"
'Useless idiots,' Freytan thought.
'When can we go to the room?' Amanda thought.
The elf on the right touched a magical stone on his arm. "You misunderstood, miss. Everyone who comes to the elven kingdom knows about this. The magical stones only record three people. Now that this misunderstanding is resolved, could you please tell us who you are?"
Now, the same elf waved to Fiona and said, "Unlike the other two, you don't have a familiar face, even though you're the one who stands out the most among them."
"Oh, unlike the other two, I only stay in the guild master's room, you know? I'm not a secretary or an adventurer since I retired from that early on, and now I live solely to serve him," Fiona said, touching Dantalian's shoulder with a smile, feigning an innocent expression.
'So, what will you do, Dantalian? I know you said to avoid this, but I couldn't resist. I want to see your furious eyes,' Fiona thought.
'Fiona!!!!!!!! If this rumor spreads, I'll be crucified. I don't want to go through that again,' Dantalian thought, remembering the idiots complaining about him liking a cosplay photo. 'Damn kids, what were they doing on a social media like Red Bird?'
The elves stared motionless at Dantalian.
'Fuck, why do you have to be such purists?' Dantalian thought, looking at the astonished faces of the elves.
While all this was happening, Freytan stood beside Amanda with his hand on her shoulder, a signal they had agreed upon for her to remain silent. Speaking in this situation would only make things worse.
Dantalian pretended to cough into his own hand as he looked at the two elves. He spoke, "You misunderstood. She retired due to disability for a long time. You see, she and my current secretary were sadly affected by a stronger version of a strange illness. But now I know how to cure it, so..."
Dantalian took a step forward, activating the Divine Hand, which covered his hand. He lightly tapped the ground, using golden energy to alter its properties. He did the opposite of preventing sound from escaping, amplifying the sound instead, while keeping his hands in his pockets and looking superiorly at the elves. "Get out of my way. You're doing a terrible job. Seriously? Inspection only here?"
"Ah, so you've arrived? My mother truly is a lost cause. I can't believe she actually made a guild leader come all the way here." This unfamiliar female voice came from above, on a large tree trunk that was lowering itself until it reached the ground.
The woman looked at the two elves and said, "I'll have to inform Anna to replace these lazy gatekeepers. They can't even stay at the initial gate."
Upon hearing this, the three girls felt discomfort in their bodies, as if something or someone was looking at them coldly. But Dantalian was standing in front of them, so how could he be doing that?
"Oh, Miss Echidna, please, anything but talking to Princess Anna."
"She has no mercy. If she finds out, we'll have to hunt the beasts in the forest..."
Hearing this made Freytan more interested, and once again, the feeling of the cold gaze enveloped his body.
"You should have thought twice before making important guests walk all the way here."
Echidna jumped off the trunk and stood in front of Dantalian.
"Pleasure to meet you, Dantalian. My name is Echidna Sinclair Beaumont. The letter delivered by my mother's falcon spoke highly of you."
As Dantalian finally encountered the third heroine, the first to have a banner, a black falcon with green eyes carrying a red letter in its beak landed on Scylla's bedroom window.
The falcon searched every corner but couldn't find Scylla anywhere. Then, the sound of the bathroom door in her room opened, revealing her emerging from the mist. Scylla walked out of the bathroom wearing only a towel, skillfully holding it with one hand in front of her body, revealing just enough to ignite the imagination.
Her electric blue hair cascaded in water droplets over her shoulders, gently dripping onto her skin. Small glistening droplets ran down the silky strands, creating a mesmerizing contrast with the vibrant hue of her hair.
Scylla's skin displayed a healthy glow, slightly flushed from the warmth of the bath. Her delicate facial features seemed even softer, enhanced by a natural blush on her cheeks. Her sparkling silver eyes were even more intense due to the bathroom's moist air, reflecting the light in a fascinating way.
Water droplets trickled down the contours of her neck, disappearing beneath the towel, suggesting a soft and silky skin yearning to be touched. Her slightly pink lips formed a playful smile, revealing a mix of confidence and teasing.
Despite being clad only in a towel, Scylla exuded a magnetic presence. Her slender and elegant figure was accentuated by her confident posture, while her sculpted muscles subtly revealed themselves beneath the damp skin.
As she moved gracefully through the space, small water droplets fell in her wake, leaving a subtle trail on the floor.
"kreee"
Hearing that, Scylla would snap out of her tranquil world and look directly at the falcon, which would now hold the red letter in its right claw.
"So this dishwater blonde didn't give up? What a nightmare."