371 Excuses
Selma Payne’s POV:
What would a dead city look like?
If one were to look at Autumn City alone, it would be full of interest during the day, but at night, it would seem so gloomy and terrifying. The dark doors and windows seemed to hide ghosts peeking in the shadows. They looked at the world that had left them behind with chaotic eyes. Their blood-stained hands were always itching to take a life to appease the grievances and anger they had nowhere to vent.
Of course, all of the above was made up. The truth was that the night in Autumn City was terrifyingly quiet, causing one to shiver and feel their hair stand on end.
As outsiders, we could only feel physical discomfort. However, as elves, Kaya and the others felt more complicated and in more pain than we did. The entire team looked as if they hadn’t slept for a week. They were mentally and physically exhausted. Under the torment of their hearts, they seemed to be on the verge of collapse, as if they were about to fall apart.
I was a little worried about her condition, so I asked Kaya, “Is there really no problem? If you’re really tired, we can slow down.”
“Thank you, but no.” Kaya forced a smile, even though her stiff lips looked pale under the moonlight. “One more minute of delay and those stray werewolves may do one more evil thing. What do you call them again? Azazel’s party?”
“Yes, they’re a group of cultists who believe in Azazel.”
Kaya mumbled, “This isn’t some famous demon. It’s nothing compared to Lucifer or Beelzebub.”
It was a lame joke. Perhaps she wanted to ease the atmosphere, but it only made things worse.
Kaya and the others probably didn’t need any words of comfort. Having a good night’s sleep was better than anything else, so I suggested, “Let us keep watch tonight. You guys need enough rest.”
“How can we do that? There’s no reason for the guest to worry about the host…”
“You’re welcome. You know I’m not really here to be a guest, right? No one knows where Azazel’s party would suddenly appear, and every bit of combat power is extremely important. We need strong and alert soldiers, not patients who might faint on the side of the road at any time.”
Kaya silently canceled her night duty arrangements.
The surroundings were extremely quiet, and only the bonfire crackling could be heard. Kaya was lying quietly in her sleeping bag. After a while, she suddenly asked, “Aren’t you surprised that I’m not surprised by your true identity?”
“The grammar of this sentence is really awkward.” I smiled. “The elves have already received news about me, so it’s normal for you not to be surprised.”
“I didn’t expect you to take the risk again. After all, this time is different from the last time. Last time, no one knew your identity, but everyone knows who you are this time. Aren’t you afraid of what we might do to you? For example, using you to blackmail the King or something?”
“You’re really tired. This kind of question is very dangerous.”
“… I’m sorry. I didn’t think before speaking.”
“It’s fine. Aren’t you afraid I’ll sneak into the elven territory and do something to you?”
“I don’t think the elders are afraid. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have asked for the help of the werewolf pack.”
“Then, we’re not afraid either. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have agreed to the elf clan’s request for help. Moreover, we all know the consequences of falling out with each other, and we don’t have any excuse to do so.”
Kaya didn’t say anything more. After a while, I realized that she had fallen asleep.
Early in the morning, I woke up to the fresh fragrance of flowers. There was a bunch of sweet wildflowers beside my sleeping bag.
𝒇𝙧𝐞ℯ𝒘e𝚋n𝚘𝙫𝐞𝑙. c𝐨m
Every werewolf grandmaster had their field of expertise. For example, Master Kevin was skilled in the soul field, and Master Hayley was skilled in the rune field. Dorothy was also gradually looking for a suitable field for herself. Now, she had temporarily chosen Herbology.
Therefore, every business trip was a good opportunity for her to enrich her notes on herbs. The elf forest, which was usually difficult to set foot in, provided a valuable scientific research opportunity.
“This is chamomile,” Dorothy said. “It’s sweet and rich and has a lasting fragrance. Most importantly, it’s an inconspicuous but common plant in the elf forest. Its smell can better cover our tracks and help us hide them.”
Of course, we’d done some special treatment to prevent our scent from being tracked, but one could never complain about having more backup plans, right?
Autumn City was located in the southwest of the elf forest. If they wanted to get to the Elf Capital as soon as possible, passing through the city-states in the west was the ideal way. The problem was that the west now had a faint tendency to unite and become independent, and I, as a ‘guest’ invited by the interim government, might not be welcomed by them.
Kaya said that the route had already been planned, but the replies from the western city-states to the interim government were vague and not very enthusiastic, but they did not explicitly refuse.
“Then, let’s move forward according to the arrangement,” I said. If you don’t refuse, it means you agree, right? I don’t have any grudges against the western city-states; I don’t need their welcome. They shouldn’t stir trouble with me. Treating me like air is what I want.”
Was her cold attitude trying to intimidate the outsiders? The main purpose of this trip wasn’t diplomacy, so there was no need to haggle over such minor details.
