Chapter 164 (1/2)

Chapter 164: Total Annihilation

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Elena was Eliard’s lover. This was hardly a secret, especially in Herrera’s Mage Tower as they had started cohabitating.

In their daily conversations, Eliard would often commend how gentle and kind Elena was. He would even proudly discuss Elena’s outstanding performance at night when he was in the mood. Whenever the topic was on Elena, Eliard had an expression of bliss, as though he had the whole world in his palms.

He had completely become a servant to love.

Even though Link did not have a good impression of Elena, she was, after all, Eliard’s beloved partner. He could only stay as far away as possible.

Other than being scheming and materialistic, Link originally thought nothing of Elena. It was not surprising if you thought about her background, as she came from a family of merchants. However, the situation unfolding right in front of him was triggering all the emergency bells in his head.

After talking to the merchant for around ten minutes, Elena suddenly embraced the merchant and kissed him on the lips. The kiss lasted for three seconds before Elena let go of the merchant and walked away nonchalantly. The merchant, on the other hand, stayed in the forest and stared lovingly at Elena’s disappearing shadow.

Link had a clear view of the entire scenario from his angle. He immediately frowned, Eliard is definitely unaware of this. However, he will realize it sooner or later, I am afraid…

Thinking back on the look of bliss on Eliard’s face, Link was certain that Eliard would be devastated.

“Should I tell Eliard?” Link was having a headache.

Link had no evidence of the incident. If he had told Eliard directly, Elena would likely deny all accusations and use her charm to trap Eliard in her web of lies. As Eliard was blinded by love, he would definitely believe her side of the story and turn his back on Link.

However, if he chose to ignore and keep it a secret from Eliard. Eliard was sure to be devastated when he realized the truth. Judging from his character, he would probably not harm Elena, but wallow in self-pity and despair alone.

Love is indeed a volatile and luxurious good. If it does not turn out well, it might even destroy a talented Magician, Link could not help but exclaim silently.

After thinking for a moment, Link had decided to first observe Elena and get a deeper understanding of her personality. If he deemed her character to be seriously flawed, he would then find chances to give subtle hints to Eliard.

He then stayed in the forest for another five minutes until both the merchant and Elena were completely out of sight. He then walked back to Herrera’s Mage Tower. The moment he opened the door, he saw Eliard and Elena on the first floor.

They were flipping through magic books in the corner. From time to time, Eliard would guide Elena along and answer her queries. Elena would then look at him in adoration, to which Eliard would always give a warm and tender smile in return.

Link even saw Elena wearing a necklace that he had created. As he recalled Eliard’s expression that day when he was asking for a favor, Link could not help but sigh.

At that moment, Elena gave a quick peck on Eliard’s cheek while he was absorbed in the magic book. Eliard then broke out into a silly smile. That was almost Link’s limit and he immediately left the hall while trying to erase those memories from his brain.

For the next few days, Link spent almost all his time on his magic research. When he felt tired, he would delve fanatically into crafting magic equipment. The equipment would then be passed to Warter for sale. Occasionally, Lucy would write to inform him on the progress of the Ferde Wilderness’ initial development. Link did not participate physically in the entire process, merely writing back to Lucy and sending back another 5000 gold coins as funding. This was so even when the mercenary band started missions to clear up the bandit’s hideout in the area. At the same time, Link had also been observing Elena.

He placed a secretive magic formation at the tower gate. As long as Elena left the Mage Tower alone, her unique magic fluctuations would activate the magic formation which would then send a signal to Link. If she was leaving with Eliard, the magic formation would stay dormant. Whenever Link received a signal, he would follow behind stealthily.

Time flew and it was two weeks since the first time Link caught Elena in the forest. In this period, Elena left the Mage Tower alone for a total of eight times. The duration was always a standard 30 minutes and her reason of absence was always that she needed some fresh air.

In these eight separate instances, Link saw a different side of Elena.

She would always meet a merchant in secret in the forest. Furthermore, there was more than one merchant that she was seeing! Link had counted a total of six different merchants with prestigious backgrounds. Each of those merchants having a close business relationship with a Master Magician in the academy. However, Elena seemed to be able to keep her multiple intimate relationships a secret from each of her lovers. Every merchant seemed to be bewitched by her charm.

Not only was her private life complicated, but Link was horrified to discover that Elena had many faces. While she was gentle and kind towards Eliard, she could be cold, elegant, seductive or even submissive to the other merchants. She displayed each character naturally and with ease. There were almost no flaws in her facade.

This woman is really something. She definitely has a more complicated background. Her merchant background was simply a farce!

Link was extremely careful every time and kept a distance between Elena and himself. He also did not use any magic, causing him to miss out on the content of their conversation. However, based on what he had observed, he had already developed suspicion towards Elena’s true identity.

Link’s continued attempts at tracking Elena were no longer an act simply to help his good friend. He felt that Elena was a huge threat, even to the point of suspecting that she was connected to the Black Moon Conspiracy. This was due to her multiple secret intimate relationships which seemed to point to something more sinister.