...

An Hour Later

Inside the sewers, three messy-looking girls sat on a mountain of rubble, trying to catch a breath. They were tired and wanted nothing more than to leave this place after the explosion and subsequently collapse, which almost killed at least two of them.

While Nila and Yvonne were fine except for their fatigue and some non-life-threatening injuries, Clara was immensely stressed. She woke up only some minutes ago and panicked initially but became calmer after being told to shut up. She quickly understood that she needed to rely on her sisters as she had no survival skills or strength to speak of.

All she did till now was learn the etiquette of being a lady and fine arts so she would not be an embarrassment inside social circles. Fortunately for her, her fiancé was decent in administration and combat, so she wouldn't need to do anything besides be there for him if he needed her and maybe entertain him with her excellent music skills.

She had no grand ambitions like her oldest sister and wanted only a decent life. Even her fiancé was the same as her. He was average if looked at the current generation of noble youth under fifty. So, they planned out their life to be as easy-going as possible.

What she envisioned was that they would do their noblesse oblige in some logistics center, something she needed to convince him of at first. Before they had their heated discussion, he wanted to be active on the battlefield, but this was a line for her that shouldn't be crossed.

She wouldn't allow him to fight for some minuscule merits, which were long-term, absolutely useless. If he were somewhat talented and had ambitions, it would make sense, and she would have nothing against it, but as average as he was, she didn't want him to risk it.

Fortunately, he agreed. So, nothing stood in the way of living in some small town where they would have much time for each other. The worst that could happen was pups trying to steal from the bakery.

It was a perfect plan, but a problem appeared, ruining their dreams: Her legacy. She hoped for an average [Divinity Line] with [Mystic Skills], strengthening her charisma, health, or luck. It was typical for commoners, and she fantasized about never being sick again or how her aura would be enhanced slightly, making her fiancé more jealous when they were at a ball.

It was a great dream, shattered though, when she saw her rare variations of various scout skills that supported each other heavily to reach an almost ridiculous efficiency. She could literally sniff out anything from hundreds of meters away, even without training them. Thus, she was dragged to this Outer Circle. Besides almost dying, she was on the cusp of wanting to stab her nose, killing her sense of smell, as she was frequently overwhelmed by disgusting smells whose origin she didn't want to know.

Clara hated it and wanted to clarify, as the thoughts of her happy days made her almost cry, "I want to go home."

Nila glanced at her and back to the empty space in the front, "Give me an hour to get my stamina going."

Clara looked to her side and saw the reason why she would need every drop of stamina she could get. Yvonne was injured. Luckily, she wasn't in any life-threatening condition, only some broken bones. However, her legs were thoroughly crushed and pointed in directions they shouldn't naturally, "Are you fine?"

Yvonne looked back at her and laughed, "Haha, do I look fine?!"

Clara shrugged, "Don't know. Just trying to make conversation."

Nila stood up suddenly and took out a high-grade stamina potion, "Okay, that's enough. Let's forget emergencies. If I listen for one more hour to how Clara tries to make small talk or yammer, I will cover everyone here with rubble..."

She gulped down the potion in one go, and her eye twitched, probably being slightly poisoned as she already had multiple ones, "Urgh... however, it will take some time since we need to take a detour, and you..." She pointed her chin towards Clara, "...must carry your own weight."

Clara shrugged again and stood up, wobbling, "Fine... all I want is a nice warm bath."

Nila ignored her and approached Yvonne, lifting her up princess-style, "Woah, you are heavy."

Yvonne looked at her dumbfounded, "Yeah, thanks, at least I have muscles not like your enormous fat ass and ti... ah!" She let go of her, letting her fall.

Yvonne clenched her teeth and looked at her older sister, "Fine, I will shut up. Just get me out of here."

Nila nodded at her with a smirk and lifted her up again. She turned to Clara and looked at her expectingly, waiting for something. However, she only became confused, "What? I think you both have a nice body."

Yvonne started to chuckle, "Hehe, this will be fun."

Nila cracked her neck visibly in annoyance and said, "Use your nose and show me where to go."

For everyone without specific skills, they could only see piles of stone. However, Clara could sense, even without using any skills, the air moving around them in particular ways that intertwined with each other, building a combination of diverse, primarily disgusting smells, which meant that there could be an exit.

She nodded and immediately used all her [Mystic Skills] to pinpoint the exit. She sniffed once and could smell the place around her: Every little stone, every dust cloud, and frightened or dead vermin. With a second sniff, she knew the way out. However, with the third sniff, she suddenly stopped, and cold sweat started to run down her back.

Nila saw this and asked, "Everything fine? Did you find a way?"

Suddenly, Clara began to cry, "Heuk! I smell the same thing inside... heuk... the goat... we are trapped."

Nila raised an eyebrow, "Only on one way?"

Clara shook her head and forced herself to calm down, "The smell is all around us. Be it on the routes I sniffed out or on the walls. Now that I know... heuk, how it smells, I can find it... I don't want this anymore..." She wiped away her tears with her dirty hands and suddenly got dirt in her eye, "...damn it! I want to go home! Home!"

Nila yelled at her, "Shut up!"

Clara suddenly felt killing intent and how it was aimed at her and became frightened. She looked toward her sister, who was staring at her. She didn't say anything anymore and stopped crying purely out of fear.

Nila nodded and retracted her killing intent, clicking her tongue, "Okay, this will be annoying, but I guess I can find my way back and get help."

Clara immediately tried to stop her, even though in fear, "But what about the traps?!"

Nila waved her hand in dismissal, "I alone can avoid or defend against them. The problem is you guys. I can't really defend myself if I need to look after you."

Clara nodded and used her skill again, telling her a direction where she could only sense three of those traps, "Okay!..." She gestured where to go, "...go there! This is the least dangerous path!"

Nila nodded at her and looked back at Yvonne, who was still in her arms, "Yvonne, you wait here with Clara while I get help, got it?"

Yvonne sighed and shrugged, "Yeah, I get it, but..."

Nila tilted her head in confusion, waiting for the sentence to end. Clara could see how Yvonne was frightened since she patted her oldest sister's arm and clenched it sometimes, 'At least I am not the only one with a survival instinct.'

Nila sighed, laid her down carefully, and patted her weirdly, obviously being as exhausted as everyone else, "Don't worry, I will be back quickly."

Yvonne nodded back and lay down beside Clara in the rubble. Nila looked at them and nodded, "Wait here," after she said it, she was gone.

Clara sat beside her, smiled, and gestured by closing her fist firmly, "Don't worry, we can do it! Nila will surely be back soon!"

Yvonne looked at her and sighed, "Sure, can you give me my spear?"

Clara nodded happily, "Sure!"

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...

An Hour Later

'She is really boring...'

After Nila left, Clara got Yvonne her spear and tried to talk with her, but she only answered in her typical barbaric way. More than a yeah or sure wouldn't come out of her. This caused her to think a lot about the things she yearned for.

She missed her fiancé, who was on a campaign on one of the islands in the south, collecting merits by helping organize building a settlement, and by his letters, it all went according to his planning, 'Henry was always too meticulous, so much so, that it is blocking him sometimes.'

Clara met him at a ball organized by the Heart-Fire household. She was initially not interested as he had a stoic personality, while she loved being more playful and open. However, while the ball went on, and after a lot of alcohol, his outer shell slowly melted away. What was left was a humorous and clever guy who loved to brag about his boring insect collection. For some reason, she found it cute and fascinating.

She immediately fell in love with him and told him this on the balcony on the same night. It was beautiful, at least for the first few minutes, until he vomited over the scaffolding since he drank too much. The next day, though, he apologized and told her he was also interested in her and only drank at balls since he was too nervous in social settings. It was adorable.

Over time, they bonded strongly, even though they had half a dozen nannies observing them since she was premature. Yet, it didn't dampen their love, 'I hope he comes back next year, when my first mating season will be, huh.'

Clara sighed and looked to the side at Yvonne, thinking about her sister's love life, too. She had assumably no partner, but gossip told a different story. According to rumors, she was in love with a blacksmith apprentice who lived outside the estate. Her name was Gertrud or something, and she was apparently a rising star in her craft.

It was also an open secret that she was into girls, as seen by the mating seasons she went through. Only women and young girls visited her, which didn't happen in the last one as only her girlfriend came and even stayed overnight. Their parents were fine with it since she had no chance to become an heir, with Nila and Patricia being as talented as they were, so if she married a commoner or someone of the same sex, it mattered little.

'I can talk with her about her little girlfriend, I guess? Maybe time will fly faster then.'

She smiled at her and asked as warmly as possible, "How is your girlfriend, Gertrud? I heard she is really good at..." Only now did she remember that she had no idea about lowly work, "...hammering and burning things."

Yvonne looked back at her and raised an eyebrow, "Really? We almost died, and you want to talk about our love life?"

Clara nodded and became confused, "Of course? What else is there to desire in the face of death besides the regret that you can't spend more time with your family or lover? Aren't those the most important people in your life?..." She looked to the front, away from Yvonne, and smiled sadly, "...I don't care about the riches I enjoyed only by myself. If I could have my family and Henry around me, I would be the happiest and most fortunate girl on Orbis."

Yvonne nodded, "You are right. When I return, I will drag her out of the damn smithy and..." She suddenly realized something, making her voice crack slightly, "...by... the way, you know it?"

Clara held a hand before her mouth and chuckled, "Hehe, who doesn't? Do you think bringing her into the estate every night was some secret? We are only waiting for who will propose to whom first..." She thought about something funny, "...well, since the man should be the first to propose... no, wait, in our household, the woman needs to propose first..." She tapped her cheek with her index finger thoughtfully, "...but who of you is the woman, though?"

Yvonne blushed slightly, "You really talk a lot of nonsense..." She looked down and smiled, "...I think we need more time before we go as far."

Clara stood up and wiped the dust off her armor, "You are usually such a hot head. I thought you would immediately propose the mo..."

However, before she could end the sentence, the blunt end of Yvonne's spear hit her side and knocked the air out. She flew full force towards some ruble, yet, when she looked toward her sister, why she hit her, a throwing knife, filled to the brim with energy, suddenly flew in a trajectory where her head was before.

Boom!

She crashed into the rubble and smelled a stink. She recognized it immediately, 'A night-elf?!'

The night-elf suddenly jumped out of a shadow and was about to attack Yvonne. Yet, the moment they came out, a blur of pure killing intent and the specific demonic energy from the Feather-Paw household came like lightning and pierced the night-elf's head, killing them immediately.

It was Nila, and before Clara knew what was going on, her sister flashed toward the night-elf and kicked mid-air the corpse as far away as possible—landing on her feet as elegantly afterward.

Nila looked first at Yvonne and nodded at her, then towards Clara, "Smell if there any of them in the shadows."

Clara nodded and immediately tried to sniff them out. She tried to differentiate and remember the smell of the elf when they was in the shadow. However, nothing came out, but she found something odd about the corpse and remembered immediately, "The elf has the same smell on them as the goat!"

Nila clicked her tongue, aimed her rapier at it, and thrust forward. Demonic energy came out like wild and angry bees flying towards it in unpredictable patterns, hitting the elf at different body parts. Nothing happened at first, and Clara already knew what the disgusting demonic legacy of the Feather-Paw did, notably her sister's, which acted much faster and was more intense.

Before she could turn around to avoid the disgusting sight, the corpse bloated slightly at different body parts. Shortly after, pus started to pour out of the corpse's orifices, slowly and continuously. The stench of disease invaded her nose immediately.

The smell was something she couldn't stand, and the sight was as bad, making it far worse for her. The pus was purplish-red and looked like it pulsated when it came out. It was too much for Clara. She puked, "Urgh!"

Nila came over and patted her back, "Can you smell if what the elf had is gone?"

Full of snot and tears, Clara turned around, "I urgh... don't know... how can I smell it out if there is such a disgusting scent out here."

Nila shrugged and nodded toward her, "Fine. However, you must confirm if more night-elves are in the shadows nearby."

Clara nodded and used all her skills but almost immediately started to wrench, "Urgh!..." After a moment, she looked at her sister, holding her nose shut, "...I can't!"

Nila rubbed the place between her eyes and turned to Yvonne, "Is there someone else?"

Yvonne shrugged, "How should I know?"

Nila sighed, "Fine, let's just be extra careful on our way out. They seem to be weak enough for me to react quickly enough, and it looks like I can destroy the traps."

After Clara used every mental fortitude skill she had, she looked at her sisters and said, astounded, "How did you know there was an elf?!"

Nila shrugged, "Elf? No idea..." She pointed toward Yvonne, "...she just told me that the shadows were moving weirdly and that there could be someone here to clean up."

"When?!"

Nila tapped her arm several times in different ways and patterns, "Tap language from the mole- and worm-kin. It really is helpful."

Clara suddenly remembered how Yvonne grabbed her arm weirdly and became enlightened but also a little embarrassed, 'Was I the only one who was so frightened? Maybe I should train a little, just for self-defense.'

Nila brought her out of her thoughts, "We will leave together. I can probably kill whatever they were with the stamina I have left..." She walked toward Yvonne, lifting her up again, "...Clara, I need you to sniff out the traps. We will avoid the traps as much as we can and destroy them if not. I leave it to you to guide us."

Clara nodded and stood up again from the rubble, "Okay... I want to leave this Outer Circle as fast as possible."

On the way back, she vomited another five times, trying to force her skills through the stank. She swore never to revisit the sewers, never mind what her Mother said.

...

Many Hours Later, Nine-Fire estate, Ori's Office

"They dare!" An incredible blood lust and killing intent filled the room.

Nila stood before her Mother and told everything that happened calmly, but she reacted as usual, "Please cal..."

Ori clenched her fists and fangs, making her intense blood lust go haywire, "I will kill every single night-elf I will find!"

Nila gestured even more strongly for her Mother to calm down, "Mom, please calm down. We don't even know who is behind the attack."

Ori looked at her daughter in wrath, "Shush! Get Perry. I want the underworld eradicated and every leader's head by noon. I want them all hung in the plaza!"

Nila suddenly panicked as it was the worst thing her Mother could do, "What about the Leonandra's? Aren't they also looking for clues? You can't start killing them! Also, think of Dad! He is leading the whole operation outside. If we go haywire, it will disrupt his progress heavily!"

Ori took her fan and immediately broke it, surprising Nila. It was also her weapon and made out of a metal that could deflect magic, which meant that it was extremely robust, "Fuck them! Fuck Mari, Fuck Scarlett! Also, Peter is..."

Ori clenched her fangs, and her killing intent slowly subsided. Nila knew that the moment she mentioned her Father, it would persuade her to act more calmly and not do her crazy act.

Nila's Father was the one who helped her Mother bring the fief into order after her Grandparents mismanaged it heavily. So, she always listened to him outside of combat-related topics.

However, it didn't mean she would calm down, "I want to find and skin the little bastard alive! He is the one who started everything!"

Before Nila could try to persuade her not to act rashly, a delivery falcon arrived. Her Mother ignored it, but she went to the window silt and took the letter. While quickly skimping over it, she also fed the poor bird some meat as it shivered from all the bloodlust in the air.

It was a present from the Leonandra household, who developed a knack for animal taming, especially for delivery birds. She knew the reason was the Lord, who was also a druid. Otherwise, only highly skilled individuals could tame the animals with which they sent their letters, and they had no such servant.

After skimping through, Nila smiled firmly, "You should read it."

Ori turned around, "What? Is it Mari?! Did Alex decide on anything? Just give it to someone so they could bring it to him..." She suddenly smiled mischievously, ignoring the letter, "...Peter only said that I shouldn't bring chaos to Foxteeth, but he didn't say I couldn't go out myself and look for the little pest."

Nila held the letter before her, "Read it, trust me."

Ori begrudgingly took the letter and suddenly became joyful but, after another second, seethed in anger, "Damn it!"

Nila looked at her, "So, should we continue searching?"

Ori rubbed her place between her eyebrows, "Don't stop it. I want you to go through the underworld and ensure that the ones associated with that traitor are found. Make our position clear."

Nila nodded, "Of course." She quickly left as the bloodlust was also affecting her, making her breathing more rugged the longer she stayed with her Mother.

Clank

Yet, the moment the door closed, an incredible amount of bloodlust invaded the whole floor, magnitudes stronger than before. Fortunately, no servants were on the floor. The last thing she wanted to do was to drag them away as they would undoubtedly become unconscious, 'Does she think she is Scarlett? She could accidentally kill some puppy with this amount.'

Nila shrugged and was either way happy. All she had to do now was to make an example, and this would, at most, cost her a couple more weeks, and the best thing about it was she wouldn't need her annoying sisters for this.