Chapter 85. The Vortex Comes Again
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Is it because of that face?
Looking at the girl in front of him, wrapped tightly in her coat, Cyd sighed.
"How about being a bit more confident?"
"It's okay, I'm fine like this."
Hearing her words, filled with sadness, Cyd couldn't help but sigh again. What had this girl been through?
If there really was a perfect, Hero of Pure White like those sung about in legends, then this world wouldn't have produced someone as unfortunate as Gray.
That would be a happy world.
But unfortunately, he wasn't as perfect as those legends. That kind of person, someone who is hope itself, isn't him.
But... at least he could try to save the girl in front of him.
"So, hurry up and go inside!" Cyd gently pushed the girl, whose face was flushed red, as she braced herself against the door with both her hands and feet.
"Ugh, ugh!" Gray shook her head vigorously, afraid that if she relaxed for even a moment, Cyd would push her right through the door.
"Come on, you've already come this far," Cyd sighed. "Do you really think I'll give you a chance to go back?"
Gray's eyes widened slightly. Cyd's slender fingers brushed her waist, and then...
"Tickle, tickle—"
"Pffft, hahaha! No... don't do that!"
Click—
Taking advantage of the moment when Gray's hands went weak, Cyd reached out and turned the doorknob.
"!"
Like a nimble rabbit, Gray tried to dart behind Cyd to hide.
But she was facing Cyd, the great hero of Greece—someone even the previous king of the gods couldn't escape from!
"Hey—Lord El-Melloi II, I saved your apprentice from your little sister." Cyd dangled Gray by the back of her collar, making her sway back and forth.
"Ugh—" Gray blushed and pulled up her coat collar to hide her face.
"Hmm?" Cyd raised an eyebrow. Bathed in the twilight, El-Melloi II's figure looked exceptionally worn out.
"Master?" Gray tilted her head, sensing the oppressive aura surrounding El-Melloi II. She had rarely seen him like this.
"It's... it's nothing," El-Melloi II replied, lifting his hand to press it against the window.
"Let's go," Gray swung her legs.
"Ugh... this is not the time to be stubborn." Cyd set Gray down and walked to El-Melloi II's side, poking his slightly bent waist with a finger.
"Hiss!" El-Melloi II straightened his back immediately. "I thought you broke my back!"
"But your expression is much more relaxed now," Cyd chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't keep everything bottled up. After all, I'm the one who depends on your hospitality; I'll help you, and so will Gray, right?"
"I... I will!" Gray, who had been turned away from El-Melloi II, quickly faced him again, but after seeing him, she immediately crouched down by the sofa, leaving only a tuft of silver hair bobbing up and down.
"Gray, you..." Perhaps due to the stark contrast, El-Melloi II's jaw dropped when he saw Gray's attire. However, after seeing her reaction, he quickly averted his gaze. "Yes, I need your help."
"Master..." Gray cautiously peeked out from behind her hair.
Cyd chuckled softly and sat on the sofa where Gray was hiding, lightly flicking the tuft of hair on her head. "It seems this matter is quite serious if it's shaken even you."
"Yes, very serious," El-Melloi II sighed deeply, sitting in his chair with a troubled expression that seemed out of place on the usually composed man who never flinched before other lords. "Something has been stolen from me, something very important—a relic of a certain hero, a cloak!"
The relic of the Conqueror King?
Cyd crossed his arms, watching as El-Melloi II pressed his face against the table. No, it should be said, as Waver Velvet did.
"Surely, they left some clue?"
"Yes," El-Melloi II pulled a letter from a drawer and slapped it on the table. "It says, 'You are cordially invited to our banquet. Please make sure to attend—aboard the Rail Zeppelin, the Mystic Eyes Collection Train, a train that opens once a year to auction various Mystic Eyes. It's a non-human train.'"
"Really now... just when you try to avoid something, it comes to you," Cyd reached out to stop Gray, who was instinctively trying to stand. "You're definitely going, aren't you?"
"Yes, even if it costs me my life..." El-Melloi II clenched his fists.
"Then let's move forward. Gray and I will follow you," Cyd said, grabbing Gray by the back of her collar and lifting her up.
"Ah! Yes, yes, yes! I will help Master!" Gray, suddenly hoisted into the air, flailed her arms in panic before finally grabbing the cushion Cyd handed her to hide her face.
El-Melloi II opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Thank you."
"By the way, is this Mystic Eyes train strong?" Cyd asked as he set Gray down.
"It's not about being strong or not, it's really quite unique," El-Melloi II lit a cigarette. "Do you know about Mystic Eyes?"
Seeing that El-Melloi II was about to start lecturing, Gray immediately sat obediently next to Cyd, though she still pulled Cyd's coat over her head.
"No, I want to know how valuable they are," Cyd bluntly interrupted the precious lecture time of El-Melloi II.
"Uh... ahem," El-Melloi II cleared his throat awkwardly. "Setting aside the Mystic Eyes themselves, they have unparalleled technology. For example, they can take a piece of a storm or magma and safely implant it into a human body. Such technology has even made some lords consider taking action."
"So, someone has made a move, huh?" Cyd spread his hands.
"Yes, there was a time when the auction was disrupted by Touko Aozaki and her familiar," El-Melloi II rubbed his temples as if recalling something particularly troublesome. "Ah—only a Grand-ranked Magus could handle the monsters on that train."
"Indeed, no matter the era, the weak are always the prey of the strong. The Mystic Eyes holders are plundered by the Mystic Eyes train, and the train itself is then looted by the Grand-ranked Magus," Cyd sighed deeply. "And now, you, the weaker one, have become their target."
"I can't deny that," El-Melloi II took a puff of his cigarette, the acrid smoke calming his agitated heart slightly.
"Then, Lord El-Melloi II, don't let your anger cloud your judgment. Be as you always are, a weakling with the wisdom to overturn the battlefield against stronger foes," Cyd snapped his fingers. "So, weakling, begin constructing the trump card to turn the tide—why have they set their sights on you? Is it for the Mystic Eyes?"
"No," El-Melloi II crushed the cigarette into the ashtray. "If I had Mystic Eyes valuable enough to catch the train's attention, I wouldn't be here right now."
"Is it because of your bloodline?"
"No, my bloodline is trash; it's infamous at the Clock Tower."
"..."
You didn't have to be so blunt.
"Then, is it for the relic?"
"No," El-Melloi II instinctively clenched his fists. "If it were for the relic, they wouldn't have left this invitation."
"After eliminating all the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable... that must be the truth," Cyd stood up. "It's simple, my friend. The Mystic Eyes train..."
"Is trying to drag me into some troublesome matter."
"Has targeted you."
Awkward...
Gray blinked. Should she clap?
"You... must be joking..." El-Melloi II's hand trembled. He hadn't forgotten that Cyd carried the blessing of Athena.
"Yes... yes!"
"You're lying!"