"The Dis sisters are on their way. Meren isn't far from Orario, so are you ready?"
After lamenting the Guild's shameless greed, Cid did not forget the most important matter.
He assumed Filvis had pushed herself so hard over the past half year because she wanted revenge as quickly as possible.
It couldn't be that this little elf had been working herself to the bone purely out of loyalty to him as Shadow, could it?
Thinking back on Filvis's conduct over the past several months, even Shadow himself did not dare become that narcissistic.
"Please rest assured, Lord Shadow. I will definitely win."
Filvis did not feel nervous in the slightest. She was so happy she felt as if she might ascend to the heavens.
Despite his overwhelming schedule, Lord Shadow was still concerned about her.
She had gradually mastered her powers as a creature of curse, and she had also endured Alfia's hellish training.
Most importantly, she had been learning directly from Lord Shadow himself.
In front of Cid, Filvis raised a hand. A compressed sphere of magical power formed in her palm.
It was Magic Compression—Cid's signature spell.
Among Shadow Garden's core members, nearly all of them had been taught how to use it.
Of course, compared to Alfia's version, theirs were inferior copies.
And compared to Cid's, they were pale shadows of shadows.
Filvis had worked the hardest, possessed the best talent, and trained with it the longest.
Her current mastery was the highest among them, already about seventy percent of Alfia's level.
Two against one? Filvis did not believe she could lose.
"Don't forget the important part. There's still one report you haven't given."
Seeing Filvis sink into lovestruck mode again, Alfia could not help reminding her.
Normally, this little elf was perfectly reliable—gifted, powerful, emotionally steady, and fully qualified to manage an organization.
Only when facing Lord Shadow did she become painfully abnormal.
The other girls in Shadow Garden were much the same. The core members were especially severe cases.
Alfia had once suspected that if she ever joined Shadow Garden herself, she might end up like that too.
That was why she had never brought up the subject of joining. Within Shadow Garden, her position was basically that of a guest ally.
"...I was just about to report. But thank you for the reminder."
Filvis came back to her senses and resumed her report with a calm expression, though the tips of her ears had turned pink.
In truth, it hadn't been her who had just been swooning—it had been her other self influencing her, so the problem clearly lay with that other self, not her.
Damn this creature-of-curse mentality. It kept making her embarrass herself in front of Lord Shadow.
Having shoved all responsibility onto someone else without the slightest guilt, Filvis returned to business.
"Lord Shadow, based on our investigation, it seems a hidden faction of the dark side still exists. In addition, Ishtar Familia appears to have connections with them. If we're not mistaken, some of the remnants may be hiding in Daedalus Street."
Filvis reported seriously.
In truth, the clues she had gathered were little more than fragments and rumors, nothing she could prove conclusively.
But she knew Dionysus was suspicious.
And Shadow Garden had already subdued nearly the entirety of the dark side. Even Level 5 Valetta had been thrown into a cage.
By all logic, every remaining dark faction element in Orario should already have been captured.
Yet Filvis had not found Dionysus.
Naturally, she could not rest easy.
Given that mad god's nature, it was hard to imagine he would quietly remain outside Orario forever.
After some investigation, Filvis had found traces of Ishtar Familia's activity.
If Dionysus was still in Orario, and if he truly had ties to Ishtar Familia, then Daedalus Street was the most suspicious place.
"Daedalus Street, huh?"
Cid recalled what had happened half a year ago.
Back then, he had gone there and spoken with Riveria.
Could it be that at the time, Riveria had already been suspicious of Ishtar Familia and Daedalus Street?
A horrifying possibility suddenly occurred to him—
Loki Familia had already returned from its expedition, and Orario had largely recovered from the shadow of war.
Wasn't this the perfect moment to investigate Daedalus Street?
If Loki Familia really discovered a connection between Ishtar Familia and the remnants of the dark side, then wouldn't mob-Cid end up earning another great merit?
No.
Absolutely not.
"Ensure your safety. Move quickly. An ominous wind is blowing through Orario."
After saying that, Cid turned and left. He still had to hurry back and play the role of mob-Cid.
Based on what he had just deduced, unless something unexpected happened, he would probably end up joining the search of Daedalus Street too.
After all, if Filvis could gather these traces, there was no reason Loki Familia could not do the same.
Though he was not even a member of Loki Familia, he would still get dragged into the operation. What a pain.
To avoid becoming a great hero again, Cid hoped Filvis would act fast and snatch away the credit first.
"Please leave it to me, Lord Shadow!"
Filvis accepted the order and decided to investigate Daedalus Street immediately.
But Alfia had caught something odd in Shadow's words.
"Don't be so hasty. You need to understand the deeper meaning of what he said."
"Please don't act as if you know better. No one understands Lord Shadow more than I do!"
Filvis practically bristled, glaring fiercely at Alfia.
Alfia could call her weak. She could torment her during training. She could even bring that suspicious child around without joining Shadow Garden.
But she absolutely could not claim to understand Lord Shadow better than Filvis.
That was Filvis's bottom line.
"You said yourself he's been exploring the deep levels of the Dungeon lately. So why would he know Orario is about to face trouble?"
Alfia waved a hand, with no interest in competing over affection with an elf.
She had only chosen to speak because Shadow's words smelled of danger.
In her eyes, Shadow combined with Shadow Garden was already an exceptionally solid force.
As long as they grew to full strength, they would be able to lead Orario in toppling the Black Dragon.
So ideally, Shadow Garden's key members should suffer as few losses as possible.
Even the one true hero needed followers.
"What do you mean? Are you saying Lord Shadow discovered some issue in the deeper levels of Orario?"
Alfia did not know that Lord Shadow was Cid. Filvis had only casually mentioned his recent movements once.
She had not expected Alfia to remember.
To remember details like that so clearly...
Filvis became certain of one thing: Alfia was her greatest rival.
Still, what Alfia had said was worth serious thought.
Given Lord Shadow's recent activities, he should have had no reason to know about enemy movements on the surface.
An outsider had understood Lord Shadow's intent before she had?
Unwillingly biting her lower lip, Filvis forced herself to think.
Once the answer was pointed out, it was not actually that difficult.
"If there's activity in the deep Dungeon, then the only things that could be living there are monsters. Is Lord Shadow warning me to pay attention to monsters?"
"You're not completely brainless after all. Think about it—Barbel's entrance is being watched by Orario, and the man-made labyrinth is under our control. If monsters really are involved, then how could they enter Orario?"
Alfia guided Filvis step by step, giving her enough hints.
A similar tactic had already been used during the Great Feud, so Alfia knew the pattern well.
Filvis was not stupid, and she quickly understood.
"So Lord Shadow already told me."
At last, Filvis understood.
Lord Shadow had warned her to be careful in the fight against the Dis sisters, and he had deliberately mentioned where they were coming from—Meren.
If she remembered correctly, the sewer system of Meren was connected to Orario.
No wonder Lord Shadow had known the Dis sisters' location. Because Meren itself was what he had been watching.
"I understand now. The place we need to investigate isn't Daedalus Street—it's Meren."
Now Filvis understood everything, and a chill ran down her spine.
If she had failed to grasp Lord Shadow's meaning, she might have wasted a huge amount of time and effort only to come up empty-handed.
"That man really twists his words around. For a task this important, he should just say things clearly."
Alfia stroked the white rabbit's fur and could not resist complaining.
She had no intention of letting her younger sister's child join Shadow Garden.
Shadow spoke too cryptically, and the things he did were far too dangerous. It was not good for a child's development.
After training Bell for a while, Alfia had become certain the child had no remarkable talent.
She intended to place Bell in some ordinary Familia in Orario and let her become a normal adventurer.
With herself living on the dark side and Bell growing up under the light, the child should be able to move safely through both worlds.
As it happened, there was already a young man she had been observing lately—someone whose debt was apparently close to being fully repaid.
"Don't slander him. Lord Shadow is testing me because he trusts me!"
Filvis glared at Alfia.
Lord Shadow was burdened with countless responsibilities and could not spare the time to manage Shadow Garden personally.
Therefore, as the one actually handling things, she had to be sharper.
Everything was merely Lord Shadow's test for her. He was not being cryptic.
Alfia understood nothing.
Even today, Filvis still thoroughly disliked Alfia.
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it