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“Which? Ah! The part where I said I could be of help?”

In response to Fernand’s question, Prea answered cheerfully.

Then she pointed at Luger and Kidd.

“Don’t you all know?”

“Me? Know what?”

“Ha Leeha’s comrades! Since Ha Leeha is nearby, wouldn’t it make sense to cause a bit of a ruckus here? The Vampire Scouts will come to investigate by tomorrow night. If we could summon Ha Leeha here before that… Well, that person alone could handle about forty vampires easily. Right?”

Prea said with a grin.

In other words, her suggestion was to frame the results of their vampire hunt on Leeha!

If Leeha was nearby, it was feasible and made sense, but the two found it hard to believe Prea’s claim that Leeha could single-handedly take down forty vampires.

While Kidd and Luger were too hesitant to voice their thoughts, Browless stepped forward.

“Indeed. So Leeha was around here. Then erasing our traces wouldn’t be an issue. But how do you, an Elf, know Leeha?”

“I happen to have connections. Besides, I have some business here in the 〈Forest of Darkness〉. I’ll reach out to him!”

Prea winked at Browless and immediately whispered to Leeha.

Though the situation was unexpected and perplexing, her suggestion was clearly rational.

Erasing the traces of the Eastern Continent Expedition was of utmost importance.

Speculations swirled in everyone’s mind about when and where Prea had been here and how much she had witnessed, but no definite answers emerged.

The only person who could provide an answer was one.

Leeha, who unexpectedly became the target, felt his head spinning.

Prea, as well as Alexander, Fernand, Bailephus, Kidd, and Luger all whispered to him simultaneously.

* * *

– One person at a time! Wait, one at a time! Aren’t you all together?

– Prea? What do you—ugh, so loud!

In Middle Earth, it was common practice to permanently block whispers once you attain a certain level of fame.

Even seeing the messages in text was bothersome enough, but multiple voices echoing without distinction inside one’s head was nothing short of torture.

After sorting things out separately with the members of the Eastern Continent Expedition and Prea, Leeha finally grasped the situation.

– So, Chiyou noticed an approaching Expedition and deployed vampires?

– Of course not! So, Ha Leeha-nim should come quickly, deal with the vampire scouts arriving tomorrow, or cause a bit of a scene here and then reappear around the Deteriorated World Tree’s Forest or something.

– Pretend to come this far and then leave?

– Exactly, exactly! You are indeed smart!

– And maybe give a ‘tip’ to you, who shared all this valuable information? Am I right?

– Well, give and take, isn’t it?

Prea spoke with a tint of disappointment but, in reality, she had nothing to be disappointed about. She already knew who was in more dire need and was merely pretending to yield to avoid provoking Leeha.

The problem was that Leeha saw through her subtle act.

“Her intuition is sharp… Tsk, hardly anyone knows about the departure of the Eastern Continent Expedition. Unless you saw or heard it directly, you wouldn’t know.”

Large forces were still scouring the West for signs of the 〈Demon King’s Army〉. Many monsters continued to respawn at the base that served for the last battle, and players were busy fulfilling quests to purge and purify such areas.

In the midst, it was suspicious to Leeha that Prea, who had no special connection with Ewin, knew of the expedition’s departure and was waiting near the Forest of Darkness.

―How did you know they would pass through there?

―If you watch their movements, you can’t miss it, can you?

– You’ve seen it before? No, even if you did see it, waiting near the Dark Forest based on just that one fact? Do you expect me to believe that?

– What if you don’t believe me?

As Leeha interrogated her, Prea’s voice gradually grew sharper.

However, she spoke the truth.

If she wasn’t believed here, everything might start to go awry.

– It’s a pity, such a pity.

– What is?

– It was a line I was going to use eventually… but I was hoping to get more use out of it first. Well, it doesn’t really matter since I have another one.

– Pardon?

“Ha, never mind. Blaugrunn-ssi, can you keep up with me if I move with three-dimensional mobility?”

When Blaugrunn asked what he meant, Leeha did not elaborate.

Prea had only one reason for waiting there and offering a proposition to Leeha from the start.

To prove that she had been diligently acting as a spy while deceiving Chiyou?

‘No way. She wanted to unlock the contract restrictions with the spirit of darkness.’

Leeha utilized Jellypong to execute three-dimensional maneuvers. Blaugrunn closely followed him in low-altitude flight.

“Should we ignore the monsters?!”

“Yes! We’ll kill them either way, so we can catch them over there!”

Normally, it would take at least five days for a typical reconnaissance and search mission, but Leeha and Blaugrunn could reach there in less than 24 hours.

‘The charge rate is reduced by 24 hours of real-time. In other words, five days in Middle Earth is fine! There’s still about four days left.’

Although he still had a long way to go to increase the charge rate, Leeha felt the need to delve deeper into the eastern area since they were bound to discover new types of monsters anyway.

‘It’s somewhere I planned to go anyway… I have to release the spirit of darkness too… Wonder if I can leverage this to gain a bit more?’

Thinking of an idea that would likely please Ram Hwayeon, Leeha and Blaugrunn flew across the night sky.

* * *

While Leeha was busy moving, the Eastern Expedition, which was in front of the Dark Forest, hurriedly set off again.

“White-Eyed Spiritist, can I trust you with this place?”

“I’ve already contacted Ha Leeha. Both of you know about this, right?”

Prea precisely pointed out Luger and Kidd.

Having been pressured to respond to Leeha with remarks like ‘you’ll be held accountable if things go wrong’ and ‘you should think carefully about the weight of your words before answering’, the two had no room for disagreement.

“Prea?”

“Pioneer King! I wanted to meet you anyway.”

“Me? Really?”

“Yes! You have explored the most regions among Middle Earth users! Did you happen to encounter areas where spirits appear? Unusual spirits, perhaps.”

“Well, there are a few places indeed—”

“I knew it! Let’s add each other as friends right now.”

Fernand was taken aback by the sudden interest.

Though flustered, he accepted the friend request, as he had his own motives.

“You knew the hiding place of Chiyou’s platoon-level vampire and brought it back through a 1:1 duel. Would you also have information about the disposition of the vampires?”

As a ‘guide’ who had to lead this expedition, he wanted to avoid as many dangers as possible.

“You live up to the title of guide.”

It was the highest praise Alexander could offer.

Luger and Kidd also stared at Prea with sharp eyes.

Since Bailephus did not say much and still controlled spirits, it was clear he hadn’t received the demonic energy, or ‘magi’, from any of the Demon King’s fragments like Bluebeard or Ghibrid.

However, didn’t you lend your strength to the ‘Demon King’s Army’ at least once before?

“I only know the vicinity of the Dark Forest. As you know, I was on their side but only halfway, just barely dipping my toe in. Do you think Chiyou would reveal all the secrets to me?”

Prea answered slyly.

“Then could you at least tell us everything about ‘this area’?”

Fernand asked slyly as well.

Prea’s white eyes gleamed for a moment but nothing more.

She soon took out a map from her bag and pointed out a few spots to Fernand.

“If all of this is true, it means you’re still on the side of the Demon King’s Army.”

“What do you mean! Didn’t you talk to Ha Leeha? I am working hard for our ‘Sacred Alliance’. Call me the beautiful spy, Prea.”

“… Which means we can’t touch you either.”

Regardless of whether she was with the Demon King’s Army or not, there was nothing they could do at the current point except believe in Prea’s words.

Usually, neither Rugha nor Kidd would have believed her, but the specially issued certificate and the existence known as ‘Ha Leeha’ raised Prea’s credibility within the Eastern Expedition.

“Alright. As long as you’re collaborating with Leeha, we must proceed for now. Isn’t that what the Pioneer King thinks as well?”

“Of course, Browless-nim.”

“Hmm. Our role in protecting justice is not over yet.”

Even Alexander hurried his preparations, maintaining his concept throughout.

Once Bailephus agreed as well, they were able to move forward anew.

Prea watched their direction for a long while before speaking.

“Noeaen? Can you avoid the eyes of the Ancient Dragon and follow them?”

『Even with weakened strength, it will be difficult to fool his eyes.』

“Hmm… We can’t help it then. For now, just keep track like before.”

『Understood.』

The strong-built man standing beside her disappeared into the ground as though he was swallowed.

Prea sat down nearby, swinging her body back and forth.

“Dark Spirit… Next is the new area in northern Shazrashian… And then ‘Laputa’, I suppose.”

She spread her hands and began folding her fingers one by one.

After folding all ten fingers, she unfolded five of them again.

* * *

“But we shouldn’t kill the Dark Spirit, right?”

“Why are you even asking! It’s not a monster.”

“Well, I just thought maybe it would raise the— the charge rate or something…”

Leeha sighed as he made his way out of the Dark Forest.

In Middle Earth time, it was only around three in the afternoon, but the Dark Forest was still pitch black.

‘I tried shooting at random things on the way here, but it was pointless… At least I got to eat thanks to that weird crustacean.’

Despite nearing the meeting place with Prea, Leeha’s charge rate was only at 0.56%.

‘It’s good news that each encounter grants a different rate and that stronger monsters give higher percentages. That crab gave me 0.29, so there is that.’

Compared to the 0.27% increase from the initial monster he caught, it was only a 0.02% difference, but Leeha was grateful anyway.

“First, to meet Prea— hmm, we’re almost there.”

“What? Oh, yes. I can sense it too.”

After moving for several hours through the Dark Forest, Leeha sensed Prea’s spirit aura even before Blaugrunn.

Although Blaugrunn had a look of admiration, Leeha couldn’t see it in the dark forest.

“Ha Leeha-ssi! As expected, you arrived quickly.”

“Prea-ssi. It’s been a while.”

As soon as Leeha emerged from the Dark Forest, Prea greeted him warmly.

Although Leeha and Blaugrunn squinted momentarily at the sudden sunlight, they had no major trouble observing their surroundings.