Garbage Collection

While the rest of the city was clamoring about Emily, one prominent example of Paraj's darkness stayed silent. Within the branch of the underground guild in Paraj, Daisy and White Snake calmly discussed the current state of affairs.

"It sure is noisy," White Snake commented.

"Indeed. Almost every assassin in the city has been asked to take the request of killing that girl, including some of our members," Daisy reported. "Should we make it official and send out the new B-ranks?"

Although the guild postponed most tasks since the city was in a delicate state with the auction happening the next day, considering that their rivals would get a reputation boost if they succeeded in killing Emily, Daisy suggested that they put their hat in the ring. White Snake briefly considered this idea, but then he shook his head.

"No, you said that she's the original target of the Tower of Killers and is also being hunted by the duke's assassins, right? Then it would be too greedy of us to wish to snatch the fish from them. Just let them compete and waste their resources so that we can get that item from the auction."

Reminded of the reason why White Snake came to Paraj, Daisy nodded his head as he thought about the item that had drawn experts from all over the Alterna Kingdom. He could hardly believe it when he heard what it was and what it could do, but the reputation of the Coin Storm Auction House held too much weight to overlook. With Coin Storm's guarantee and the value of this item, even those with connections to the royal family had come with their wallets packed.

"Sir, do you think the auction will end without trouble?" Daisy asked.

Considering the number of bigshots who came to Paraj just for this item, it wouldn't be surprising if some conflict started over it. Naturally, no one wanted to cause trouble within the countless arrays arranged in the city, but who could say that chaos wouldn't ensue regardless?

"I don't know. Although the supply is limited, this shouldn't be a unique item, but there wouldn't be so many Masters if no one was expecting to handle conflict."

Daisy agreed with White Snake's analysis of the situation, but he still hoped that they wouldn't have to be involved in a great battle.

Elsewhere, Alicia and the rest were having dinner at a fancy restaurant. The meal did a good job at creating a space for them to connect, so the initial tension that was there when they first met had melted into a fluffy atmosphere. Emily and Alex seemed to have formed a rivalry/friendly bond, while Shui and Astra were drinking like old friends. On the other hand, Alicia ended up as a third wheel to both pairs so she ate by herself. Maybe it would be different if she tried to get involved in their conversations, but she didn't want to seem desperate for attention and this was their first time all being together, so she allowed them to mingle.

'No, I'm not bitter. Definitely not bitter.'

Shui and Astra had noticed Alicia's issue, but neither reached out to her because hidden underneath their jovial mood, they were constructing a plan for Emily's protection through telepathy.

"Can I rely on you for this?"

"Of course. We may be outnumbered, but it's the norm for array masters to prepare for armies of enemies."

The final round of the preliminaries was fast approaching, but right before that, there was a bigger climax that would occur.

After dinner, Astra left the youths first and then Shui tried to say goodbye when they reached Myriad Flower Pavilion, but they didn't let him go obediently. Despite being the one with the best guess as to where he was going, Alicia stopped him.

"Are you going now? Shouldn't there be a few more hours before it starts?"

It was around sunset, but the concert that was scheduled for today was a night event, so Shui did have a bit of leeway. However, he agreed to meet with Maha at an earlier time so he wanted to do some information gathering before then.

"That's true, but there are some errands that I want to handle prior to the concert."

"I...see."

Alex and Emily knew nothing about Shui's plans, but they were able to figure out that Alicia was reluctant to let him go. Alex, no longer surprised by his lovestruck sister, and Emily, proud to see Shui's charm at work, looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders at the sight.

When Shui first introduced the two of them, Emily remembered the inferiority she felt in Alicia's presence. Despite the confidence she had in her array techniques and beauty, she had to admit that she couldn't compete in terms of elegance and status. Back then, she had played with the idea of Shui liking her in 'that' way, so she felt like she lost before any sort of match even began.

But now, having overcome many hardships in quick succession and finding out how he thought of her, Emily's gaze on Alicia was surprisingly filled with, sympathy. Since she had been with him longer, Emily was better aware of what an anomaly Shui was and how difficult it would be for even a stunning lady like Alicia to capture his heart. Still, she had a favorable impression of her so she didn't mind helping the two out if need be.

Shui saw the way Alex and Emily were reacting, but he ignored it as he pat Alicia on the shoulder and asked her for a favour in a quiet voice.

"There shouldn't be any need for worry, but look after her for me, please."

Alicia had to wonder how he could ask her to protect a different girl for him while he went out on a date, but she held back her sigh by looking at the positive side.

'At least he trusts me. Still, I can't get complacent because of that.'

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her, but," suddenly, Emily took her right index finger and gently yet sensually slid it down Shui's chest as she gave him an upturned look, "You'll owe me for this."

Internally, she was burning with shame, but it was for the sake of her mission, so it couldn't be helped. She had to become someone special to him, so she didn't regret using this trick that she only knew from glimpsing it once in public. Shui had to admit that she was more forward than he was expecting so he was dazed for a moment, but the snickering fairy next to him allowed him to quickly snap out of it.

Although he did consider getting closer to her, especially since she was an interesting girl, there were too many things on his plate so he would leave this city soon after the Minor Ranking evaluation. Whether they saw each other again after that, would be up to fate.

"Sure, I owe you one."

As Shui's back faded into the distance, Alicia turned around, only to face suspicious smirks on the faces of Alex and Emily. Alicia already knew what those expressions were for so she held herself back, but only out of consideration for Emily.

'Alex, you'll pay for this later.'

Instead confronting them, she headed straight into the inn without a second glance. Around this time, Alex thought he felt a chill, but he ignored it as he followed her with Emily.