Chapter 187 - Excuse, Lie, And Thought
"Ais, something has happened suddenly and needs to be dealt with. Because of that, my father and I are going home to take care of it. It's not to Pitmedden Village, but to Devil Continent. For about a month, our adventure has been postponed. What do you think?" Sylvia informed her friend at once.
"Hmm? Okay, I don't mind. If I may know, what's so urgent?" Elysia smiled kindheartedly. Even though she had guessed what made this father and daughter devil duo need to return to the Devil Continent, she nodded and asked.
"It's a bit complicated... Father, what about it?" Sylvia asked for help from her father. She didn't know how to answer when she remembered her father reminded her not to tell about the relics and treasures' details.
"It's a bit of a problem that needs to be resolved. Just a little bit of my business, nothing strange." Dylan only answered vaguely. He didn't want to touch things about relics or treasures, assuming this human girl didn't know much about the little commotion in the lake.
"Hmm, I see..." Elysia nodded once again. It made the two devils sigh a little in relief because Elysia didn't ask any more profound questions about it.
Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Elysia's next words made it a little difficult for them to answer. "Is this because of the commotion that happened in the large lake within Avrora Forest?"
Knowing this was a golden opportunity to bring up this topic again, Elysia brought up the conversation with the most probable conjecture.
"..." Dylan and Sylvia were silent for a moment, confused about how to respond. This human girl knew, and she probably just visited the lake in question.
"Um, what happened in that lake? Is it the lake where we first met?" Sylvia spoke before her father replied with many evasive lies.
If possible, she didn't want to lie too much to her friend, not when she would tell Ais about her true identity in the near future. She could run the risk of losing her rare friend who was so hard to find.
"Eh? Not the two of you? In the lake, there was an uproar, and it is now under heavy guard. Further investigations are also being carried out. Dark Magic was detected and made many parties on the forest border alert." Elysia made an expression as if she was surprised because her guess was wrong.
Even though she said it like that, only from Sylvia's awkward expression and a moment of silence had strengthened her and Elena's assumptions.
"Ahh? What really happened there? Who and which devil dared to make a fuss deep in the middle of the Human Continent? Aren't he afraid of being hunted down by humans, huh?" Sylvia folded her arms and snorted. She seemed to blame and question the unknown devil, but she was not involved there.
"Erm, I don't know. The devils fled for the moment several human troops came around that unnatural lake. Even a Human Emperor was there, you know." Elysia shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"What? A Human Emperor came directly to the location because of that? Well, that lake is deep within the Human Continent... Of course, they will be alert when they find out that devils have been found in their territory." Sylvia seemed to know what had happened, and it was just as her father expected.
"Yes, but what puzzled them was something found at the bottom of the lake. There were traces of underwater excavation... Looks like the devils used their Dark Magic to make the process faster to extract whatever was there." Elysia gave a little detail on what she saw around the lake while observing Sylvia's expression.
"What did they take in that lake, hmm... I wonder. I remember that night my Vanessa just took a block of gold from the bottom of the lake. At that time, there were only us..." Elysia patted her chin as if she wondered something. She looked at the devils with a hint of subtle and implicit accusation.
"No, no, it's not us. We're not extracting any treasures or relics from the bottom of the lake." Sylvia quickly waved her hands to deny the accusation. The Devil Princess finally lied, and Elysia realized it.
"Oh my... Treasures and relics? Not gold anymore?" Elysia covered her mouth with an expression of fake shock. It was confirmed indirectly, this father and daughter devil duo was the cause of the Dark Magic remnants in that lake.
"Ah, umm... No, I don't know. It's just a parable. I didn't take anything from the lake." Sylvia defended herself right away. In that instant, she knew her friend suspected her and her father.
Hearing Sylvia's plea and then seeing Dylan's neutral expression, Elysia could only smile. There was something that made Sylvia feel guilty when she spoke with lies.
Well, that wasn't wrong either, maybe there was something that made them do it, and it was important to them. Even so, this was still called a backstabbed. For some reason, Elysia felt cheated and betrayed when she was already thinking positively about these devils.
When Elysia and Vanessa found the little gold block, these two devils plundered everything in that vast lake area. Apart from that, the looters didn't want to admit their actions even though the evidence was clear. Whereas, these two devils only knew that the lake held valuable objects only because of Vanessa, perhaps.
"Sigh... That's fine, Lys. You and your father didn't dig to the bottom of the lake even though you know my Contracted Beast found a block of gold there. Then, you took nothing from there. Apart from that, the commotion and Dark Magic were detected in the lake, not from you. I understand. Thank you for letting me know." Elysia spoke in a relaxed and subtle tone. She drew closer to Sylvia and stroked the latter's head once, then moved away.
Even though Elysia said it that way, it didn't mean she believed and confirmed it. It had the opposite meaning. She was somewhat disappointed with these two devils for several reasons. However, she couldn't blame them either.
Perhaps, this Devil Emperor and his daughter came to Human Continent because of something at the bottom of that lake. The devils' aim was precise, and their encounter with her on the lake was nothing more than a coincidence. It was no wonder why Dylan tried to kill her the first time they met. It indicated how important what was hidden at the bottom of the lake.
Dylan also pretended not to know the symbol engraved on the gold block, even though he knew it. He knew a lot because there was their goal. He was simply ignored over the block of gold so she wouldn't get suspicious. It was also possible, regarding Sylvia's approach as the so-called friend was just a cover to trick her.
Right now, they would return to the Devil Continent because their goal was accomplished. Their adventure then postponed for a month, and maybe it was just a mere excuse. Other than that, they told her so that she wouldn't hunt them down or suspect them? They considered her was the neutral Human Emperor; it was clear why they were a little polite to her.
'Ely, you are overthinking again, really. Your train of thought and your assumptions has gone a long way.' Elena interrupted Elysia's negative thoughts from the information they got.
'That's fine, Sister Elena. Now they will leave the Human Continent. That way, I don't have to worry that they will cause something big like war. I'm not pretending to be a hero or anything. I'm just trying to prevent what might happen when it comes to me, okay?' Elysia no longer wanted to suspect and assume anything again after Elena reminded her, that was enough.
At least, she could peacefully take care of her problem to find more in-depth information about this world and other things. Like what caused her to come here and what is the purpose of it. She refuses to believe it if there was no hidden intent of something behind her transmigration and her privileges in magic.
'Ehm, alright...' Elena could only nod. She looked at Sylvia then let out a soft sigh. Some of the lies were visible with advanced perception.
She thought this Devil Princess was a worthy good girl to enter Elysia's friend list. That way, they would have a third friend beside Evelyn and Ella. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Elena was a little swayed by the assumptions and accusations Elysia had in mind a moment ago. What she and her sweet little sister seek were not wealth or authority from others but sincerity. This devils duo just did whatever they wanted, and they let Elysia down.
Meanwhile, as Elysia sat away with a gentle smile, Sylvia touched her head, which had just been briefly stroked. There was no wind and no rain, and suddenly she felt her friend would stay away from her and no longer wanted to be her friend.