Chapter 100: Back to the slave market, continue to spend money!

Pointed ears…

The first thing that came to Ileya’s mind was… that elegant race called elves.

In her previous life, this was a well-known fantasy species and a race of immortals recognized throughout the world.

However, it seemed that in this world, the concept of “elves” didn’t even exist.

“Humans with pointed ears… That feels so strange~” Yumina subconsciously touched her own ears, muttering to herself in confusion.

Meanwhile, Veil… was completely spaced out.

When it came to discussions that required guessing and reasoning, she never had any opinions.

Those black eyes just watched a bee buzzing by on the side… thinking about the taste of honey.

“Hah… there’s no point discussing this stuff here anyway.”

After a few minutes of silence, it was the young lady who finally spoke up.

“Practice is the only standard by which to test truth. We need to take action!”

Ileya gave a confident little wave of her hand, clearly full of motivation.

“Yumina! Go fetch the carriage! We’re heading out~”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Clip-clop, clip-clop…

The carriage traveled all the way down from the Marquis Castle and once again arrived at the gates of the Slave Market!

“M-Milady…” The Fat Captain’s face was still a bit puffy, and the smile on his face looked rather forced.

What exactly did this Bloodblossom Demon want?

Could it be that she wanted to come here every day?

“Mm… I’m just here to confirm something. Bring me everyone here who’s ever come into contact with him…”

Ileya’s legs were crossed as she sat atop the open carriage door, pointing to Arthur, who sat opposite her.

“Uh… Huh? Everyone who’s come into contact with him…”

There were far too many people who had come into contact with him… How were they supposed to find them all?

The Fat Captain was just about to say this, but then he heard Ileya’s next sentence.

“Five minutes. If I don’t see them… I’ll make all of you crawl out of Dongjun~”

Huh!?

That line sent a chill through the hearts of all the upper management of the slave association!

Did she mean… to break their legs?!

Because the young lady’s two most admirable virtues… were her honesty and generosity…

If she said she’d finish you off today, she’d never drag it out to the next day…

“I… I’ll take care of it right away!! Right away!!”

The Fat Captain hurriedly ran back…

“C-Captain, how are we supposed to find those people…” a flustered subordinate asked behind him.

“Find my ass! Bring every member of the trade caravan here for me… Wait! Also, any slaves that had close contact with that old geezer… bring them all here too! Move!”

“Uh… Yes! Yes!!”

Everyone started rushing about frantically.

In less than two minutes, the entrance to the Slave Market looked like it was ready for a grand inspection, as a large crowd quickly gathered.

But… even though there were a lot of people, it was surprisingly quiet here, not a sound to be heard…

“You do the talking~” Once she saw that almost everyone had gathered, Ileya looked over at Arthur, raising her chin slightly.

“Ahem… everyone…” The old man, bard-like, slowly rose and stepped onto the carriage steps to speak… but then felt a sharp pain in his backside!

He was kicked right out of the carriage, sprawling on the ground…

The young lady slowly withdrew her foot, her expression growing more displeased.

“Did I ask you to give a speech? And… don’t block my view!”

“S-sorry…” Arthur scrambled up, looking a bit disheveled. He gave Ileya a quick smile, then turned and held out his hand, addressing the crowd behind him.

“I’ve called everyone here today to ask if anyone took a silver ring from me? There’s a ring of runes engraved on it!”

As he spoke, he raised his right hand, pointing to his ring finger…

“Is there anyone? Anyone?!”

“If you took it, step forward right now!”

“If you dare to keep it hidden and we find out… we’ll skin you alive!!”

The members of the slave association shouted energetically, using all sorts of threats. Many of the slaves were so frightened their legs trembled…

Up in the carriage, Ileya watched the ruckus below and curled her lip.

At this rate, when would they ever get any results…

“Yumina~” Ileya crooked her finger at the maid in the driver’s seat and whispered a few words in her ear.

“Yes, milady!”

The girl nodded, then jumped down from the carriage, took a deep breath…

“Everyone, quiet down!!”

Whoosh… The noisy crowd instantly fell silent again.

“My lady says… hand over every silver ring you have right now! We’ll exchange them for their weight in gold!”

Whoosh——!!

In an instant, the atmosphere shifted from tense anxiety to wild enthusiasm!

Even Arthur instinctively checked his pockets, only to find… he truly didn’t have a silver ring on him.

This young lady really was… thunderous and decisive…

“Milady! I have a silver ring here!”

“Hey! I have one too! Me too!”

“Isn’t that your wedding ring?”

“Who cares! I’ll trade it for gold first!”

“Long live the young lady!!”

Honestly, how was this a Bloodblossom Demon… She was clearly a money-scattering god of wealth!

In just a few short minutes, Ileya had acquired every silver ring worn or stashed by anyone in the slave trade caravan.

Arthur also returned to the carriage… examining each ring one by one, trying to identify his own.

Of course…

While Arthur was searching through the rings, Ileya wasn’t about to waste time……

She planned to go find Jenny and see how her network was coming along—whether she could get in touch with someone from within the Lighthouse School.

Or perhaps… find someone with deep knowledge about the Great Divine Era Incident.

At the same time…

Inside Jenny’s secluded residence.

A young girl with slightly wavy golden hair gazed at a scroll unrolled on the table.

This was the voting result from the Red Crystal Society.

Jenny’s support rate for becoming President was 98%.

Meanwhile, the old president’s wife, Lady Melche—despite her best efforts and the support of Viscount Geli—had… 0%.

Because the remaining 2% were abstentions.

This meant… from this moment on, Jenny had become the president of the Ruby Society, the representative of the noble ladies and young misses of the Crystal Capital.

She would take over as president.

Lady Melche had assumed… Jenny was relying on the Bloodblossom Demon’s intimidating reputation and the favor of the eldest son from the Gold Vein Chamber of Commerce.

She thought… Jenny would immediately cozy up to Atkins, secure her status as his fiancée, and then use that leverage to pressure the Ruby Society into accepting her as president.

But… she was wrong. Very wrong.

Or rather, the moment she focused all her attention on the Gold Vein Chamber of Commerce, she had already lost.

Because, right in front of her, Lady Melche was unaware that not long ago, a loose team made up of noble young men and women—the so-called Blue Crow Mercenary Group—had left the city gates…

If it weren’t for the “help” of the Bloodblossom Demon, those kids would’ve ended up as corpses under a bandit’s blade or food for the cave dwellers.

And since Ileya didn’t want her true identity exposed, all the credit naturally went to “Demon’s Retainer,” Miss Jenny…

So, without Jenny needing to say a word, with this favor owed, of course the noble ladies would support their children’s savior…

As for Lady Melche’s only daughter… who’d been raised with a Noble Lady’s Education since childhood, she would never take part in something as rowdy as a mercenary company.

“Huu…” Letting out a long sigh, Jenny finally leaned back in her chair, relaxing.

It was far easier than she’d expected.

From this moment on… she had become someone of substance within the Crystal Capital.

Maybe… after this, she’d even be able to help the young lady a bit?

Thinking of this, Jenny’s mind filled with the memory of the day when the young lady led her people to rescue her.

In that moment, the young lady’s figure had been etched firmly into Jenny’s mind.

“Milady…♡” the girl murmured, her cheeks gradually turning red, her left hand unconsciously moving downward…

“I want to… be with milady…”