Chapter 357: Brief Information Gathering
Hearing that, Rhea used her magic vision and was finally able to see Elysia. "Marvelous! An extraordinary level of proficiency in invisible magic. It won"t be easy to see you if we don"t look carefully, even the G.o.ds will have a hard time, umm, Ely."
"Hehe, thanks, Aria. I feel honored. All right, please continue with your plan. "Elysia nicely responded to the pleasantries.
"En, let"s finish this before evening comes, Big Sister Aria." Nell invited, and Rhea didn"t refuse.
Then, the two of them flew towards a secluded alley, and Nell revoked her invisible magic.
"Now we"re good. Let"s go to gather information." Nell took her big sister"s hand with an excited smile. It was her first hang out event with her big sister after they had not seen each other for a long time.
"Wait, Helen. Is that all right? I mean your wings. You have feathered wings instead of translucent. Will the fairies at the present time prejudice you?" Rhea wanted to confirm that first before they went into action.
"It"s okay, big sister. I"ve met a fair amount of fairies in the last five or so weeks. The current fairies will only think of me as a unique type of fairy." Nell tried to rea.s.sure her big sister with confidence.
"In that case, I feel relieved. Let"s go." Rhea breathed a sigh of relief and let her little sister grab her hand. She left after giving Elysia an eye signal.
When Rhea and Nell came out of a hidden alley, Elena finally woke up after Elysia"s umpteenth attempt. "Ah, you are finally awake, Sister Elena. Look, we"ve arrived at Fairy Capital City, Zhadphis Woodland."
"Hng, Ely... You"re so determined to wake me up, Ely. I only slept for five minutes..." Elena rubbed her eyes gently and peeked out at Elysia"s surroundings. She could only see the fairies flying around within the forest city. "It"s like a forest rather than a city."
"Uhh, what can we do? This city is called Zhadphis Woodland for a good reason. And then, we take naps for about an hour, not five minutes." Elysia pointed out the truth.
"All right, what are we going to do now, Ely? We"re on our way to the fake Tree of Life for a few vials of Dew of Life?" Elena observed Rhea and Nell. They were flying somewhere, and Elysia was following them.
"Rhea and Nell will find some information first before we go to the fake Tree of Life." Elysia answered, but she soon noticed Rhea and Nell flying towards a fairy guard on patrol. "Look, they"re going to carry out a little investigation."
"Hum." Elena didn"t respond much because she also wanted to eavesdrop. When it came to seeking information, she knew a more sophisticated method than asking some random folk. However, she could only let these two little fairies go by that simple method first.
"..." Elysia understood what Elena was thinking. Nevertheless, she only stroked Vanessa gently. To eavesdrop in a crowd, bar, tavern, restaurant, or the like could be done later.
"Purr..." Vanessa enjoyed every touch of her master.
"Excuse me, sir. Can you spare some of your time for us? My big sister and I just arrived at Zhadphis Woodland a few minutes ago and need a little guidance." Nell waved her hand at a fairy clad in leather armor.
"Ho? Sure, what kind of help do you need, young fairy?" The guard stopped in midair. He looked at the two young beautiful fairies and smoothed his hair a little.
"Can we know what"s been going on lately? About three days ago, the Celestial Lotus was even deployed with an army full of experts to the west." Nell tried with a simple question.
"Oh, that one... Well, maybe not all fairies know about what"s been going on lately. All right, actually--" The guard began to tell a little explanation about what happened three days ago.
It all started with the Elven Race declaration of war represented by Elven Empress Ashera Nirvalen to the fairies. Considering that the Tree of Life seemed fragile and would collapse soon, the elves intended to take ownership of that sacred divine tree.
Of course, fairies wouldn"t let that happen. The collapse of the Tree of Life was the trigger for the departure of an army full of experts. Even the five sovereigns of Fairy Continent immediately gathered and set off with the Celestial Lotus.
However, it seemed that something had brought the army back not long after their departure.
"—Only that is known even for the imperial guard. Furthermore, it looks like Her Majesty Empress Yralissa Quifiel and the other sovereigns are preparing for something. Even many high-ranking authorities have been gathering in this city since the past three days." The guard casually shared the widely known information.
"Ah, it"s no wonder this city looks busy and under heavy guard. Thank you for telling us, Mister Guard." Rhea clasped her hands with a grateful smile.
On the other hand, the guard was a little stunned to hear the beautiful voice of this stunning fairy. Yet, he immediately regained his composure. "It"s my pleasure to help. Is there anything else you would like to ask?"
Shortly after, Rhea inquired about the capital city"s special rules and what to watch out for. The guard humbly answered the questions under the a.s.sumption that these two beautiful sisters had just come from the village. It was probably their first time visiting the capital city.
"Thank you for your time, Mister Guard. That"s all from us. Have a wonderful and blessed day." Nell extended her hand lightly, and Rhea was the same. After getting the guard"s response, they flew away toward the downtown area.
The guard just stared at the two beautiful fairies in silence, then shook his head with a faint smile. He returned to his duties in a brighter mood.
For the next few moments, Rhea and Nell asked several other fairies about different things. Well, they didn"t want to be under suspicion for asking a lot of things to one fairy.
Unfortunately, Elena only gave the two sisters 30 minutes. After Rhea and Nell asked the sixteenth random fairy, Elena sent telepathy for those sisters. "Excuse me! What you are doing has become less effective and will send an alarm to the higher-ups."
"Eh? Why is that, Ely?" Rhea became confused and stopped in midair. Nell was the same.
"Err... The one who just spoke wasn"t me but my master. Please call my master as... Ane." Elysia straightened the wrong p.r.o.noun.
"Fufu, Ane is my second name on this mission? Ane can mean love or big sister, Ely. So, you want to make these two little fairies refer to me as their big sisters?" Elena chuckled over the private connection, and only Elysia could hear her.
"Erm..." Elysia didn"t know what to say. She only came up with that name out of whim. Nevertheless, Elena didn"t seem to refuse the temporary pseudonym.
"Well, why is that, Ane? We"re close to the downtown area and will probably get essential information from the residents near the palace." Rhea repeated her question with an extra explanation.
"Okay, think about it one more time. Two beautiful fairies asked the surrounding fairies, then headed for the downtown area. Will you both be the subject of suspicion and attention, yes? But fret not! I have a better method than your plans." Elena pointed out the obvious and checked the surrounding area. Luckily, she didn"t find anyone spying on Rhea and Nell.
"And what is your plan, El- Ane?" Nell began to think that Elena had a point.
"Hey, don"t look over here, stupid one! Now, hurry up to any hidden alley. I will explain my plan afterward." Elena scolded the stupid fairy who looked at the invisible Elysia.
"Hey, I"m not stupid, alright!?" Nell shouted angrily. Then, she grabbed her big sister"s hand. "Let"s go."
"Hmm..." Rhea only followed her younger sister. They flew into a secluded alley with the notion that no third party was following or spying on them.
Elysia checked the situation within a 200-meter radius. When the circ.u.mstances were right, she used her invisible magic on Rhea and Nell. "Now we are safe and invisible. But, please don"t speak in your voice, just in case."
"Okay, thanks, Ely. So, what about your plan, Ane?" Nell went straight to inquire about the better method.
"Well, it will take some time to explain that. Now, the two of you just have to follow Ely. She knows where to go. All you have to do is listen, and the recent info will flow to us with no effort." Elena felt lazy to talk a lot. She only asked Elysia to go to the big tavern or elite army camp.
"Uhm, all right, let"s go." Elysia flew away by bringing Rhea and Nell with her with magic.
Right after Elysia"s group left, a fairy in a green robe floated down from the tall tree. He looked around as if looking for something but found nothing. After that, he flew away among the trees while paying attention to the surroundings.
Information eavesdropping activities conducted by Elysia"s group took place in several crowded spots.
From the park, tavern, plaza, army camp, and so on... Two hours just pa.s.sed for that information gathering.
Even so, what Elysia and the other got was quite beneficial for them. At least, they could treat their ignorance with information about what happened in Fairy Continent, especially the recent event in the capital city.
After Rhea felt that it was enough, she requested to go directly to the fake Tree of Life. She felt sad. The disappearance of most ancient historical records and the absence of a divine figure from the Fairy Continent led many fairies to go astray and misguided.