"Thank you for letting me in, Adept Eren."
Shalon spoke with a vibrant smile on her face. She looked at Eren coyly and accepted his invitation to sit on the plush couch the caravan had as part of its lavish interior.
"My name is Shalen Craft. I was heading towards the city of Ainari but my carriage was destroyed by a wild D-Rank mana beast. Just when I thought I would have to go back to the city of New Beginnings, I saw your caravan approaching and thought of asking for help.
I hope I am not being too much of a bother."
Shalen stuck with her rehearsed lie that was mixed with a bit of truth. On paper, she was not associated with the Escalon guild. So she could give her real name. Plus, she wanted Eren to know her real name so he could associate it with the top-ranked holder in the Test of Bravery conducted inside Minerva's Utopia. With association and familiarity, one was known to let their guard down after all.
Shalen was confident about her deception skills. Her facial expressions were impeccable and the fluctuations in her mana signature were almost non-existent. One could say that her mentor Paladin of Pain Reva Rain had taught her well.
What she didn't realize was the fact that Eren knew Shalen personally from his past timeline. And he also knew about her mentor. He could never forget the coldness of an assassin hiding behind her pretty face.
Eren smiled mildly before offering a glass of ranked wine to Shalen. He took the seat next to hers and reclined on his couch before responding.
"You are no bother at all, Miss Shalen. I was longing for company during this boring travel anyway. Your presence is only welcome here."
Eren said while looking Shalen in the eyes. His emerald green eyes shone with a subtle hint as he verbally marched forward.
"If I'm not mistaken, it appears you hold the first rank in the Test of Bravery. You have attracted so many rankers to my city because of your performance. So consider this as a gesture of thank you from the owner of that city. Haha.
Also, no need for formalities. I'd like it if you called me Eren."
Shalen mimicked the expression of relief perfectly. She tucked her blonde locks behind her ears and touched the wine glass to her lips. After almost touching the wine with her lips, she placed the glass on the small table in front of her before that happened and continued.
"I'm glad to hear that, Ad… Errr... Eren. To be honest, I didn't think about increasing the city's traffic with my performance, Eren.
I was only thinking about gaining the highest possible rewards from Minerva's Utopia at the time. And that's what I got. The mild attention I garnered, as a result, was only a byproduct of those efforts."
Shalen started looking around the caravan as she responded to Eren. She was looking for any of the hidden experts Eren was traveling with. The caravan was supposed to be enhanced by spatial magic. So the assassin assumed that Eren was traveling luxuriously because of that.
Eren didn't know what Shalen was looking for. He didn't know that the joint force had assumed that he was traveling in a group led by a summoner. But he could tell her inspective gaze was trying to probe everything and anything she could lay her eyes on.
However, it didn't take long for Eren to figure out what the joint force was up to. After all, he could faintly sense her thoughts and intentions with his soul sense.
'Hm? They think I'm traveling in a group?'
***
Eren chuckled in his head when he understood the reason behind that mistake. Only a selection of the crime scenes he had been part of had come to light. It included Rey Remus' murder scene where the Grim Pillar was erected. And after a thorough investigation by House Remus, they concluded that Eren was also involved in targeting its clients at the auction events.
Gilhause Remus, who was part of Edinburgh's army, had also linked Sid's disappearance with Eren. Unfortunately, he could do nothing more against Eren by opening a case that had already been closed with vague clues. But these results did give impartial data about Eren for the joint forces to think about.
According to the joint force's obviously flawed conclusion, whenever Eren killed, he killed using his minions. His involvement in the actual killings was the bare minimum.
The organizations involved in the drafting of the joint force came to such a flawed conclusion because they found out that the spells that were used at the crime scene belonged to various elements. Eren had also switched between two classes for killing Rey Remus.
Eren would use the Potion of Innocence to cover his tracks at each of his crime scenes. As a result, historians employed by several forces could not figure out that it was Eren who had killed his victims. Yet they could tell from his crime scenes that various rankers of different origins were involved.
Plus, after Eren got out of the Oni dungeon, Kirin was with him most of the time. She served as his shadow and protection. The onlookers failed to recognize or know who she was but they could tell that Eren was being watched over by someone of Expert rank caliber.
***
Eren found it hilarious that his enemies would overestimate his supposedly hidden force and underestimate him at the same time. He was glad that he let Shalen inside the caravan. He could use these details against his enemies.
Eren and Shalen kept on talking while the former had those thoughts running in his head. Even though they had not-so-noble intentions for each other, both of them maintained calm.
Shalen played her part well. She had almost confirmed that there was no security detail traveling with Eren. She decided to make a move. To see if she could finish the guy with her own hands.
