The Traveler Chapter 96 – “Hijacking”

　　”Inside the Consulate of Intis in Bayam, the City of Generosity.

　　Elaine sat in front of her dresser, looking at her beautiful but slightly haggard self in the mirror, lost in thought for several minutes.

　　Escape from the Black Death ship this time for her, both full of expectations, but also full of torment, afraid of accidentally be pirates, adventurers found, by the “disease Lieutenant General” Tracy back, completely lost their freedom, never be able to return to their hometown, back to the original life.

　　Until through the family’s residual relations, hiding in the consulate of the motherland, and got the ticket to leave the sea, she relaxed a little.

　　But it still wasn’t enough to keep her mind grounded and at peace, and she thought that actually boarding the Northern Continent would be the end of everything.

　　Thinking of this, Elaine couldn’t help but raise her right hand and stroke the skin of her cheeks, which wasn’t too fair but healthy enough, and realized that its fineness had improved a lot compared to the time when she had been a seafaring merchant, and she had a kind of illusion that she had reversed the time and had returned to her maiden years.

　　In fact, after entering the Intis Consulate, she had one more option other than escaping the sea, and that was to cooperate with the Storm Church, the Lune military, and some of the consulate’s spies, and use herself as bait to capture “Disease Lieutenant General” Tracy.

　　However, after thinking for a long time, she finally gave up on this plan, and even asked her family friend who is the military attaché of the consulate not to tell others about her hiding here.

　　No matter what, she never caused substantial harm to me, in many places on the contrary, will accommodate me, satisfy me …… except every night, every night …… that also, that also just the surface …… Amidst the memories, Elaine’s cheeks suddenly flew red.

　　That one mesmerizing night, that limbs entangled in the fire, that unimaginable pleasure, all swept within her mind, briefly actually difficult to calm down.

　　Elaine drew in a slow breath and let it out again in a long exhale.

　　She shook her head, letting the longing for freedom, the longing for her homeland, the longing for her loved ones take over her mind again.

　　She looked at herself in her glasses once more and coiled her drooping red hair up in a circle.

　　Then she thickened and straightened her eyebrows and intensified the shadows to make herself look more defined and deeply lined.

　　After all this makeup, Elaine became a little more neutral and extremely English.

　　She removed her clothing and wrapped a cloth around her breasts to flatten them, then put on a white blouse, a black waistcoat, men’s pants and a long double-breasted gown.

　　Finally, she removed her silk bowler hat and placed it on top of her head, covering as much of her coiled red hair as possible.

　　By this time, she looked more like a handsome young male than a woman in the mirror, and her turquoise jewel-like eyes in particular seemed to fit a similar costume with a fascinating depth.

　　Elaine waited patiently for a while until there was a knock on the door of her room.

　　She picked up her bags and opened the door, following the close friend of the family elder all the way to the side entrance of the Consulate’s gardens.

　　A carriage was already parked there and would take her to the harbor to catch a passenger ship to Port Priz, in the Kingdom of Ruin, from where she would make a detour back to Intis.

　　Elaine had remarkable anti-tracking skills and carefully scrutinized her surroundings, including the coachman.

　　Local natives, dry, lean and stout, not fond of wearing hats, their facial features have not changed much from when they saw them before, and their expressions are a little nervous, which is normal …… Elaine made the confirmation, thanked the close friend of that family elder, carried the luggage, and boarded the carriage.

　　Between the wheels rolling, she pursed her lips and looked out the window, only to see a strain of Intis sycamore trees were flying backward.

　　It actually gave her the illusion of being back in Trier.

　　It was a metropolis full of sunshine, located in the zone sandwiched out by the Lane and Serenzo Rivers, with bright breezes, many varieties of roses, and developed humanities and arts, making it a mecca for painters, musicians, and novelists.

　　That is the capital of Intis, that is after Rossel the Great remodeling, the first real sense of the world metropolis, that is also Elaine’s hometown, she grew up in the place, often see in her dreams and shed tears for the city.

　　I don’t know how long it took, but Elaine suddenly felt something was wrong, because the streets around her were getting colder and more remote.

　　Although she had been a seafaring merchant for a long time in the Sea of Mists, she was not familiar enough with Byam in the Sunia Sea, but the “hunter” of Sequence 9 could bring her enough alertness.

　　”Is this the right route?” Elaine shifted her position and cautiously questioned the cart driver.

　　She was ready to jump off the cart at any moment, ready to coalesce the fireball.

　　The cart driver did not turn around and looked at the road ahead, smiling curtly:

　　”Honorable lady, this road is much closer and less likely to encounter blockages.

　　”You know, it’s been many years since Byam was built, there weren’t so many people and so many carriages back then, many of the streets are narrow, and it’s very easy to get clogged up around midday, around evening, and it’s faster to walk than to take a carriage.”

　　Was it? Elaine thought about it for a moment and believed the statement, as she had encountered similar situations in quite a few cities.

　　It’s still Trier that’s good, when Rossel the Great remodeled the old city center, he had the foresight to expand the roads, even today, it’s still enough to use …… Elaine had just flashed such a thought, when she suddenly heard the pegasus that was pulling the carriage hissed, and seemed to be in some pain.

　　”You wait, it seems to have stepped on something.” The driver made the carriage pull over to the side and jumped down on his own.

　　Elaine hadn’t thought it was anything, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw that it was a silent alley with no one in it.

　　Her heartstrings tensed and without hesitation she was about to crash through the carriage and tumble outside.

　　Whether it was an overreaction or not, she felt compelled to do it.

　　Just then, an intense fear surged deep within her, as if she was being watched by a monster that was hungry to the core.

　　That pressure from a spiritual level made her become hesitant to act rashly.

　　Immediately, she heard a low voice:

　　”I will not harm you.

　　”I’ll ask some questions.”

　　Thoughts raced through Elaine’s mind, quickly weighing the various options available to her at the moment.

　　In the end, she didn’t blindly flee, sitting back under the pressure of that great terror.

　　She intended to look at the situation and then adjust her plan of action a little bit.

　　The door of the carriage opened, and the lean and sturdy native driver came up and sat down opposite Elaine, and it was the “faceless man” Klein.

　　–He had practiced driving horses and vehicles to play the role of the driver, a skill he hadn’t really learned in Tingen City’s Nightwatchman Squad. Given the time constraints, he hadn’t mastered it well enough, and had to use his “writhing hunger” breath to get the horses to behave.

　　At the same time, Danez, who had been hiding nearby, galloped over, took the driver’s seat, and steered the vehicle.

　　His round-brimmed felt hat was pressed low, and he was dressed like a real coachman.

　　Elaine bent her back slightly in alertness, ready to pounce like a cheetah.

　　She felt the man across from her slowly sweep his eyes across her forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, neck, chest, waist, stomach, and legs, and it was extremely uncomfortable to watch.

　　A similar gaze, a similar way of surveying, she had seen before in Intis, in Trier, in those days of running the seas; it belonged to rogues, to disgusting fellows, full of lust.

　　But this time, she strangely didn’t feel insulted, nor did she think that the other wanted to tear off her clothes, was fantasizing about some perverse image.

　　Instead, it was more like studying food …… It’s as if a cold, slippery snake was swimming against my skin …… Elaine finally couldn’t bear it and took the initiative to speak:

　　”What do you want to ask?”

　　Completely grasping the other party’s physical features, Klein’s body leaned forward, his arms resting naturally on both thighs, his palms half-virtuous and half-field interlocked:

　　”Have you ever heard of the man Jimmy Neck?”

　　Elaine recalled for a few seconds, shaking her head firmly in the negative.

　　She frowned slightly in confusion and asked:

　　”Are you looking for the wrong man?”

　　”He’s a rich businessman, a rich businessman who likes to collect, have you heard of anyone like that at Tracy’s?” Klein asked again.

　　Tracy …… Elaine sighed darkly and responded seriously:

　　”No, she never mentioned a rich merchant who likes to collect.”

　　Klein looked the redhead in the eye and said in a tone that was not fast and furious:

　　”Then does she have any ancient documents from the Byron Empire of the Southern Continent in her room?”

　　”No, she is not a person who likes to read these materials, she hates reading books so much that even novels have to be read to her by me.” Saying that, Elaine revealed a bitter smile.

　　”What kind of novels does she read?” Klein asked in an unchanged tone.

　　”Those classics by Rossel, as well as the popular love stories nowadays.” Elaine answered frankly.

　　Klein nodded:

　　”Does she have a collection room?”

　　”Yes, but it’s off limits to everyone else, including me, except her and a few mysterious visitors.” Elaine recalled.

　　Klein was silent for a few seconds, keeping his posture unchanged:

　　”Tell us your story.”

　　”Mine?” Elaine pointed to herself in surprise.

　　Klein nodded gently and didn’t repeat it.

　　Elaine froze for a while and said:

　　”My story is simple.

　　”My father was a member of the Sauron family, the former royal family of Intis, and shared a not-so-small fortune, but he was addicted to alcohol, mistresses, marijuana, and gambling, and eventually got into bankruptcy.

　　”In order to pay off my debts, I chose to accept some of the family’s conditions, became an Extraordinary, and went to sea as a seafaring merchant.”