Master Hana was not one to sleep deeply. As someone who was the head of a guild, deep sleep was a foreign concept to her.
She needed to be always alert because she had too many enemies out to kill her. And every second of distraction could result in her death.
So that was why this morning was making her feel uneasy. Her sleep had been too deep to be natural and her body was also sluggish. It was almost as if she had been drugged before being put to sleep.
But that could not be right. She remembered running away from Fenrir breast by sacrificing her precious weapon and then reaching the Grandmaster somehow through the fog.
They had returned to the Elf village and then gone to sleep. So, this must be the main house of this village.
Somehow, it looked different from what Hana was used to seeing. And she was also alone in the room without her company in sight.
"Precious master, are you awake now? Would you like to eat something to replenish your strength?"
The voice that reached Hana's ears made her tense up. She looked up sharply and took in a breath that betrayed how shocked she was.
In front of Hana was a familiar face she had not seen before. It was the elf that often-served Hana when she visited the Elf village.
But for some reason, that face looked younger than she remembered. And it was free of the fatal scar this Elf had been so scared of as well.
"Y-You! What happened to your scar? Are you alright now?"
Hana asked the female in front of her. The Elf looked confused by Hana's words before she took in a deep breath.
"Of course, I am alright. There is nothing wrong with me. But I do think our guest has made a mistake while trying to recognize me. I never had any kind of scar on my face."
Hana's stopped breathing for a solid minute now. She was cursing her one memory for remembering the wrong person.
But no matter how much pressure she put on her brain; she could clearly remember this elf having a scar on her face.
"Hey, where are my companions? There were four of us here, right? But now I am the only one."
Hana decided to let her bad feelings fade away as she asked the next question. She needed to know what action to take from here.
And if nothing else, Hana needed to meet the grandmaster to plan the next move. He would surely be able to get them out of this mess.
"Hmm, I am not sure what you are talking about. You came alone as our associate clans' representative. Ah, maybe you mean the young lady whom you saved yesterday? She is doing fantastic. Thank you so much for saving our young lady."
The elf in front of Hana bowed in gratitude. But her attitude only made Hana more and more repulsed.
This place was not normal. No matter how beautiful or different this place looked now, the feeling of it being 'off' did not fade away from Master Hana's mind.
But Master Hana was also a cautious person by nature. It was only her external facade that made her look dumb and gullible.
'Let us sit back and observe what is happening for now. I am sure I will soon know the truth of this place.'
Master Hana decided to go with the flow of this place for now. She did not want to put herself and her group in danger by resisting this illusion.
"Of course, I had to save your young lady. It was what any decent person would have done. But if you do not mind, can I see your young lady once? I would like to talk with her face-to-face."
Hana had a feeling she knew who this 'young lady' was. It had to be Himeko and she likely looked the same as when Hana knew it. After all, elves hardly aged rather slowly.
"You want to meet our young lady? Well, that might be a little difficult. You see, our young lady is rather busy with her succession classes so you will have to wait."
The elf gently turned Master Hana down. There were no good intentions in the elf's eyes and this was an obvious ploy to get Hana to comply with them.
As much as Hana wanted to protest his, she also knew when to back down. And now was the time to back down.
"Of course, I understand if your lady is busy. But I hope you will not restrict my freedom here. Can I roam around the elf village?"
Hana tried to appear as innocent as she could. She had mastered this expression a long time ago and now abused it whenever she could.
The elf looked taken aback by this earnest request. But she decided to grant it in the end.
"Of course, you can roam around the city as you want to. But please, keep out of the temple because it is a sacred place."
The elf reminded Master Hana and she nodded. It was a new thing for her - to be asked to keep out of the temple.
But then again, Master Hana had never been interested in paying a visit to the temple before.
'Maybe I should pay a visit to the temple this time. I am sure these people are hiding something in the temple.'
That weird and suspicious feeling was back and it was nagging Master Hana to investigate the temple. But to do so, she will need to roam around on her own and shake off her eventual tail.
........
"I never expected you to come back on your own two feet. You knew what was going to happen to you if you came here, but you still decided to follow that foolish man? What am I going to do with a foolish daughter like you."
Shimi gritted her teeth as she felt the cold leather of the belt dig into her skin. She needed to remain quiet and not make a single noise.
The sharp bite of the belt on her back was painful and familiar. The dark atmosphere of the room was familiar to her.
But the most familiar thing in this room was the glowing blue eyes and the blond hair in front of her.
"M-Mother…never…. believed…my…words…anyway…"
Shimi held her breath as another smack landed on her back. This one was far more painful than before and Shimi was unable to hold her cries back.
Her back was red and bruised because of the punishment she was being met with.
"You cannot talk back to me. I do not want to hear a cursed half-ling as you talk. So, keep your mouth shut and take what you were made to take."
The gentle features of the elf queen were twisted in rage right now. She was not thinking straight and she was not able to take those blue eyes looking back at her.
Every time Shimi looked at the elf queen, the elf queen was reminded of the succubus that took advantage of her young age and inexperience.
The elf queen could not forget that experience, and she could not forget the people who were connected to that experience.
That was why she could not forgive Shimi, the result of that affair. It was all this child's fault the elf queen had been ridiculed and made to stand down.
"M-Mother… always…liked…to…take…her anger…out…on…me."
Shimi's words were true and the elf queen knew that. And that was also why she was unable to hold her anger back.
The whip made a cracking sound as it connected with Shimi's back again. It was an agonizing pain that was difficult to take.
But unlike her past, Shimi had a reason to hold on now. This time, she had the Grandmaster with her. And he would never let Shimi down.
"You are too confident in something. Do you think your precious companion would be unable to save you? By the time we are done with him, he would have forgotten all about you and the outside world."
Shimi's heart skipped a beat and then froze when she heard her mother speak. She had not expected her mother to know about the Grandmaster.
"Stay away from him. Don't you dare touch him? You do not know who he is and what could happen if you anger him."
Shimi tried to warn her mother but the elf queen only chuckled.
"Oh, you poor little think. You are the one who does not understand. Humans are simple creatures. Give them pleasure and you can take them to your liking. Just wait and watch. Soon, your precious human would become our bitch."
The elf queen sounded confident in her proclamation. And Shimi did not know what to think about this.
On one hand, she believed in the grandmaster unconditionally. But on the other hand, elves also had special seductive magic to aid them.
Shimi needed to escape from here and help the Grandmaster out.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢