Chapter 13 - Meeting Valletta
Regardless of whether it was done with malice or good intentions, the presence of that gaze was extremely strong.
It was like being stared at by a dangerous wild animal, and the body reacted unconsciously.
She couldn't tell what attitude the owner of that gaze had towards them, but the blonde elf was certain that whoever it was, they were very dangerous.
"Hey! Stupid elf! What are you slacking off for?"
The long-haired beauty in a kimono, who was chopping meat with a skillful knife next to her, looked pitifully beautiful, but her lovely voice was laced with a rude and mean streak.
The blonde elf, who would normally retort, rarely held her tongue. This time, however, her eyes were still scanning the crowd warily.
"Wait, Kaguya, I don't want to argue with you right now. I just felt like someone was watching us. I wonder if it was someone from Evilus."
Hearing this, the girl in the kimono narrowed her eyes slightly, and her dangerous gaze, like the blade of a knife, swept across the crowd.
However, after a few scans, the crowd remained as noisy and crowded as ever, with nothing unusual.
She looked away and glanced at the blonde elf suspiciously.
"Hey, you're not in heat and just imagining things because you're unsatisfied, are you?"
No matter how good-tempered the blonde elf was, she couldn't help but explode in anger at that.
Forget about a lurking Evilus agent; even if that Black Dragon itself descended, she would have to fight this venomous woman first!
"Hey! Kaguya! You wanna fight?!"
"Huh? You think you can beat me?"
The people around were not afraid of the scene but showed excitement. Some even looked ready to applaud and cheer.
After all, what could be more exciting than watching beautiful girls fight each other up close? It just goes to show that some people's appetite for chaos is insatiable.
At the critical moment, a girl with a red ponytail and a cheerful smile squeezed in between them and stopped the fight before it could start.
"Alright, alright, Kaguya, Ryu, you two were getting along fine. Why are you suddenly arguing again? You know, the Loki Familia and the Guild are watching us. This will reflect poorly on the Astraea Familia!"
Kaguya flicked her sleeves gracefully, turned around, and resumed cutting ingredients.
The blonde elf, Ryu, looked at her captain with her eyebrows raised in displeasure.
"Alise! Let me tell you, Kaguya..."
After hearing the story, Alise Lovell roughly understood what had happened and subconsciously glanced at the crowd.
Noticing nothing unusual, she puffed out her flat chest under her armor and waved a hand at Ryu.
"You must be overthinking it, Ryu. After all, as a world-class beauty, it's normal for people to stare! It's just a pity that I must fight for Astraea's justice! I can't respond to their feelings!"
Looking at their captain, who went from excited to complacent to regretful in seconds, not only Kaguya but even Ryu was left speechless, completely forgetting the earlier incident as a dark line appeared on her fair forehead.
However, Alise was completely unaware of this.
Instead, her eyes lit up when she caught a glimpse of an emerald figure out of the corner of her eye.
She vaulted over the table and ran straight out of the stall.
"Ah! Isn't that Lady Nine Hells?! Long time no see... Eh? And who is this little girl?"
Watching their captain completely lose her composure upon meeting the city's famous first class adventurer, the blonde elf and the kimono-clad girl, who had been about to fight just moments ago, looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
In the third district, northeast of the city.
Perhaps because of the food distribution event, the crowds of passersby made the surrounding area seem quiet by comparison.
Even the noise from the North District seemed far away.
In a quiet and deserted alley, Noah stopped and touched his somewhat empty stomach.
Sighing, he decided to get rid of the trouble quickly so he could find time to get something to eat.
"Come out. How long are you going to follow me?"
The cold voice, carried by the strong midday wind, slowly echoed in the quiet alley. As the sound faded, the heavy footsteps of hard leather shoes on stone slabs could be heard approaching.
Beast-like eyes slowly emerged from the darkness.
The woman's hair appeared a bright, pink in the sunlight, and she was wearing a torn sweatshirt and leather pants.
"Hey, kid. I'm sure you've never been in Orario before. Are you new here? I'm quite curious about you."
Valletta Grede glanced at the silver-haired boy with a look that was seemingly frivolous but actually serious.
As one of the most important cadres in Evilus, although she was given the epithet "Arachnia" because of her crazed bloodlust, she was actually one of the most intelligent and capable leaders in the organization.
If not, she wouldn't have survived the many battles against Finn Deimne, from the Dark Age seven years ago to the present.
A few days ago, after learning that Thanatos had failed to recruit that girl, a well-known rookie in the Loki Familia, and had been attacked by an unknown swordsman suspected to be Level 4 during his retreat, Valletta had begun her investigation.
After all, with the Zeus and Hera Familias defeated, there was only one Level 6 adventurer, Ottar from the Freya Familia, in the entire city.
The Guild had no more than ten Level 5 adventurers on record. An unknown adventurer with at least Level 4 strength could potentially turn the tide of battle at a critical moment.
While arranging for her people to search for and monitor adventurers matching the description, she also activated her intelligence network to see if any new forces had entered Orario.
But because she had preconceived that her target was also targeting Evilus, Valletta had focused her search on various hidden locations in the city.
After three or four days, she had found nothing.
It wasn't until an Evilus member saw Noah on the street that she suddenly realized what was going on, and her face became serious. He was moving in plain sight.
It seemed her opponent this time was not simple. So, along the way, Valletta had already prepared for various scenarios in her mind. She decided that no matter what happened, she would remain calm.
"Kid? Compared to you, I am indeed a kid, old woman."
Noah glanced sideways at Valletta.
"You're interested in me, but I have no interest in you. Anyway, you're just a heretic like that perverted purple-haired man, blaspheming the name of the God of Death."