Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Habetroth is a good friend to girls, and turning them into happy brides is the value and meaning of my life. Tsk, I was planning to wait until I had my own workshop and give you a custom-made wedding dress, but unfortunately, you have no bride charm... not even a little bit..."

Habertrot, also known as the Weaving Fairy, is said to be able to spin and weave fabric from cotton and flax fibers to make dresses for brides.

The thread she spins brings good fortune, and those who wear clothes woven by this little creature will immediately regain their health, be free from illness and misfortune, and receive blessings.

Furthermore, this fairy-like personality is proactive; once she finds a suitable girl—that is, Habertlot believes she has the right to be a happy bride—she will do everything she can to take care of and support her.

In a sense, he is the bride's guardian.

"Hmph! I don't need to use such a thing to get married! My chosen partner should put on a wedding dress and please me!"

Morgan pursed her lips and snorted softly, her head held high with unyielding pride.

"Planning to have a boy marry you? That's too bold. Uh, is that why you lack 'bridal charm'?"

Habertlott couldn't help but be surprised and complain, feeling as if her worldview had been overturned.

However, the fairy's interest came quickly and went quickly.

"Meow, we'll talk about that later. Why did you stop? You can keep petting my head."

The textile fairy blinked, immediately abandoning her itch-inducing skills and turning to pursue tangible pleasure.

"Meow, here, right here, push harder..."

Morgan sat down in a daze, continuing to stroke Habertrot's head. A sliver of light from beneath her veil seemed to drift to a corner of the carriage, as if she were somewhat distracted.

Chapter Thirty: The Cunning Tool

As we drove through streets overgrown with vines, the rich aroma of cooking and the chattering noises drifted from the scattered treehouses and village clusters in the distance.

Murlian, resting her chin on her hand, lifted the curtain in front of the carriage and made a mysterious suggestion.

"We're almost at Gloucester. You'd better change your appearance and not easily reveal your human identities."

"why?"

Morgan frowned slightly, and asked subconsciously.

"Because they are more enthusiastic towards humans..."

Murlian thought for a moment, then responded with a smile, a meaningful look appearing on her face.

Are humans more popular?

Samael seemed to be deep in thought, his vertical pupils glancing at the fairy settlement shrouded in clouds and mist, his gaze flickering mysteriously.

However, since it was a friendly suggestion from the host, Samael naturally agreed.

Thus, the slacker, skilled in running away, lock picking, and illusion, finally found a use.

As Mary casually waved her wand, dreamlike petals drifted down from all around them.

In a flash, Samael, Morgan, the Nocks, and even the infant Bagst all appeared to have transformed in the eyes of the three winged fairies.

The three curious little girls circled around the group several times, observing them repeatedly, but they couldn't find any flaws. They chattered excitedly.

"See? I'm pretty reliable, big sister."

Mei patted her chest and proudly showed off her achievement to Samael.

"Alright, I'll remember this favor. Now, let's go into town."

Samael responded with a light hum, showing a rare moment of kindness towards this troublesome white-haired succubus.

With everything prepared, the carriage, escorted by three little fairies, smoothly entered Gloucester without any obstacles.

This is a mixed settlement of the six major clans. The main part of the city is relatively well-organized because the Earth Clan was invited to carry out the construction, but the residential buildings inside are quite diverse.

The Earth Clan prefers low, sturdy workshops; the Rain Clan is idyllic and prefers to live near streams and meadows; the Winged Clan loves treehouses and flowerbeds; and the Mirror Clan enjoys collecting sparkly things...

In short, the architectural styles along the way are incredibly diverse and varied.

As Samael and his group of outsiders barged in, the fairies of various races peeked out one after another, curiously observing the visitors.

Once they confirmed that everyone was a fairy with no distinguishing features, the little ones quickly lost interest and started chattering away, each busy with their own tasks.

Born from mystery, almost every fairy is a natural spellcaster, possessing innate magical talents that come easily to them.

Samael traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping frequently, and drawing upon his past experiences, gained a basic understanding of the personalities and abilities of the six major clans.

The Rain Clan is relatively peaceful and can control the weather, summoning rain clouds; the Mirror Clan is somewhat mysterious, possessing excellent prophecy, perception, and a certain degree of spatial ability; the Wings Clan is the most gentle and kind, small and lively, with good affinity for nature.

These three parties have similar personalities and get along well, so they are the main members of the Gloucester House.

Among them, the Winged Clan is the most numerous.

The Wind Clan mainly resides in the Grand Cathedral, pursuing a high quality of life, excelling in creating exquisite works of art, and possessing excellent skills in magic and potions.

The clans of the [Teeth] that we had previously encountered mostly had animal-like appearances and humanoid forms. Although they were simple-minded, short-tempered, and fierce, they possessed great strength and resistance to magic and poisons, making them the most dangerous on the surface. They were concentrated in the [Great Dining Hall], which they had designated as their hunting grounds.

Due to the Fang Clan's voracious appetite and brutality, the other five clans have all suffered from the invasions of these monsters, but fearing their strength and numbers, they have mostly hidden themselves, daring not to speak out against them.

The three little ones, Murlian, stumbled into the Fang Clan's hunting grounds and were subsequently hunted down.

Fortunately, Samael and Morgan arrived in time and saved their lives.

Finally, the Earth Clan, which Samael and the others were most concerned about, were dwarf-type fairies who could control the earth and soil, somewhat similar to the dwarves of the nine worlds of Norse mythology. They loved to create and cherished their workshops, making them true craft enthusiasts. To avoid being disturbed, they built the fortress city of Norrich deep in the Nameless Forest, where most of the Earth Clan fairies gathered.

As you venture deeper into the Nameless Forest, the terrain becomes increasingly complex, and the pervasive white mist seems to have a shielding effect on perception.

Without a reliable guide, finding the Earth Clan Fairy's settlement is indeed not an easy task.

Moreover, Samael learned from his inquiries along the way that to reach the fortress city of Norwich, he first needed to pass through the Ya tribe's hunting ground canteen.

From the main dining hall, head east, passing the River of Tears, and then continue east for quite a while before you reach your destination.

Moreover, it seems that monsters also live along this route. Whether they are fairies, magical beasts, or humans, once captured, they may become their food.

For example, every year fairies disappear in the River of Tears. It is said that the water fairy Durakon lives in the river. Outsiders who pass through this river will see what they want most in the water. If they are attracted to go into the water to retrieve it, they will be dragged down by the water fairy and drowned to keep her company.

As Freya spoke of this, her face paled, and she anxiously and repeatedly urged Samael to be careful and not to wander off recklessly.

The ancient serpent naturally nodded in agreement.

After all, the whereabouts of the Earth Clan Chief they were looking for were still unknown, and the Nameless Forest itself was quite mysterious and dangerous due to its high ether content.

Rushing headlong into unfamiliar territory is pointless.

On the other hand, the fact that Gloucester was able to invite the Earth Clan to carry out the construction clearly indicates that the Winged Clan and those dwarf elves have some connection and relationship.

Samael happened to know that Murian was apparently a former patriarch of the Winged Clan.

It's just unclear whether it's now or later.

But in any case, the most useful tool is right in front of us.

Now that they've made contact with this little girl, staying here to gather information is better than searching for a needle in a haystack outside. Therefore, there's no need for them to go out and wander around like headless flies.

After making a quick decision, the convoy, led by their host, Murlian, slowly pulled up to the side of the street and arrived at a spacious forest-themed treehouse.

Before everyone could get off the carriage and get busy, Murlian summoned a bunch of fluttering fairies to help unload supplies and settle the carriages, showing great enthusiasm.

After a short rest, Murlian brought them food, mead, and fruit.

These local specialties from the nameless forest, though somewhat bland, have a unique flavor, and the high-purity ether they contain provides a strong feeling of fullness.

Halfway through the dinner, the Knox couple were already too full to eat anymore and got up to walk around and digest their food.

As the host, Murian immediately flapped her wings and enthusiastically followed, taking the two human visitors out for a walk.

It seems this little girl really likes to hang around these two ordinary people.

Samael watched Murian's figure gradually disappear into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

The fact that she was so willing to share him and Morgan with the other two partners probably means that she has realized that only the Knox couple are truly human.

Tsk, what a clever little thing, but why does it seem a bit cunning?

I feel uneasy about using her as a tool.

The ancient snake shook its head and muttered to itself, then looked up and surveyed its surroundings, its brows furrowing slightly.

By the way, where are Habertlot and Freya? Where did they go?

Chapter Thirty-One: The Pilgrimage of "Black Dog"

The next morning, accompanied by the chirping of birds, Samael, Morgan, and Merry woke up one after another, met in the living room, and had breakfast.

At the dinner table, Samael brought up the worries that had been nagging at him the previous night.

Morgan pondered for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Although we took a shortcut and saved some time, the crisis in Darlington is not over yet. Time is of the essence, and we can only wait here for three to five days at most. If there is still no result by the deadline, we must set off immediately."

"Therefore, it is best to take a two-pronged approach. First, visit the vicinity of Gloucester to look for clues related to the chieftain of the Earth Clan, and then ask Murian tonight, instead of placing all our hopes on the Winged Clan."

Samael stroked his chin and offered advice.

"I've heard that the Wind Clan is very well-informed. I'll go to the Grand Cathedral and see if I can find anything."

Mary was very eager to go out for some fresh air, and unusually took the initiative to accept the task.

"Hmm...that's fine..."

Samael initially wanted to refuse because of the nightmare's notorious record, but then realized that the fairies of the Wind Clan seemed to be scum as well.

Therefore, the ancient snake simply let it go, allowing Meryl to do whatever she wanted.

Anyway, he won't lose out no matter who loses out.

"According to Habertlot, a while ago, a large army of undead from Darlington and a lot of Naraku insects broke into the Nameless Forest and destroyed several villages. It seems that they were eventually dealt with. The battlefield was in the northeast region of Gloucester. I will be in charge of investigating this area."

Morgan unfolded the map and selected the area he had chosen.

“Alright, I’ll take care of Bagst and Knok’s safety. I’ll gather intelligence in the city.”

Seeing the great sage and the witch taking such initiative, Samael wisely stayed behind to stabilize the situation and play a supporting role.

Taking on too many major responsibilities is quite tiring, so it's a rare opportunity to slack off and relax, which should be cherished.

After discussing their strategy, the three agreed on a communication signal and resonance technique, and then left the forest-themed treehouse one after another to begin their separate actions.

After settling the Nork couple in, Samael took Bagst out and, following past experience and habits, successively chose bustling areas such as taverns, inns, and markets in Gloucester as entry points for gathering intelligence.

After all, these places, where people meet, also see a rapid flow of information.

Unfortunately, the fairies were energetic, curious, and impatient. Samael not only failed to get much useful information from them, but was also driven crazy by these chaotic little creatures.

The only place that left a deep impression on me was a tavern run by a certain fairy.

The owner's name is Mike. He is rather taciturn, has a strange accent, and his pronunciation is not very standard, but his brewing and baking skills are indeed excellent.

Ahem, I am getting off topic...

Well, what Samael was more concerned about was that the boss, Mike, was a dwarf elf, belonging to the Earth Clan.

In exchange for the snake's valuable advice as a customer and its knowledge of cooking techniques, it finally managed to pry open the owner's mouth and glean some useful information from him.

Before disappearing, the Earth Clan Chief Favor Viser seemed to have received some kind of prophecy from the Mirror Clan.

It seems that the target may have already learned of their intentions, and their deliberate hiding is most likely to avoid them.

This is going to be a bit troublesome.

Samael tapped his head, feeling a headache coming on.

With no clue what to do, the ancient snake simply carried Bagster for a walk to release the little guy's boundless energy.

Unbeknownst to them, two figures, one tall and one short, arrived on the outskirts of Gloucester.

As soon as the ancient serpent released its grip, the canine demon cubs in its swaddling clothes eagerly crawled out and frolicked around Samael on the lush green grass.

But then Samael noticed that the little guy wasn't running around aimlessly, but rather marking his territory.

Wherever Bagst ran, he left behind wisps of gray-black mist, conveying his power to both inside and outside the territory.

Meanwhile, this insatiable "lord," after consolidating his territory, enthusiastically expanded outwards, incorporating even larger grasslands into his domain.

When encountering larger animals such as rabbits or birds, Bagst would widen her heterochromatic eyes and roar intimidate those around her who challenged her status as lord. If she encountered stubborn people, she would even personally step in and defeat them with the iron fist of justice.

Under the conquest of this "Black Dog King," the small animals along the way trembled in fear, surrendered at the mere sight of him, and willingly became subjects of this fiefdom.

Gradually, even the lower-ranking fairies that had intruded into Bagst's territory were forced to submit to the tyranny of "Black Dog King," cowering with their wings tucked in like quails as they were inspected.