"Tara Faelar, Lady Zee. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Tara wanted to say more than just a name. Perhaps a formal introduction to her class. Just to serve as an ice breaker between her and her newly appointed boss and Expert ranker.
But her attention was divided when she saw the light scar on Lady Zee's flawless face. And she was left speechless when she moved her gaze away from her scar only for it to land on her naked body. This was even though she was a girl herself.
'She… she is such a show-off.'
Jules pursed her lips and shook her head in denial as she watched Lady Zee's exhibitionist behavior.
Her seductive figure looked even more enchanting because of her drenched-in-water looks. The droplets of water were still running down from Lady Zee's crimson red pubic region which had a darker hue than her normally visible hair.
Tara thought Lady Zee's thick thighs had the same size as her waist. She regretted not eating enough at that time. As if eating enough was the answer to gaining thick and shapely thighs.
Lady Zee nodded at Tara while wearing a mild smile on her face. She then channeled her mana through her body and generated black flames around her.
Lady Zee was just trying to dry herself and get dressed. But she observed that her action had spooked her audience right after her black flames had made an appearance.
"Um… You'd have to forgive me. I broke through C-Rank recently. But I'm not in complete control over my rank's mana yet."
Lady Zee had failed to keep her mana signature in check when she allowed her black flames to manifest themselves. As a result, the lower-ranked Jules and Tara were exposed to her erratic and intimidating mana signature.
'*Sigh. Effects of forced breakthroughs.'
Lady Zee sighed and dropped the matter. She quickly got herself dressed in front of her subordinates while talking a bit with Jules. By now, Tara had also started opening up. The recruit in the Illuminati had come to realize that although Lady Zee was known to be fierce and bold, she was very considerate to her juniors.
"Are you still worried about Ronny? Still looking for him, Jules?"
Lady Zee asked Jules after talking about organization-related stuff. Jules was expecting this question from her superior. She responded honestly to her.
"Yes, Lady Zee. But not for getting back with him. I just want to know what happened to him. That guy just upped and disappeared into thin air without leaving anything to track him. I just want to know if he is alive or… or dead."
Jules said while controlling her emotions. But Lady Zee could see worry lines on her face that weren't visible to anybody that didn't know the ex-assistant professor of LA.
Lady Zee had taken a scroll out by now. She was reading blocks of texts that seemed to be ever-changing on the scroll. It was more of a communication artifact that was limited to text messages.
"Hm. Having closure is a good thing. But finding him might take some time, Jules."
Lady Zee smiled at her junior before reassuring her.
"Don't worry. I'll help you look for that bastard when we finish our next mission. If you find him and want to settle a new life with him, I'd talk to my seniors and allow you to walk out of Illuminati too.
Contrary to what one may think, the Illuminati is perhaps the only cultist organization that isn't bloodthirsty or revenge-seeking. We'll let you be just fine. Maybe with a severance package too, if you perform well in the next mission.
Or we can convince Ronny to join our fold. Hehe. The possibilities are endless if you know where to look for them."
Jules felt gratified that she had someone like Lady Zee as her superior. Although she had tried to hit on Ron a few times, Jules knew she liked to tease all her juniors.
"Thank you, Lady Zee. Hehe. Let's find that guy before making plans. Also, what is the mission this time?"
Because she was no longer associated with LA, Jules could now actively carry out the missions that were available to Illuminati.
As Lady Zee had said, the Illuminati was a profit-seeking organization. So of course, all its missions were highly lucrative for even low rankers like her.
"Hm? They want us to check out a newly appeared Utopia in Nightshade Duchy. You know, the usual stuff. How can we gain access to the Utopia? Things like that.
We'll be heading out as adventurers. You'll be you. And I'll have to make some changes to my presence. That's where Tara comes in."
Lady Zee explained the details of the mission briefly before commanding.
"It should still be a few days before we move to the Nightshade duchy. I cannot use kingdom-controlled arrays. So I'll have to look for some other alternatives. Some illegal teleportation arrays maybe."
Lady mumbled to herself before closing the scroll and putting it away in her storage. She smiled as she walked toward her subordinates and addressed them.
"You girls can use this bathhouse here. Stay here in this place. Nobody would bother you.
I'll have to finish some work and be back in a few days. We'll leave for Nightshade duchy after that. You can also use this time to prepare."
Lady Zee had already walked past the duo when she finished her statements. Tara breathed a sigh of relief when Lady Zee was absent.
"She… she is so scary Jules. Nothing like what you described her. Were you trying to prank me?"
Tara asked while pouting. Jules chuckled as she looked at Tara and then around her. She liked taking such relaxing and fun baths too.
Jules chuckled and started undressing after scanning the whole place with her mana sense. She quickly got into the pool and almost completely submerged herself, saving only her head before answering Tara, who also seemed to be following her lead and undressing.
"Lady Zee becomes unfettered when she is comfortable with people around her. And I think you'd soon get used to her after she starts interacting with you more. Hehe."
Jules said to Tara as she watched her get into the same pool with her. Tara started diving deep and swimming across the wide pool while Jules stayed where she was, relaxed and a bit nostalgic. The pool reminded her of her date with Ron after all.
"Jules… Why is Lady Zee called Lady Zee? Doesn't she have a name?"
Tara asked from the other end of the pool while imbuing her voice with mana. Julie was expecting this question to arrive sooner or later. She quickly got over her nostalgia and replied.
"Hehe. I had the same question so I asked around. Nobody knew anything at that time. But I once met up with a higher-up from Illuminati and they told me about this.
Some higher-up in the Illuminati had objected to Lady Zee's name, saying that it was an ill omen. He had forced her to change her name or face some severe consequences. He was also spooked by her black flames it seems.
So the Illuminati gave her the name Lady Zee.
Of course, Lady Zee was not happy. But the higher-up who had forced her to change her name was a B-Ranker. So she has decided to reach B-Rank as fast as she can and challenge the guy.
Hehe. Lady Zee is planning to change that ranker's name to something really funny when she defeats him in an open duel."
Jules replied and reversed the roles of follower and followed. She too started swimming leisurely in water that seemed to be just the right temperature.
Tara was lowkey impressed by lady Zee's steel-like temperament at that time. If it was her, she would have quit such an organization if someone had forced her to change her name. Lady Zee was nonetheless trying to regain her honor while remaining within the organization.
The young elf's curiosity grew even further when she learned the term ill omen. She couldn't help asking her now-senior.
"Jules, what is Lady Zee's original name?"
Jules swam some more and got close to Tara. she stopped swimming when she heard her question and pondered a bit, mumbling a few names that sounded identical. A few attempts to get the name right.
"That's right.
Eliza!
That's Lady Zee's real name. The Z in Eliza makes for Zee in Lady Zee. But don't call her by her original name. We are prohibited from doing so."
Jules chuckled as she saw the puzzled expressions on Tara's face. She added up further.
"Hehe. Don't worry. You are not the only one. It makes no sense how this name can also bring bad luck. High-ranked entities can be so weird sometimes."
Jules said before diving into the pool. Her junior also followed her and started enjoying her free time.
A few days from now, the trio would arrive at the Nightshade Dutchy. They needed a relaxing time like this before they started on their upcoming mission.
AN: Volume 03 of VEH is about to wrap up. I'll create a special chapter in the auxiliary volume after we finish this volume. That chapter's comment section will host VEH's illustrations, old and updated alike.
