"This is what he was thinking..."

Aisha kept staring at the group and nodded.

"continue."

At this time, the woman and several drunkards walked into the small house one after another. The old man stared at them deeply, then slowly closed the door.

"I have to find a way to fool these idiots. If that doesn't work, I'll just have to do it here. I don't want to do business at a loss..."

Adele spoke as if she was reading a textbook, with no emotion at all and her tone was very awkward.

She kept translating to Elsa until a sentence suddenly popped up: "...Someone hired adventurers to find those guys. I'm afraid they've been targeted. They're probably gone, but since they're here, they have to get the money. Oh, maybe we can change our strategy and use them to exchange for some rewards from the guild. That way we can get our two cents. Speaking of which, the employer seems to be a gray-haired woman? She seems to be a wealthy person. Should I take three shares of the money..."

"Bring them here."

Elsa made a prompt decision and said to Adele.

……

------------

482 I owe you a favor

Mind reading is not simply about digging out what the other person is thinking and laying it out to see one by one, because that is very difficult - the human mind is bizarre and complex, and a person's mind may produce a large number of redundant and imaginative "thoughts" at any time and place, just like a rich and colorful landscape painting. At first glance, it is actually difficult to notice certain details in the corners of the picture, and you can only grasp the general content.

Adele's "mind reading" is to filter out those potential, fleeting information, cut out the real and continuous thoughts in her heart from a pile of messy thoughts, and then reorder and organize these cut fragments, and then deliver them to Elsa in the form of language.

It's like she's recounting a painting, so the tone and words Adele uses seem a little strange.

Until the words "gray-haired woman" appeared.

"The gray-haired woman... Grace?"

Elsa paused.

She immediately thought of Grace. After all, there weren't many people with gray hair like Grace, and it was hard not to notice them. So the so-called "employer" who appeared in the old man's mind was probably none other than Grace. Who else could it be who posted the same commission in the Adventurer's Guild and had similar appearance features?

Other keywords that appear along with "gray hair" include "those guys" and "cargo." Considering the demihumans whose whereabouts are still unknown, it's hard not to feel suspicious.

"It seems that perhaps Grace has already gained something."

Elsa shook her head, thinking.

She already had a rough guess in her mind, because these things went so smoothly that it seemed like a coincidence. Generally speaking, how could the guy she ran into in front of the tavern happen to be related to those demihumans? The probability was too low, and Aisha didn't think her luck was that good.

Rather, Grace's choice to go to that tavern had a clear purpose, as did the timing, which is why Elsa happened to run into these people.

"Adele, go and get them. I have something to ask them."

Aisha said.

If possible, Elsa still hopes to avoid being too conspicuous, so Adele's space magic comes in handy.

Adele said "Oh" dryly - in the past, she would not bother to take action against those weak humans herself, but since it was Elsa's order, she naturally had to obey.

"Then leave it to me."

With a gurgling sound, Adele lightly raised her hand, and a black "light" flashed and disappeared, quickly covering the small house. She slowly closed her five fingers, and Elsa only saw the distortion in front of her eyes for a moment before it returned to its original state. In fact, that piece of space had been cut out by Adele.

Just as Adele was about to "pull" those people over, Elsa suddenly grabbed Adele who was about to show her skills.

Said: "Wait."

Adele suddenly stopped moving. She looked at Elsa, who was looking towards the end of the street.

She could sense someone approaching from that direction, their footsteps were light and hurried. There seemed to be two people, not like patrolling soldiers nor like passers-by. After all, there were not many people on the road on this cold morning - and their footsteps were approaching quickly. It was obvious that the other party had a clear purpose and was heading straight this way.

Soon, figures appeared. It was Becky and a blonde woman she had never seen before. They seemed to be chasing something. The woman immediately set her eyes on the short house and said something to Becky. Becky nodded and looked around, and the next moment, Becky felt a chill on her back.

"Becky, why are you here? Where's Grace?"

"Eh!? Ai-Elsa-sama!?"

The sudden familiar voice startled Becky, but the woman next to her simply turned her head. They both saw Elsa. Elsa calmly glanced at the woman, and she keenly noticed that the woman's eyes suddenly became very complicated when she saw her.

And Elsa also felt that this woman looked a little familiar.

The cold wind blew past, and Elsa's nose twitched, and then her eyebrows raised slightly. Before the flustered Becky began to explain, Elsa spoke first:

"Grace, why are you dressed like this?"

"..."

The blonde woman - Grace looked away uninterested, her lips slightly pursed.

"It's to disguise my identity so I won't be noticed, especially by those guys," Grace said, glancing in the direction of the cabin. "But it seems my skills are still a little lacking. You recognized me at a glance."

"Your scent is easy to recognize."

Elsa said this seriously, but in return she received a resentful look from Grace, who seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Adele, who was far away, read out a sentence at this time: Dirty nun.

Aisha completely ignored Grace's gaze and asked, "It seems that you really know those people. Who are they?"

"Slave traders and traffickers—they specialize in targeting subhumans."

"So Lacey's sister..."

"I'm not sure yet, but since there's been no news, this could only be the reason—they're all ordinary demihumans, and there's no way they could possibly cross the snowy plains under the cold wave. So, they must still be in Kroros."

"So, in fact, we haven't heard from Sister Lacey yet?"

"Um……"

Grace pursed her lips, seeming to find it difficult to speak as she touched upon a difficult point.

"No wonder it's such a coincidence... Anyway, I understand what happened."

Elsa nodded, and that made everything make sense.

Grace continued, "I heard Becky say you were chasing those guys, so I rushed over right away. Mainly because I wanted to tell you not to alert the enemy. I finally caught up with these guys, and if you cut off the clues now, all my efforts will be wasted. Besides..."

Grace paused and hesitated for a moment, her voice a little awkward.

"I, I want to ask you for something..."

"Oh? It's rare that you would take the initiative to ask me."

Elsa was slightly surprised, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she looked at Grace, who rarely showed a rich expression.

"It's just a suggestion! If you don't agree, it's fine. I have my own way..." Grace had no intention of catering to Elsa. She turned her head away stubbornly, not looking like she was begging anyone at all.

In other words, it is very interesting to see Grace complaining about Elsa and not wanting to be outdone, but at the same time having to give in because she wants something from Elsa.

"I haven't refused yet."

Elsa smiled. She had long understood Grace's stubbornness and didn't take her stubborn attitude seriously.

"Tell me, what's the matter? As long as it's not something that goes against my principles, I will do my best."

"It better be like this..."

Grace felt that she shouldn't believe what Elsa said. Every time she saw Elsa's face, she would unconsciously think of the time when Elsa...

"Your hypnosis skills are quite powerful, so I think you could interrogate those people for me and get them to tell me where they're holding the demi-humans. If possible, it would be best if they could also reveal who the buyer they're contacting is. I want to catch them all in one fell swoop."

"Hypnosis..."

Elsa was a little confused.

"I remember you used hypnosis back in the fortress."

"That's Abyssal Magic."

Grace lowered her voice.

"I no longer use Abyssal Magic now."

After saying that, Grace pursed her lips and looked away from Elsa, her voice dry.

"Just consider it as... I owe you a favor..."

……

------------

483. Gurgling Sound (7K)

Inside the cabin, the old man and the beautiful woman had no idea that they had been targeted. When the beautiful woman and the drunkards came into the house, the old man closed the door. However, this thin door could not completely block the cold wind outside, and the window sills and door cracks were piled with fallen snow.

But the house was actually very warm - unlike this shabby-looking hut, there were a few flints placed in the middle of the hut, and something was being cooked, which also brought warmth.

"Tsk, Balin, you stink in here, the whole place reeks of alcohol!"

As soon as the woman came in, she pinched her nose and made a disgusted expression.

Balin is the name of an elderly man.

"Bear with it, Kalima. This shouldn't be difficult for you."

Kalima is the name of a gorgeous woman, a simple name that can be found everywhere, without a surname. Balin doesn't know whether this is the woman's real name, but it doesn't matter. There is no need for them to ask each other too much. This is their tacit understanding.

"Humph."

Kalima didn't say anything else. Balin glanced down at his feet, as if wondering if it really stinks here. "Anyway, you'll get used to it. The smell in the tavern isn't much better than here."

"I went to the pub for that woman, otherwise I wouldn't bother going. You know, I hate alcohol."

Kalima waved her hands, with a hint of impatience between her brows - in fact, she went to the tavern to find the little fox girl. Now that the girl was found, she couldn't take the girl away, which made her very distressed, so she could only go to the tavern every day to stake out, because Grace would appear there, and she had to find a way to find a gap to take the girl away from Grace.

This concerns her property.

Because those demihumans who were supposed to be cargo were all dead, and now Balin was waiting for her to deliver the goods, but in fact, none of her "cargo" was left - it was obviously impossible to get another batch of goods now, so she had to at least get the little girl over. Although the girl was just a low-class fox person, she had a pretty face, and after washing and dressing up, she would not have trouble selling her for a good price.

Furthermore, Kalima really wanted to get hold of Bahrain's employers so that she wouldn't have to be controlled by Bahrain all the time. If she were to manage the business herself, her profits would definitely be much higher than they are now.

Balin didn't know all this. What he was thinking in his heart was exactly the opposite of Kalima's - he was thinking about how to trick Kalima into handing over the subhuman goods.

Because of the cold wave and the new ban issued by Queen Hermsis Butana, the original customers no longer dared to continue doing this business. In other words, the goods could no longer be sold, and naturally there was no way to redeem the reward that originally belonged to Kalima. Even the money that Bahrain spent himself and the credit could not be recovered.

That would have been fine, but it just so happened that a few days ago, Earl Leonard was suddenly announced dead. It was said that he had colluded with the demons and was executed by the current generation of Holy Nun. At the same time, all the property of the Leonard family and its affiliated chambers of commerce were confiscated. Thanks to this, the money invested by Barin - bang, it was all gone.

This made him suffer.

If he was doing legitimate business, he would definitely go with other businessmen to ask for it. The Governor of Seyavis said that the assets could be returned after an audit, but the problem was that none of Bahrain's money came from a clean source - his cooperation with the Leonard family was human trafficking.

So I could only grit my teeth and swallow it.

The downfall of the Leonard family and the turmoil in Hercules Butana also contributed to Balin's determination to leave.

Nowadays, Bahrain has set his sights on the next profitable business. He has set his sights on the Western Continent. He wants to buy a ship to do shipping business, of course, it is illegal smuggling. He knows the way and can definitely make a lot of money, but it also requires a lot of start-up capital.

In short, he really needs money now.

So he planned to betray his partner Kalima, because he could not take Kalima away. As a witness to his black money, he could not let Kalima stay alive. That was a hidden danger. The Queen of Hercules Butana issued a ban. Bahrain, who had a keen sense of smell, noticed something unusual. He felt that the wind direction would change in the future, and Kalima would obviously continue this business.

Kalima is actually a demihuman, or to be more precise, a fox-man - otherwise, she would not have been able to easily trick those demihumans here one by one and make them her goods. Compared with Kalima, those demihumans are too simple and not very strong, and their only value as commodities is acceptable.

It’s just that Kalima cut off her iconic tail and fox ears. Now at least her appearance is not much different from that of a human, and most people can’t recognize her.

Who knows if this crazy woman Kalima will be caught one day? Dirty sub-humans have no credibility at all, and this identity is inherently dangerous. Who knows if Kalima will give him up at that time?

So, for the sake of safety and to get a considerable amount of start-up capital, the only option left is to get rid of Kalima.

Balin and Kalima each had their own thoughts and looked at each other at the same time.

"sit down."

After Balin entered the house, he sat down directly in front of the pot where something was cooking. Kalima glanced at the dusty ground and did not sit down, but just squatted. She sniffed the hot steam rising from the pot and quickly glanced around, taking in everything in the small house.

There were some firewood and empty wine bottles piled in the corner of the hut. Several people gathered there to play a gambling game with copper coins. Someone was standing in front of the window, looking out through the gap, always paying attention to the movement outside. Another person was leaning against the fireplace, meticulously wiping his weapon.

These people include both men and women, some are dressed as hunters, and some look like nearby craftsmen and hunters, but in fact they are dressed in this way deliberately to hide their identities. In fact, these people are all capable thugs without exception. They all work for Bahrain, and Bahrain gives them a considerable amount of compensation.

Even Balin himself is a good knife user, even though he looks very old.

There was no magician among these people, or rather, the only magician was Kalima herself. Facing these guys wielding knives and guns, she would definitely suffer if a fight broke out in such a narrow place, so she had to find a way out - such as going through the window.

Thinking about the possible conversation that might happen next, she was still considering how to deal with Bahrain's questioning. Maybe a fight would even break out, so Kalima was on guard early on.

She glanced at the drunken subordinates behind her, then raised her hand and threw a few bottles of some liquid to them.

"Sober you up."

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