Chapter 426: Scouting the Hideout
Hilt’s eyes darted between them, her voice rising with barely contained frustration.
"Wait—answer my question first! Do you actually know Lady Selena or not?!"
Adam’s tone was calm, almost dismissive. "Yeah, we know her. We’ve been working together."
Alice’s tail swayed lazily, her dark violet eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Anyway, that’s not the interesting part. How about we skip the bureaucracy and just go straight to their headquarters?" Her smile sharpened. "We could wipe them out completely. Clean, efficient, no loose ends."
Azrynn nodded thoughtfully, her yellow eyes glinting with quiet approval.
"That’s actually not a bad idea. Removing pests like them would make this city a better place."
Hilt’s face went pale, her voice cracking with alarm.
"Hey—hey! What are you two even saying?! You can’t just—!"
Alice cut her off smoothly, her tail flicking with satisfaction.
"Oh, and I already tagged them. I placed a Void Kitten on each of them before they left. I know exactly where their hideout is."
Adam’s eyes narrowed, a note of exasperation creeping into his voice.
"Alice... you can’t just do things like that when you’re bored. That’s how we end up in situations we didn’t plan for."
Alice’s expression was unbothered, her voice carrying a dismissive note.
"Going to Selena would be pointless. Those men clearly have no respect for authority—they wouldn’t be shaking down craftsmen so openly if they were afraid of her. Either she already knows and is ignoring it, or they’re operating outside her control." She tilted her head, her dark violet eyes gleaming. "Either way, it’s more efficient if we handle it ourselves."
Azrynn’s voice was quiet, carrying a note of thoughtful agreement.
"She has a point. It’s strange that men like that can operate so brazenly without Selena noticing. Either she’s chosen to look the other way, or someone else is running this operation."
Hilt’s voice cracked, a note of desperation bleeding through her frustration. "Don’t do anything reckless! That’ll only make things worse!"
Alice’s ear twitched, her voice flat and unyielding. "I don’t want my artifact to be delayed because the blacksmith making it is being harassed by a bunch of thugs."
Adam rubbed his chin, a flicker of reluctant consideration crossing his face. "Hmm... maybe it wouldn’t hurt to scout the situation first. If we know what we’re dealing with, we can plan accordingly without making things worse."
Hilt’s head snapped up, her voice sharp with disbelief.
"So you’re actually considering this?!"
Adam let out a low, amused hum, his crimson eyes gleaming with faint mischief. "We’ll just take a look. See what we’re dealing with." He glanced at Alice, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips. "Who knows—maybe they’ll have something interesting stashed away. And if they don’t..." His smile sharpened, carrying an edge of dark amusement. "Well, at least we’ll have some fun burning their little operation to the ground."
Alice’s grin widened. "Now you’re speaking my language."
Azrynn’s voice was quiet, but carried a note of agreement.
"That makes sense."
Hilt’s face contorted with disbelief, her voice rising to a near-shriek as she threw her hands up in exasperation.
"WHAT part of that makes sense?! Aahghh—this city is going to fall into chaos again because of you lunatics!"
Adam raised a placating hand, his voice calm and steady as he met her frantic gaze.
"Relax, Hilt. We’ll make sure everything stays under control. No unnecessary destruction."
Alice’s tail swayed with lazy confidence.
"Besides, if Adam does end up wrecking something, I’ll personally be the one to knock some sense into him."
Azrynn nodded solemnly, her yellow eyes carrying a hint of reassurance.
"I’ll do my best to avoid causing any chaos. You have my word."
Hilt stared at them, her expression caught somewhere between disbelief and despair. Her voice came out flat, hollow, as she watched them turn to leave.
"...I hope I die this time."
Adam’s voice drifted back over his shoulder as he walked toward the door, light and unbothered.
"Try not to. We still need those arrows."
The door clicked shut behind them, leaving Hilt alone in the dusty silence of her forge.
Her shoulders sagged. A long, weary sigh escaped her lips.
"I’m going to regret this," she muttered, turning back toward her workbench. "I’m definitely going to regret this."
Outside, Adam, Alice, and Azrynn walked through the rubble-strewn streets of Myrta.
Alice’s dark violet eyes scanned the street ahead, her tail swaying with quiet satisfaction.
"So. Which way to the hideout?"
Adam glanced at her, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"You’re the one who tagged them. You tell us."
Alice’s ears twitched. She closed her eyes for a moment, her brow furrowing in concentration. A faint pulse of dark violet energy rippled from her form, spreading outward like ripples on still water.
Then her eyes snapped open, and she pointed down a narrow side street.
"That way. They’re gathered in a building near the old market square."
Azrynn’s yellow eyes narrowed, her voice carrying a note of cautious curiosity.
"Can you sense how many of them there are?"
Alice’s tail flicked once. "At least a dozen. Maybe more. The Void Kittens are giving me a general sense of the building’s layout, but I can’t count them all individually." She paused, a flicker of amusement passing through her dark violet eyes. "Should be fun."
Adam’s voice carried a note of dry warning as they turned down the side street.
"Fun isn’t the goal. We’re here to gather information, not start a war."
Alice’s voice was light, carrying a note of dismissive nonchalance.
"Information gathering can be fun. You just have to be creative."
Azrynn’s lips twitched, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"She has a point."
Adam shot her a flat look.
"Don’t encourage her."
The building was a squat, two-story structure of grey stone, its walls scarred with cracks and hastily patched with fresh mortar. One boarded window marked a half-finished repair, and the roof sagged where a section had collapsed and been reinforced with iron beams. A faded sign hung above the door, its paint long since worn away.
Alice’s ears twitched, her gaze fixed on the building with sharp intensity.
"The Void Kittens are inside. The place is crawling with activity."
Adam’s eyes narrowed, his voice dropping.
"Let’s try to see if we can get a peek at what’s going on."
Azrynn’s voice carried a note of quiet caution.
"Wait. Let me scout ahead first. I can move more quietly than you two."
Adam and Alice exchanged a glance. Then Adam nodded slowly.
"Alright. But be careful. If anything happens, call out."
Azrynn’s yellow eyes gleamed with quiet confidence.
"I will."
Azrynn slipped away, her form moving low and fluid as she navigated the ruins with practiced silence. She kept to the deep shadows cast by the broken walls, using every piece of cover to stay hidden from view.
Adam and Alice waited in the narrow alley, the morning light casting long shadows across the rubble-strewn ground. The minutes stretched, each one heavier than the last.
Alice’s tail swayed slowly, her dark violet eyes fixed on the building ahead.
"What do you think they’re hiding in there?"