Chapter 136: No Witnesses


    Thanks to the magic robe''s Mana Concealment skill, Alice and Lalu snuck past even their teachers and the mana-sensitive elves without being noticed. The only thing they needed to pay attention to was to avoid bumping into people on their way. After all, the robe only hid their appearances and presences. They could still get discovered if they bumped into others.


    Even so, Lalu was still very impressed by the ability Alice had disyed. She had never seen anyone capable of concealing their appearance and mana so thoroughly. On their way to the Nature Shrine, they had evene across an elven elder who was rather powerful. However, when they walked past this elder, he did not notice them at all.


    In response to Lalu''s exmations, Alice simply gave the excuse that she had read a lot of books and learned a thing or two. Lalu also bought into the excuse without growing suspicious. After all, Alice had behaved like a genius in magic in the academy. Moreover, she would even research taboos during her free time. Her thirst for knowledge was truly insatiable, which also exined why she would try to sneak a peek at the elven race''s taboos.


    Thus, it waspletely normal for Alice to sessfully learn and master such a powerful spell.


    A short timeter, Alice and Lalu arrived at their destination withouting across any problems.


    Just like Alice expected, many students were wandering around the vige right now. However, as the treehouse that housed the Nature Shrine''s teleportation array looked inconspicuous, rarely would anybody turn their heads to look at it. This made it convenient for Alice and Lalu to sneak into it.


    While approaching the house''s door, Alice thought of touching the stone pir beside it with her right hand. After all, it was something the Seventh Hero left behind.


    However, Alice quickly dismissed her thoughts. The magic robe''s Mana Concealment skill was the only thing keeping her and Lalu concealed right now. If she tried to touch the stone pir with her right hand, she would have to first release her grip over the robe.


    She hade here to study the elves'' taboos, not to investigate the stone pir''s function. She shouldn''t be putting the cart before the horse right now. Not to mention, she could simplye back to this ce and openly touch the stone pir afterward. So long as she wasn''t trying to sneak into the Nature Shrine, the elves shouldn''t have a problem with her. Thus, there was no need to find trouble for herself at this time.


    Although Alice and Lalu had already moved as quickly as they could to reach the Nature Shrine, they only had around a dozen seconds before Mana Concealment ran out by the time they reached the tree house''s entrance. So, after making sure that nobody was looking in their direction, Alice promptly reached for the wooden door''s handle and opened a gap that was just enough for a person to squeeze through. Then, she and Lalu swiftly entered the house before closing the door on their way in.


    Unfortunately, even though Alice had already been careful, the brief period where the wooden door remained open allowed some of the mana inside the house to leak out. Meanwhile, this bit of mana had just so happened to attract someone''s attention.


    "Hm?"


    While walking through the vige, Filia suddenly stopped and turned toward the treehouse housing the Nature Shrine''s teleportation array. Under normal circumstances, the entrance to that tree house would remain closed. However, she could clearly feel the unique mana of the tree house''s teleportation array just now. This meant that the door had been opened, even if it was just for a brief moment.


    Filia had just applied for a short leave from her guard post to ask about the golden-haired little girl who had caught her attention just now. However, before she could find one of the March Academy''s teachers, she came across such a strange situation.


    <em>What should I do? Should I go ask about that girl first? Or should I investigate the Nature Shrine''s entrance? </em>Filia pinched and twisted a lock of her long, light-green hair as she pondered what to do.


    In the brief moment Filia was in thought, she had attracted the attention of many students. Although elves already possessed outstanding appearances by human standards, Filia was on a whole other level. Even Alice, who had her body crafted by God, was slightly inferior to Filia when it came to appearances.


    Meanwhile, after pondering for a moment, Filia decided to take a look at the treehouse. Her goal in investigating the blonde girl was a private matter. On the other hand, the Nature Shrine was something that involved the entire Elven Forest. Thetter was evidently more important right now.


    Holding such thoughts, Filia began making her way to the treehouse. Then, after briefly looking at the stone pir with a look of nostalgia, she opened the wooden door and entered the treehouse.


    Although the wandering students were curious to find out why the "young" elf had entered that ordinary-looking house, they wouldn''t create trouble simply because of their curiosity. So, they quickly dispersed and went on their way.


    Meanwhile, after entering the treehouse, Filia quickly inspected the ce for abnormalities.


    There was a light fragrance scattered around the empty treehouse. This was the fragrance radiated by the giant tree that the treehouse was built in. Meanwhile, unlike the other treehouses in the vige, this treehouse had nothing but arge magic circle drawn on its floor.


    <em>Mana Detection, </em>Filia recited the name of an entry-level spell in her mind. Immediately, faint light radiated from her hands and covered every corner of the house. Then, once the faint light faded, light-green specks of light hovered around the room.


    These specks of light were indicators of residue mana, and they proved that the teleportation array had only been activated recently.


    Filia''s expression instantly darkened upon making this discovery. She had not heard about the vige allowing anyone entry into the Nature Shrine recently. Evidently, someone had snuck into this ce and activated the teleportation array.


    After making this discovery, Filia walked to the teleportation array''s center, closed her eyes, and injected some mana into it. She wanted to see for herself who was so bold as to sneak into the Nature Shrine. Even if the other party were human students who had identally snuck in here, she still nned on giving these children about etiquette. They needed to know that they couldn''t simply barge into other people''s homes.


    Subsequently, after the teleportation array activated, Filia felt her surrounding environment rapidly changing. As she had lived for a long time already, she had long since gotten used to the feeling of teleportation magic. So, she didn''t feel any difort when using the teleportation array.


    Once the teleportation wasplete, and she felt that she had already arrived inside the Nature Shrine, Filia promptly opened her eyes to catch the infiltrator.


    However, before Filia could get a good look at the ce, she heard the sound of a sonic booming from above her. Then, apanied by a sharp paining from the back of her head, Filia didn''t even have time to let out a groan before she lost consciousness.


    "Is this alright, Alice?" Lalu asked with trepidation when she saw Alice using the Milu Rabbit she carried around on her waist to knock Filia unconscious. "This is Captain Filia, one of the vige''s guard captains Isn''t it a little too much to knock her unconscious?"


    "So she''s a guard captain? No wonder her head felt so hard," Alicemented, the focus of her attention seeming a little strangepared to Lalu''s. Then, she tied the unconscious Milu Rabbit back to her waist and nodded, saying, "In my hands, my Milu Rabbit can even break trees. I was initially worried that I might have used too much force, but since you say that she''s a guard captain, she should be quite strong. So, I think the force I used was just right."