In Sedona City, inside a pizza shop, Elisa was carefully calculating the accounts. Nicole had been away from the city for more than ten days now, leaving the task of managing the books to her.
"Ugh... done," Elisa sighed in relief as she finished the calculations.
Elisa let out a light sigh and stretched lazily. It was around 3 PM, and usually, there weren't many customers coming in for pizza at this time, except for the occasional merchant or traveler. This was the perfect time for her to take a break.
At the moment, there were only a few customers in the pizza shop, happily enjoying their meals.
Elisa rested her chin on one hand, staring blankly at the tables and chairs in the shop. With less than two months until next spring, she couldn't help but think back to when she first arrived in Sedona City.
She had originally planned to stay only until winter passed, then leave to help save other elves. But now, she doesn't feel like leaving at all.
Sedona City has changed so much since then. The shadow puppet shop was now always packed every day, and Sun Wukong had become the most talked-about figure in the city. Many beastkins were now often asked, "Do you know the Monkey Tribe beastkin?"
Elisa couldn't help but chuckle when she thought about it. Life now was truly the best. Many people who came to Sedona City ended up not wanting to leave. Even the business at the pizza shop had improved greatly. More and more people were buying pizza to take to the shadow puppet shop, eating while enjoying the show.
Sigh... "Catherine and Dahlia should still be on the ship at this time, right?" Elisa sighed, feeling a bit lonely. Without Catherine and Dahlia around, she'd be bored in the evenings.
"Maybe I should go find Ayesha tonight?" Elisa furrowed her brow, thinking about the invitation from the cow-horned lady yesterday. She was still unsure whether she should go or not.
Creek…
The door to the pizza shop creaked open, and two men in gray robes walked inside. They quickly scanned the surroundings and froze for a moment when they saw Elisa. They murmured to each other in low voices.
"Let's eat here. It's quiet enough."
"Hey… this woman's really beautiful. She's good merchandise. Let's take note of her."
"Mm, we'll handle the official business first, and report back later."
"Let's hope this mission yields good results."
"It's becoming harder and harder..."
As the two men continued their conversation, they walked further into the pizza shop...
Elisa's emerald green eyes narrowed slightly. She could hear what they were saying, and her heart tightened with unease. These two were definitely human traffickers.
If it weren't for her hearing being much sharper than the average person's, she wouldn't have caught what they were saying. Has she really caught someone's attention like this?
It reminded her of the last time when someone had tried to kidnap her. If it weren't for the patrol officers responding quickly, she would have been in real danger. Now, with these two men in gray robes, she couldn't shake the bad feeling creeping up inside her.
Despite these thoughts, Elisa's face remained calm and composed as she silently walked toward the two men, her footsteps barely making a sound as she focused on their conversation.
"I wonder how many elves Manager Jin and the others have caught? Those idiots always fall for it," One of them said.
"Heh... who cares? We really do have some elf slaves now," The other man replied.
"Once we spread the news through the city, should we leave?" The first man asked.
"No, let's stay for a couple of days. After the mission's done, I want to check out that shadow puppet show," The second man said.
"Hey, are you really going to watch it?" The first man questioned.
"Of course. Since we entered the city, everyone's been talking about it. They've been discussing it for two days now. I'm really curious who this Sun Wukong is," The second man responded.
"You..."
Elisa's emerald eyes narrowed as she processed the information, her mind racing with the implications. These two men were part of an organized group, and they had captured many elves. She fought to restrain the urge to confront them right then and there, to force them to reveal more information.
"May I help you, sirs?" Elisa forced her voice to remain calm and neutral.
The two men in gray robes exchanged glances before casually ordering two pizzas, their eyes often darting toward Elisa.
"Of course, your order will be ready shortly," Elisa said with a polite smile, then turned and made her way toward the kitchen.
"She's really beautiful, much more so than those elf slaves," One of the men whispered.
"Yeah, we definitely need to report this. Manager Jin will surely reward us," The other man replied.
Elisa heard every word. Her eyes flashed with a cold glint as her hand gripped the menu tightly. She quickly turned and went into the kitchen, handing the order to the kitchen staff.
"Hold on, I have something urgent to attend to. You're in charge of the shop for now," She instructed.
"Understood, Manager Elisa. You take care of your business," The staff member responded, unaware of the tension in the air.
Elisa smiled faintly as she left the kitchen and walked back to the counter. She pulled out a piece of paper and began writing down some notes regarding the pizza shop's operations. However, her mind was focused on her next move—she was going to follow the two men and find an opportunity to force them to reveal information about the elf slaves.
Half an hour later, the two men in gray robes finished their meal, paid, and left the shop. Before they exited, they took a few lingering glances at Elisa.
"..."
Elisa removed her apron, carefully tucked the paper away, and then left the pizza shop. She kept a good distance from the two men, following them discreetly. She tracked them for two hours.
During this time, she observed that the two men preferred to linger in crowded areas—such as the main hall of Drunken Night restaurant or the long lines outside the shadow puppet theater. There, they would subtly spread rumors.
The rumor was about a place called Moth City, where elf slaves were kept—five in total, both male and female.
Elisa understood their intent. They were likely trying to lure other elves to go and rescue their own kind. Judging by the spread of the rumors, it seemed this tactic was being used in several cities. Even Sedona City wasn't exempt from it.
Her suspicion grew. These men were clearly part of a larger operation, and their presence in Sedona City could only mean trouble. She needed to gather more information—and soon—before they made their next move.
Elisa wasn't sure if the rumor was true, but she suspected that there were indeed elf slaves, though the number might be exaggerated. Even if it turned out to be a trap, she decided she would go and check it out. If it was real, she couldn't just stand by. After all, the Lord of Sedona City had promised to shelter elves, and she intended to uphold that promise.
She knew where Moth City was—a small town a day's journey away from Sedona City. It had a population of only about five hundred people, and some even referred to it more as a village than a city.
The choice of Moth City as a location for holding elf slaves felt suspicious to Elisa. It was too isolated, too quiet—a place where a group could operate under the radar without drawing too much attention. Tonight, she decided to interrogate the two gray-robed men who had been spreading the rumor. She needed to extract concrete information from them—anything that could help her figure out the truth behind this situation.
She couldn't afford to wait. If there were indeed elves trapped in Moth City, she would rescue them.
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