"This... I, I’ll get right on it."
Nina’s panicked state made Luo Li’s brow furrow.
"Nina, don't make a scene. Don't overreact. Act as if nothing happened, but you must be fast."
"Yes, I understand."
Back at the Alchemists' Association in Brilliant City, the little fox-girl Nina had her large tail tucked between her legs, her fox ears standing tall as if she were on high alert.
As a member of the fox tribe, such physiological responses were difficult to hide.
The tail and ears were often the most direct indicators of a beastman's current state of mind.
'Knock, knock.'
Two raps on the door came from behind her.
Luo Li glanced back at the door.
This was a civilian communication room, so the entrance wasn't strictly sealed.
There was even a large pane of glass on the door, allowing her to see outside.
Right in front of the glass, the waiter who had been standing with his back to her was waving his hands behind his back toward Luo Li.
Clearly, time was up, or rather, something had happened outside!
Luo Li immediately cut the communication and turned to leave.
The moment she opened the door, the waiter grabbed the girl and pulled her forward.
Luo Li was startled!
This wasn't the plan they had discussed!
Without resisting, Luo Li followed the path he led her down.
The moment her figure disappeared around a corner, the area outside the communication room was surrounded by soldiers.
The leader had a solemn expression as he scanned the area, shouting at the panicked citizens.
"We have received a tip that there is a demon informant in this civilian communication room. Everyone, stay where you are and cooperate with the investigation. The doors are being locked until the investigation is complete. Anyone who resists will be executed on the spot for the crime of consorting with demons!"
The citizens looked at the leading general in terror.
"General, I'm not a demon!"
"That's right, General! Look at us, we're just ordinary people. Where would a demon come from?"
The general’s contemptuous gaze swept over the people in the hall, directly ignoring their cries.
He waved his hand.
"All units, lock down the area and search!"
"Yes, sir!"
A force of over a thousand soldiers surrounded the Mage Association, which was barely six hundred square meters.
Izzy, who was drinking tea in the tea house across the street, spat it out the moment he saw this.
This was bad!
Izzy turned and ran downstairs, following an alleyway and disappearing after a few turns.
Meanwhile, Luo Li was led directly into the backyard of the Mage Association.
The girl leading her didn't say a word the entire way, taking Luo Li straight to a door in the backyard.
She opened the door, walked inside, and pointed to a coffin sitting on a table.
"Get in, quickly!"
The moment she stepped into the room, Luo Li felt goosebumps rise all over her body.
Because this room contained... at least thirty coffins.
As a Saintess, she naturally emitted divine power, which was directly linked to life force.
However, this room was filled with a sense of deathly silence.
It was an indescribable feeling, like looking at withered buds in the dead of winter.
The entire room gave off a thick aura of death, and the air held a pungent scent.
It smelled somewhat like formalin.
Clearly, this was a place for storing corpses.
Huh?
How could a prestigious Mage Association have so many corpses?
"Get in already!"
The girl pointed at the coffin, and Luo Li looked at the open casket.
This coffin seemed a bit different.
Luo Li climbed inside.
"Lie still. Remember, do not move no matter what, or we'll both die."
The girl took a cover plate from the side and placed it over her.
It covered Luo Li perfectly.
But she saw clearly that the plate wasn't the coffin lid.
It was a partition!
Just as she realized this, she heard a 'thud' as something heavy was placed on the partition above her.
For goodness' sake, she had put a corpse on top of the partition, hadn't she?
The thought of a dead body lying right above her made Luo Li’s skin crawl.
But at a time like this, for the sake of her life, she had to suppress the urge to scream.
She held her breath, not daring to make a sound.
Space was extremely tight.
She could feel her chest pressing against the partition.
She instinctively reached up to press down on her chest, holding her breath as much as possible to remain silent.
Then, a 'thud' came from outside.
The surroundings fell into total silence.
In this moment, Luo Li felt as if every second was lasting an entire year.
Darkness covered everything.
It was so quiet she could even hear her own heartbeat.
Time passed second by second, and she had no idea how long it had been.
Suddenly, a loud 'bang' tore through the deathly silence.
This was followed by heavy footsteps and the clanking of armor approaching her side.
Luo Li didn't dare breathe, holding herself perfectly still.
'Creak...'
The coffin lid was pushed open, followed by the sound of other lids being opened in the distance.
"Reporting to the General, there are only corpses here."
It sounded like there was a squad leader?
The thought flashed through Luo Li’s mind, followed by the rough voice of a man outside.
"Do you really know nothing?"
A girl's voice replied to him.
"I... what should I know?"
It was her!
The girl who had led her in!
Could it be that someone saw her when she was brought in?
The thought immediately jumped into Luo Li’s head and refused to leave.
If someone had seen Luo Li enter, but the girl came out alone, it was a glaring flaw.
Anyone would realize something was wrong with the room.
With so many coffins, if the opponent didn't notice, they were truly a fool!
"Heh! Fine, let's see how long you can keep that mouth shut. Do it!!"
The general outside shouted an order, and the sound of swords being unsheathed echoed in the room.
Luo Li’s eyes widened inside the coffin. What was he going to do?
The next second, a muffled 'squelch' sounded as metal pierced through wood.
Nearby, a coffin had been stabbed through.
The general hadn't laid a hand on the girl; clearly, he was wary of the Mage Association.
Otherwise, he would have just tortured her instead of going to this trouble.
But what should she do now?
"What are you doing!? These are the property of the Mage Association!"
The girl cried out.
"Property? It's just a few coffins and corpses. At worst, I'll pay you back with a hundred new ones!"
At that, the rough voice chuckled.
"Heh... or is there something in these coffins that can't be spoken of?"
"How... how could there be?"
The girl’s words lacked any conviction.
This was almost as good as admitting there was a problem with the coffins.
It seemed she wouldn't be able to escape?
Luo Li’s mind raced through every possible escape plan, but all were rejected.
Demonization?
Publicly demonizing in a place like this was essentially telling them she was a demon.
Setting aside whether she could escape, anyone involved with demons would truly be executed for the crime of consorting with demons.
What about throwing open the coffin and running?
She was only around level ten. Opening the coffin was no problem, but whether she could defeat the general outside was another matter entirely.
Was she... going to wait for death?
Die?
That was certainly impossible, but she would definitely be discovered.
If she truly died, and died in this place, the local direct noble would be held responsible.
The Stuart family would bear the full blame.
This general probably wouldn't survive, and the Stuart family would be left waiting for their end.
But this situation was clearly abnormal.
The Mage Association, as a massive non-governmental organization, didn't fear any noble.
Victor, the head of the Mage Association in Brilliant City, didn't even fear the name of the Saintess.
Let alone a mere general.
In other words, this was definitely not Byron Stuart's idea.
This lord didn't have the courage to offend an association!
The conclusion was... it could only be the Borgia family.
Who knew what methods the Borgia family had used to bribe this general into searching this place.
No matter the outcome, this general was a dead man, and the Stuart family would be held accountable.
The general clearly wasn't a smart man, but Byron Stuart was. Even if he were involved, he would never do something so stupid.
'Squelch.'
After a dozen or so strikes, the soldier who was repeatedly piercing the coffins finally reached Luo Li’s side.
Hearing the footsteps outside, Luo Li couldn't help but take a deep breath.
At this point, there was nowhere left to hide.
If she didn't come out, she would be stabbed and forced out anyway.
It was better to just come out; perhaps she could avoid being stabbed.
With that thought, Luo Li reached out to push the partition.
But just as she was about to shove it open, a shout rang out from outside!
"All of you, stop! Who gave you the gall to surround the Mage Association!?"
As the voice spoke, the sound of clanking armor filled the area.
"Greetings, Lord Byron."
"Greetings, Lord Byron."
Hearing that voice, the hand on the partition was pulled back.
Moonrise City was under the management of the Stuart family, and the head of that family was Byron.
Since he was being called Lord, it was undoubtedly Byron Stuart himself.
Out in the yard, Byron was nearly exploding with rage.
He had been in his own courtyard, playing blind man's buff with his dozen or so wives and concubines.
Then his butler had suddenly arrived to report that General Bill had surrounded the Mage Association.
In an instant, the excited Byron had completely deflated!
He didn't even have the heart to continue his intimacy with his wives.
Byron had practically run there while putting on his clothes.
He hadn't even had time to take a carriage.
Looking at the mess all over the ground and the soldiers kneeling around him, Byron’s eyes widened as he glared at his subordinate.
"Bill! Who gave you the order to surround the Mage Association!?"
"This..."
General Bill was stunned. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.
Byron’s eyes narrowed slightly as he nodded with a cold smile.
"Fine, fine. You won't speak? Men!!"
"Here!"
"Pass my command as Lord. Strip Bill of his title as Guard General immediately and throw him into the dungeon."
As he spoke, Byron turned back to stare intensely at Bill.
"Bill, just you wait. Your entire family will pay for your impulsive actions today!!"
"Lord Byron, I..."
Bill seemed to want to say more, but he was quickly pinned to the ground by several other soldiers and dragged away.
"I only went out for a meal, and I never imagined... Lord Byron, I wonder how my Mage Association has offended you that you would come here in person?"
Just as Bill was being dragged out, a young man walked in from outside.
His face was filled with gloom, and the malice in his gaze was enough to make one shiver.
"Mr. Vincent, I am truly sorry. I failed to discipline my subordinates, and I've caused you trouble."
Byron’s thunderous rage from a moment ago vanished instantly, replaced by a face full of smiles.
He looked at the newcomer with a beaming expression.
"Oh? Failed to discipline them? Lord Byron, my little Mage Association wouldn't dare speak of trouble. After all, we're all just trying to make a living on your territory, right?"
"No, no, no! You mustn't say that, absolutely not. This was my fault, my failure to manage my people. How about this... the Stuart family will cover all losses the Mage Association has suffered this time."
"Losses?"
Vincent sneered, slowly lifting his head. A strange magic array was etched onto half of his face.
Byron knew that was Vincent’s unique magic array.
"Your people scared my person like this. How do we calculate that loss?"
"I'll pay."
As he spoke, Byron truly cast aside his pride. As the head of a family, he bowed deeply to the terrified girl.
"Young lady, I am truly sorry. This was my negligence. While I have nothing else to give you, please accept this small compensation."
With a wave of his hand, someone from afar immediately brought over a bag.
The heavy bag was handed into the girl's hands.
The girl took the bag blankly, feeling its weight.
Hearing the dull metallic clink inside, she knew it was filled with gold coins.
"There are one hundred gold coins here as my apology. If it's not enough, I can show even more sincerity."
With that, he turned to look at Vincent.
"President Vincent, what do you think?"
Vincent’s brow furrowed slightly at the sight, but he didn't say anything more.
The girl cast an inquiring glance toward Vincent, who merely gave a slight nod.
He was signaling that it was enough.
For the head of a family to bow and apologize to a commoner was significant.
If they pushed further, it would be the Mage Association being unreasonable.
No matter what, even if Byron was incompetent, he was still the head of a family.
If they didn't give him enough face, it would be like slapping the faces of all nobles.
Never mind a branch president like Vincent; even the head of the entire Mage Association would have to consider the consequences of continuing to assign blame.
Vincent gave a small smile.
"It seems... this truly was a misunderstanding."
Rate on N.U.
