The cargo wagon happened to pass between two alleys.
Nolani leaped forward from the roof of the wagon, her fingers sweeping rapidly across her lyre strings. Vines instantly burst from the cracks in the walls on either side, weaving together in midair to form a flexible green bridge.
Nolani stepped onto the vines, leaping toward the eaves on the opposite side.
Her red hair billowed from beneath the brim of her hat like a flame dancing across the rooftops.
Watching her practiced movements, Celine's expression grew a fraction colder.
This elf was clearly no stranger to being chased.
Celine raised her hand with a flick.
A Mana-Conducting Thread wrapped around a wooden sign hanging ahead and snapped taut. Using the leverage, Celine leaped from the top of the cargo wagon and landed on the roof on the other side.
Just as Celine's feet touched down, Nolani glanced back at her.
“Miss Celine, vigorous exercise after a meal is bad for digestion!”
“Stop running, and I'll help you digest it properly.”
“That doesn't sound like a very gentle invitation.”
Nolani immediately changed direction, sliding down the sloped tiles toward the edge of the eaves.
Below was a narrow alley packed with cargo crates. If she could drop down there, she would easily lose her pursuer in the labyrinth of streets.
But just as she was about to jump, a sharp, high-pitched whinny echoed from ahead.
Moon charged out from the other end of the alley, completely blocking her only escape route.
Nolani looked back at Celine, then down at Moon standing in her way.
“Having such perfect teamwork really takes all the fun out of escaping.”
Celine didn't waste any breath. A Soul Thread shot from her fingertips, darting straight for Nolani's ankle.
Nolani quickly plucked her strings.
Several vines sprouted from beneath the eaves, catching her body and swinging her toward the other side.
But just as the vines tensed, their roots dislodged several loose, weathered roof tiles.
The tiles clattered down, and one of the vines snapped. Nolani lost her balance and plunged headfirst over the edge.
“Whoaaaa—”
She barely had time to hug her lyre to her chest.
Celine flicked her wrist, wrapping a Mana-Conducting Thread around Nolani's waist and pulling it tight just before she hit the ground.
The red-haired elf jerked to a halt in midair, ending up suspended upside down less than two meters above the ground.
Her bright bonnet fluttered down, landing perfectly atop Moon's head.
Moon stood below, looking up at her.
Nolani's red hair fell all over her face.
She stared back at Moon in silence for a moment, then squeezed out a weak smile.
“It suits you.”
Moon shook its head, tossing the bonnet right into Nolani's face.
Celine dropped down from the roof, tightening the Soul Thread to hoist her up another half-foot.
“Miss Celine, I believe we could find a much more elegant way to communicate.”
“You didn't seem very concerned with elegance when you stuffed that contract seal into Moon's saddle.”
“Strictly speaking, the vine did that.”
The Soul Thread wrapped around her body tightened slightly, causing Nolani to gasp.
“Ow, ow, ow!” she quickly corrected herself. “It was me! I made the vine do it!”
“Why?”
“That contract seal belongs to the Green Shade Merchant Guild.”
“Tell me something I don't know.”
Nolani coughed lightly.
“Lately, they've been buying up highly vibrant plants at exorbitant prices, along with rare seeds that ordinary merchants have absolutely no use for. I suspected something was off, so I borrowed their contract seal to look at a few sealed transport records.”
“Borrowed?”
“I fully intended to return it.”
Celine frowned at her. Nolani's gaze drifted sideways.
“At least, that was the plan before they caught me.”
“Then why did you shove it onto me?”
“There were too many of them, and I'm not very good at direct confrontations.”
Nolani wanted to shrug, but suspended upside down as she was, she could only wriggle her body awkwardly.
“And you looked like someone who's good at handling trouble.”
“Just because you think I can handle it doesn't give you the right to dump your problems on me.”
Nolani opened her mouth, but ultimately found no words to argue.
She was indeed in the wrong, and Celine was indeed powerful—power she couldn't match.
But Celine wasn't about to be fooled by this excuse.
After stuffing the contract seal into the saddle, Nolani hadn't run away immediately. Instead, she had hidden in the crowd and watched the entire scene play out.
If her only goal had been to lose her pursuers, there would have been no reason to stay.
“There were so many people on the street. Why did you choose me of all people?” Celine demanded.
Nolani swayed slightly in the air, seemingly weighing the consequences of lying further.
After a moment, she sighed. “Because you're highly suspicious too.”
The alley fell silent. Moon took a half-step forward, radiating a clear, warning aura.
Nolani looked down at the horse.
“Don't be angry, I'm only stating the truth.” She looked back at Celine. “Others might not notice, but elves are far more sensitive to the difference between normal life and decay than humans are.”
The white flower on Nolani's collar tilted once again toward Celine.
A faint trace of nature-attribute power rippled outward.
The next moment, a slight warmth tickled Celine's ear.
【External perception detected】
【Type: Nature Attribute - Life Probe】
【Target: Abnormal life aura】
【Observer's Disposition: Suspicious, vigilant】
【Probe has been disrupted】
Celine's gaze darkened slightly. Nolani really was investigating her.
Her smiling approach, her offer to travel together, and even that ridiculously long introduction probably hadn't been born out of simple friendliness.
“The aura on you is very contradictory,” Nolani continued. “On one hand, it feels like the purest morning light and fresh, budding leaves. But on the other, there's a deeply suppressed scent of decay.”
Celine didn't loosen the Soul Thread, nor did her expression betray anything.
But she knew that what Nolani had sensed was the 【Decayed Residual Root】.
Ever since that residual root had entered her body, her own holiness and the holiness of the 【Corona Band】 had been helping her suppress its power.
The 【Fog Mirror Earrings】 and the 【Witch's Mask】 could block ordinary detection, but they couldn't entirely deceive an elf's intuition.
“What do you think it is?” Celine asked.
Nolani looked at her. “It feels like a growing root, but it doesn't belong to any normal plant.”
“So to confirm your suspicions, you stuffed that contract seal into my saddle and left me to face the Green Shade Merchant Guild?”
“I needed to see what kind of power you would use.”
Nolani's answer was surprisingly candid.
“If you were connected to what I'm investigating, being suddenly cornered would likely force you to reveal some of your hidden abilities.”
Celine suddenly let out a soft laugh. “And did you learn anything?”
Nolani gave it some serious thought. “I couldn't figure out whose side you're on.”
Celine was almost amused by her sheer audacity. After all this trouble, she had thought the elf had uncovered some world-shattering secret.
“Then your little test seems to have been quite useless.”
“How could you say that?”
Nolani looked at her, a hint of wariness still lingering in her green eyes.
“You aren't contaminated by decay, and you didn't kill those men. You don't look like some mindless monster.” She paused, eyeing the upside-down Celine. “But the fact that I can't read you at all makes you even more suspicious. Plus, you ride a black horse that even elves refuse to get close to. That's incredibly suspicious.”
“So you're definitely not just some ordinary traveler who came to Red Kite to buy a few things and spend a couple of nights in a cheap inn.”
Celine didn't answer her. Instead, she asked, “What else do you know?”
Nolani blinked.
“Changing the subject?”
The Soul Thread suddenly tightened.
“Ow, ow!” Nolani immediately behaved. “I only know that a similar aura has appeared in Red Kite.”
“Where?”
Shouts suddenly echoed from the distance. “Someone saw that red-haired woman running this way!”
“Split up and search!”
Evidently, the Green Shade Merchant Guild had managed to pry Nolani's direction of escape from the onlookers.
Nolani glanced toward the noise.
“This isn't a good place to keep talking. The Green Shade Merchant Guild will find us soon, and besides, you don't have a Red Kite pass yet.”
Celine narrowed her eyes. “How do you know that?”
“You asked me earlier which gate was the most convenient. Someone who has already entered the city wouldn't ask that.”
She wriggled her still-bound body, her red hair clinging uncomfortably to her face.
“I know a way in where we won't run into the Holy White City knights. I can take you through.”
Celine studied her for a moment.
“Is that your condition?”
“It's compensation,” Nolani corrected. “After all, I did cause you some trouble just now.”
Celine didn't rush to agree.
Having Nolani guide her to bypass the Holy White City's inspection would indeed solve her biggest current problem.
But she couldn't completely trust an elf who had just stuffed stolen goods into Moon's saddle based on a few words alone.
“Take me into the city,” Celine said. “Once we are somewhere safe, you will tell me everything you know.”
Nolani thought about it. Letting someone carrying an aura of decay wander freely around Red Kite seemed far more dangerous than keeping her close where she could keep an eye on her.
“I can tell you what I saw with my own eyes. As for my theories, those will have to wait until I'm certain you won't sell me out to the Green Shade Merchant Guild.”
Celine looked the upside-down elf up and down, then smiled faintly.
“But you are in no position to negotiate.”
Rate on N.U.
