Alison was sitting at the table in her room. On the tabletop in front of her were two large bags filled with gold coins.


    “I''ve never seen so much gold with my own eyes,” she muttered, and the amazement in her voice gave way over to sorrow.


    Gaz stood by the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.


    “What now?” he asked, contemplating his next move.


    “I don''t want to leave her. I can''t. I promised to support her,” she replied firmly.


    “You''re right. We were supposed to come here in a larger group, but a troll messed up our plans. It doesn''t change the fact that we should follow her as decided,” Gaz said. “Pack your bags. We have a three-day journey ahead of us to Wethoz.”


    Alison nodded.


    Later...


    Gaz stood at the entrance to the inn, loading supplies into his carriage, preparing for the long journey that awaited them.


    ''I never thought I''d be chasing an elf...'' thought Gaz, tossing another bag inside.


    “Idiot. She spared your life. You have no choice but to serve her,” he burbled under his breath. He didn''t know where fate was leading him, but he hoped he wouldn''t be disappointed by her.


    Gaz turned toward the entrance as a group of bandits emerged from behind a cart. They were armed and definitely prepared for resistance on his part.


    “Where do you think you''re going?” the red-haired young wanker asked.


    “Maybe we''ll go with you?” joked another.


    Gaz drew his sword, it was impossible to avoid a fight with them. “None of your business,” he replied coolly.


    “You won''t escape us!” shouted the brunet, raising his sword and throwing himself in his direction.


    Gaz took a stance. ''Amateur. Slow, clumsy. A kid showing off in front of his buddies,'' he thought.


    *clang*


    Gaz blocked the hooligan''s sword.


    “You''re asking for it yourself,” he added, and his blade moved to counterattack, bypassing his opponent''s amateurish defense. Gaz delivered the fatal blow, slitting his throat, from which blood gushed.


    “Ugh! U- u!”


    The man fell to the ground, choking on his own blood.


    “Son of a bitch!” cried the red-haired man, running towards him along with another guy.


    *bang*


    “You should all attack together,” he said in an instructive, low tone, before cutting off the youngster''s hand with which he held the sword.


    *stab*


    The second thug, intending to attack Gaz from behind, thrust his blade toward him, but ended up piercing his friend''s stomach.


    “Pathetic.”


    The thug''s heart was stopped with a decisive thrust of the sword.


    Both fell to the ground, laying next to the body of the first bolder.


    “You''d better put the weapon down if you want to get out of this alive!” called out the woman, stepping out from behind the building.


    Gaz turned in her direction, knowing perfectly well whose voice it was. Alice was standing there with her guys - at least nine of them were standing next to her, and another five had taken up position by his cart.


    “Fuck...” growled Gaz, holstering his weapon. “What do you want from me, Alice?”


    The leader furrowed her forehead. Her face was full of hatred. “You know very well that I hate being tricked. You and your... fake sister have overstepped the line,” she thundered.


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    “I have no idea what you''re talking about,” Gaz replied. He knew full well that this wasn''t going to end his way, but maybe Alison would be able to escape if he dragged out this unfortunate encounter.


    Alice squirmed, and more veins of rage appeared on her forehead. “Don''t make a fool out of me! I know who she is! Do you think you can lie to me? I''ll make sure you regret it...” she spat venom in his direction.


    “What do you want to do about it? She''s not here anymore,” he replied.


    “I know about it. You apparently sold her to that nobleman. I don''t know why. I don''t know what kind of deal you had. It''s not important now. I''ll find out from her personally,” she replied, relaxing a little at the thought of their next meeting.


    “Personally? I doubt you''ll get to her,” Gaz stated defiantly.


    A devious smile appeared on Alice''s face. “Don''t underestimate me. You don''t know what I''m capable of when someone gets under my skin,” she replied.


    At that moment, the door of the inn opened, and Krek came out, leading another woman - Alison - behind him.


    “Boss, this one here also worked with them,” Krek announced.


    Alice applauded with her hands in satisfaction. “The stakes have risen once again! Do you think your long-eared lover will be able to say no to me when I put your lives on the line?” she asked.


    “Lover?“ muttered Alison under her breath.


    Gaz realized he was in a no-win situation. In addition, Alison was piercing him with a penetrating stare. ''Has she already guessed what happened in the evening? I''m dead.''


    “Listen, Alice-” began Gaz, “Elrianthe has been sold, that''s the end of our business relationship. We have nothing in common with her anymore. She had her reasons and goals. We are victims of her scheming, just like you.”


    Alice laughed at his trivial explanation. “You have no idea how moronic that sounds. I guess she didn''t teach you to lie before she left, did she? Elrianthe is an elf. So is the Garharren spy she brought to us. Do you think it''s a coincidence? I don''t. They worked together. Even during the questioning, they played theater to deceive me. She indeed has some strange abilities, but a hair did not fall off that woman''s head. They worked together from the very beginning. Do you know what this means? Her debt to me has not been paid, and now she still has additional obligations that I will not let her off the hook, do you understand?”


    “What do we have to do with this? I didn''t even know she had met another elf,” Gaz replied angrily, overlooking the fact that Elrianthe had informed him about Cornelie and the arranged contact with her.


    “It doesn''t matter whether you knew about it or not. You cooperated with the enemy, which means you are also the enemy. And you will be treated as such,” Alice declared, signaling her men to capture him.


    Gaz was tied up, as was Alison. The bodies of the fallen gangsters were loaded onto his cart, and then someone spotted the hidden fortune.


    “Boss! I found something!” he shouted in Alice''s direction, holding out his hand with a pouch full of gold. Then he showed the other one.


    “Fuck,” growled Gaz. He tried to contact Elrianthe, using their telepathic link, but received no response.


    “Excellent!” exclaimed Alice, checking the contents of the pouch. “This will definitely make me feel better. I will gladly accept it as compensation for the theft. The only thing that remains is the question of the fraud.”


    Meanwhile, outside the town...


    It had been at least two hours of driving, at least that''s how it seemed to Elrianthe. Her companions, the soldiers who led her out of the inn, were not eager to talk. They had been assigned as her guards and traveled with her in the same carriage.


    If her magic had not been blocked, she might have forced them to talk. However, Elrianthe was a confident woman and decided to rely on her charisma.


    “Where are we going?” she asked again.


    “Shut your mouth, elven abomination. We can''t or don''t want to talk to you!” one of the guards barked back at her.


    A little support for her skills would be useful...


    Testing all available options, Elrianthe discovered that her system was working as usual, but she was unable to activate any skill and her interactions with it were limited.


    Surprisingly, although her contact with Gaz was cut off, she saw a message that he had received experience points and had been promoted to level 11. A class change was also available, but she couldn''t do anything about it because of limited interaction with the system.


    ''I hope they can manage there...''


    Looking on the bright side, she noticed that her pheromones were still naturally produced by her skin, although the amount was greatly reduced. By keeping close to her body, they allowed her to maintain permanent illusions, one of which was used on the ring to hide it from the eyes of the guards.


    The carriage stopped violently and a barking guard bumped into Elrianthe. He was unprepared for the sudden braking and grabbed her thigh in an attempt to keep his balance.


    “AH! Not so fast! I''m not ready for a man!” cried Elrianthe, playing on their nerves for fun. They made hilarious faces when they were upset.


    “Shut your mouth, wench,” growled the guard, approaching the side door of the carriage to see why they had stopped.


    Outside, there were screams and sounds of a fight. The guard drew his sword and leaned out.


    *swish*


    An unleashed arrow lodged in the knee of the man, who fell back inside in horror.


    “AAa! Fuck!” he shouted, rolling on the floor in pain.


    The other guard quickly closed the door and approached his injured comrade, trying to help him.


    “Quiet, everything will be fine,” he said.


    “Aa! I don''t want to end up in the White Peak City Guard!”


    “Relax, they''ll heal you!”


    The guard snapped an arrow close to the body, ignoring the man''s screams, and then wrapped a bandage around the wound to stiffen it and reduce bleeding.


    In the meantime, the sounds of fighting quieted down, and the carriage door opened on its own. Outside stood two men resembling bandits, backed by several archers.


    “We''re just going to borrow this girl, okay?” they said.


    ''No room for boredom, eh...'' thought Elrianthe.