Ileil had thought the black-haired witch had temporarily vanished.
But she had chosen exactly this gap to reappear, instantly putting Ileil on high alert.
“If you do not explain why you have appeared at this moment, I will ignore every word you say from now on.”
Ileil murmured in a voice only she could hear.
Please do not be so wary of me, my dear kin. Even though Ileil’s voice had been tiny, the witch hiding in the shadows could still hear her faint whisper.
I appeared here, of course, to help you break free from that man’s control. You may ignore my words, of course—if you are willing to remain that man’s dog for the rest of your life. The witch’s voice drilled into her eardrums, answering Ileil’s question with sincere tone.
“……”
Ileil stared at the mirror in the changing room.
The reflection inside gradually distorted at that moment, and Ileil saw the phantom of the black-haired witch emerge behind her.
Those golden vertical pupils identical to her own flickered with dangerous black flames.
The silver-haired girl subconsciously turned around, but saw nothing.
Ileil keenly realized that the black-haired witch could appear at this time most likely because she had left some mark on her body during the previous sea of fire.
Damn witch.
From the black-haired witch’s attitude, she definitely knew how Ileil had become a witch—even Ileil could directly conclude that she was one of the culprits who had caused her to lose her male identity.
To Ileil, being called “kin” by the witch felt far more physically repulsive than Gro calling her “daughter.”
If not for the black-haired witch claiming she could break the contract signed with Gro, she would never have spoken another half-word to the witch who had stripped away her male identity.
Please wait a little while, Miss Ileil. Tonight—the contract between you and Mr. Gro will be lifted by me.
The black-haired witch said so.
After leaving those words, the witch’s phantom in the mirror vanished.
The entire conversation had not taken more than half a minute.
Ileil quickly changed into the new outfit.
In just a few minutes she pushed open the door and walked out of the changing room.
Gro was leaning against a pillar in the corridor, looking at the map Kaze had handed him.
When he saw her come out, Gro spoke.
“Not bad, it fits well. If you’re ready, let’s set out quickly.”
“Where are we going next?”
Ileil stared at the faded sheepskin paper in Gro’s hand and asked.
“Along the western side of Renn Town all the way to a forest over there. That is the route the missing group was supposed to patrol.”
Gro explained to Ileil while walking out of the bathhouse.
“…I hope no one has been hurt.” Ileil followed behind Gro and sighed. “That Prinshitt has been busy for a full seven days without finding any valuable information. Your people, on the other hand, have incidents pretty frequently.”
“Can’t be helped. After all, none of us can predict the future.” Gro’s steps paused, nearly causing Ileil to crash straight into his solid back. He spoke half-jokingly.
“Perhaps there is a pair of eyes hidden in the shadows behind us, watching everything.”
“…” Ileil did not reply.
With that, Gro started walking outward again.
“Stop daydreaming, kid. Kaze has already been walking ahead for quite a while.”
……
When the three passed through the abandoned western city wall of Renn Town, the moonlight was blocked by dark clouds until only scattered points remained.
Kaze led the way with a torch, the flame swaying in the air and stretching their three shadows long and short by turns.
“Should be right about here.” Kaze stopped and pointed at a fresh mark on a tree trunk. “Kol’s squad should have patrolled to this spot. This is the position planned for them to reach.”
Gro squatted down, his fingertips tracing several deep grooves on the ground.
Ileil noticed his movements suddenly become cautious—those grooves were definitely not formed naturally but were slash marks left by some sharp, heavy weapon.
“Double-axe traces, and the one wielding it possesses great strength.” Gro looked at the remaining marks in the forest, his expression gradually growing solemn.
“Doesn’t look good. It reminds me of an old friend…”
“You mean Regnar? That wolf-headed Blood Axe.” Kaze held the torch and looked around. Mentioning the name caused Gro to show a rare trace of fear.
“Yeah. Among those who use axes, only he left such a deep impression on me.” Gro narrowed his eyes. He really did not want to recall the memories related to “Blood Axe” Regnar again.
“What are you two talking about? Who is ‘Blood Axe’ Regnar?”
Ileil stepped forward and interjected. She could not understand exactly who Gro and Kaze were discussing.
“An old acquaintance from over twenty years ago, nothing worth mentioning. Anyway, he’s already a dead man.”
Gro waved his hand, deliberately avoiding the topic.
Kaze also understood Gro’s meaning and stood silently to the side without adding anything.
Ileil quietly watched Gro’s side profile and fell into thought.
She had followed Gro for almost eight years and had almost never heard him voluntarily mention his past in front of her—more notably, she had caught the subtle change in Gro’s expression.
“……”
Gro pushed aside a clump of bushes, revealing a tree trunk neatly cut behind them.
The cut was impossibly smooth, as if instantly melted by high temperature.
Even stranger, there were neither bloodstains nor signs of fighting around it.
He calmly followed the planned path on the map and finally stopped at a dead end sealed off by a rock wall.
“The clues seem to end here.” Under the weak torchlight, Gro observed the deep chasm on the rock wall that looked as if it had been split by a sharp axe, his brows tightly locked. “Kol and the others have probably met a bad end. The one hiding behind the scenes left almost no clues.”
“Then what should we do… go back and bring more people, or push forward stubbornly?”
Kaze asked.
Gro held his chin and thought for a moment before deciding immediately.
“You go back and call Alyssa’s group over. She’s skilled in spells and should be able to detect information we don’t know.” While speaking, Gro turned his back to Ileil and mouthed to Kaze:
—‘Temporarily do not alert the princess’s people.’
“As for me and Ileil, we will stay here and continue the investigation. We cannot leave now—my instinct tells me that retreating now would mean missing something interesting.”
“I think that’s improper, Gro.” Kaze shook his head. “Your injury hasn’t healed at all. What if more troublesome opponents appear?”
After saying that, Kaze’s gaze intentionally landed on Ileil beside Gro.
Ileil naturally noticed the big guy’s distrustful look—after all, he did not know that the contract in Gro’s hands could restrain her actions.
“I trust Ileil, Kaze. Please do not worry about that—” Gro lightly placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder, then quickly withdrew it.
“Besides, you who fight by risking your life have no right to criticize me. If possible—I want to avoid battle for you as much as possible. I don’t want to see familiar people die one after another before my eyes.”
“You’re basically cursing me, Gro.” After hearing Gro’s words, he sighed helplessly. “Whatever you say, I’ll listen to you.” Kaze’s hand subconsciously reached for the sword hilt behind him.
“Trust me…?”
Ileil felt somewhat uncomfortable with Gro’s words that tried to draw closer.
She muttered softly and raised her eyes to look into Gro’s eyes, wanting to see exactly what attitude he held when saying this—yet she found no ripple at all in his deep blue pupils, sincere to the point of being unbelievable.
“Of course I trust you, Ileil…”
Gro’s hearing was unexpectedly sharp.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he answered the girl’s self-talk.
“—as long as you do not harbor killing intent toward me.”
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