Chapter 106: Think, Kaisen, Think! [1]

The next morning, Kaisen woke up to find that, as usual, the girls were not near him.

He looked at the map and confirmed that Alice was indeed at the camp.

With that assurance, he decided to venture out.

"What are we going to do? If you're asking me, my opinion still stands. Let's abort the mission and leave this godforsaken area."

Maximus said, twirling his mustache—a habit Kaisen hadn't seen in a few days.

"Oh, shut up. We are here and we know something's out there. Honey, we're this close to our target; it would be meaningless to go back now."

As usual, Sable countered her fiancé. She was getting tired of his cowardice.

Kaisen looked around the camp.

Unusually, Lloyd was still there. Usually, he and Elfie would have already gone out to scout before Kaisen even woke up.

'Suspicious. Suspicious at all.'

He walked towards the yawning and stretching man.

"I thought you would've already been on your way to find something living in this hellhole?" Kaisen asked.

"The...

~yawn~

... Elfie-san is still sleeping. Can you believe it? When I woke up, she was still up, gazing outside. She didn't sleep last night."

Throwing a glance back at the cave, Lloyd leaned in and whispered,

"I think she's worried that bastard will come back and take her away. Poor girl looks so lonely now. Have you seen the way she laughs these days?"

'What do you mean these days? It's only been a day.'

Though he had the urge to say that out loud, Kaisen did not. He knew how Lloyd would act if he suddenly questioned something.

It was simply not worth it.

'It seems I was actually late for that.'

The idea had made him paranoid ever since he saw Elfie laugh and smile last night.

He'd been pondering what a lifelong slave would desire once they're free, and he concluded that even if their body is freed, their mind wouldn't be liberated.

At least not for a few years or so.

They would constantly be seeking someone to lead them or a purpose to live for.

These individuals are groomed to simply take orders and do as they're told.

Elfie, a lifelong slave, Kaisen couldn't believe for a second she'd suddenly laugh, smile, and gaze at the world with such beautiful eyes.

That was just impossible, unless... unless, of course, she'd been planning her escape from him for ages, but that was impossible too.

He'd seen how she looked at Alwyn; there was no way she'd betray him.

'All this thinking is making me mad!'

He scratched his head vigorously, feeling like he was mining for gold in his own thoughts.

Back in his world, thinking wasn't something he had to do much of.

Life was as simple as finding a few scraps of metal, trading them in, and settling into the cozy nest he and his twin brother had built.

Ah, the days when happiness came in a small package, wrapped in the warmth of their humble home.

The only conclusion Kaisen could reach was that Alwyn somehow contacted Elfie last night, probably telling her to spy on them or something like that.

'That might be it.'

Entering the cave, he found her still sleeping, a blanket covering her head as if she had a cold or something.

'Even if he has contacted her, I can still gauge her emotional state if I add her to the prey list.'

Activating the touch of corruption, he crouched beside her.

"Elfie-san, wake up."