G.o.d —The Beginning of the End— Volume 2: Elf, Nanny, Thunderous Anger
Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)
Chapter 5: Dan"s Uncle, Part One—translated by lucathia (proofread by Lala Su)
Out of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is the best!
Shooting Star took all his belongings—two pets—and fled in the middle of the night through the window.
What a joke! He hadn"t even needed to flee after stealing away an elf worth twenty thousand gold ducats from the Goldenstyle Merchant Guild, yet for the sake of something he had to do every day—bathing—he was forced to jump through the window and flee in the middle of the night!
Sob, sob, sob! Why is Belle so focused on bathing? It forced him to steel his heart and flee from the enticing thought of a palace full of delicious food and a beautiful princess.
Compared to Shooting Star who was reluctant, Bai Saya was pretty much jumping for joy. We"re finally leaving! I can finally escape from a future full of Dan, Philo, and Agid. He was practically so happy that he wanted to kneel down and thank every single G.o.d of the Northern, Western, Southern, and Eastern Continents.
One was pulling a face, the other was full of cheer, and the last one had no clue what was going on from start to finish.
"I think… it"s time for me to leave," Alanmishus said.
"What?! Where are you going?" Shooting Star and Bai Saya were both surprised to the point of speaking simultaneously.
Alanmishus said as if it were a matter of course, "Back to the Eastern Continent."
"Oh!" Bai Saya nodded and said, "I see. You"re heading back? What a pity. I thought I would be able to adventure with you for a while."
"I have no interest in adventuring," Alanmishus answered indifferently.
Bai Saya understood it well. Although the Eastern Continent had a lot of elves, he had never heard of any elves going on adventures. They always hid in the deepest parts of the forests, unable to be found.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, "Want us to escort you to the harbor—"
"What do you mean you have no interest in adventuring?" Shooting Star suddenly shouted. "If you"re not going adventuring with me, then why did I spend so much effort rescuing you?"
Bai Saya was taken aback. Only now did he remember why Shooting Star had spent so much effort rescuing Alan. It was for the sake of making him his pet. He would never let Alan go just like this.
But, to have a proud, cold elf agree to be a pet… all right, let"s say Shooting Star pa.s.ses it off using the word servant… the problem is, would a haughty elf willingly be a servant?
"I have no means to give you any compensation," Alanmishus said with complete honesty.
Why do these words sound a bit familiar? Bai Saya frowned.
"Who says you have nothing to give me?!" Shooting Star chuckled.
This sounds even more familiar!
Alanmishus finally showed some expression. He asked doubtfully, "Then, what do you want?"
Shooting Star brashly said, "I want you!"
"Me?" Alanmishus"s face darkened. In the end, these two people weren"t the least bit different from those humans who had captured him.
"Exactly! I want you to be my servant." Shooting Star said in a straightforward manner, "I rescued you from the super duper terrible conditions of slavery. Becoming my servant to repay me is totally normal!"
These words can"t be any more familiar. Bai Saya didn"t know whether to laugh or cry. Shooting Star, this speech of yours is so useful. From kidnapping a person to kidnapping an elf, you can use the same few words and don"t need to revise anything at all.
"Then, I would rather return and be auctioned off." After Alanmishus said that, he turned right around to walk back.
He hadn"t thought he would receive such a response. Shooting Star was stunned. Bai Saya, on the other hand, quickly held the elf back and called out, "Alan, don"t go."
"If I am to be a slave either way, what difference is there?" Alanmishus"s expression was extremely frigid. He forcefully shook Bai Saya"s hand off and coldly corrected him, "Also, my name is Alanmishus."
"It"s not the same, Alan. It"s really not the same!" Bai Saya pulled on him without letting go with even more determination. "Because I am also Shooting Star"s servant."
"You are a servant?" Alanmishus doubted that very much because the two people before his eyes didn"t at all have a relationship that looked to be that of a master and servant. Rather, it looked more like a helpless older brother taking care of his mischievous younger brother.
"Yes, because Shooting Star once helped me, I agreed to be his servant."
After saying that, Bai Saya smiled slightly and said, "But, have you ever seen a master and servant who haven"t signed any contract whatsoever? Or a master who gives all of his money and possessions to his servant?"
He added on even more helplessly, "Or have you seen the kind of master who needs his servant to make a living to feed him?"
"I don"t understand what you mean." Alanmishus frowned. From what he was hearing, that did not at all sound like a master and servant relationship.
Bai Saya pulled Alanmishus a few steps away and said next to his ear, "Actually, Shooting Star…"
Before Shooting Star could react, Bai Saya had pulled the elf to the side to speak in hushed tones. His ears suddenly began to itch. Don"t tell me Xiao Bai is saying bad things about me? He immediately shouted, "Xiao Bai! What are you telling him?"
"Hm?" Unexpectedly, Bai Saya did not reply frankly. Instead, he tactfully said, "Nothing much."
There was no way Shooting Star would let it drop like that. He pressed on, "What did you say? Tell me!"
"I really didn"t say anything." Bai Saya raised both hands to show his surrender, but he still didn"t tell him what he had whispered into Alan"s ears.
"Liar!" Shooting Star shouted and made a fuss, "You clearly told Alan something, yet you"re not telling me. You know, you"re my pet! How can you have a secret conversation with someone else? And you"re not telling your master what it was about!"
Yikes! You actually said the word pet in front of Alan. Bai Saya was completely helpless. After that, could the elf still be willing to be Shooting Star"s pet?
"I agree!" Alanmishus suddenly said.
"Tell me already…"
When Shooting Star, who was about to force Bai Saya to talk, and Bai Saya, who was helpless, heard that, both of them were stunned. They immediately turned to look at the elf. Shooting Star used large, shining eyes to stare at him, his tone hopeful as he asked, "You, what did you just say?"
Alanmishus repeated, "I agree to be your… servant."
"Welcome to the team." Bai Saya smiled as he welcomed their new teammate.
However, Shooting Star was stunned. This, this surprise was really too sudden. The cold, beautiful elf had actually yielded just like that, and was willing to be his pet? Don"t tell me I"m dreaming—stomp!
"Ah!" Bai Saya felt so much pain that his face twisted. He hugged his foot as he hopped around on the other.
Shooting Star turned his head to ask, "Does it hurt?"
Bai Saya yelled in disbelief, "Of course!"
"Then, I"m not dreaming!" Shooting Star clenched his fists. This means that the elf actually said that he"s going to be my pet!
Can you really tell you"re not dreaming like that? Bai Saya didn"t know whether to laugh or cry.
"Hurray!" Shooting Star jumped and shouted happily, "My pet elf Alan has been captured!"
Hearing that, Alanmishus frowned and stressed, "My name is Alanmishus."
Since he was now his pet, he wasn"t going to be all proper with him! Shooting Star drawled, "I"m telling you, I"m not even willing to use three syllables to call Bai Saya, this memorable pet number one. He"s just Xiao Bai. Why should I use a full four syllables to call you Alanmishus?"
"My name is Alanmishus." The elf was not the good-natured Bai Saya. Not only was he unwilling to accept that, he even used a frigid tone to answer.
Shooting Star refused to budge. "You"re Alan! Or else, I"ll follow the conventions I used for Bai Saya. I"ll call you Xiao Lan! You choose!"
Alanmishus was silent for a long time. Finally, he forced himself to say, "I believe that I will be more used to the name Alan."
"Hmph, hmph!" Hearing that, Shooting Star wasn"t happy about his victory. His two pets had actually held a secret conversation without him earlier. He turned his head away and urged unhappily, "Come on, let"s go! If we don"t hurry, aren"t we just waiting for Philo to capture us?"
After saying that, he left angrily.
Alanmishus—no! He should be called Alan now—watched Shooting Star, who was not all that far away. He turned and said to the new teammate beside him, "It is just as you said."
"Right?" Bai Saya scratched his face and smiled wryly. "I meant it when I said that Shooting Star is just a kid who wants a playmate. You don"t need to argue with him over whether he calls that a servant or a pet."
"Since that is the case, given that my race can live for around a thousand years, while you humans won"t live longer than two hundred years at the most," Alan said indifferently, "then I will use two hundred years to repay him. My kind never owes any favors, and he has rescued me."
Bai Saya smiled and said, "Perhaps these two hundred years will become fond memories for you."
When he heard that, Alan just gave him an indifferent glance. He did not think it would be like that at all, but he didn"t give any of his own thoughts about it.
"Hey! The two of you are having a secret conversation again." Shooting Star walked back in a huff. He used his two index fingers to poke Bai Saya and Alan in the chest and said, "I"m warning you. Don"t whisper behind my back. Even when you do, you can"t secretly badmouth me. You got that?"
"Got it, let"s go. If we don"t leave, Belle will seek you out again to bathe with you," said Bai Saya with a slight smile.
What? Belle is going to find me to bathe with me? My G.o.d! Please no!
Shooting Star had a frantic expression on his face as he stuttered, "T-Then, come on! If we don"t leave, Xiao Bai, you"ll be in trouble when Philo finds us!"
Now that Philo was brought up, Bai Saya"s face also changed. The two of them dragged the elf as they fled the city in the middle of the night frantically, as if a dragon were chasing them.
Dan looked quietly at the statements his subordinates had taken and the evidence splayed across the table.
One item was the sword Prince Bol had won. Dan couldn"t keep it for long. After all, it was something that the prince had used ten thousand gold ducats to win. As long as it was proven that Prince Bol had nothing to do with the elf"s abduction, then this sword must be returned to the owner as soon as possible.
The other person"s statement mentioned two beauties whom he had met on the streets. It had obviously been a trap.
The guards had also said that there was a woman among the abductors, whose height was rather tall. She had heavy makeup, and her swordsmanship was pretty good.
Aside from that, there were two ripped up evening gowns and a bundle of cloth disguised as an elf.
Dan thought for a while. Even though he really didn"t want his thoughts to go in that direction, it wasn"t like "thoughts" were something he could control.
Sigh. Perhaps, even if he had to borrow money, he should have bid on that elf.
Hyacinth stood by the side, calmly enjoying the sight of this worried person. This was a rare sight! Her lips curled up. Objectively speaking, this plan was actually pretty decent, especially the part where the blame was pinned on Prince Bol.
With royalty involved, it wasn"t like they could actually interrogate Prince Bol. It was already pretty good that they could get two statements out of his subordinates. Their investigation met plenty of resistance. Besides, the Kingdom of Rising Sun was quite wealthy and would possibly just pay a sum to close the case.
However, this entire case, when both Dan and she clearly knew a certain someone who wanted to rescue the elf no matter the cost, was entirely too easy to solve.
Those two children should have at least found another person and pretended to be a trio! Hyacinth sighed. Then again, if a certain someone"s existence were not known, this case would not have been so easy to solve.
Dan looked at Hyacinth. The latter had already been waiting. Dan had always been indifferent. In all these years that she had known him, she had never seen him care much about any particular human. He cared so much this time that it was obvious he wouldn"t sit by and do nothing.
"I can"t shoulder this." Hyacinth shook her head. She had spent a lot of effort to crawl up to her current position. There was no way she would let this matter topple her back down.
"I will!" Dan said resolutely.
He"s really going all out. Hyacinth smiled and said, "It"s not like this is something you can shoulder just because you said so if you have no one to show for it."
At least several dozens of people would need to take responsibility, and that wasn"t even factoring in the guards yet. As for herself, as the overseer of the auction site, she definitely couldn"t escape responsibility. Only by capturing the culprit and bringing the elf back could the repercussions be minimized.
Dan alone was not enough for her to make such a sacrifice.
Dan was silent for a long while before he said resolutely, as if he had come to some sort of decision, "It won"t affect you."
Hyacinth grew curious. As acquaintances, she was pretty familiar with this guy"s personality. Dan was not someone who would claim an untruth. However, she clearly understood his position. When it all came down to it, his position and Hyacinth"s were around the same ranking, even though Hyacinth had always suspected that it was just for show.
Hyacinth smiled not quite a smile as she looked at Dan. The latter also knew that if he didn"t explain it clearly, Hyacinth would not agree to let it go without investigation.
"I have someone backing me up."
"You"re sure he can handle it?" It wasn"t that Hyacinth didn"t believe him. She just wanted to find out more. Dan was a half demon, and she had always suspected that the true power behind the Goldenstyle Merchant Guild was…
Dan glanced at her and said indifferently, "If you keep your mouth shut, the auction sites around Sh.o.r.e City will also fall under your jurisdiction."
This is going beyond shouldering the responsibility. Hyacinth stilled and showed a perplexed expression as she said, "I don"t know anything. Why do I need to keep my mouth sealed?"
Dan didn"t pay any attention to her fooling around. As long as Hyacinth agreed not to meddle, then that person should be safe. However, his frown was no less severe.
Why must my… be a human?
Dan sighed once more.