Gryphon City 6

This was an excuse. Of course, the mage knew she was merely avoiding Goliath's bizarre questions, but seeing the elf drag out an excuse that so thoroughly offended her own aesthetic sensibilities, Odovish found it amusing and readily agreed.

The two left before Goliath woke up. Meanwhile, Eli was anxiously discussing countermeasures with the other members.

The Arcane caster's condition had worsened. He seemed to have been poisoned, and Gwendolyn's skill was not enough to neutralize it.

Eli had tried to find Elufiel, but he had not seen her again since that night. Winnie asked if he might have mistaken someone else for her, but he shook his head. There was absolutely no way he could have been wrong.

"Gryphon City is so large. Maybe we just haven't looked in the right places, or perhaps the divine caster you mentioned has already left Gryphon City," Nagg said.

Eli sighed. "There's no other way. We can only see whether a high-grade antidote works." Gwendolyn had taken out all her savings, and only after Eli added some of his own did they have enough for a single bottle of high-grade antidote. It was already an extremely expensive item, and with Frostmoon ending and spring arriving, Snakeberry harvesting season would soon begin. This fruit was indispensable in all antidotes—especially those for snake venom—but poisonous creatures were common where it grew. As a result, antidote prices rose even further every season.

Nagg forcibly pushed Gwendolyn out the door. He told Eli to take her outside for a walk instead of having her stay in the house, crying as she watched the Arcane caster. Nagg himself took Gwendolyn's place watching over him.

Seeing Gwendolyn's worried expression, Eli did not know how to comfort her. He had been the one to give her hope, yet he had also been the one to shatter it in the end. He should have realized from the start how difficult it would be to find someone in such a vast city.

They went through potion shop after potion shop, until they finally found one at the end of the street that sold high-grade antidotes.

After asking the price, they found it was 120 gold coins more than they had expected. This also appeared to be the only bottle of high-grade antidote currently available in Gryphon City. The owner had no fear of losing customers because of that, and seeing how desperately the two mercenaries needed it, he was already overjoyed. At that price, he could make a huge profit.

Just as they were haggling with the potion shop owner, the door was pushed open again. The owner turned, about to greet the new customers, when the ranger-dressed mercenary exclaimed in delight, "It's you! Do you remember me? I'm Eli."

Hearing Eli's delighted voice, Gwendolyn could not help staring closely at the newcomers. The first person she noticed was a tall, handsome young man. Yet he paid no attention to Eli's greeting.

The girl behind him, wrapped from head to toe in a fur cloak, spoke instead.

"Ah, you're the ranger from Ata Town." Elufiel took off her hood in response.

"Yes, that's me." Eli could hardly believe his luck was this good. Had the goddess of fortune passed by his room yesterday? "Could I ask you for a favor?"

Gwendolyn's gaze shifted to the girl. She was extraordinarily beautiful, her green eyes more captivating than any emerald, yet she looked even younger than Gwendolyn herself. Could she... really heal Eugene?

Odovish frowned slightly. He now regretted bringing the elf to stroll through the shopping district, even if this century-old street truly was Gryphon City's most popular pedestrian avenue. And why did this ranger always manage to appear in front of them?

Elufiel had not expected the ranger to be looking for her help. She blinked, then glanced at the mage, who seemed to be faintly giving off an unhappy air. "I need to know what you want me to help with first."

"Save someone." Gwendolyn decided to trust Eli. Looking at Elufiel with hopeful eyes, she said, "I want to ask you to save someone. In return, I am willing to give anything I possess."

"Including your life?" Elufiel blurted out. Everyone looked at her in surprise except the mage. Odovish was considering the feasibility of the matter.

After a moment of stunned silence, Gwendolyn gritted her teeth. "Yes. Including my life."

"..." Seeing the atmosphere freeze, Elufiel said somewhat innocently, "I was just asking."

Eli recovered quickly. "Let's find somewhere to talk, shall we?"

Odovish was naturally not very willing, but if the elf agreed, he would not stop her.

Elufiel was quite curious about what sort of person could make a woman willing to give up her life. In her guess, he was either a close relative or her lover.

Eli had originally intended to take them back to the Lionheart Guild's headquarters, but Odovish rejected the suggestion. The four found another small tavern and rented a private room to talk.

After listening to the partly concealed account, Elufiel nodded. As expected, he was her lover. Odovish lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. The identity of the person who needed treatment was highly questionable.

Back at the Lionheart Guild's headquarters, the moment Elufiel saw the "patient," she turned and glanced at the mage. No emotion could be read in his azure eyes.

Gwendolyn was restless, constantly looking at Elufiel. After Eli and Nagg briefly explained the situation to the others, Eli walked to Elufiel's side and said, "This is the person we want to ask you to treat."

"Oh, an Arcane caster." Elufiel examined the weak man on the bed—even in his unconscious state, active Arcane energy still lingered around him, indicating that before losing consciousness, he had been casting or had just cast some kind of spell. "Aren't you afraid I might report you to the Holy See?"

Eli looked into Elufiel's eyes and said earnestly, "You are not from the Holy See, and I believe you would not casually abandon a kind person."

"Does whether he is a kind person depend solely on your word?" Odovish took two steps forward. "A man lying unconscious in bed, with all the witnesses being members of your guild?"