CHAPTER 50: A SPY FROM INSIDE.

"I am sorry, boss; I didn’t know what to do!" The guard bowed his head, his body shaking in fright. "She was stopping me from taking the slave a buyer needed."

The boss sighed, then looked back at the cage.

He noticed that despite the situation she was in, Aisha didn’t seem scared of anything. She was staring back at him, as though fighting the urge to act.

"We can’t damage this one. A member of the hero party will be attending the trade-off. Once he sees an elf there, like everyone else, he will pay a fortune for her."

Aisha’s eyes widened a bit.

The hero? The same people that killed her master are now searching for elven slaves as well?

She gritted her teeth, understanding why people like them would sink so low as to kill her master just so they could stay in the spotlight.

While lost in her thoughts, the boss, with his huge hand, grabbed the wolf girl from the cage and yanked her out in the blink of an eye.

Aisha couldn’t react in time, and before she knew it, the cage had been locked back, leaving the wolf girl outside, shaking and crying.

"Please help me! I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go!"

"Get your ass up! Don’t make this hard for me!"

As the wolf girl grabbed the iron bars, the other man was desperately pulling her away, right until she could no longer hold on and had no choice but to be dragged on the ground like a ragdoll.

All while this was happening, Aisha kept a firm gaze on the boss. In her mind, she already knew what she needed to do.

Once her master decided it was time to have her revenge, she knew who she would kill first.

It was this man himself.

With that, the cloth came falling over the cage, plunging the place into darkness once again.

...

The very next day, Aisha saw no sign of the wolf girl, even right after the cages were transported to another part of the building, where they were now allowed to roam free to eat and bathe.

After taking her time to speak to the other forced slaves, she understood that this was actually a daily occurrence at the slave camp, something she had never faced during her time.

First, a rich noble would request a specific slave he or she wanted to sleep with. This slave was then chosen from the reserves, bathed, dressed, and even given makeup to use.

Then they were delivered straight to the noble that requested them.

They would spend the night, then be returned to the camp to be used again a week or so after.

This was how slaves lived here.

And Aisha hated every piece of information about it.

So much so, she considered not telling her master, afraid he might think she had participated in one of these.

But as much as she hesitated, she could never keep anything from him.

Moving on, Aisha didn’t let her exploration go to waste.

Using her fast steps, she was able to cover a large distance.

Doing this, she was able to count the number of workers present at the camp and the officials, and even more, she was able to eavesdrop on where the event would be held next.

Once she had gathered everything she needed, Aisha found a spot on the branches of a tall tree where she could get a good view of the entire camp, or at least most of it.

She needed to be sure when the guards would return to put them back in their cages so she could quickly take up her position.

After already speaking to the other slaves about her plan, she was certain they would cover for her.

Closing her eyes, she uttered, "Master, can you hear me?"

{Hey, are you safe there?}

That was definitely Ash’s voice.

Just from hearing his voice, a huge smile showed on Aisha’s face.

It was as though she had just gotten a daily dose of a drug or something.

She leaned upright and uttered right after, "Master~"

{Don’t make that weird sound. What’s the update?}

"Oh right, uhm... Well, I should start with this. It seems like a member of the hero’s party will be present at the event, according to the boss of this territory."

{...}

{I see.}

"Oh, and I know where the event will be held as well. I actually only know the name; I don’t know where."

{Give me the name. I’ll handle the rest from my end.}

"Underground Yabor."

{Underground Yabor?}

{I’ll look into it. Are you safe there? I’m worried you might get into trouble before I get there to help you.}

Aisha smiled, covering her mouth so she didn’t end up squeaking.

"D-don’t worry about me, Master. I can handle myself. I promise."

{Good. Let me know if anything urgent comes up.}

Right after that, the connection linking their minds severed, leaving Aisha resting her back on the tree.

She sighed, staring at the sky for a good while.

It felt good knowing that he was worried about her. So much so that she was having impure thoughts; her cheeks flushed red as she tried to calm her beating heart and clear her mind.

"Aisha, what are you doing?" she shook her head, trying to snap out of it. "This isn’t the time for such a thing."

She sighed once more, then jumped down from the tree. The sun was almost setting, so she needed to hurry before the guards returned.

"Things need to be perfect for Master Ash. I can’t disappoint."

...

Meanwhile, back at the inn, Ash was seated at the edge of the bed, his fingers locked in a tight hold as he stared at the ground in deep thought.

’A member of the hero’s party is going to be at the slave trade? Who? Issic? Owen? No, that isn’t what I should be thinking about right now. If we run into each other, am I even strong enough to stand my ground and have my revenge?’

He scowled.

’Every single member of the hero’s party is stronger than most people, including those at the Mythril rank as well. Can I fight them? Am I strong enough? Tsk! I guess the system was right after all. If I am going to win, I need a bigger army. More slaves...’

He sighed, now calming himself down.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" His eyes glanced to the side, where Echidna was kneeling on the ground, sipping a cup of tea.

"This is the first time I have seen you look that disgusted. What? Did you have a sudden bad remembrance of an ex or something?" she spoke.

In that moment, Ash saw flashes of Else laughing before his eyes. The image soon changed to the twisted look she gave him as his head was rolling on the ground.

"Leave."

Ash stood up from the bed, walking towards the side of the room where he had placed the shirt he wanted to change into.

For some reason, just that brief remembrance of her had already placed him in a bad mood, one that made him almost too angry to see anything.

And here he thought he had gotten over her.

As he pulled off his shirt, Echidna remained at the side, watching with eyes so adoring and intrigued.

She took notice of every muscle on his back, her gaze slowly moving down towards his butt. Her eyes lingered there for a while, and before she knew it, she had stuck her finger in her mouth, staring intensely.

Suddenly, Ash shot her a glare.

"Did you just give me an up-down?" he asked, clearly uncomfortable about it.

Echidna smiled.

"Sorry, I couldn’t help it. It’s not every day I see a man as interesting as you."

"And I can assure you," she purred, her voice a low rumble, "you are just too interesting to me."

She rose gracefully, her movements fluid and unhurried, and stepped closer, the scent of her subtle perfume filling the air around him.

"In fact, the more I learn about you, the more... captivating you become. Rest assured, I will remain by your side, no matter what you may face. Our paths have aligned, haven’t they?" Her eyes, dark and knowing, held his gaze, a hint of a challenge in their depths.

Ash turned fully, his expression unreadable.

"And if what I face," he began, his voice devoid of emotion, "is a path of vengeance? If I were to tell you I intend to kill someone... Someone like the hero, for instance... would you still say the same thing? That you would remain by my side?"

"..."

"You shouldn’t throw those words around so li—"

"Yes."

Echidna’s smile widened, a chilling, almost predatory gleam entering her eyes.

She moved even closer, her hand reaching out to lightly trace the line of his jaw.

"If you wish to kill the hero, the king, or the entire country, I wish to support you. The thought of guessing what you could do next truly excites me. Does this answer satisfy you? Or will you make me prove myself by doing it?"

Ash simply stared at her.

Raphael and Aisha had given a similar response, only theirs was not this creepy.

And even more, it seemed as though Echidna meant every word.

...

[A/N]

Echidna character art is out.

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