But…
“You’ll know when we get there.”
Lid’s casual tone made Shien narrow his eyes.
This little guy needed to be taught a lesson.
He would find a chance to mess with her.
It had been a while since he had some fun. He didn’t know if his skills had deteriorated.
…
Meanwhile, Carol was still waiting boredly some distance away from the hot spring.
“Why is he taking so long?” Carol complained. “A man, taking longer to bathe than a woman.”
Carol was getting impatient.
If she wasn’t afraid of being caught red-handed, accused of spying on him while he was bathing after promising no one would go in, she would have already barged in.
“I’m the vice-commander of the Elven Corps, a level eighty-nine archmage, actually acting as a lookout for a man from another race, I must be crazy.”
Carol muttered to herself, either in self-mockery or helplessness.
“Hmm?”
At this moment, Carol noticed something and looked up in surprise.
In the distance, under the beautiful night sky, a stream of evil aura and a dragon’s shadow were rapidly approaching.
“That is…?”
Carol tensed up.
She felt a suffocating threat from that evil aura and dragon’s shadow.
The next moment, the evil aura and the dragon’s shadow arrived, hovering in mid-air for a moment, then descended.
Their target was her.
“What?”
Carol’s expression changed.
But before she could react, the evil aura and dragon’s shadow landed before her, revealing their forms.
It was Lilith and Airi.
“Dragon… Dragon Demon Princess…!? And Goddess Lilith…!”
Carol held her breath.
But Airi and Lilith clearly weren’t in the mood for small talk.
“Where’s Shien?”
Airi asked directly.
“Shien?” Carol was stunned for a moment, then reacted and said quickly, “V-Viscount Buztout is currently bathing inside.”
“Inside?” Airi gave Carol a deep look, making her feel uneasy, then said calmly, “He has already left the Elven Homeland and is outside the barrier.”
“Wh-what!?” Carol’s eyes widened in shock. “Impossible! The Elven Homeland’s barrier is still active. Unless one of us opens the entrance, no one can freely enter or exit!”
This was a barrier set up by the Goddess of Nature, utilizing the power of nature and the environment. Without knowing the method, even level limit experts couldn’t freely enter or exit, and transcendent beings could only break through with force.
Since the barrier was still active, logically speaking, unless an elf guided him, Shien should still be inside the barrier.
Now, Airi was saying that Shien had already left. It was no wonder Carol was shocked.
But this was a fact.
“It’s precisely because he left the barrier that the magic power I placed on him is no longer detectable, and even the connection between Lilith and her [True Mark] has become blurred, making us unable to find his location.” Airi murmured calmly, as if talking to herself. “However, if it’s them, they can indeed easily enter and exit this barrier and block our senses, preventing us from finding Shien.”
Airi seemed to have guessed the reason.
Beside her, the evil aura around Lilith fluctuated continuously, showing that her mood was unstable, making even Carol apprehensive.
Carol was worried that Lilith would cause trouble in the Elven Homeland.
If that happened, it would be a big problem.
Fortunately, their savior arrived quickly.
“Your Highness Airi, Lady Lilith.”
With this call, an emerald green light descended from the sky, transforming into the graceful figure of the Elven Queen.
“Sophie?” Airi wasn’t surprised by Sophie’s arrival and asked directly, “You sensed it too, right?”
“Yes.” Sophie sighed and nodded seriously. “Such magic power, it’s indeed those two, isn’t it?”
“It can only be them.” Airi said with dissatisfaction. “Besides them, who else would wander around in this ancient forest filled with monsters?”
“Then…” Sophie said with worry, “Since those two have appeared here, does that mean something happened in the Tegor Forest again?”
“Who knows?” Airi said coldly, “I just want to know why they took my person and what they’re planning to do.”
“Viscount Buztout?” Sophie said hesitantly, “Isn’t it because of Your Highness Airi that he was taken away?”
Airi glared at Sophie, making her chuckle awkwardly.
She knew that she had exposed the truth, making it impossible for Airi to keep up her pretense.
“Should I send someone to look for him?”
Sophie could only suggest this.
“…Forget it.” Airi’s face was still filled with displeasure, but after thinking for a moment, she said, “If it were before, I would have been worried that Shien would be toyed with by those two. Now, with his increased strength, he should be able to handle them… as long as they don’t go too far.”
Towards the end, Airi finally showed a troubled expression.
Lilith immediately tugged at Airi’s clothes, seemingly objecting to her decision.
“Don’t worry.” Airi comforted Lilith. “He’s still safe. Otherwise, even with their interference, you would be able to sense his location through the [True Mark].”
Once the bearer of the [True Mark] was in danger, the owner would immediately sense it and, through the connection of the [True Mark], instantly arrive at their location.
Since Lilith couldn’t sense Shien, it meant he wasn’t in danger.
Thinking of this, Lilith calmed down.
Only Airi remained, looking towards the depths of the forest ahead, a menacing glint in her eyes.
“If you don’t bring him back safe and sound, you’ll pay for this, Millu, Lid.”
Airi murmured.
The night continued.