Somewhere deep within the territory, particularly inside the city, a veiled figure moved through the current of foot traffic, her presence like a beacon of light compared to these "uglis"

She walked at an even pace, her butler trailing dutifully at her side. 

Neither of them hurried, both of them quietly attentive, their gazes drifting over storefronts, street performers, and the general pulse of city life with genuine interest shining in their eyes.

“What a vibrant place,” the woman murmured from behind her veil. 

Her voice was  laced with surprise. “I’ve never seen such peculiar services. This might be the most unique city I’ve ever laid eyes on in my life"

A hood covered her head, and over it she wore a cloak fashioned from fine purple feathers. 

It shimmered subtly under the light, luxurious and striking all at once. 

Wherever she passed, heads turned. 

Curious glances followed her, not because she called for attention, but because even with only her eyes visible, her beauty was unmistakable. 

It clung to her like a second skin, the kind of elegance that couldn’t be hidden no matter how much she tried.

But no one dared approach. Not with the mountain of a butler at her side. 

His towering figure and ferocious face were more than enough to keep troublemakers at bay.

“It’s no surprise, my lady,” the butler replied, echoing her sentiment as he kept his gaze forward. “This territory… the lords came from beyond our world. From the sky.”

Her eyes swept across the surroundings again, past shops and makeshift stalls, past wooden signs scribbled with strange characters and street vendors calling out prices.

“So these are sky-people customs?” she mused aloud. “How strange... There’s even a clothing shop welcoming both commoners and nobles.”

“There’s a kind of fairness here you won’t find anywhere else,” the butler said with a small nod. “Status seems irrelevant. But to maintain that kind of balance, the power in control must be absolute. Otherwise, someone with a hidden knife would have long since acted.”

“True,” she replied quietly. “And judging from what our scouts reported, the power this lord possesses could rival two of our regional forces at once"

“A Tier 6 expert even walked right up to us yesterday.”

The butler shuddered visibly, wiping a thin layer of sweat from his brow. The memory of that encounter still clawed at his nerves.

“That was… an unsettling experience,” he muttered. “The way those tendrils slithered from nowhere... just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.”

That thing wasn’t human, he was sure of it.

Still, she had told him not to dwell on it, and so he forced the thought out of his head.

They continued walking, step by step, weaving through the city with quiet determination. 

Their objective today was simple: reach the castle and negotiate a deal for the dungeon.

Whatever the lord asked in return didn’t matter. 

They had come as envoys of the Adventurer’s Guild. The resources they carried in their names alone were vast.

But just as they neared the city’s edge, approaching the marble trail that led straight to the castle in the far distant, something shifted.

Before they could even summon their carriage, shadows thickened. 

Several massive figures stepped out from the gloom, towering over the crowd. 

Each of them easily five meters tall. Their presence swallowed the light, and even the bustling pedestrians nearby fell into silence, scurrying away in fear.

The butler’s expression darkened. His posture straightened, muscles tensing.

But the woman, calm as still water, simply raised a hand in greeting. 

Her voice remained composed.

“My name is Esmeralda, a representative of the Adventurer’s Guild. I request an audience with your lord regarding a matter of importance. Please, allow me passage.”

The massive sentinels didn’t speak at first.

Then one of them tilted its head, and a voice boomed out like a temple bell rolling across the air. 

The mist curled thicker around them, and though their forms remained vague, the glint of heavy armor could be seen beneath the shadow.

“To speak of dungeons. To seek our lord. Unworthy. Mortal. Weak. Human.”

Her brows knit slightly, and so did the butler’s, though neither made a move.

Esmeralda’s voice dropped a notch as she asked quickly, “Then... is there someone else I may contact? Perhaps Her Highness?”

The reaction was immediate and jarring.

The massive shadows trembled where they stood, heads shaking violently, as if her words were poison.

“Impossible!”

“Death, death, death… you’ll die.”

“You cannot see her. Human minds break.”

“Why is this human so bold? To wish to meet the goddess? Bold. Bold. Bold.”

She frowned deeper. Something had clearly gone wrong, but she couldn’t understand what. 

Had she overstepped? Or were their identities that insignificant in the eyes of the two they had come to seek?

“This is a problem,” the butler said under his breath. “We should head back, my lady. No need to push further. We can’t afford to let rumors spread about this.”

“Agreed.” She nodded once and turned with him, swiftly withdrawing from the scene.

Not long after, as they sat inside a quiet restaurant near the city center, gathering their thoughts, a clerk from the government office arrived. 

Courteous and well-dressed, he bowed lightly and informed them of an invitation.

The one requesting their presence: Lord Elias, the true administrator of the city.

At this point, Esmeralda didn’t care who she ended up speaking to. So long as there was a path forward, she’d walk it.

Following the clerk through the streets, she found herself increasingly impressed. 

The government building they approached was enveloped in a massive spatial formation. 

Buildings stretched inside this enclosed realm, structured in clean lines, obviously designed in a comforting way for one's eyes.

To her mild relief, the guards posted here were human.

“Seems not every corner is manned by those shadow creatures,” she murmured, scanning the area as she walked.

“Indeed,” the butler agreed. “But those armies outside, lined up at the border... still gives me chills.”

The clerk glanced back at them with a polite smile, having overheard.

“The lord’s summoned soldiers are only deployed in crucial areas,” he explained kindly. “They're not meant for regular patrol.”

“I see. So the city itself is under the protection of human soldiers?” Esmeralda raised a brow.

“Yes,” the clerk nodded. “The sentry guards cover both the castle and city defense. Of course, they’re mostly there for appearances. It wouldn’t sit well with people if there weren’t any human soldiers visible. I suppose it helps morale?”

His explanation was met with nods. The two travelers digested his words like a spoonful of sugar, oddly reassuring in an unfamiliar place.

Then Esmeralda asked, casually but with a note of curiosity, “And what do you think of Her Highness, if I may ask?”

The question froze the clerk mid-step.

He glanced around, then lowered his voice.

“Her Highness?” he repeated softly. “Most of us… are afraid of her.”

“Afraid?” the butler echoed.

The clerk nodded, still whispering. “It’s like trying to look at something you were never meant to see"

"Every time I’ve glimpsed her, I couldn’t breathe. Some people lost their minds, quietly taken away to be treated"

"And some men... they went too far, obsessed, and then vanished the next morning.”

He swallowed hard and then added, almost pleading, “Please... I hope this lady never meets Her Highness. Just take my word for it.”

After that, he quickened his pace and said no more. 

His expression shifted, not cold, but deeply uneasy. 

As if he’d touched on something sacred by mistake and didn’t dare speak of it again.

Before long, the two were ushered into a modest-looking building and led through a quiet hallway until they reached a room at the end.

The moment the door opened, a soft scent of paper and old wood filled the air. 

Inside, the space was cluttered in a strangely comforting way, stacks of books spread across shelves and floors, a few overgrown pots of plants by the window, and a large study desk nestled at the far side of the room. 

Behind it, Elias sat, pen in hand, scribbling something down with a calm expression.

At the sound of the door creaking open, he glanced up. 

Light from the window caught the rim of his glasses, casting a glint across the lens. 

A slight smile tugged at his lips.

“Ah, you must be Miss Esmeralda… and the butler,” he said casually.

His words caught the two just a little off guard, but Esmeralda recovered in a blink.

She offered a graceful nod, her voice smooth under the veil, “Sir Elias is impressively well-informed. My name isn’t one that circulates often.”

She stepped forward as Elias rose from his seat and extended his hand. 

Their handshake was brief but firm, a polite exchange of familiarity.

Elias motioned toward the chair opposite his desk, then circled back around to his seat. 

He picked up a pen resting nearby, signed the bottom of a document without looking twice, and nudged it to the side.

The clerk who had brought them gave a sharp salute and quietly exited the room, leaving only the three of them behind. 

The butler remained standing at Esmeralda’s side, his posture rigid and respectful.

A single glance from Elias flicked over to him, brief, almost careless, but something in it made the old man stiffen slightly. 

His fingers twitched near his coat hem, and his eyes narrowed faintly. 

He wasn’t sure why, but there had been a subtle pressure in that look.

Just as quickly, Elias shifted his gaze away and resumed signing another paper. 

He didn’t look up this time as he spoke. “You’re here about the dungeon.”

Esmeralda adjusted her sitting posture, crossing one leg over the other with quiet poise.

Her chin tilted upward a touch as she replied, “Correct. I serve as a representative of the Adventurers’ Guild. I’ve been tasked with initiating negotiations regard"

“I understand.” Elias cut her off with a casual wave of his hand, reaching into the drawer beside him. 

He retrieved a single sheet of parchment and slid it into the center of the desk.

In the quiet room, a few particles of dust caught the sunlight, drifting lazily above the table as if to emphasize the stillness.

“State your conditions and needs,” he said calmly, “I’ll determine whether they meet our standards.”

Esmeralda paused, her eyes dropping to the page. 

A pen rested beside it, uncapped and ready. “We’re to write it down directly?” she asked, voice thoughtful.

“Yes,” Elias replied with a nod. Then, without another word, he turned slightly to the side and offered the butler a brief look. “Would you care for some tea?”

The old man shook his head with a courteous smile. “No need, Sir Elias. I’m just a humble servant.”

Elias nodded again, accepting the answer without fuss. 

He rose from his seat in a fluid motion, while Esmeralda picked up the paper and began reading. 

Her brows furrowed slightly in concentration, and after a moment of stillness, she began to write.

While she worked, Elias moved over to the row of plants near the window. 

There were five pots in total, each housing an unusual species of flora, some with jagged leaves, others with faintly glowing veins. 

He took up a small watering can resting nearby and began tending to them with methodical care.

The gentle rustle of water and leaves filled the silence, punctuated only by the soft scratch of Esmeralda’s pen against the page.

The butler shifted his weight subtly, then spoke in a low, respectful tone, “A hobby of yours, Sir Elias?”

“It is,” Elias replied without turning. He poured a light stream of water into the next pot, his expression serene. 

“A simple pastime. Government work grinds the spirit down, so I find I need something peaceful to balance it out.”

“Venting through planting, is it?” Esmeralda said, lifting her gaze briefly. 

She continued writing with a faint smile playing on her lips. “That’s a rather unique approach to stress management.”

“You flatter me, Miss Esmeralda,” Elias said with a light chuckle. He leaned forward slightly, adjusting the angle of the next pot.

“But yes, it helps. Tending to something delicate brings a kind of clarity. As it happens, I acquired two new plants just today. It seems your visit is already a lucky one.”

She raised a brow at that, giving him a faintly amused look. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Sir Elias.”

He didn’t reply, only smiled again before returning his attention to the plants.

Meanwhile, Esmeralda continued writing, pausing now and then to collect her thoughts. 

The page in her hands gradually filled with neat, precise lines of script, each word carefully chosen, the quiet in the room only deepened by the soft tap of pen to paper.