Ellis was able to restrain them with her mana alone, it spread around the room like a spider’s web. He was stuck in place, frozen by an instinctual fear. At first he thought it was his inhumanity skill, but since the others were in the same position, he figured it was some skill. Priscilla seemed to be immune, and he could feel her preparing to do something. Stopping her with a thought, he opened his mouth to speak, but was forestalled by a gesture from Ellis.

“We will talk elsewhere, for now just follow me.”

Her tone was cold, but he didn’t hear any sadness in her voice. Hopefully that meant that Leah wasn’t her real sister, or that their relationship was bad. The looks she gave him told him otherwise, but she had plenty of other reasons to glare at him. However, he was unable to resist, any fight would only lead to his death. The things he heard about his future implied that he wouldn’t die here, but perhaps his second mark had twisted his fate further. Priscilla didn’t have any knowledge that could help in this situation either.

Expecting Ellis to lead them out of the guild, he was surprised when she took them to a smaller room near the dungeon entrance. After his group entered the room, Ellis followed while her retinue of guards remained outside. As soon as the door closed behind her, she spoke openly, knowing that her words couldn’t be heard outside.

“I take it Leah didn’t make it out of the dungeon. Though, I would like to know what exactly happened to her.”

“She was killed in the fight with the boss, the bandits’ attacks made it so that we couldn’t save her.”

Red’s response came out quickly, fast enough that it sounded as pre rehearsed as it was. It turned out that she wasn’t a very good liar. They thought it would be the best idea to let her speak since she was the most diplomatic of the group, but that didn’t seem to make her any better at lying.

“Despite how she sounded, its not untrue. Leah really did die during the boss fight. Although, none of us would’ve helped her, even if we could. She used a charm skill on Luke and was controlling him.”

Jill’s performance was a lot better than Red, able to sound genuinely angry. She had sounded accusatory during the last portion of her statement, doing a great job at playing up her anger. He wasn’t surprised though, they were all still angry and hurt, the betrayal having caught them off guard. Not to mention, the vile magic she used on Luke. Ellis still looked at them with amusement more than anything else.

“I know what happened prior to the fight with the boss.”

Ellis’s voice was condescending, though it was clear that she wasn’t lying. After thinking about it he realized that there was another bandit, whom they hadn’t seen at the final fight. It only made sense, Leah would obviously have a way to communicate with Ellis, especially if they were sisters. If she knew so much information, what was the point of this charade? They were so far beneath her in terms of strength, that he didn’t really know what she wanted. None of them had a response to her statement, remaining silent and waiting for her to continue.

“I don’t care much for Leah; it is more important for me to receive the items she was carrying.”

She was glaring at them, her mana seeming to lean on them imposingly. They did find the suspected items, having stored them within Mash’s storage space. His device was hidden completely and couldn’t be taken from him. His unusual attunement method was proving itself rather useful now. He had thought of this situation being a possibility and knew that he needed to maintain his leverage.

Ellis moved over to Jill and Red, asking them to open their storage spaces before them. He wondered why she didn’t just take the items. As soon as they were opened, she moved onto Luke. She must have a method to know if the item was there. She got no knew response from Luke, turning to Mash. She thought that he didn’t have a storage item since no accessories were visible on him. She did a more normal check, using her mana to scour his body for any items. She didn’t find it but must have sensed something from his presence. She raised an eyebrow, knowing that there was some trick here.

“I’m guessing I can’t force you to give me the item. Well, what are your demands?

She didn’t sound cold anymore, instead seeming to enjoy the situation. Taking a seat at a table he hadn’t noticed before, she prompted him to take the other chair. Whatever conclusions she arrived at seemed to be beneficial to them. There probably weren’t many people that would do anything to inconvenience her. Narrowing her eyes, and smirking slightly as she approached Mash, he found his heartbeat rising. He was uncertain if it was fear or attraction, Ellis still being as beautiful as before. He took the seat reluctantly, only now realizing that he hadn’t really gotten a good look at the room.

It was small and seemed designed to make deals or trades. This was probably a place where adventurers made trades or signed agreements. It was mostly empty, a single table in the center of the room. The table and chairs were unremarkable, the only standout feature of the room being the enchantments he could see engraved into the wall. It was lit unnaturally, the engravings on the wall providing a small amount of illumination.

“All we want is to leave town safely. If that means giving you the items, then we will, but we want some assurances of some kind.”

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He spoke confidently, despite knowing that his demands did not have to be met. She could easily kill them after getting the items, he just hoped that she wouldn’t. Mash hated talking like this, the only reason she couldn’t just kill them outright was the item in their possession. The guild could also cause some problems if they ever found out that Ellis had killed them. it was illegal, and sacrilegious to kill someone so far beneath one’s level. Even with all these things in place, he knew that she might not care. Afterall, she was working with bandits.

“Fine, I can agree to those terms, with one condition of my own. You will agree to sign a contract to ensure your silence.”

Ellis sounded strangely relieved, after hearing his demands. Mash considered what the item might do. He never actually checked what it did, instead storing Leah’s entire body within his space. They hoped that Ellis would be happier to know that they didn’t take anything from her sister’s corpse. It was meant to support their claims that she died unfortunately. He had managed to make it fit by dumping a few of the things in there. The fact that she offered a contract meant the item was incredibly valuable. A contract would bind the both of them to specific conditions, and even she shouldn’t be able to break them easily. He glanced at the others; relief written clearly on their faces. He had no reason to refuse and nodded to her.

“I have Leah’s body, and none of us have even touched it. The items she had are yours to take.”

Ellis nodded, moving to the door. Opening it slightly, she gave a quick command to one of the knights outside. Within a few minutes he returned with a contract, it was a powerful one, the mana actually visible around the parchment. Ellis wrote the conditions, and she slid it over to Mash. While he did read it over, he made sure that Red could also read the terms. She would be better able to read through loopholes within a contract like this.

From what he could tell, the contract would ensure that they would be let out of the city safely. They couldn’t return until after the end of the contract and wouldn’t be able to talk about the situation here for the same duration. If they broke any of the conditions they would die. For Ellis’s part she would let them leave safely and send no one to pursue them. Also, she would not do anything to actively seek their deaths for the duration of the contract. The contract only lasted half a year, but it would at least let them escape safely. If she broke the contract, she would only temporarily lose her abilities. The punishment was a lot lighter, but they were in no position to refuse the terms, not to mention that it would most likely mean that she wouldn’t break it immediately.

“It’s as good as we can expect.”

Red tried to sound disappointed, but she knew that it was a better deal than they expected to get. So, only with a small amount of hesitation, he signed the contract. It didn’t feel all that magical as he signed it and he let the others sign it after he did. As soon as Ellis added her own signature, he felt the contract take hold. It was like something had wrapped around his heart, but Priscilla informed him that it affected the soul. He didn’t really care about what it had literally done, instead using his meditation skill to ease the strain on his body. He wanted to maintain a calm exterior, even if she was aware of a skill being used.

With the contract in place, he removed Leah’s body from his storage space, watching Ellis for any reaction. If she cared at all, she didn’t show it, calmly examining the body. It only took her a couple seconds, but she pulled out something from one of Leah’s pockets. It was a small jewel, about the length of his finger. It shown vaguely red, but the colors seemed to shift the longer he stared at it.

“What is it?”

He asked the question; it wasn’t like anything would change even if he knew. Priscilla only gave him a vague message that it was powerful, but she did not know what exactly it did. Ellis’s face changed as she held the object, dawning what looked like a genuine smile as she held the item up to her face. It seemed that her sister’s life was far less important in comparison.

“It’s a core for a golem. For the defender of the city, the greatest golem made by king Canzon.”

She sounded proud, as if the creation had been her own. If the golem core was so valuable, he was glad to be leaving town before it was activated. He didn’t need to ask anymore details about the item, the reverence she was carrying for it spoke volumes. At the very least, it would be able to quell any opposition, or so she believed. He didn’t doubt it either, the previous beastmen king had been the most capable builder in history. Some of his constructs still operated in the capital now. That king had been the one to spread how crafting classes could be powerful.

People could get crafting related classes, but in the past they believed them to be an inferior class. That changed when the beastmen king Canzon rose to power. He had a pure crafting class, though no one knows which class exactly. His constructs were unbelievably powerful, and he was able to survive and win wars without expending any lives. With his rise, came the rise of others trying to emulate his abilities and creations. Even now, crafting classes were taken much more frequently. There were plenty of reliable methods to receiving crafting related classes, and the kingdom would accept whoever took this path. The capital was full of these classes, and the rest of the towns usually ended up with secondhand products from there. When he visited the capital, he would be sure to find some interesting items.

If this really was for a golem that he created, it could easily be stronger than someone at level 200. Not wanting to ask any more questions, he was a little afraid to interrupt Ellis again and waited for her to finish her revelry. They would soon be out of town, and nothing was more important than that. Now, he just hoped that nothing would get in their way.

Ellis left the room, returning after a few tense minutes. Nobody wanted to say or do anything, remaining silent while they waited for her to return. Once she returned, she looked almost cheerful as she led them out of the room.

“Well, I hoped you liked our city, but I think its time you moved on.”

They nodded along, surprised by the sudden shift in Ellis’s tone. She was as eager to be rid of them as they were to leave. No matter who won the battle, this city would be changed forever. The way beastmen are treated in general would probably shift, regardless of who won. Thinking about how the people in his hometown would react to the news, he realized that this war would only cause the other races to distrust beastmen. They already received poor treatment, and it would only get worse. He looked towards Luke, wanting to ask him about his family, but now was not the right time. They left the guild building and were led directly to an exit of the city. Jill having mentioned that they were heading further east. He just hoped that nothing else would go wrong.