165 An unnoticed absence

"Thank you for this evening. It was very productive."

"Productive, hehe. Yes, very productive." Unlike the radiant woman that was smiling, the man was bitterly laughing. Since when a woman had enjoyed a dinner with him and qualify it with the adjective productive? Shouldn't be more like, delightful or even agreeable? Something like that? But after recalling how it was, he knew that she was right.

Each time he tried to talk about another subject, she kept focusing the discussion with the numerous trade agreements they could reach. At one point, even Andre arrived, with one of the products of the underground farm, baffling both him and the two last employees of the inn. With the departure of all the adventurers, most of the guards and a large amount of the population, most inns had been closed, especially the one near the Adventurer Guild.

The woman and her husband in charge of this one were probably the last in all Archet. So, when a man had asked them if it was possible to eat here, they were overjoyed, especially knowing the Mayor will also be present. Unfortunately, as much as they tried everything, it could not hide the fact that only two people were eating in a nearly empty room. And if the man was sometimes looking weirdly at the nearby chairs with no one of them and the two undead that were near the door, the Mayor never took a glance of it.

With the arrival of that unbelievable fruit, the already formal dinner was infiltrated by three other people. Gwendoline asked their thoughts to both the couple and the merchant, crushing the hope of any forms of a charming evening. Taking personally a bite of it, and with the former Mayor following her on that, they were all happy to not see them dying soon after. As for the taste, it was unfortunately not that good.

It was not to the point of having a bad taste, but it was far too bland, almost without any taste. Remembering the grumbling of the red giant about the fact that the undead tainted everything they touched, Gwendoline wondered if it was the same for those fruits. Making a mental note to check that the next day, the size was still enough to be comparable to three fruits at once. With that in mind and the fact that it was filled with far more mana than anything not coming from Genablum, it would inevitably be a profit.

But because the discussion derived from a hopeless attempt at seducing a woman to technical and financial questions, it worsened the mood of the Eltritch son. In the end, he even had to pay for all of this. Not that he usually care, but that was because he had someone under his arm at that moment. But watching the cordial distance between him and the beautiful woman nearby, he was even more dejected.

"Was it really necessary?" Hearing the question of Andre that had not left her side since he arrived, she was puzzled for a few seconds before understanding it. "Yes, it is better to give him no hope, so we can move forward."

"You know, you could have played with him a few more times, to get the most out of it. It's not rare that some men send ... beautiful gifts to their adversaries, in exchange for some favors. Of course, I would not ask for anything overboard, but ..." Nodding, she also got the idea. After all, she was part of that process too, before all of this. A nice, young and charming employee, dealing with all those old, powerful men, lifting their mood to allow the Mayor to use their goodwill.

"Maybe, but you do realize it would be useless against him. He has not fallen in love with me, he is just lusting for my body. Meaning that the sooner he give up this idea, the less likely he will feel compelled to do irrational things. It could be giving gifts, that I would lose out, or something bad like sabotaging this entire thing."

"That would be unfortunate."

"Indeed." Because they only knew him for a day, none of them could accurately know who he truly was. From the sayings of his father, a good for nothing that at least had enough in the brain to not lose too much money. And someone that also was far too close to women, whether they were married or not. As for how he was reacting when rejected, even his own father did not really know. Looking at the only moon that was up tonight, she left Andre there and returned to the City Hall.

Searching through the books that had not be destroyed, she finally found what she was looking for. The title was pretty self-explanatory, as it was called "1001 fruits and vegetables of the Grey Lands by Bellacia Pirgrim". Drawn on it, a silhouette with a robe was raising its hands, when nearby a halfling was using a hoe to work on the fields. Because of the peaceful nature of both the halflings and Genablum, it was no wonder the former only lived inside that nation.

Counting the pages, she opened where she stopped reading. Completely immersed in the book and the beautiful drawings representing the fruits and the one found in Massalia, for comparison, she did not notice the numerous shadows moving in her room silently. Feeling thirsty, she put the book down and began to walk to grab some water. Only when she stood up did she notice that something was weird.

"Good evening Gwendoline, or should I say, Mayor of Archet." Seated in one of the chairs present in the room, she could see a very tall man with an extremely faint mark on his forehead. He didn't seem bothered by the fact he was breaking in the City Hall. Spotting the dark thing that seemed to be alive on one of his arms, she easily guessed who it was.

"Black Gauntlet? You are the Black Gauntlet?" Hearing this said in a very calm tone, the man in question chuckled a bit. "You know, usually people scream when they pronounced this name. It's quite refreshing to not have to deal with that, especially since woman's screams are quite annoying to the ears."

Looking at the man belonging to the Organization being so carefree, she began to wonder how he managed to enter. Even if they were masters at walking unnoticed, Archet was no longer protected by mere guards. No bribe, no lack of sleep, no biological needs could help them bypass the guards. All day and night, the cold empty eye sockets of the undead will stay vigilant.

"Did you know that the tunnel the Dark Gods created is actually unguarded?" Dropping that, he looked at her reaction but only saw surprise. A bit disappointed, he still did not let it appear. "Yes, it's true. The opening in Massalia is still guarded, but we didn't spot anyone since the moment we arrived in Avenio. Now, do you think we should tell them this, or keep it for ourselves?"

Frowning, Gwendoline could not understand what was going on. This had nothing to do with her, in fact, she would enjoy not being implicated in this. Her loyalty to Meridiana was unbreakable, and for now, she helped Ymir. Meaning that considering the actions of the Organization, they did not belong to the same side. "You should sell it."

"Hahaha, I knew it. Always trust someone from Avenio to make profits out of everything. Unfortunately, that was the wrong answer. But that's fine, you have one more chance." All of a sudden, the previously cordial exchange turned tense. She also felt the stares of the one hidden in the shadows beginning to aim at her. Even with her mental fortitude, knowing fully well that experienced killers were looking at her was not pleasant.

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"What Leilade is up to?" "Who?"

CRASH

The well-made chair that was under him was crushed by his fist. Standing up, his easy-going smile was also gone. However, looking at the young woman in front of him, she truly did not seem to know this name. Something impossible, since there had been reports about the dark soul floating to Archet and then leaving to the West. "The dark thing that floated that day."

"Oh. I know nothing about what she wants." She was clearly telling the truth, and a small sound resonated in the room. She could not know it, but it was also confirming the thoughts of the Black Gauntlet. All of those accompanying him had agreed that she did not lie. It had already been many, many days since it happened, but because no one was inside Archet they couldn't even know such a piece of basic information.

"And the reaction of Ymir?" The last two Dark Gods whose names were unknown were the lich and the red giant. However, with the fleeing humans of Archet, they soon learned that he was called by that name, meaning that the lich was the last one to obtain. "Well, he was extremely scared. At first, he told us to run away in panic as soon as he spotted her. Then, they discussed for a few minutes, and he returned to his castle immediately. But he didn't look very happy, and was mumbling about him never being informed of anything."

After saying that last sentence, a small glint appeared in the eyes of the man. After all, it was a very strange sentence to say, something he often heard when people deal with the Organization. But the main point was that someone that was unharmed after battling with a Hero became terrified when he spotted Leilade. Not something they wished to learn at all.

"You know, your new friend is becoming a laughingstock those days. The merchant that traveled to Archet. Everyone is joking about how he would die, but apparently, he is completely fine. tell me more about this." Hearing everything Gwendoline had to say, he was particularly interested in what Ymir said about blood. But when he asked her if she had seen a lich, the only answer he received was which one.

Even after describing in great detail the one he was looking for, she couldn't confirm or deny its presence, as she was not particularly interested in them. In fact, none of the humans still staying were curious about the undead, all preferring to not look at them directly. Obtaining everything he wished, albeit, with a few exceptions, he couldn't help but curse his subordinates. It was not really dangerous, they had managed to enter this room without alerting anyone.

"Take this." Grabbing something from his bag, he gave her a very small orb. Seeing her puzzled face, he explained what it was. "That's a small device used to talk to each other. Another one is located right outside of Archet. Because the range is merely 5 kilometers, it is enough for you. I know you are not someone that can't connect with the surrounding mana. Meaning that you can activate it. Each day, you will report everything important you have seen to us."

"Do I have the choice?" Hearing this, the man couldn't help but laugh. Taking that as an answer, she only took the orb and tried to activate it. To her surprise, the empty device took a blue color, and she could hear someone like he was very far away. "Test! Test! One, Two! Do you copy?" Looking at the Black Gauntlet that was gesturing her to do something, she approached her head. "Yes."

"Great. I will shut it down now." Soon after, the blue color disappeared, returning the orb into just a small ball of glass that was reflecting her face the empty wall behind her. Only at that moment did Gwendoline suddenly turned around. "Ah!" Looking at the woman that had a small scream of surprise, everyone looked at her, wondering what she was up to. But apparently, it was not their fault as she only did that after looking behind her.

Beginning to feel unease, he had no idea what was this for. The wall behind her was without any problems, as all the damages it suffered had been repaired. So why did she screamed? "You should go, now." Her dark tone made everyone put their guard on, as it was mixed with fear. "Why?" But before she could answer, a ratman flew through the doors and crashed on her desk, right in front of the Mayor.

Turning their sights to the opening, they could see a massive armor moving on its own. Inside the four large hands, one could see another shadow that was struggling. Not caring about the fact that his head was so high that the ceiling was being destroyed, the giant answer in her stead. "Why? Because a skeleton is always watching her."