Elvia's Calculations

Lin Gui glanced at her, his voice flat.

“Rather than a scheme, it is more of a reminder.”

“I do not know disguise magic, so you had to set up your disguise yourself.”

“It is virtually impossible for a mid-tier disguise spell cast by a mid-tier mage to deceive an Epic demon.”

“I knew this, Elvia knew it even better, and you should have realized it yourself.”

Theia fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

She indeed knew the risks, but... it was out of her trust in Elvia.

To be precise, she trusted Elvia's cowardice and fear of death.

That girl's life was still bound to Lin Gui, after all.

It was precisely because of this that they had followed her into Eagle Fortress without any extra warnings from her.

“Just as Elvia expected, the Queen noticed us.”

“My subsequent exchange of information about the Whispering Forest was also within her expectations.”

“She wanted to use me to deliver this information to the Queen, so the Queen would send people to investigate the reason behind the abnormal demon migration.”

“At the same time, she wanted to use the Queen's mouth to give me a reminder.”

“You are no longer the barely tolerable half-demon from before; you are now a true demon.”

“To prevent your identity from being exposed, I must obtain a top-tier disguise treasure of at least Legendary rank.”

He paused.

“And such an item, in this southwestern region, can only be found in the Carter Royal Capital—the hub city-state connected to the central Magic City.”

A look of realization dawned on Theia.

“So she went through all this trouble just to... make you ask her for help so she could get a Legendary-grade item?”

“Exactly. Although I could directly order her to get it,”

“how hard Elvia will actually work depends on my 'sincerity'.”

“If there is enough sincerity, she will give her all to help you obtain the item that can resolve your hidden danger once and for all.”

“If there isn't enough, she will just play the part of a fallen, exiled princess with limited capabilities.”

Lin Gui sneered.

“She deliberately showed harmony with the low-level adventurers at the fortress gates.”

“She did that simply to emphasize that she is not the same as those 'noble pigs' I always talk about.”

“She must have figured out along the way that my moral standards are surprisingly high, and that I'm somewhat of an overly soft-hearted person.”

“If she really isn't the type of person I despise, I truly wouldn't be able to force her to do anything.”

“Even if her life is in my hands.”

“So this is an open scheme. Rather than targeting you, it is aimed at me.”

But would Lin Gui fall for it?

Naturally not.

He did not even take this matter to heart.

He did not need to solve Theia's identity problem once and for all.

Because once they reached Avalon, Theia would not need to hide anymore.

And there was only one last stop left before he could safely deliver Theia to Avalon.

That was the dwarven city-state, the Fortress City of Shield—a border city-state built to withstand the demons from the southwestern coast.

Until then, as long as Theia stayed in the refugee district and did not actively use her demon energy, no one except a Legendary-rank powerhouse would notice anything unusual.

Even if they were discovered, he could just wave his hand and disappear with Theia.

In the entire Carter Royal Capital, there was currently no existence that made him feel threatened.

As for the Epic-rank Grand Astrologer Mage that Elvia had boasted about back in Caran, it was pure bluffing.

The highest power level on the surface in the Carter Royal Capital was only Mid-tier Legendary.

Knight John, whom they had met earlier, was already one of the four pillars of the Royal Capital.

However, the upcoming visit of the Holy Church of Light delegation still put Lin Gui on alert.

He brought Theia to the sixth ring, the commoner district.

After settling everything and telling Theia to watch over the wooden crates and the raft,

Lin Gui went to a kiosk, bought a newspaper, and began gathering information.

Soon, the news of the Holy Church of Light's arrival in the Carter Royal Capital in seven days caught his eye on the front page of the newspaper.

When he saw that the leader of the delegation was the newly appointed Saintess, Isaiah Eve,

Lin Gui frowned.

This Saintess, who was only twenty years old, was one of the only two people on the entire Akara Continent who had mastered Prophecy.

The other was the lord of the City of Heroes, Archmage Moran.

In theory, Prophecy could see through his 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】.

However, this Saintess was far too young.

Lin Gui was unsure of just how powerful her Prophecy was.

The safest approach was to quickly complete the system's Weekly Commission within seven days and then slip away.

“Tsk, seven days... That is far too tight.”

Lin Gui rapidly calculated in his mind.

“But I still haven't found the Queen's tomb...” Lin Gui muttered under his breath.

He could not give up the reward of the 【Eyes of the Netherworld】.

Furthermore, he still needed to gather information about the two Forbidden Zones they had to cross and their final destination, Avalon.

The Silent Sea was relatively straightforward. To supply the Fortress City of Shield with resources and equipment, and to pin down the demons carrying strange plagues at sea, the Golden Route through the Silent Sea had been established long ago, and there were plenty of transport caravans heading there.

When the time came, Lin Gui could hitch a ride by relying on his nearly fully mastered Levitation.

But as for the Wall of Sighs and Avalon, Lin Gui had not found any trace of them on any map.

These two were the greatest obstacles of his journey.

“Sigh... Forget it. Since things have come to this, I should deliver the letters first.”

However, to deliver over five thousand letters, Lin Gui had to open a post office in the Royal Capital.

Before that, he had to get some money first.

The few thousand gold coins he had on him were not even enough to serve as a stepping stone for establishing a business.

In the past, Lin Gui would worry over a few gold coins, as the path of a mage's advancement required no small amount of money.

But ever since his Shroud of the Gloomy Night reached max mastery and his Levitation became second nature,

money had become nothing more than a number to him.

The size of this number depended entirely on how deep his "patrons'" pockets were.

And now, he needed to find a qualified patron.

Casting Shroud of the Gloomy Night and straddling his staff, Lin Gui floated toward the central axis.

Through there, he could pass through the layers of high walls and reach the Upper District.

The seven high walls of the Carter Royal Capital clearly divided the entire city into three major districts and seven rings.

From top to bottom, the three major districts were:

The Upper District: including the first ring—the palace and royal family district atop the mountain peak; the noble district of the second ring; and the knight district of the third ring, where knights of all ranks and the knight orders resided.

The Middle District: including the wealthy merchant district of the fourth ring, and the commercial trade district of the fifth ring.

This was the most prosperous and bustling commercial area in the Royal Capital.

Goods from numerous transport caravans were gathered and distributed here, filtered through layers of selection before the most luxurious items were sent to the Upper District.

If there was any place that would sell Legendary-grade magic items, it could only be in the Upper District.

The Lower District: including the commoner district of the sixth ring, and the outermost and largest seventh ring, the refugee district.

And Lin Gui's target was the wealthy merchant district of the fourth ring.