"Hehh... Elves?" Cain asked, confusion evident in his voice.
"Yes, we are not the enforcers. My name is Alex Swiftsword, and we are part of the Elven Royal Guards. We were told to follow you after we found out about a certain skill you possess. You should actually be thanking us, as we already killed the enforcers who were tracking you," the male elf explained.
Cautiously, Cain asked, "So, what is it you want from me? If you really are from the Elven Royal family, I stand no chance against you, as every member of the Royal Guards is at least A-rank."
"Our orders were to follow you and dispose of you. However, just when we were about to act, we discovered something about your benefactor. He declared that anyone who tries to harm you will meet a painful end."
"Benefactor? Who are you talking about?" Cain asked, now deeply puzzled. His benefactor must be someone incredibly powerful if even the Elven Royal family fears harming him.
'What are they talking about? A benefactor that can stop the Royal family from harming me? I don't know anyone that powerful, unless... maybe this has something to do with the original Cain. I just thought he was a nobody, but perhaps his past is a bigger mystery than I thought.'
"So, why did you come and tell me this? If you are not planning on harming me, why make me aware of your presence? You could have just left me alone," Cain inquired, his mind filled with conflicting thoughts.
"We came to relay a message from our king. You must stay away from the princess. If you do not heed this warning, then we don't care who your benefactor is; you will meet a painful end."
"Princess?" Cain pretended to act surprised, even though he knew exactly who they were talking about.
"Oh, I suppose you are still unaware of her identity. Sarah Palin is, in actuality, Sarah Windrider, princess of the Elven Kingdom."
"What!" Cain exclaimed, trying to seem genuinely shocked.
"Now that I have relayed the message, I shall take my leave," Alex said, disappearing almost instantly.
Cain was left alone, deep in thought.
'I don't have time to waste. I can think about all this new information later, once I escape with Leah.'
He ran back to where Jax was, finding him with Leah, who was wearing a mask and a hood.
"Took you long enough. We have to get you guys out of here now. The enforcers are searching buildings to make sure no one is harboring any slaves," Jax said, looking annoyed.
"Yeah," Cain replied. Jax handed him his storage ring, and Cain put on his mask and hoodie.
"Your brother is located at Wolfbeek Forest. He is currently working there as a guide, using a fake name, Jamie."
"Thank you. I sent the 135000UC we got for selling you into your account," Jax said, obviously happy to have been reunited with his long-lost brother.
"Why are you thanking me? This was a business deal; no need to be grateful," Cain said as he stepped into the teleporter.
Once on the other side, in an abandoned building, Cain quickly checked their location on his Z-watch. They were in Rangoon City. He ordered a cab.
"Why are you helping me? Jax told me that you went there looking for me specifically. Why are you helping me when we have never met before in our entire lives?" Leah asked.
This question caught Cain off guard; he didn't know how to answer. The truth was that he saved her because he knew from the novel that she would become powerful in the future.
In the original novel, Leah was sold to a demon who recognized her potential and trained her as an assassin, making her kill many people. Eventually, she received an order to kill someone named Leo Ashborn. Her reunion with her brother was cut short as, unwilling to follow her master's orders, the [Soul Slave] killed her.
"I'm sorry; I can't tell you why I saved you. But I can tell you this—I want you to have a happy life," Cain replied honestly. In truth, he saved her for a selfish reason; it wasn't that he felt bad for her, but he knew she would be a powerful ally in the future.
"It's okay; I trust you," Leah said, smiling for the first time since they met. Her beautiful smile made Cain feel like hugging her.
'I wish I could help her reunite with Leo, but I can't allow that yet. If she reunites with Leo now, it might change the flow of the novel.'
'I'll probably let her stay in the apartment that Cain's parents left him. I'll visit her whenever I get the chance.'
Arriving at the apartment, Cain was exhausted. He hadn't slept in two days during his time in the black market. As there was only one bed in the apartment, Cain set up a makeshift bed on the floor using pillows and a blanket for himself, while Leah slept on the bed.
***
The next morning, Cain woke up early and made breakfast for himself and Leah. After a quick shower, he finally had time to process all the new information he had learned on the first day.
'A benefactor? This must be connected to the previous Cain. I hadn't been planning to look into Cain's past, but it seems it's more important than I thought.'
Exiting the shower, Cain dressed quickly, noticing that Leah hadn't changed her clothes.
"Hey, quickly wash up. We're going shopping," Cain said.