While Hikaru was busy using Gretta’s services to switch in the Wind Sovereign skill set, Loyd managed the Purple Walnut, a shop that secretly served as a hub for Clay’s information-gathering operations. The shop’s primary function was intelligence gathering, and all the staff were actually Clay’s guards, providing support for Loyd.
Lately, Loyd had noticed a drastic change in the behavior of Nancy, one of his employees. Normally helpful and cheerful, she had become haughty and cold toward her coworkers. This sudden shift was unsettling, but what concerned Loyd more was her newfound interest in Hikaru, someone she had previously ignored. He needed to understand what was going on before it became a bigger issue.
That afternoon, Loyd decided to confront her. “Nancy, can I have a word with you in the back?”
Nancy looked up, her eyes cold, but she followed him without a word. Once they were in the privacy of the storage room, Loyd turned to her. “Is everything alright? You’ve been acting differently lately.”
Nancy hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “I’ve been under a lot of stress, Loyd. Personal issues. I’m sorry if it’s affected my work. I’ll try to do better.”
Loyd nodded slowly, not entirely convinced. “I understand, but there’s something else. I’ve noticed you’ve been paying a lot of attention to Hikaru lately. Why the sudden interest?”
Nancy’s eyes flickered, and she forced a casual shrug. “He seems suspicious. Given our job as the prince’s intelligence, I couldn’t help but keep an eye on him.”
Loyd raised an eyebrow. “Hikaru? Why suddenly? You’ve never shown any interest before. What changed?”
Nancy’s gaze shifted, and she bit her lip as if considering her next words carefully. “Isn’t it more suspicious for a no-name stranger to suddenly become the prince’s guest and advance his adventure rank quickly? He might be a spy.”
Loyd thought about it. Although Nancy was working for Prince Clay, like all other guards here, she wasn’t fully briefed about Hikaru to prevent information leaks. Her curiosity was pretty reasonable. “Just be careful, Nancy. Make sure you have definitive proof before jumping to conclusions.”
Nancy nodded, her expression tight. “I will.”
As they left the storage room, Loyd couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to Nancy’s behaviour. He’d have to keep a closer eye on her.
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After finishing his transaction with Gretta, Hikaru had dinner at a nearby tavern before deciding to head back to the Purple Walnut. Under the cover of evening darkness, he decided to test his new skills.
[Soft Step: activate] (L1 Wind Sovereign innate skill)
Hikaru leaped from one rooftop to another, barely making a sound. He then tried another skill.
[Wind Step: continuous] (L2 Wind Sovereign innate skill)
Wind Step in continuous mode allowed Hikaru to create stationary mini wind barriers for each of his steps, enabling him to traverse the air as if it were solid ground. Using the Wind Sovereign innate skill, his air travel speed was now twice as fast as his flying speed with his usual Phoenix Wings, and the Soft Step ability muffled his movements, making him nearly silent.
As Hikaru continuously used Wind Step, he noticed the depletion of his mana reserve was more rapid than when using his usual Phoenix Wings.
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He ran through the night air until he stumbled upon a quiet alley where thugs were surrounding Nancy, one of the employees of the Purple Walnut.
‘Isn’t that one of the bakers from the Purple Walnut? She must’ve run into these thugs after delivering the leftover bread to the Safe Harbor orphanage,’ Hikaru thought.
Hikaru landed silently on a nearby rooftop, ready to jump down and help her, but before he could act, he witnessed something astonishing. Four tentacle-like appendages suddenly sprouted from Nancy's back, reminiscent of Colonel Melvin Slater's ability. With blinding speed and terrifying strength, she lunged at the thugs.
The appendages whipped through the air, wrapping around the first thug with a sickening crunch. Nancy lifted him effortlessly, slamming him into the wall with enough force to crack the stone wall. She swung him around like a ragdoll, smashing him into the ground repeatedly.
The remaining three thugs tried to react, drawing their weapons, but Nancy was faster. Two tentacles snatched the second and third thugs by their legs, yanking them off their feet. She swung them into each other with bone-shattering force before hurling them into the alley walls. The impact left them crumpled and motionless.
The fourth thug, eyes wide with terror, attempted to flee, but a tentacle lashed out, coiling around his waist. Nancy dragged him back, lifting him high before driving him into the ground headfirst. The sound of cracking bones echoed through the alley.
Hikaru watched in stunned silence as Nancy reduced the four thugs to bloody pulps with brutal efficiency. The appendages retracted, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared, leaving Nancy standing amidst the carnage, her expression cold and unyielding.
Hikaru thought to himself, ‘What is her real identity? How can a baker from the Purple Walnut have a skill that strong? She’s much stronger than Colonel Melvin Slater. With that kind of innate ability, she might even be on par with Kaito.’
As Hikaru was about to leave the scene, Nancy seemed to notice his presence as she looked at his direction. “Who’s there!”
Hikaru was startled as Nancy began levitating toward him, using the same ability as Colonel Melvin Slater. His instincts kicked in, and he decided to avoid her rather than engage. Activating [Wind Step: continuous], he darted in the opposite direction. Her flying speed was slower than his, and he quickly outpaced her.
The alley below was dimly lit by scattered light crystals, casting faint glows on the street. In contrast, the sky was dark, with only a sliver of moonlight piercing through the clouds. Hikaru moved swiftly and silently, confident that Nancy wouldn’t be able to track him in the shadows. He glanced back briefly, relieved to see her silhouette fading into the distance.
‘An elf,’ Nancy thought to herself, misinterpreting the situation. ‘An anonymous elf must have seen what I did. Doesn’t matter, it’s not like they personally know me.’ She falsely believed the one who fled was an elf, based on the type of innate skill he displayed.
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Soon, Hikaru arrived at the Purple Walnut. He found Loyd in the living room, deep in conversation with Lydia. Loyd looked up as Hikaru entered.
“Ah, Hikaru,” Loyd greeted. “We were just talking about one of our employees, Nancy. Want to join in?”
Lydia nodded. “You know Nancy, the blonde girl with the braid. Lately, she’s been acting strangely—cold and distant.”
‘Oh, so her name is Nancy,’ Hikaru thought to himself.
Hikaru’s curiosity was piqued. “I hadn’t noticed, but I’m rarely here. She seems tough. Is she a skilled fighter?”
Loyd shook his head. “No, she’s not. I trained her myself before stationing her here. She was never anything more than competent.”
“What do you mean trained?” Hikaru asked.
Loyd chuckled. “Oh, you haven’t noticed. All of the Purple Walnut employees are Prince Clay’s guards. They’ve received military training.”
‘No wonder they seemed a bit buff for employees of a bakery,’ Hikaru thought.
Lydia frowned. “I haven’t been around much either, but if she’s acting differently, maybe something’s happened to her. Why the question, though, Hikaru?”
Hikaru thought back to the alley. “On my way here, I saw her completely wipe out some thugs. She used some kind of ability with tentacle-like appendages. It was…brutal.”
Loyd and Lydia exchanged surprised looks. “That’s impossible,” Loyd said. “She’s never shown any innate abilities.”
“We need to keep an eye on her,” Hikaru suggested. “Something’s not right. Based on what I saw, she’s a highly skilled fighter—maybe even on par with someone like Kaito.”
Lydia raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? If she’s that strong, why would she hide her abilities?”
“Are you sure it was Nancy and not someone else who looked like her?” Loyd asked.
“I don’t know why she’d hide her abilities, but I’m sure it was her. And I’m not exaggerating her skills,” Hikaru insisted.
Loyd nodded. “Let’s watch her closely and see if we can figure out what’s going on. Don’t jump to any conclusions just yet; maybe we’re overthinking things. Besides, isn’t having a strong ally a good thing?”
“Yes, let’s not rush to conclusions,” Lydia added, still doubting Hikaru’s statement a bit.
The three of them shared a tense silence, the weight of the situation settling in. Whatever was happening with Nancy, it was clear they needed to uncover the truth before it escalated further. As the night grew darker, Hikaru retreated to his room to meditate and replenish his mana reserves before resting.