Chapter 340: Shimuin (3)
The address written in the note was located in a prestigious neighborhood in Larupa Island, an area known for its high land prices. Unlike other regions bustling with activities and people, this neighborhood exuded an air of elegant tranquility.
However, it was only a facade. Many gladiators lived in the opulent districts of Larupa Island, where the coliseum was located, and there were also numerous mansions owned by nobles. As a result, the paparazzi that Ciel warned about was hiding in every nook and cranny of the streets.
However, such scrutiny posed no major problem for Eugene’s group. Unless they were attempting to sneak into the heavily guarded mansion of the monarch, they could march around as they liked. The gazes of the paparazzi hidden in the darkness were nothing. They had no need to rely on Sienna as well. Even Eugene's magic could easily deal with such nuisances.
Surprisingly, the mansion where Ciel resided was not overly large. It was similar in size to the manor Eugene had lived in in his hometown of Gidol.
‘Well, it's not like she’s living here long-term, and she’s only with Lady Carmen and Dezra.’
It was more than enough space for three people. Although the security was present, they didn't look like knights.
Eugene's group easily evaded the guards' watchful eyes and climbed over the fence.
There was no sign of a garden. Instead, a well-worn training ground spread out before them. Just by glancing at it, Eugen could tell how frequently and extensively it was used.
He recalled Ciel's appearance during the afternoon match. Her steps had been light and fluid, just like flowing water. Eugene smiled with satisfaction as he imagined Ciel's movements from the footprints on the training ground.
The mansion had three floors. When Eugene glanced up, he saw that all the windows were shut and curtains drawn. The back door was locked as well, but that wasn't a major issue. Eugene placed his hand on the locked doorknob and recited a spell in his mind.
The door opened without making any sound. Sienna watched Eugen's adept use of magic with a proud smile. Although she didn't personally teach him magic, the magic of this era originated from her after all. Therefore, Sienna had every right to take pride in Eugene's magical abilities.
"You've arrived." Carmen was sitting on a spacious sofa on the third floor of the mansion. She spoke while uncrossing her legs.
She had already finished setting up the table and was doing a final check.
The well-maintained ashtray reminded Eugene of a collector's item. Carmen had adjusted the angle of its placement slightly to her liking. Then, she took out a pocket watch from her pocket before placing it next to the ashtray on the table. She contemplated putting the cigar she had placed on the table beforehand into her mouth. However, she did not want the bitter flavor on her lips just yet, so she put the cigar over the ashtray instead. Instead, she picked up a whiskey bottle she hadn't opened yet, held it in her hand, and rested her arm on the sofa's armrest.
Carmen and Dezra were accustomed to Carmen’s deviant behavior. As such, they stayed silent while simply staring at the closed door. To be honest, they hadn't sensed the presence behind the door.
‘As expected of Lady Carmen,’ they thought.
Sometimes, she did incomprehensible things, but Ciel and Dezra still admired Carmen. She was an outstanding figure genuinely deserving of their respect.
"Blood Lion,” said Carmen as the door opened. Eugene immediately stiffened and froze in place while entering the room.
"Dragon Slayer."
It was perfect timing. With the cigar between her lips, Carmen raised her head to look ahead.
However, it was now Carmen's turn to have a stiff expression.
She was familiar with the woman standing right behind Eugene. It was Kristina Rogeris. Carmen had seen her a few times before and was pleased to see her. However, who was the woman with the black hair? Although her hair was a different color, the stranger’s green eyes and face resembled Mer quite a bit. No, it wasn't a simple resemblance. It felt as if Mer had grown and aged….
"Lady... Sienna?"
Shocked by the truth, Ciel stood up from her seat. Even though Dezra didn't understand why the Wise Sienna's name was mentioned here, she stood up following Ciel’s action.
Carmen, too, finally put down the cigar she was holding in her mouth. All eyes turned towards Sienna.
"Huh…."
Sienna enjoyed the reverence directed at her. With an elegant gesture, she lightly touched the back of her head, and her black hair turned violet.
"Yes, it's me. The Wise Sienna Merdein,” Sienna said before gracefully walking into the room and taking a seat on the sofa.
[Doesn't it remind you of the phrase 'birds of a feather flock together'? If Hamel could do it, he would puff out his chest and put on a show like that as well,] Anise sniggered to Kristina.
‘Sir Eugene is a noble figure whom anyone would acknowledge.'
[Hm…. Yeah…,] came Anise’s sarcastic remark.
Noble? Even though she could think of dozens of retorts, Anise chose not to say anything.
"I'm not a difficult person, so sit comfortably. What are you all doing behind there? My successor, Eugene, come sit beside me."
"Yes, Lady Sienna."
Everyone sat down.
Carmen still held the whiskey in her hand, and the cigar lay on the table…. Her unchanging attitude brought Eugene a sense of relief.
"It's been a while,” said Eugene.
"Blood Lion, Dragon Slayer,” responded Carmen.
"You've already said that…," Eugene stated.
"No amount of praise is enough. Remember, Eugene, all your titles were bestowed upon you by me, Carmen Lionheart, the Silver Lion."
Carmen looked genuinely proud and pleased with the fact.
'That's Carmen Lionheart,'? Sienna thought as she examined the other lady. She maintained a young and beautiful appearance, but by age, she could be considered to be Gilead Lionheart’s aunt.
'Even so, she's still 200 years younger….'
It was an unpleasant fact she didn't want to dwell on. Sienna immediately ceased thinking and focused on the cigar on the table.
"You can light it if you want. I don't care,” said Sienna.
"Yes, Lady Sienna,” answered Carmen.
"You can speak freely,” added Sienna.
"How could I do something like that?"
In this aspect, Carmen had more common sense than Melkith. Carmen politely refused Sienna’s suggestion before putting the cigar in her mouth. Then, she took out a lighter from her pocket.
Click.
The lid of the lighter opened, emitting a clear sound.
Click.
The lid closed again.
Click.
The lid opened once more.
"?" There was silence in the room except for the clicking sounds of the lighter.
Eugene and Kristina were accustomed to seeing Carmen do this multiple times, but Sienna wasn't. Sienna couldn't understand why Carmen was doing that.
Could it be that the lighter was out of fuel? It was the most natural thing to think, so Sienna flicked her finger to produce a spark.
Whoosh!
The spark ignited the cigar in Carmen's mouth.
"Puh."
Although she always kept the cigar in her mouth, Carmen Lioheart had only lit it once when she was very young. She had not known any better at the time, and after deeply inhaling the smoke once, she had decided to never light a cigar again.
Her mouth filled with smoke as she inhaled. Carmen was shocked. She turned her head to the side and spat out the cigar, along with the breath she had taken.
"Ah, it's hot!"
Dezra, sitting next to Carmen, failed to avoid the cigar. She screamed as the fire touched her thigh.
Carmen didn't care about the unfortunate accident. She turned her head to the side before coughing multiple times. Ciel hurriedly poured a glass of water before handing it to Carmen.
Sienna was struck dumb.
The quick series of events evaded her understanding. As she stared with confusion, things quickly settled down. Although the cigar had left a small hole in Dezra’s pants, Kristina had healed the burn wound. Carmen had also cleared her mouth of the bitter taste with water.
“I’m fine without the light,” said Carmen while glancing sideways at Sienna with a reproachful look.
"Uh…. Right," responded Sienna. She nodded while feeling apologetic. It felt as if she was responsible for the mess.
After checking that the bitter taste was gone from her mouth, Carmen once again took out a cigar from a case before putting it in her mouth.
“?”
Once again, Carmen’s actions evaded Sienna’s understanding. Sienna stared and blinked a few times with her mouth agape. Noticing her confusion, Eugene leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Let her be.”
"Why... is she doing that?" asked Sienna, thoroughly perplexed.
"Because that's just how she is. Just let it go."
Sienna still could not understand. However, Carmen was confident. She didn't feel the slightest embarrassment about her actions.
With the cigar in her mouth, Carmen repeatedly opened and closed the lighter before opening the lid of the whiskey she was still holding in her hand.
Glug, glug, glug.
Of course, Carmen didn't drink the whiskey. She poured the whiskey into the glasses on the table before standing up. However, she quickly realized that there were not enough glasses for everyone.
There was a display cabinet on one side of the room. Next to many unopened bottles of alcohol, there were several fancy glasses...
"Ahem."
While Carmen was focused on choosing a glass, Ciel let out a dry cough. Similar to Sienna, there were several things Ciel didn't understand about the present situation either.
"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Sienna. I'm Ciel Lionheart."
"I-I'm Dezra Lionheart."
Dezra also bowed her head, covering the hole in her pants with her hand. Sienna moved past her confusion and changed her expression.
"Yes, right. You don’t have to be overly polite," Sienna said.
Ciel raised her head and looked straight ahead.
Seated opposite were Eugene, Kristina, and Sienna. She could understand why Kristina and Eugene were sitting so close, but the proximity between Sienna and Eugene bothered her.
The fact that the Wise Sienna had proclaimed Eugene as her successor was well-known. In other words, the relationship between the two was that of a master and her disciple.
Given their relationship, it was understandable that they were close, but… was it ethically right to be so physically intimate that their bodies would touch like that? Was it possible that such a thing was simply how things were three hundred years ago?
"Um... both Lady Sienna and... Saint Kristina are here with Eugene…. Is it because of the Abyssal Princess?" Ciel asked, capturing the three seated across in her sight. They had even put on disguises.
She had a hunch that it might be so. Other than that, what reason could they have for coming to Shimuin?
The three of them… weren’t just three regular people. One was a legendary Archwizard from three hundred years ago, one was the Saint, and the other the Hero of the current era.
"That's right," Eugene nodded without denying Ciel's question.
Indeed. Ciel stroked her chin and fell into thought for a moment.
"Are you here to investigate the situation and gather information? Or—"
"To kill," Eugene replied bluntly.
"Just like that? Don't you think it's too reckless?"
"I believe I have enough power. And more importantly, I have a debt to repay," he added.
Sienna’s lips curled up into an insinuating smile at his words. While Eugene also had a karmic connection with Iris from his previous life, it wasn't comparable to Sienna's.
Ciel slightly shrank back when she felt the atmosphere surrounding Sienna.
"The Abyssal Princess," Carmen said as she returned with two glasses in her hands. She placed the glasses in front of Sienna and Kristina and poured the whiskey in an elegant fashion.
She tilted the bottle to allow the liquid to flow from a high position as if the whiskey were wine. There was only one reason why she was handling herself in such a fashion: It looked cool.
[Let's swap, Kristina.]
‘Is something wrong, Sister?’
[You might not know since you don’t enjoy alcohol, but the whiskey Carmen is pouring now is an extremely rare one. It's a nostalgic drink that I occasionally enjoyed during my time alive.]
‘Please calm down, Sister.’
[Quickly! Quickly!]
Kristina changed places with her. Anise immediately picked up the glass, which was filled to the brim with whiskey, and gulped it down in one go. Her hardy display froze Carmen in place for a moment.
"One more," Anise said happily.
"Hmm."
What taste was she enjoying from this unpalatable bitterness of a liquid?
With that question in her mind, Carmen poured another glass of whiskey. However, as soon as the glass was filled, it was emptied immediately. In the end, Carmen gave up and placed the entire bottle in front of Kristina.
"The Abyssal Princess," Carmen resumed speaking, starting again from the beginning. She placed the cigar she had put in her mouth back on her finger before continuing her words. "A few years ago, she was called that, but now, in Shimuin, Iris is known by a different name. She is referred to as the Pirate Empress."
Until the Knight March, the fleet under Iris' command had been just a few dozen ships. But now, there were well over a hundred pirate vessels gathered under Iris’ name. As such, people in Shimuin feared Iris and started calling her the Pirate Empress .
"Even so, they’re only pirates," Sienna snickered. "If those vermin were somewhere other than the Solgalta Sea, we wouldn't have bothered hiding our identities. We would have swept in and attacked as soon as we arrived."
Three hundred years ago, she had been known as Sienna of Disaster.
Befitting her alias, Sienna had caused multiple disasters during the war with the demons.
Hundreds of pirate ships?? Sure, but they were still pirates. How strong would they be compared to the demonfolks? If she could keep them in place, she could create whirlpools, raise tsunamis, strike them with lightning, or even send meteors crashing down into the sea. The possibilities were endless.
However, the only problem was that Iris was active in the Solgalta Sea, a place located far away, one that restricted magic.
It was still uncertain how much the Solgalta Sea's notorious bindings could restrain Sienna, but she was determined to be as "cautious" as possible in her plan to kill Iris.
She would absolutely never give Iris any chance to escape. There would not be a second chance. She was determined, without a doubt, to kill Iris.
Eugene and Anise agreed.
They had witnessed various hells connected with the sinister dark elf Iris. They had seen burning mountains, forests, and fields, as well as the screams of the captured elves she used as bait. They had experienced the relentless ambushes by the dark elf rangers hiding in the darkness.
Elves lived for a very long time, and dark elves lived as long as elves. If she made up her mind to hide — Iris could hide for dozens or even hundreds of years to come.
What Eugene's group was most wary of was the possibility of Iris hiding on some uninhabited island in the Southern Seas where nobody could find her for decades or centuries.
"Carmen Lionheart, I heard that you and Eugene fought Iris together in Kiehl. It was unfortunate that she got away."
"I could not kill her because I was lacking,” responded Carmen.
"I'm not here to reprimand you. On the contrary…. Would you find it offensive if I said this? Well, I'm glad you and Eugene failed to capture her. Thanks to that, I have the chance to kill that damned wench with my own hands."
Sienna’s words were laced with clear hostility. Carmen nodded as she felt her skin tingle.
"But, Lady Sienna, the Solgalta Sea is very distant. There are no ships that go there, and even if you were to buy a whole ship, finding a crew willing to sail all the way to the Sea of Death wouldn't be easy,” Carmen said. "I know about the infamy of the Solgalta Sea. That bizarre sea not only restricts magic, but it’s also hard to reach, right?”
"That's why we came to ask for help,” said Eugene.
Carmen smiled slyly as she turned towards him.
"What kind of help are you referring to? Do you want to borrow the Silver Lion’s fangs and claws? Or perhaps the thorns of the White Rose? Or…."
Carmen glanced at Dezra. She didn't have a fitting nickname yet.
"Do you want to borrow the gleam of the Black Pearl?"
And so, she made up a nickname on the spot. What did it mean to borrow the gleam? Dezra glanced at Carmen with confusion. However, Carmen herself didn't understand the meaning behind her words.
"Uh…. No. Not that kind of help. I want to meet with Sir Ortus," Eugene replied with an awkward expression. "I've had a chance to talk with Sir Ortus during the Knight March."
"I understand what you’re getting at. Do you mean to lead a naval fleet and attack the Abyssal Princess head-on?" asked Carmen.
"That's something I'm considering, but if I bring a fleet, Iris might escape or hide. I'm thinking of borrowing a few ships from Sir Ortus for now,” said Eugene.
"Ships?"
"A merchant ship or a trade vessel. One magnificent enough that Iris would want to plunder."
Two immediate ideas came to Eugene’s mind. One was to charge into the Solgalta Sea, and the other was to lure Iris out.
If they chose the latter, they would undoubtedly need large, attractive ships for Iris to attack.
"The Empress already has too many underlings. She rarely leaves the Solgalta Sea. She merely sends her pirate ships out for plunder,” explained Carmen.
"We can lure out her underlings. We can try sneaking onto their ships,” said Eugene.
"There are other ways," Ciel spoke up. "Just as Lady Carmen mentioned, the Empress has too many underlings. Compared to the Solgalta Sea's navy, she may lack in numbers and strength, but her presence tips the balance enough to allow her to harass the navy. However... recently, the Empress did something quite audacious."
There were several rumors about Iris, some yet unknown to the world.
"Originally, the Empress didn't target Solgalta's naval ships and avoided conflict with the punitive fleets. But now, a month ago, the Empress' attitude suddenly changed,” continued Ciel.
"Ten warships patrolling near Solgalta Sea have vanished without a trace," Carmen interjected, nodding in agreement.
"That's not all. Even the cash transport ships bound for Shedor Island were taken by Iris."
There were numerous islands in Shimuin, and taxes collected from the people of the islands were transported by ships.
"Not just the cash transport ships. Various tributes sent to the royal family are also being plundered. It's not just toll fees that they’re asking for, either. Ships and crews are all being kidnapped by Iris."
It had not been so bad when Ortus had previously mentioned Iris’ exploits to Eugene. Iris had avoided conflicts with the naval fleets and had only raided civilian ships and trade vessels.
"It's shameful. That's why the royal family concealed all the facts,” said Carmen.
"But they can't do that anymore,” Ciel chuckled, shaking the glass. "If they continue to stay silent, the Dwarf Guild will start protesting."
"Dwarves?"
Eugene's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden turn of topics.