A few days later.
The Sonia Sea, the "City of Generosity" Bayam, inside the Intis consulate.
Elaine Soren stood before the mirror, making her final preparations before departure.
In truth, she should have boarded a ship back to Intis two days earlier, but the date of her departure had unfortunately coincided with the Blood Reverend's attack.
On that day, the entire harbor had been swept by ferocious cannon fire, as the great villain so heavily bountied by the Kingdom of Loen ran rampant through the city.
She'd had no choice but to hide in her room at the consulate, praying for her own safety.
And after the Blood Reverend left, the Sea King's fury had been just as terrifying. With Bayam needing time to recover, her return home had been delayed again and again.
Fortunately, everything had finally gotten back on track, and now she was leaving.
This descendant of the former Intis royal family disguised herself before the mirror, altering the contours of her face, binding her chest, and changing into men's clothing: a white shirt, a black waistcoat, men's trousers, and a double-breasted coat.
Finally, she put on a hat to cover her shining red hair. And so the beautiful lady before the mirror became a handsome, dashing gentleman. Still conspicuous, perhaps, but utterly different from before.
Elaine Soren waited patiently a while, and only when someone knocked at the door did she pick up her luggage and step out.
The one who had knocked was an old friend of an elder in the Elaine family. It was through this person's help that she had been able to hide in the Intis consulate for so long.
Guided by this friend, she made her way to the side gate of the consulate garden and climbed into a carriage bound for the harbor.
There, she would board a passenger liner for Pritz Harbor in the Kingdom of Loen, and from there travel overland back to her homeland, Intis.
Elaine glanced at the driver. He had the face of a local native, and sensing her gaze, could only offer an ingratiating smile.
Drawing on the anti-surveillance instincts of her Sequence 9, "Hunter," she studied the driver carefully, and only after confirming there was nothing wrong with him did she thank her family friend and climb into the carriage to depart.
The carriage rolled smoothly along, until suddenly it veered off the main road and turned into a silent, deserted alley.
"!"
Elaine sensed something wrong at once.
Just as she was about to break free of the cabin and flee, she suddenly felt a deadly danger, as though she were being stared at by some monster starving beyond all limit, one that might devour her at any moment.
An overwhelming terror seized her courage. Her body went rigid, unable to move, and she could only watch helplessly as the driver left his seat and turned to enter the cabin.
"Shhk!"
The driver's hand wiped across his face, and in an instant that local native's countenance transformed into that of a man from the northern continent.
His face was cold and gaunt, radiating an intense sense of oppression.
Finally caught you.
The Faceless, Klein, felt a surge of excitement inside, but for the sake of the role he had to maintain, kept his manner aloof and cold. Under the woman's wary, fearful gaze, he looked her up and down.
"What do you want?"
Though frightened, Elaine still spoke up first. The way Klein studied her made her deeply uncomfortable, not in a sexual sense, but on the level of pure survival instinct.
"Cooperate with me, and I'll let you leave alive."
Klein kept up his persona and spoke coldly, asking her for information about the "Vice Admiral of Ailment."
Elaine Soren was reluctant to recall that name, but under Klein's crushing pressure she honestly gave up what she knew, including Trissy's extraordinary abilities, the wondrous items she possessed, and details of her personality and habits.
As for the specifics of the Demoness Sect and human trafficking, Trissy had never let her in on those.
"And you, then. How did you end up entangled with her?"
Klein looked at her and asked.
"We, there isn't much between us!"
Elaine forced the words out, though her face had already flushed red.
It turned out she was a member of the former Intis royal family. Because her family had gone bankrupt, she had been arranged by an elder within the clan to become a Beyonder and go to sea to earn money through trade.
In the course of this, she had been captured by Trissy, who back then was still the "Ailment Girl," and became her possession. She'd had an intoxicating, sinking, painful, tangled affair with her.
Tsk tsk. A domineering pirate and a pure little flower of nobility.
Klein mocked her plenty in his mind, but when the words left his mouth he kept up the persona, which made him realize just how much difference there was between his true self and the character he was performing.
After that, he went on to probe further into Elaine's own information, from her everyday preferences to her verbal tics and habitual gestures, observing every minute detail.
This was so he could better impersonate Elaine.
That's right. Klein intended to disguise himself as "Elaine," pretending to be captured and sent onto the ship of the "Vice Admiral of Ailment."
Doing this would not only ensure he found Trissy, but would also help him play the "Faceless" and digest the potion.
Elaine grew more and more afraid, feeling as if she were about to be replaced entirely. Especially once she was made to remove her disguise and reveal her true face, that fear grew even stronger.
"Hold out your arm."
At the end of his questioning, Klein produced a syringe from inside his coat and spoke. This was a commission from Silas: collect a tube of her blood, though he hadn't specified what it was for.
"Boom!"
Elaine Soren could bear it no longer. She stamped both feet against the floor of the cabin and lunged toward one side. She would smash through the cabin wall and escape from here!
"Crack!"
The enhanced physical prowess granted by being a Beyonder meant the cabin wall was no obstacle at all. She tumbled cleanly out onto the street, shook off the cold-faced man's pursuit, and plunged into the crowd, escaping successfully.
But just then, she suddenly felt a stab of pain in her arm, as though she'd been pricked by a needle.
"What's going on?"
Elaine's eyes flew open, and she found herself still inside the cabin.
Her arm was gripped by him, her sleeve pushed up above the elbow, a needle buried in the crook of her arm, the tube nearly full with drawn blood.
The scene of her escaping just now had only been a dream.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Klein withdrew the needle without changing expression, the pale, grim teeth beneath his thin skin mask flashing briefly.
He handed Elaine a ship ticket and a stack of papers. "These are your new identity papers and a ticket to Port Tiana. Once you're there, head on to Pritz Harbor."
Elaine hadn't expected he would really let her go. Startled, she nonetheless took the ticket and documents with wary caution and stepped down from the carriage.
Klein, for his part, wasted no time either. He swiftly summoned a messenger and wrote a letter to Silas telling him he was about to take action, sealing the tube of blood into the envelope as well.
"Another one." "Sending it to." "That." "Cat-raising monster?"
The tall messenger, Reinette Tinicole, asked this after taking the gold coin and envelope.
The cat-raising monster?
Klein froze for a second or two before realizing she probably meant Silas.
So the messenger girl liked giving people nicknames too? No, this nickname was a bit strange. Why was her focus on the cat-raising part, and why did she so rudely call Silas a "monster"?
Coming back to himself, Klein said seriously at once, "Whatever you do, don't call him that to his face."
Or else, given Mr. Temperance's foul temper, there was no telling what he might do to you.