Chapter 168 168: The Elves Are Back? [Pt2]



Keith kept his cool as the busy elf-lady crossed over into his personal space. She seemed to be trying to make Keith uncomfortable and make him look away from her body.

But it was too bad for her that Keith had been trained for such occasions by Clair. 

Seductive manipulation was one of the most common tactics people used against the Grandmaster and it was something Clair had warned him about. As such, Keith did not even feel the need to look away when that female hovered too close to his face.

Seeing no reaction from her target, the female quickly pulled away with a frown on her face. But once she noticed that Keith was paying attention to her, the elf lady made her expression to be a joyous one.

"Well, looks like we will have our answers soon enough. There is no need for you to force yourself to answer when you do not want to. You are also a guest of our village and we treat our guests right."

The elf lady snapped her finger as she took a step back. 

The curtains of the room opened and a few servants came in with their trays loaded with food and other necessities.

Keith looked at the delicious-looking food but he was not certain if he should eat it or not.

There was so much that was wrong with this village and Keith was also getting a bad feeling from all the elf ladies that surrounded him. 

"Here, our dear guest must be hungry. Why don't you indulge yourself in feasting? Do not worry about the food falling short. We have a lot more in our kitchens."

Keith took the offered food but he did not eat it. The elf ladies giggled as they watched Keith behave in a shy manner.

"What is wrong? Are you not going to eat the offered food? Your behavior might offend me."

The leader elf reminded Keith with a pouty face. Now that she had made this expression, Keith could see the similarities between her and Shimi.

The more he looked at the leader, the more he could spot Shimi's features on her face. This female was related to his companion in some way.

"I do not eat in front of people. If you want me to eat, then you will have to give me some privacy."

Keith looked toward the group of females keeping an eye on him. He was now making excuses to be left alone in the room.

The girls giggled, finding his antics funny and charming. But their expressions change as soon as they realized that Keith was not making this all up.

He was asking everyone else to leave him alone while he ate his food.

The elf leader had a sour look on her face at being rejected company. But she decided to weigh the pros and cons of pushing her guests' buttons.

And in the end, she decided to give him some time to rest and eat alone.

"Alright girls. I think our dear guest needs some time alone. How about we all go and put our efforts into his next meal? I am sure our dear guest would like to stay here for a long time."

The elf leader's words implied a lot of things. Keith got goosebumps as soon as he heard her voice speak in such a sugary sweet manner.

He waited until everyone was gone before taking a deep sigh of relief. The feeling of paranoia and danger he had been feeling was finally beginning to dwindle.

'I need to get out of here. This place gives me the creeps and I do not feel safe here.'

Keith's senses were telling him that there was something majorly wrong with this village. And so far, Keith had yet to prove himself wrong when it came to his hunches. 

It seemed like this time was not going to be any different.

"Let us see. The first thing I need to do is to get out of this room and find my companions. That will be a difficult task depending on how tight the security around this village is."

Keith did not know the elf village well. And none of his electronics worked well in this setting. He could not even make a phone call to anyone.

There was a weird static that surrounded the elf village that was cutting it off from the world. And this was not present in this village before.

"Please tell me that the door is open. I do not think I can pick a door lock in my current state."

Keith did not have the necessary tools to pick a lock currently. And while he could make do with what he had; it would all be worthless if this was a one-way lock.

Surprisingly enough, the door opened as soon as Keith turned the door knob. The elves had not bothered to lock him in, believing that he would stay put and under their control.

'First thing first, let us find Master Hana. She will have the best chance of escaping among all of us since she is the most powerful.'

Keith walked through the house but he was hesitant to go out. His green hair was a 'big' indicator that he was not from around here. And it was also enough to make people turn back to look.

And if anyone looked at him, they would realize that he was a human, not an elf.

'I need a cloak to cover myself up. Why did my inventory have to go out of function now?'

Keith always had a cloak in his inventory. But with the static blocking his phone and system, it was blocking his inventory as well.

However, lady luck finally started to smile at Keith as he was roaming around. He somehow managed to get into the laundry room of the place and pick up a cloak that suited him.

It was an airy and girly cloak with a lot of weird things sewn on top of it. It was not something a grandmaster like him should wear.

And wearing this cloak would cause people to stare at him even more.

But this was Keith's only option available. So as much as he heated to wear this cloak, he will have to wear it outside.

As expected, people started at Keith when he walked past them. Some laughed while others were curious about him. Keith tried to avoid all their eyes.

There was one surprising thing Keith had noticed about this town - it is lack of male companionship.

Every elf he saw was female and they were all beautiful and looked similar. There were very few exceptions when it came to hair color or even eye color.

But Keith forced those thoughts out of his head as he kept on walking forward. He needed to hurry up and find Master Hana.

There were a lot of places Keith needed to cover up. But then, something legendary happened to him again

Lady Luck decided to smile at him two times on the same day. Keith was just minding his one business when he noticed a familiar figure walking on the other side of the road. 

The familiar face and familiar atmosphere caused Keith to instantly look at the new figure.

Master Hana looked alright. But she was not alone and it was impossible to approach her right now.

Keith wanted for some time, wanting to see if Master Hana would break free on her own or if he would need to do something about it.

Finally, Master Hana somehow managed to shake her persuader and Keith felt it was safe to approach her now. He walked behind her and gently placed his hand on Hana's shoulder.

It was the wrong approach to take because Master Hana tensed up before she tried to attack Keith head-on.

Of course, Keith's sharp body reflexed, and decided it was the right time to save his life. His hands caught Master Hana's fists and he raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner.

Shock and embarrassment colored Master Hana's face as she instantly took a step back. She had not meant to attack the Grandmaster.

"Grandmaster, I apologize for not having recognized you beforehand. Is there anything I can do to make it up for my mistake?"

Master Hana asked this question rather seriously. Even Keith knew that there was nothing she could have done to stop herself. There was no need for her to feel guilty about what happened.

"Hmm, there is no need. I understand your circumstances. But have you noticed - there is something wrong with this village. I do not have a good feeling about it."

Keith spoke up and finally let his true thoughts shine. 

Shimi looked taken aback as well but her eyes had an understanding light in them. She nodded in agreement as she calmed herself down.

"You are right. This village has too many inconsistencies for it to be real. I think we are in some kind of mirage right now. We need to take our other members and get out of here."