Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

Chapter 498 The Mental State of Contemporary Elves

"Ah……"

Faced with Riveria's nonsensical and off-the-top remarks, Ciel couldn't help but roll his dead fish eyes:

"Are you elves all a little... something... in your heads...?"

“Is it strange? Whether it’s a lap pillow or an engagement, I think any man would be happy about it.” Riveria stroked her chin.

"So, regardless of whether it's true or not, your idea will only cause me a lot of trouble."

Ciel thought to himself...

Besides, you don't really want to fulfill the marriage contract, do you? You just want to give me the title of an elven prince consort. I'm the one who's at a huge disadvantage, young lady.

Seeing Ciel's slightly repulsed expression, Rivera lowered her eyes and pondered:

"Strange, Loki said it didn't have any problems with other men, so why can't it work for you? Or is it that I'm not as attractive as other women?" Rivera began to doubt herself.

Listening to Riveria's strange remarks, Ciel's doubts resurfaced...

Are the Elves really not a race created by some mischievous god, like the Crimson Demons?

Even Rivera, it's normal for her to lack some common sense...

That's right.

Princess Aina has been cared for since childhood. Even though she has grown up and become more mature in the last ten years or so, it does not mean that she has become more experienced.

At least when it comes to 'finding a man' and 'becoming a mother,' she's a complete novice.

"Ah... I'm sorry, it was my fault for expecting the elf to have any serious ideas." Charles sighed and turned to leave.

A slender finger, enough to captivate anyone's soul, gently pinched the hem of Ciel's robe.

Rivera looked anxious: "I will continue to think about the appropriate reward, so please don't give up on Aina."

Having finally found hope for treating Aina, Riveria was certainly not going to let the opportunity slip away.

Judging from Charles's previous statements, he should have a 'sage' behind him who is even stronger than the 'omnipotent one'. Moreover, if Charles were to carry out the task personally, it might go more smoothly.

"Alright, for Ais's sake, I'll keep this in mind."

“I’m planning to leave the city to avoid the turmoil and go to the school district for further studies. I can also go and check on Wang Sen and Miss Aina for you.”

"You just need to write a few letters yourself to qualify me to enter Wang Sen, and the same goes for Aina, explaining my identity so that I can treat her. As for what you said, don't make a big fuss about it; I don't want to be assassinated by all the elves."

Rivera nodded. "That's great."

However, for the sake of Aina's condition, she still decided to elevate Charles's status.

No one knew her father better than she did. If she were merely a friend, a mere human would never have been able to enter Wang Sen's territory.

"As for the compensation..."

"Think about it slowly after it's done," Charles said indifferently.

Rivera was deeply moved: "Charles... you're such a good person."

"In the mouths of the gods, 'good person' isn't a compliment, Miss Elf," Charles said irritably.

"Uh... really? I meant it literally." Riveria scratched her face sheepishly.

Afterwards, Rivera suggested that she go to Wangsen with Ciel, but Ciel refused.

"I heard that some veterans of the Loki Familia are still trapped in the man-made labyrinth. How are they doing?"

When Noal and the others were mentioned, Riveria's expression turned somber: "The favor hasn't disappeared, but our progress is extremely slow. The artificial maze is more difficult than we imagined. Moreover, we don't know their purpose in doing this."

“By the way,” Rivera said, seeing Charles and realizing he had been undercover in the artificial labyrinth for a long time and might know something, she asked casually.

How much do you know about mazes?

Charles stroked his chin: "That was made by the Daedalus bloodline. They probably wanted to create something that would surpass the dungeons. All I know so far is that floors 1-12 have been transformed into a demon cave that is no different from the dungeons. In terms of difficulty, it will probably be in the range of floors 40-59."

"The key point is that the interior is full of natural traps and monsters of varying strength, which can easily cause careless adventurers to die."

"You should know that there are special rooms in the labyrinth that can revive 'intact corpses'. It's not some miraculous resurrection spell, but a demonic realm constructed by the power of the Grim Reaper."

"Adventurers who die in the man-made labyrinth will have their souls bound to their corpses, unable to return to the heavens. That's why the story of Noyar and his predecessors came about."

Livilia nodded slightly.

She also greatly admired the maze builders.

She came to Orario not only to find a cure for Aina, but also because it contains the world's largest 'unknown' dungeon.

Regardless of Daedalus's original intention in creating the artificial labyrinth, or the sins it caused, humanity, capable of replicating this wonder of the world single-handedly, will undoubtedly become a legend millions of years from now.

“Perhaps he holds the secret to the birth of the underground city. If we could meet the creator, we might be able to end the greatest calamity in the history of the underworld—the underground city,” Riveria remarked.

Charles didn't have much ill will towards Balka. Even when Qin Shi Huang was building the Great Wall, many people died, but in his time, no one questioned the First Emperor.

All we can say is that future generations will judge right and wrong, merits and demerits.

at the moment……

"Regardless of the future, the man-made labyrinth is indeed a huge bomb right now, and this threat is increasing daily after the collaboration between the monsters and the dark factions. At least, according to the information Jester provided, they seem to be preparing the 'Six Rings of Immortal Essence' to destroy the city, which is a fact," Charles said helplessly.

"In this regard, I am still too weak to be of much help. We can only rely on you first-level adventurers to conquer the dungeon."

After a pause, Charles continued, "From Alpha, I also learned that the Fallen Fairy seems to have its eye on Ais. I hope you will take note of this and not let Ais die in the artificial labyrinth. Even though the conditions for 'resurrection' are now available there, if Ais is captured, she may only be devoured."

Rivera nodded solemnly again, a slight smile playing on her lips: "I've got it. Thank you, Ciel."

Afterwards, the two trained with Ais again. It was past noon and the sun was setting when Alpha returned with the captured monsters and handed them over to Adi. This compensated for the loss of the Ganesha Familia and preserved some of the materials for Ais's training the next day.

Ciel bid farewell to Riveria and followed Alpha back to the guild to submit the adventurer's request that he had accepted before setting off.

However, when he entered the guild headquarters, he saw a steady stream of busy staff.

After making a few inquiries, it was discovered that most of the employees who committed the crimes had been dismissed, and some of those with serious offenses were even to be sent to the city of criminals. As a result, the guild's operations were disrupted.

However, Shire thought about the upcoming school district.

"It seems that the guild has requested quite a few new members from that side this time..."

……

On the way back to the West Street Church.

Passersby along the street looked at each other and whispered among themselves.

Last night, Freya and the Hera Familia's huge commotion caused the name of Ciel to spread widely throughout the city.

As a result, many passersby nowadays see Charles with an expression of awe or even fear.

Alpha looked at Shire, who was strolling leisurely down the street with his hands in his pockets:

"Excuse my bluntness, Lord Ciel. From our perspective, being too friendly to the Loki Familia is not a good thing."

"As for your stance..." Charles's lips curled into a smile: "It's just taking care of a child. After all, Ais was your former comrade-in-arms. There's no need to be so heartless."

"Have you considered the possibility of turning against each other?" Alpha reminded him.

"Are you afraid?"

"How could I be afraid of those little kids?" Alpha tossed his hair, looking disdainful.

Alpha is different from Ais. As an ancient fairy spirit who has retained most of Pegasus's memories, Alpha is much more mature than Ais, who was a sealed girl.

Although he looks like a child, he has more life experience than most people.

As a result, at this stage, apart from occasional joint operations with Alfia, most of the cadres are following Alpha's orders.

Lily is in charge of the Arcadia Merchant Guild's operations, while Alpha is responsible for promoting the abilities of various executives in preparation for their eventual solo confrontation with the Kraken.

It seems more like she's being stubborn by reminding Ciel now.

“Yeah, when they find out the truth, will they cut my head off…? I’m really looking forward to it.” Charles squinted, ruffling Alpha’s hair. “When that day comes, Alpha will protect me, right?”

Chapter 499 What's so good about that old woman?

"of course."

"That's good."

The two went home together. When they opened the door to the lecture hall, the first thing they saw was Alfia, with her legs crossed, leaning against the sofa, holding a cup of red tea and sipping it slowly.

She heard the door open, glanced up, and a slight, friendly smile appeared on her lips.

"Oh, welcome home."

"Gurgle..." Seeing Alfia's unusual behavior, Charles couldn't help but take a step back, but his escape route was blocked by Alpha behind him.

Hey... are you betraying me too?

Alpha tilted his head, giving a blank smile: "Lord Charles? Aren't you going home?"

Charles ducked down and followed Alpha closely into the living room.

Alfia patted the spot next to her and gestured for Charles to sit down.

Charles sat down, his body stiff, at a loss for what to do.

"What does that old elf want with you?" Alfia's first question silenced Shargan.

Ciel assumed that Alfia would ask about Ryu first...

But Alfia knew very well that the elf who had been 'deceiving' her posed no threat whatsoever. Unable to comprehend Sharl's "truth," she was no match for him and there was no need to worry about her.

“It’s just training Ais. You know, we now hold the hilt of the sword, and the sword maiden is a sharp blade that will be beneficial to our conquest of the Black Dragon. Proper sharpening and nurturing will make it easy to use at any time.”

"Oh? That's all?"

"Hmm... and she also asked me to heal a close friend." Ciel didn't hide anything; Rivera had mentioned this when he was disguised as the Joker and fighting Alfia.

"You agree?"

"That's it."

"And what's the purpose?" Alfia's eyes became playful: "Helping others unconditionally, that's not like you."

Charles sighed inwardly… Alfia was still quite perceptive; at least so far, his actions had all been profitable, with the only exception seemingly being Alfia. The appearance of a second Riveria made her instinctively wary.

Charles smiled nonchalantly, “Rivellia is the only royal who left the Elven Kingdom. She is beloved by elves all over the world. Befriending her will benefit many of our future plans. Besides, I am also very interested in the Elven Kingdom. Perhaps there is something within its walls that can help Meltlujah heal her illness.”