A few days later.
Rosalina and Metis still carry out their daily activities as traders in the open market. They even befriend some of the other sellers there.
Metis even always gets gifts from these sellers every day. Even though the gift itself is just the leftover. Like bread, fruits, and so forth.
But for Metis, who has always eaten food that lacks taste in the elves kingdom. Eating human food is a very exciting and appetizing experience.
She never knew that there were various kinds of flavors in the world. In their hometown, they usually only eat vegetables that are boiled without spices or just grilled meat.
Salt is only used occasionally. Especially pepper, which she only tasted after Rosalina shared with her.
For Rosalina herself, she wants to be close to her fellow salespeople there, so she can get access to the latest gossip and rumors on Solmare. So now, she knows that one of the big companies in the city named Moonrise is carrying out suspicious actions.
They seem to be looking for someone. Rumor has it that they are looking for a woman who stole their precious product. But there were also rumors that they were looking for illegal products or slaves who ran away.
Whatever it is, Moonrise is currently the hot topic of public discussion.
Rosalina, after receiving information from Arche, knew that Moonrise's heir, Kansley Bentam, was one of the higher-ups of the Black Horns.
So she knew that right now, Kansley was using the power of his father's company to find Rosalina.
A few days before, Rosalina even saw that Kansley formed a team of hunters heading north, where Altira Town was. In the team, she saw that there was also a blue-haired girl who had followed Mercury.
That means, Mercury and the Black Horns have met. And the information about her, the adventurer named Rosalina from Altira, was likely already known to the two of them.
Rosalina had hoped that the two camps would clash as soon as the two met. But from the rumors she had heard, the showdown didn't seem to have happened.
Theo assumed that it didn't happen because it wasn't the promised time yet. As long as the Black Horns could give Seven what they wanted at the agreed time, then there would be no problem between the two parties.
The question is, if the promise is not kept... What will Seven do?
Because for Rosalina right now, she just needed to hide with Metis until the end of the month. And just see what happens next. Only then will she react according to the circumstances.
Actually, after getting Kansley's identity, Rosalina immediately suggested killing him. But Theo rejected the suggestion.
Doing so will shift Seven's focus from the Black Horns to whoever killed Kansley. Too risky. It's still much better to hide without doing anything.
For the information itself. Theo wanted it so he could identify and see the enemy side on the map, making it easier for Rosalina to move and hide. Not to plan an attack.
One day after getting information about the enemy from Arche. Rosalina, as Deborah, went straight to the Moonrise company.
Interact with the workers there as well as with several guards who guard around the company building. Apart from that, Rosalina also managed to meet Kansley himself.
That time, after Rosalina interacted with Moonrise's subordinates in the building, she then waited for Kansley to arrive at one of the cafes next to the Moonrise building.
Towards evening, she saw Kansley coming out of the building. Rosalina immediately approached, cut off his path, then introduced herself as a merchant from the capital.
Rosalina said that she wanted to work together with Kansley. But Kansley didn't heed Rosalina's arrival.
With a mocking expression, he said that Deborah did not have the qualifications to speak to him because she was not from noble circles.
Well, Rosalina doesn't care. Seeing Kansley leave while laughing mockingly at her, in Rosalina's heart, her mission was accomplished. With this interaction, now Kansley's location can be monitored for 24 hours by Theo.
[Three guards from Moonrise are heading towards your place. Five minutes.]
Reading the message from Theo, Rosalina immediately told Metis to go to another seller's place to hide.
Just when the guards passed Rosalina's place with their eyes piercing like a predator looking for prey, only then did Rosalina start packing her things and closing the place.
Pick up Metis and return to the inn. Usually, Theo always warns early, so Rosalina immediately packs up her wares and leaves the open market before the search party from Moonrise arrives.
But right now it seemed Theo was too late.
"Aish, they're searching more intensely. It seems they are paying close attention to the sellers one by one. Luckily Metis is smart, she immediately hides in the bathroom to avoid being watched," Rosalina muttered as she walked towards the inn.
Metis beside her was used to Rosalina talking to herself. So she didn't really care about the context that came out of her human older sister's mouth.
[Deadline is getting closer. Kansley must be getting worried. I'm sure he must not have heard back from the team he sent to Altira. So he's started looking even more stringently at Solmare. For him it's a matter of life and death.]
"Hmm, should we leave Metis in the inn for the next few days?"
[That's what crossed my mind too, but Kansley's men are now starting to check the inns in Solmare. Sooner or later they will arrive at our inn.]
"They are getting desperate. Would it be better if we moved to the inn they checked?"
[Hmm, let me take a look at the situation for the next two days. I'm afraid they'll leave people there to watch the guests who check-in and out.]
Rosalina frowned. The situation seemed to be getting more and more complicated. There are only five days left before the deadline for the delivery of Metis to Seven. Kansley started to rush.
"Sister..."
"Hm?"
Rosalina, who was busy with her own thoughts, suddenly felt someone tugging at the hem of her shirt. She glanced at Metis who was holding onto her shirt tightly. She could even clearly see the little elf's tiny hands shaking violently.
"What's wrong, Metis? Is there something wrong? Our inn is in sight, let's go there first."
Rosalina said as she pointed to the front of the inn which was no more than thirty meters from where they were standing.
In response to this, Metis shook her head and then hid behind Rosalina's body. This made Rosalina stunned.
"This... are there any Black Horns in there?'
[On my Map, there's nothing. There were two possibilities, firstly there weren't any Black Horns there, but there was someone Metis knew and scared her. Second, there are members of the Black Horns inside, but we don't know them yet so their status or names hasn't been recorded on the Map.]
Rosalina thought for a moment.
"Or three, there's someone like Mercury. A strong person who should be listed on the Map but due to working behind the scenes it's become hidden."
[Well... That's the worst case possible.]
Rosalina then moved from the middle of the road. Seeing Metis' reaction, she didn't dare to approach the inn. Rosalina took Metis into the alley, then scouted the situation in front of the inn from there.
Metis still wouldn't speak even though Rosalina had tried to calm her down and asked to tell her about the reason the little elf was scared.
A few minutes later, one man in an all black suit walked out from the inside of the inn. The coat, shirt, pants, shoes, and gloves are all black.
Apart from that, the man with long black hair also wore a black cloth covering his eyes. On his hip hung a sword with a terrifying aura. So terrifying, it made the people around him instantly move away.
The man stood for a moment in front of the front door of the inn. It was as if he was concentrating on something before finally turning his face to the alley where Rosalina was.
"!"
"Wet earth, green leaves, fresh air. The smell of natures is so thick and calming… and this frantic heartbeat," he muttered as he started to grip the hilt of his sword.
But…
"What do you want to do?"
Suddenly a big old man, up to two meters tall, stood in front of the man with the blindfold.