You've found the Gusha-hime Knight, so put your hair up in a bun!

Recalling the sounds she heard every night when she "accidentally" passed by Shiro's room, Arya blushed, and her pale golden eyes welled up with a shy, watery look.

"Ahem, it's true that it might be a little uncomfortable at first, but it'll get better later~ Of course, if you don't like it, we can be alone together in private, that's fine too."

Shiloh patted Arya's smooth, fair back and said with a smile.

"Humph……"

After the girl hummed twice, she wrapped her jade-like arms around Xi Luo's neck, and then used her body strength to gently pull him and herself down onto the bed.

"Anyway, I don't know anything about this, so you can do whatever you like from here on out~"

After Arya finished speaking, she spread her hands, her bright, beautiful eyes blinking as she looked up at Shilo, her expression a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

Upon hearing this, Xi Luo smiled and covered the girl's delicate pink lips, savoring the delicious saliva of a budding flower.

After the long kiss, Arya's breathing became very heavy, and with each exhale of fragrant mist from her mouth, a lot of soup would gush out from the large white steamed bun.

Before long, her plump and supple legs were covered in mud.

"Eek~"

With the professional tasting skills and attitude of a seasoned gourmet, Shiloh carefully savored the delicious little pumpkin and the cherry tomatoes garnishing it.

Sweet and delicious, Arya truly lived up to her reputation as a saint of the Church of Tranquility. In addition to its sweetness, it gave Shiloh a taste reminiscent of gentle, cool moonlight, which also eased his tense mood.

Everything was ready. The evil dragon that Arya had just experienced so closely arrived at Shuijian Pass and let out a silent roar, as if it was about to rush in at any moment.

Aria twitched slightly, looking pitifully into Xi Luo's dark eyes, and said, "You... be gentle, I'm afraid of pain."

"Don't worry, just leave everything to me."

After saying that, Shiloh exerted a little force, and Arya's pretty face froze.

"Relax your body, don't be tense."

Shiloh knew that Arya's body would be more vulnerable to Cecilia and the others, so he had to proceed with caution and patience, just as he had with little Irene.

However, the soup was plentiful, and Aria was, after all, a transcendent being at the [Void Realm] level, so she quickly adapted to the slight discomfort.

After getting used to it, a unique sense of comfort rose up, causing Aria to unable to resist uttering soft, incoherent "ee-yah-yah" sounds.

A drop of vermilion ink fell into the moon's halo, rippling out faint traces.

The moonlight hung high above the room, gently illuminating the intertwined mandarin ducks until dawn the next day.

Chapter 100 Subtle Clues (4k, two chapters combined)

"Ooh~~~"

The next morning, Freya yawned, stretched, and sleepily led Fphro to knock on the door of Shiloh's room.

dong dong dong-

click

"Enter."

After receiving Shiloh's response, Freya, who had secretly gone out to investigate all night, perked up and confidently pushed open the door.

Last night, after confirming that Shiloh was resting in his room, she went to the city of Clorensa to investigate.

Deep down, Freya actually harbored a competitive spirit towards Shiro, so she wanted to take advantage of his "relaxed" moments to make more progress than him.

Upon entering the room, Freya saw Shiloh standing behind Arya, carefully tidying up her beautiful long hair, and she thought to herself, "I'm all set."

At a glance, Freya guessed that something extraordinary must have happened between the two of them last night. Arya's rosy complexion, though she looked like she hadn't woken up yet, was enough to tell a lot.

"sit."

Shiloh pointed to the chair next to the coffee table, then finished styling Arya's hair and sat down next to her.

At that moment, Arya subconsciously slipped her small hand into Shiloh's large hand, blinked, and tried to look more alert.

Despite a long night of hard work, Arya, who had fought Shilo alone for the first time and was still somewhat dazed and hadn't quite come down from her euphoric state, also broke through her extraordinary rank and completed her advancement to the [Stellar Rank] after this battle.

This is an incredible thing, and it's far more effective than other little tricks...

Arya brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, as if recalling the madness of the previous night, and a shy blush appeared on her face.

Seeing Arya, as pure as the moon, display such a shy and charming demeanor, Xiluo's heart fluttered. If no one else was present, he would really want to continue playing a game.

With her gaze lowered, Arya keenly observed Shiro's reaction. Her heart skipped a beat, and she subtly tugged at his sleeve, whispering, "Oh dear, there are other people here. You...you can bear with it for a bit, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Xiluo coughed lightly, squeezed Aria's small hand, and said softly, "I'm not that hungry yet. After all, I ate a lot last night, didn't I?"

"Woo~"

Upon hearing this, Aria lowered her head and did not respond, but the blush had already spread to her delicate little ears.

Watching the two flirting, Freya and Frost had different expressions, each feeling as if they had been fed a huge mouthful of dog food first thing in the morning.

"Ahem! Young Master Xi Luo, can we start talking about serious matters now?"

Freya offered a slight reminder, though she was somewhat displeased.

After all, she came with a wealth of intelligence and was confident that she would be able to "win" back.

"Alright, let's begin. Freya, do you have any new information?"

"Huh? Ah... um."

Seeing the surprised look on Freya's face, Shiloh simply smiled and didn't say anything more.

Given Freya's personality, Shiro didn't think she would obediently wait all night. At this moment, he was also curious about what useful information she could gather.

As Freya tapped left and right on the terminal, the information compiled on the terminal was projected onto the coffee table in front of her.

Xi Luo and the others quickly scanned the information on it, summarizing it into roughly these points:

1. In the past week, many residents of Clorenza have reported seeing what appears to be numerous wanted criminals in the city;

2. Regarding the illegal slave trade, those slave traders are backed by a mysterious force, which uses their power to capture alien subhumans.

3. This mysterious force appears and disappears without a trace, but after extensive investigation, it was discovered that those people have used dark magic.

"Dark magic? Ha, if that's the case, then the fact that there are more wanted criminals in the city makes sense."

Silo pointed to one of the intelligence reports and said.

Black magic is a general term for magic that uses illegitimate means to obtain power.

Including but not limited to: blood sacrifice, control, corruption...

Black magic can be considered a type of traditional magic. Although there is nothing wrong with magic itself, it is an undeniable objective fact that most people who study black magic end up uncontrollably on the evil path of plunder.

In a place like Clorenza, where all sorts of people coexist, there are bound to be countless wanted criminals. If residents in such an environment perceive that "there seem to be more wanted criminals around," it can only mean one thing—

These wanted criminals who have recently appeared in Clorenza are definitely on the most wanted list!

At least two-thirds of the top 100 most wanted criminals on the Empire's wanted list are black magicians.

"Friana, well done. As expected of the captain of the second division of the Blackthorn Flower."

Shiloh smiled and nodded, praising him sincerely.

Before Floriana could even show a triumphant smile, Shiloh dropped a bombshell: "This mysterious force that uses dark magic is very likely connected to the lord of Clorensa. And they are bound to make some big move in the near future."

"Their next plan is very secretive, but also... very terrifying. Terrifying enough that it could affect the entire forest."

"what?!"

Freya stood up, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Affecting the Great Forest?! This... how is this possible?! The strongest elven kingdom among them has two supreme beings, the Great Sage and the High Priest! Besides, that's a land blessed by the Mother of All Forests, how could this be..."

Shiloh waved his hand. He could understand Freya's thoughts. If he didn't have the memory of this predetermined fate, he probably would also find it hard to believe.

"Don't rush, sit down and let me explain slowly."

Shiloh’s tone was calm, but his words were full of unquestionable authority, which made Freya’s slightly confused mind calm down as if a bucket of cold water had been suddenly poured on it.

"Yes... I'm sorry, I acted impulsively."

After Freya sat back down, Shiloh recounted in detail everything he had investigated the previous night, except for his encounter with Serene.

After hearing what Shiro said, Freya's small hands clenched unconsciously, her knuckles turning white.

"No, this involves too much. Should we call for backup?!"

Freya struggled to breathe. If Shiloh's conjecture was true, and such a terrifying event were to occur, the alliance against the demons would suffer a devastating blow, and this place... would become hell.

"Reinforcements? If we really need reinforcements, the people who come would have to be at least [Erosion Realm] level transcendents. Do you think we can just summon such powerful individuals so easily?"

Shiloh shook his head, rejecting Freya's proposal.

Without obtaining concrete evidence of Truman's crimes or other relevant facts, even Shiloh could not easily summon the powerful figures within his family's influence.

Once an extraordinary being reaches the [Erosion Realm] level, every extraordinary being becomes a force to be reckoned with, capable of single-handedly defeating an army of thousands. If we were to use our previous understanding as an analogy, they would be like mobile humanoid nuclear weapons.

At this level, even these extraordinary individuals themselves cannot simply wander around aimlessly.

Each of these extraordinary individuals in the Empire must report their whereabouts and obtain approval from the Holy Council before they can take any action.

In fact, there was no need for Shiro to explain; Freya, who said those words, knew full well that it was an impossible decision.

"Ha... calm down, calm down..."

Freya closed her eyes and kept repeating the words to herself.

A moment later, when the girl opened her silver-white eyes again, she had returned to calm.

"In that case, all we need to do is find evidence of their crimes as soon as possible, right?"

A slight smile played on Shiloh's lips as he nodded, seemingly appreciating Freya's ability to regain her composure. He then said, "I've got a lead, Freya. Now I need you to do something for me."

"Eh? You say."

Hearing what Shiloh said, Freya felt another wave of frustration.

She thought that the intelligence she had gathered in one night could slightly surpass that of Shiloh, but she didn't expect that Shiloh had spent the whole night playing with Aria and had produced just as much intelligence as her. In fact, Shiloh had even made his own judgments in the face of such an unclear situation.

Sigh, is the difference between people really that big?

She's a genius girl, after all...

Although she felt frustrated, Freya's admiration for Shiro was elevated to a new level, and she quickly responded to his orders.

"Starting today, I'd like you to covertly monitor the Truman residence, record their daily activities, and report to me immediately if anything seems amiss."

"Yes, I understand!"

Seeing the girl with a stern expression, who was about to leave, Xi Luo reached out and stopped her. Then, under her questioning gaze, he continued, "There's one more thing. The prerequisite for doing these missions is to ensure your own secrecy and safety."

“If you die here, I won’t be able to explain it to your commander-in-chief.”

Seeing Shiloh's concern with a hint of a smile, Freya's pretty face also showed a smile, and she nodded and said, "I understand~ Don't worry, no one can catch me."

After saying that, Freya's figure suddenly transformed into a distorted shadow of light and then disappeared from the spot.

Gazing at the spot where Freya had disappeared, the smile on Shiloh's face slowly faded, and an inscrutable expression appeared in his dark eyes.

Arya keenly sensed this, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

After Fro took her leave, Arya took Shiloh's large hand, wrapped it in her own palm, and whispered, "You... have you already decided that Floriana will take the risk?"

Upon hearing this, Shiloh glanced at Arya with some surprise, not expecting that the other party could guess what he was thinking.

After pondering for a moment, Shiloh shook his head and said, "Not entirely. Or rather, I'm just imagining this possibility for the future."

"Do you still remember Freya's codename? [The Unpredictable Silver Fox]... Heh, the more cunning a person is and the more they enjoy toying with their opponents, the more blindly confident they are in their own mind."

Xiluo said calmly, "Someone like her will gradually begin to believe that she can escape safely in every adventure. Even if others think that this time the water is too deep and she can't possibly wade through it, the lingering sense of luck will still lead her to the abyss and swallow her up."

"Then, what should we do?"

Although she was somewhat dissatisfied with Freya, the little fox who had provoked Shiro, Arya did not want to see this "Blackthorn Flower" who was secretly protecting the empire wither.

"When that time comes, I will try to create a relatively peaceful situation for her in the overall framework of the plan. As for whether she can survive, that will depend on herself."

Boom!

Near the edge of the great forest, a small flame flickered among the wood, occasionally crackling and popping.

After resting at the inn, Shiro and his group concealed their identities and went to the Great Forest.

hum-

Shiloh held a detector in his hand and searched the ground according to the map projection, but found nothing.