Back in the hotel in the city of Abadon, Elora came out after showering and decided to check out the city itself. Even though there were many illegal things in the city, it still was worth roaming around the city since they weren't going to get an opportunity like that every other day.
She left her room and walked to Joan's room, knocking.
Joan had just gone to sleep only to be woken up by a knock on the door. She rolled off the bed and stood on the ground, walking to the door.
"Lady Elora, do you need something?"
"I wanted to go out. I was wondering if you would like to accompany me."
"Ah, sure. Just give me a few minutes. I'll be right out."
Elora walked to the room of Ruyi and knocked as well, but this time there was no response. She kept knocking for a few minutes, but no response came. By now, even Joan came out of her room, prepared for leaving.
She saw Elora knocking on the door once again.
"I didn't know Ruyi was such a deep sleeper," Elora wondered.
"She isn't. I've known her. She's a really light sleeper. She should've responded by now," Joan chimed in. "Maybe she isn't in the room?"
"The room is locked from the inside. Also, she hates this city. I doubt she wouldn't left alone." Elora pointed. "I know what's the problem. She must be angry since I didn't support her before Lambard."
She let out a sigh. "She should've understood that I had to do it to maintain some peace. We couldn't afford a battle in this city."
Elora knocked once again. "Ruyi, I know you're inside. Open the door; I need to talk to you!"
"Ruyi, it's important! Open the door!"
Elora kept calling out, only to be greeted by silence in response.
"Ruyi, this is an order! Open the door this instant! Are you defying an order?!"
Even now, the door didn't open, which really upset Elora. "Fine. I'll open it myself. We will pay the damages to the hotel."
Elora clenched her fist.
"Blessing of the Goddess!" she chanted.
The spell not only strengthened her body but also covered her hands with a thin layer of water as a shield for protection.
Elora punched the door right where the lock was supposed to be. Her fist, supported by brute strength, penetrated through the door, destroying the lock.
Elora pulled her hand back, which didn't have a single scratch.
"Joan, keep a few gold coins ready for this hotel owner. That should cover a door and more."
"I already did. We will give it to him later."
"Good." Elora pushed the door open and entered the room.
"Ruyi, why weren't you answering. I know you're angry, but that doesn't give you an excuse to ignore a direct command!"
"Hmm?" Elora expected to find Ruyi in the room, but this place was completely empty, which stunned her.
"Check the bathroom," she instructed Joan.
Joan checked the bathroom. "It's empty as well."
"So she really wasn't in the room but then again, why would the door be locked from inside? Unless..." Elora noticed the door to the balcony, which was open. "Unless Ruyi left through the balcony."
She walked to the balcony with Joan.
"Why did she leave from the balcony when she could've left from the door. The only way this would be justified was if she was in a hurry and couldn't take the long route, but if she wanted to explore the city, what's the hurry?" Joan also couldn't understand what reason Ruyi could have, but her questions made Elora realize something.
"That's right. The only reason someone would jump out of here instead of going through the door is if they were in a hurry but hurrying to leave this room doesn't make sense, does it? That leaves only one possibility."
"What possibility?" Joan asked, still unable to decipher.
"The possibility that she didn't go to see the city but went after someone and couldn't wait. If I'm not wrong, she probably saw the two people from Lambard's mansion. That idiot will certainly think of attacking them if she saw them leaving the city since she wouldn't ignore my command of not attacking anyone here! Argh, why is she so stubborn!"
"We need to stop her before she kills people who work for Lambard. If they die and he finds out, he would never let us participate in the auction!"
****
"Well, he already knows." Lambard sat in his room, able to hear everything that Elora was saying. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear what he was saying.
Elora flew to the exit as well, followed by Joan.
"I wonder how the battle is going so far. If Elora gets there, she might be too troublesome for Lira and Gabriel to handle. It'll be more than just a test for them at that point. Should I really help them? Do I have no other choice?"
"Then again, if I help them, it would be breaking my own rules..."
Lambard's own thoughts were so complicated that he lost himself in them. On the other hand, Elora had already left the city.
After a long time, Lambard decided that he really needed to take some action. He was fine with Lira fighting with Ruyi since that was a battle of equals in strength. It became a battle of skills, but with Elora and Joan in the mix, it was going to be a massacre.
"Master, should I go to help now?" A feminine voice came from the back as a maid appeared like a ghost behind Lambard.
"Yeah. It might create some problems with the Church of Water, but then again, when was I scared of offending a Church?" Lambard casually smiled. "Go there and observe. Don't interfere if they don't need help, but if they do, help them and bring them back to the city. I'll handle the rest."
"As you wish, Master." The maid disappeared into thin air.
****
Elora flew straight. Since there was only one route leaving the city, she didn't need to make any choices about direction.
Before long, she finally got the sight of Ruyi... However, what she saw made her lips part in disbelief as to what she was seeing. She increased her speed.
