Remel straightened her back, then began to speak.
"Reporting! The aftermath of the parade has been cleaned up, and most of the agitators have been arrested or dispersed, but those connected to overseas powers have been placed in a special holding facility separate from the Central Prison for diplomatic reasons!"
"Regarding the events of the Azurefell Family, the perimeter has been sealed off, and special teams have been sent in to clean up the contamination. Because they are not allowing us to enter their territory, we are currently focusing on the areas of the incident that have spilled out. The poison used in the attack is unlike anything we have ever seen before. It consists of over twenty-five different substances, all administered through different means. Currently, we are struggling to cure the poison, so we have called in a large number of people from the Barak Family!"
"Next, the Telltera and the Blue Sea Guild have shown no signs of any major movements, but according to our scouts, they seem to be planning for something big, likely related to the Royal Ring Secret Realm. In addition, a small number of the original crew have disappeared, likely leaving the south to travel throughout the Cross Continent."
She coughed lightly, then added with a smug smile, "That should cover most of our concerns. Aside from the Dragon Clan, who the Royal Family has an eye on, if any other overwhelming 'problems' do suddenly appear, we can naturally just offer Appal as a scapegoat!"
Whack!
A long stick swacked across the room from the captain's desk and struck her squarely on the head.
"Stop joking!" the captain barked. "We are not repeating what happened thirteen years ago!"
Remel rubbed her head with watery eyes and nodded obediently.
He was naturally talking about an incident that occurred after one of the overseas exploration teams returned, but brought a very special person from 'that place' and caused a huge dispute that even required the World Tower to intervene to resolve. Even thinking about it gave him a headache.
The captain then looked toward Appal.
Appal continued without delay.
"Most of the small incidents have been contained and handled without any problems, and only a few sensitive cases remain, mainly involving sensitive races like the Beast Clan and the delegates from the Dark Races. As for the Royal Ring Secret Realm, city traffic, small crimes, and the foreign movement of several spies, they have all increased sharply, but nothing beyond our projected outcomes."
He pointed to a marked map on the wall.
"We've assigned extra layers of security for the official opening, reserve squads for disturbances made up of recommended individuals from the United Army, and special units formed from elite guardsmen for continuous surveillance once the realm activates."
The captain gave a slow nod.
Good! That at least was one fire under control…
After a pause, he asked, "And the matter Elena requested?"
Both Remel and Appal, after sharing a look, shook their heads.
"We can't find a clear motive why she is looking for that person," said Appal.
"There's no conflict, she holds no political or financial significance, her parents don't have a real background and are both dead, and she can barely survive on her own as it is! Even if we didn't go looking for her, I doubt that person would have lasted long. It's possible that by imprisoning her, we may have even saved her life." Remel added. "…Which also makes it suspiciously personal."
The room grew quiet, but before the captain could talk—
Ding-ding-ding! A small bell rang near the door!
All three turned their heads to see a guard officer standing there, holding the door open as a young woman stepped inside.
Remel muttered under her breath, "Speak of the devil…"
Elena calmly entered.
She swept her eyes across the room, met the Guard Captain's gaze, then gave a polite nod before seating herself without hesitation.
Soon, they began to talk.
Click!
The door closed, and their conversation was forever a mystery…
* * *
An hour later…
-
Streets of Llynun—
Elena walked down the street with Remel by her side.
After the brief meeting with the Guard Captain, Appal had already gone ahead to prepare the next stage of their plan, while Remel had been assigned to handle several small matters at the headquarters before personally accompanying Elena through the city. Whether this was because she was capable, expendable, or simply available remained unclear, but Remel claimed it was because she was the most trustworthy individual!
Unfortunately, no one agreed with her...
And so, one small girl and one tall girl, this unlikely duo, moved through the early afternoon streets of Llynun together! Remel walked with brisk, confident steps despite her small size. Her petite frame carried itself with far more confidence than her height should have suggested, and she spoke almost nonstop as she guided Elena through the city streets, pointing out different districts, recent incidents, some of her most suspicious moments, and the many headaches currently plaguing the city.
Elena listened quietly.
For some reason, this small girl reminded Elena a bit of Petra from back then…
It was quite refreshing!
No matter what life, she had always maintained an excellent relationship with the City Guard, and it was not uncommon for her to work alongside them when 'unusual' matters arose within the capital. In truth, the guards had long since grown used to her sudden appearances, mysterious requests, and unpredictable habit of solving disasters before anyone else realized they were even disasters! In other words, Elena was a bit like an unofficial member of the City Guard! This was also the reason they had agreed to her request to apprehend 'that person' despite lacking a solid reason.
As time would continue to tell, Elena was indeed right, because when they found the target, despite being on her deathbed, the explosive power she displayed was beyond anyone's imagination!
If the Guard Captain didn't personally intervene that day, then it was possible that she would have escaped after injuring a large number of elite guards.
Solving such a huge hidden time bomb was indeed worth it.
When related to Elena, small disturbances were rarely small. A missing person, a street fight, a merchant's dispute, the sale of an illegal artifact, a slightly strange outsider entering the city, any one of these could become the spark that ignited something much, much larger!
Since Elena was destined to spend a 'lot of time' in Llynun, she had chosen to quietly stabilize what she could in the city before the Third Calamity officially began. This naturally referred to everything since she left Evergreen Town, because Llynun was a hub that she would constantly visit before leaving the Cross Continent for the Fourth Calamity.
As for the City Guard, they simply accepted this blessing with gratitude.
Llynun was under enormous pressure.
The weeks leading up to the Third Calamity were already chaotic enough, and adding the soon-to-open Royal Ring Secret Realm, the arrival of foreign powers, several noble schemes, desperate fortune-seekers, hidden cultists, criminals and opportunists, and the thousands of visiting experts from overseas, the amount of trouble brewing beneath the city's surface was almost impossible to measure!
The fact that the capital still appeared peaceful was no accident. Part of it was the royal family's careful management, part of it was the City Guard working beyond the point of exhaustion, but the vast majority was Elena, who had quietly uprooted many dangerous elements before they could surface and grow. Combined with the 'recent' banning of the Mercenary Alliance from the south, several hidden dangers had already been forced out or crushed altogether.
Because of this, the capital of the Southern Region still looked calm, at least, on the surface...
A refreshing wind drifted through the streets, lifting strands of Elena's long blond hair.
Sunlight poured over the streets, reflecting from windows, banners, and stone. Today was the kind of bright day that made even crowded roads feel pleasant as a park.
Meanwhile, as Elena enjoyed the surroundings, Remel continued talking.
"—And then we found three paper smugglers hiding under sacks of onions," she said proudly. "I noticed immediately, of course. Uh, but it wasn't because of my height! N-no! I just have this incredible nose for crime, you see! Hahaha!"
Elena glanced sideways. "Because they didn't smell like onions? Or—because you can smell the paper through the ink?"
Remel coughed. "That was only part of it, obviously!"
She rolled her eyes, looking somewhat untrustworthy…
The conversation continued.
They were in no hurry.
Because of Elena's status, the City Guard had no objections to lending their vice captain to her for the day. In fact, several officers almost looked relieved to pass Remel onto someone else, even temporarily. For some reason, she didn't seem to have a very good reputation, despite being a vice captain of the City Guard.
As they walked, the two women occasionally stopped along the way.
Sometimes it was for information, sometimes it was because Remel wanted a snack, and sometimes Elena simply noticed something interesting and wandered off. Both of these girls seemed to have problems when it didn't come to serious business...
On their way, they browsed several stalls, purchased brinks, lazily listened to gossip, and gathered the latest rumors flowing through the capital. Through their completely unfocused, idle wandering, Elena learned more about the current state of Llynun.
Time pleasantly passed.
Then, after crossing two more markets and entering a quieter district, Remel finally slowed her steps.
"We're here," she said at last.
Elena lifted her gaze.
Before her was a large black fortress built of iron bars and old brick, its walls engraved with countless purple runes that flowed faintly through the afternoon shadows.
Elena followed Remel into the Central Prison…
* * *
Elena and Remel were received at the entrance of the prison and formally checked in.
After their names were recorded, they had their identities verified, and then were each issued a visitor token that would allow the prison to keep a close eye on everything that they were doing. Even the smallest movement, like a twitch of the toe would be recorded by these special tokens. After the initial entry inspection, which included the storage ring, even Elena, whose status could open many doors in Llynun, was still required to pass through procedure after procedure. The Central Prison was one of the few places in the capital where identity did not exempt a person from precaution.
This took over twenty minutes.
After several more formalities, the pair were escorted inward by a black-clothed senior prison officer with a magic lantern at his waist and a ring of keys abundant enough to serve as a weapon.
They passed through multiple checkpoints in succession.
Even Remel was slightly shocked at the level of security that the Central Prison had.
This was actually her first time here. Under normal circumstances, she would be working outside, managing the nobles and bratty kids that other guards didn't want to deal with.
Entering such a dark and gloomy place for the first time in her life, Remel felt a little nervous.
It's a shame that she was alone, because if any of the other members of the City Guard were here, they would definitely burst out laughing!
In addition to the checkpoints, they passed through Iron gates, rune barriers, and magic locks. There were guard posts built directly into the walls, hidden tunnels beneath the floors, and at each level, their identities were checked again.
Eventually, they entered a long descending tunnel carved from a special black stone…
The corridor stretched far ahead before ending at a massive iron door sealed with special runes. The metal itself was scarred and damaged by age, but the runes still pulsed with a bright purple light.
Before proceeding, the officer stopped and turned toward Elena.
"As a matter of protocol, I'm required to explain the regulations for the lower levels of the prison to you first," he said with a cold, almost gritty voice. "The deeper levels contain individuals who cannot be managed through ordinary means. This includes special creatures and high-level practitioners. If a prisoner speaks to you, do not answer them unless instructed. If a cell begins to glow or shake, step back immediately. If you hear knocking from behind a wall, ignore it. If you—"
He continued to explain situation after situation.
In short, avoid, ignore, and forget any anomalous incidents.
Rem swallowed hard.
The officer continued as if reciting today's weather conditions.
"Ok, if you're ready, follow me…"
Koong! The large metal door leading to the lower levels of the prison opened with a long metallic creak! Beyond it lay a long staircase twisting downwards into an even deeper darkness.
Elena stepped forward without hesitation.
Rem followed behind her, though noticeably clinging closer than before.
They descended…