"These gold coins are of very high purity. A full thousand coins... truly tempting."
Old Man Rom picked up one of the gold coins and examined it carefully with a magnifying glass. A look of surprise—and a trace of regret—appeared on his face as he sighed in admiration.
"Then does that mean you can return the item to me?"
Hearing Old Man Rom's evaluation, Emilia's face lit up with joy. She immediately asked, unable to wait any longer.
"If you return it to me, I'll also treat you for free once in the future if you're ever injured."
Emilia slowly raised her right hand. A chunk of ice filled with biting cold materialized in her palm, continuously releasing white mist.
"A spiritual arts user! Her identity really isn't simple!"
After glancing at Emilia, Old Man Rom realized she was no ordinary girl. Then he looked at the bag of gold coins, his heart torn between two choices.
After all, the buyer wouldn't offer such a high price. But if he broke his word, his reputation would suffer greatly.
"Fine. The highest bidder gets it. Felt, return the item to them."
In the end, after a fierce internal struggle, Old Man Rom chose to take Shendu's money in exchange for greater profit.
"Okay, Grandpa."
Hearing her grandfather's words, Felt obediently turned around to retrieve the insignia.
"A wise choice. I like dealing with smart people."
Looking at Old Man Rom, Shendu revealed a faint smile, already making a decision in her heart.
Since Old Man Rom was so sensible, she wouldn't mind letting them live for a little longer—consider it a reward for being intelligent.
"Thank you, Miss Shendu! For helping me get my item back."
Seeing Felt turn to retrieve the insignia, Emilia quickly walked over and expressed her gratitude to Shendu.
"It's nothing. Just a small effort."
Shendu smiled lightly. Being a little shorter than Emilia, her gaze aligned neatly with Emilia's snow-white softness, which she took as a rather pleasant bonus.
[Ding~ Emilia's favorability +20. Current favorability: 70.]
As expected, Emilia's favorability toward Shendu shot upward. The situation was overwhelmingly favorable.
Knock knock knock...
Just as everything seemed settled, hurried knocking suddenly came from outside. Everyone present froze slightly.
"I'll get it. Looks like the buyer's here!"
Old Man Rom glanced at the clock and looked embarrassed. The original owner and the current buyer were both here—how this would be resolved was still a problem.
With a nervous heart, Old Man Rom slowly opened the door.
"Sorry to intrude~"
A seductive voice echoed through the room. Shendu turned her head and saw a black-haired woman dressed in revealing clothes walking in with a smile.
"Quite lively in here. Why are there so many people?"
"And these two silver-haired young ladies—where did they come from?"
The black-haired woman wore a wicked smile, seemingly puzzled by the presence of two silver-haired girls and even a man. It was far too strange.
Yet her excellent composure kept her from losing her temper. Instead, she shifted her gaze to Old Man Rom, waiting for an explanation.
"One of them is the original owner. I've already returned the item. If you want it, talk to her yourself."
After a brief pause, Old Man Rom explained firmly.
"Oh? The original owner is here too. Then it seems there's something I must do."
Though the black-haired woman was still smiling, her aura suddenly turned icy.
"Why did you want to buy my item? I don't even know you."
Emilia stared at her in confusion.
"My name is Elsa. As for that, I don't know either. I'm just carrying out a mission."
As soon as she finished speaking, powerful killing intent radiated from Elsa, enveloping the entire room.
"What's going on? Why did it suddenly get so cold?"
When Elsa revealed her murderous aura, Natsuki Subaru—who had been acting like a transparent background character the entire time—felt a chill run through his body.
"Shut up. If you don't want to die, stay behind me."
Shendu softly reminded the stunned Natsuki Subaru before turning her attention back to Emilia.
"Huh?"
Natsuki Subaru was bewildered. Just as he was about to say something, Elsa suddenly moved.
...
In an instant, Elsa swiftly drew a curved blade from her waist. Gripping the hilt tightly, she slashed fiercely toward Emilia's abdomen.
Sensing the deadly pressure in the air, Emilia immediately created a shield of ice, barely managing to block Elsa's strike.
The sharp curved blade collided with the ice shield, scattering small shards of frost, but it caused no further damage.
"Interesting. You're a spiritual arts user?"
Elsa revealed a wicked smile. She drew another curved blade from her waist and lightly licked its edge, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across her face.
"That's right. If you leave now, I might forgive you."
Emilia watched Elsa vigilantly, then glanced at Shendu beside her and spoke seriously.
As a silver-haired half-elf, Emilia's mastery of spiritual arts was strong. But she couldn't guarantee she could protect everyone present.
"Hehe... what a gentle person. Still thinking about protecting everyone here. How noble."
Elsa's smile deepened as she stared at Emilia step by step, speaking in a bone-chilling tone.
"Unfortunately, I am the Bowel Hunter. All of you are my prey."
Elsa paid no mind to Emilia's thoughts and had no intention of yielding. Gripping her sharp blades in both hands, she leaned forward slightly—like a mantis poised to strike.
The cold killing intent surged again. But this time, the target wasn't Emilia—it was Shendu.
When Elsa noticed that Emilia was paying attention to Shendu, she immediately devised a diversion tactic.
Kill Shendu first. Make Emilia lose focus. Then seize the opening and eliminate her.
Taking advantage of Emilia's vigilance, Elsa swung her blade hard. The candlestick in the room was sliced apart, plunging the entire space into pitch darkness.
Crack!
In the next instant, Elsa pushed off with both feet. The floor tiles shattered under the force as she transformed into a blur, charging toward Shendu—again aiming for the abdomen.
"Heh."
Facing Elsa's attack, Shendu couldn't help but reveal a trace of mockery.
Out of everyone here, she chose her? That was practically a death wish. Fighting her—was Elsa tired of living?
But unexpectedly, just as Shendu was about to deal with Elsa, Natsuki Subaru—who had been hiding behind her—suddenly stepped forward with a determined gaze and stood in front of her, blocking the blade.
Slash!
When the curved blade cut across Natsuki Subaru's abdomen, blood sprayed into the air, shocking everyone present.
Shendu was even more stunned. She had never expected that the useless protagonist would actually choose to take the blade for her.
What the hell... is this some kind of hero saving the beauty?
Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous!
"Damn it! How dare you hurt Miss Shendu—unforgivable!"
Smelling the thick scent of blood nearby, Emilia's small face filled with fury. She was completely enraged.
A massive surge of magic erupted from her instantly.
She raised her palm, and fist-sized chunks of ice formed one after another. With terrifying whistling sounds, they shot rapidly toward Elsa.
Thud thud thud!
Sensing danger, Elsa swiftly dodged. The barrage of ice smashed into the wall behind her, riddling it with holes and allowing bright moonlight to pour in.
"That was close. Now I know who that spiritual arts user cares about."
Elsa let out a cold laugh, gazing toward Shendu through the moonlight, waiting for another chance to launch a sneak attack.
Meanwhile, Natsuki Subaru lay heavily wounded on the ground, blood continuously spilling from his mouth. The sight made Shendu roll her eyes.
"Didn't I tell you to stay behind me? Why wouldn't you listen?"
Her crimson eyes were especially striking in the darkness as she stared at Natsuki Subaru and questioned him.
"Cough... cough... You saved me before, so I also wanted to save—"
Just as Natsuki Subaru put on a tragic expression and tried to continue speaking, black lines seemed to appear across Shendu's forehead. Expressionless, she chopped down with a swift hand strike.
Natsuki Subaru's vision went black instantly, and he fainted on the spot.
At the same time, Shendu placed her hand over his abdomen. The power of the Horse Talisman activated at once.
In less than a second, the wound across Natsuki Subaru's abdomen healed completely. Aside from the bloodstains on his clothes, there wasn't even the faintest scar left on his skin.