Lady Olivia watched the man in front of her take a sip of his tea with a calm expression. She could not help herself from frowning as soon as she noticed Master Shinzou sitting in the middle of her guest room.
This man was atrocious and he had no right to sit here and sip tea like a gentleman. Especially not after he had terrorized half of Master Olivia's staff and made the other half freeze in fear of speaking anything wrong against him.
"Why are you here? What do you want from me? Hurry up and say what you want and get out of here."
Master Olivia might be the only one in this room who was not afraid of Master Shinzou. And what did she have to be afraid of?
She was the same rank as Master Shinzou so she knew she could handle his powers. She also had a god on her side so that helped her out. It made her odds of winning against Shinzou better by a lot.
"I am just here on inspection. Grandmaster asked me to look at all the guilds and see how well they are performing. Looking at your place, it seems like you were doing well."
Master Olivia was sweating on the inside but none of it showed up on her face. She did not want to get caught by Master Shinzou.
This man was like a shark. If he sensed nervousness, he would attack her until Master Olivia either got rid of him or ended up spilling everything she knew.
"Oh, that is nice of you to do so. But did you choose this place as your first stop? Is there any reason behind your decision?"
Master Olivia did not sow the nervousness on her face. She did not want to give away anything. But she was a pile of nerves on the inside. She could not believe that there had been no prior notice before this inspection.
And what a suspicious thing this inspection was. Why did it have to be her who was subjected to it first? Why not any other place?
"Hmm, you want to know why you were chosen to be the first person to be inspected? It's quite simple. Your place was the closest one to our route. There is no deeper meaning behind being chosen first."
Master Shinzou replied calmly. He did not seem to think much of Master Olivia's fears. In return, Master Olivia frowned and swore inside her mind. She did not want to face Master Shinzou's earnest look.
The more she looked at Master Shinzou, the more she was certain that this man did things because he wanted to. There seemed to be no cohesive thought behind his fight-hungry eyes.
As such, it would be easy for Master Olivia to deceive him.
'Thank God I hid the elder pearl beforehand. There is no way Master Shinzou will be able to find that pearl.'
"Master Olivia, you have been vigilant and questioning for the past few minutes. Are you trying to hide something from me?"
Master Shinzou's eyes narrowed in suspicion. It made Master Olivia's hair stand up at the back of her head.
'Shit, this man had sharp instincts. I need to lie my way out of this one.
"O-Of course not. Why would I want to hide anything from you? You are someone selected by the grandmaster and hiding something from you would be like trying to hide something from, the grandmaster. I would never dare."
Master Shinzou's eyes narrowed when he looked at Lady Olivia. She was nervous and she wondered if Master Shinzou could hear the harsh beating of her heart.
She was about to say something more to him when Master Shinzou finally averted his eyes away from her and looked at her staff.
"Well, that better be the case for you. Otherwise, you will not be able to continue the luxurious lifestyle you have enjoyed thus far."
Master Olivia gritted her teeth as she took in the man in front of her. Master Shinzou was sitting calmly in his place but his eyes were vigilant when he looked at Master Olivia.
"Of course, Master Shinzou. You can trust me."
Master Olivia replied with a sincere smile. But hidden behind her smile was a mask full of sneer and mocking. She pitied this man for believing her and falling for her trap.
....
"Hmm, an ancient trap? How fascinating. I have only read about these things so far."
Adrian looked at the formation that blocked his way with interested eyes. He was currently accompanying Clair and he was fascinated by every little thing he saw.
Currently, Adrian was like a kid at a candy store. He wanted to touch everything and see what will happen as a result.
Clair was the calm one in this situation. She considered every aspect and stopped Adrian before he could get himself into trouble. But everything stopped Adrian from doing something foolish, she felt like a year had been taken off her life span.
When Adrian tried to touch this ancient trap in front of him, Clair pulled him back and away from this trap. She did not want this man to mess up her plan.
"Can you not sit calmly and wait for me to open this lock? Because of you, we are running behind schedule."
Clair complained as she held Adrian back with her powers. Adrian struggled out of her grip but soon realized it was futile.
"Aww, but I am interested in everything here. It is not often that I get to leave my home and venture out into the world. I need to make the best of this opportunity."
Adrian was quite the positive guy. But Clair was not as nice as he hoped her to be. She did not pay attention to his words and handed his leash over to Veera.
"Veera, I will be counting on you to keep this kid safe. I will get the lock and take a quick look inside."
Veera looked nervous when she was handed, Adrian. She did not know how to calm Adrian down and she was sure that she did not even want to try. But Clair was scared when she glared at Veera.
So, Veera had no choice but to follow her lead.
For the third time during that hour, Clair wondered how Keith's brain worked. Why did he have to pair Clair with this awkward man and go with Amelia on his own?
Clair wanted a refund for her partner and to take Amelia with her. At least that girl listened and knew how to keep out of danger.
The search for Elder's pearl was still ongoing. They had decided to send Master Shinzou as a distraction while everyone else searched for that pearl. But so far, there had been no progress during their search.
"Hey, what's this?"
"Hey, do not touch that…"
Clair had not even finished her thoughts when Adrian turned away to cause trouble again. He seemed to be having fun while poking his head around various corners.
"If you do not calm down, then I will have to bind you up and leave you here. Is that something you want me to do?"
Clair threatened and Adrian raised his hands slowly in a mock surrender.
"I was wrong. Please do not do anything to be. I am just a small man with big goals."
Adrian spoke. As he raised his hands, his sleeve got caught up in something and he tried to get it free. His struggles opened something and a door opened behind his back.
Both Adrian and Clair froze as soon as they heard a door opening. Clair had a suspicious feeling about this door, but she decided to head in anyway. She wanted to see what was inside that corridor.
"Hey, I know I joke around a lot and all. But I do not think going into that corridor alone is safe. Something about that place does not sit right with me."
Adrian pointed out when he investigated the corridor. There was this feeling inside his heart that something bad was just up ahead.
But Clair brushed off his concerns and walked in anyway.
"I know you are worried and terrified of heading in, but we need to head in now. This is the only path that looks suspicious so I am sure the elder's pearl is in there. You don't have to come with me if you are scared."
Adrian took in a deep breath and braced himself. He could feel the energy building up in front of him.
He feared going in. Heck, he was terrified of going into that hallway. His instincts were warning him not to go.
But he was also a kind soul and could not allow Clair to go into that hallway alone. No matter how strong Clair was, she was still a kid. And Adrian never let kids down or let them die. He would protect them with all his might.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶