Chapter 152: Details and Surprises

Tally disguised herself as Tobeika and slipped into the Coral Bay group.

Honestly, at first Rod didn't think Tobeika, a latecomer, could get anywhere near any real secrets.

It turned out she'd actually been hit with a mental ward.

That instantly made him change his plan—skip the questioning stage and have Tally take her place directly.

Though this plan wasn't necessarily much better.

Rod wasn't afraid of being found out, and actually hoped someone would notice.

He wasn't good at detective work, so he simply exposed a flaw on purpose to flush the snake out of the grass.

As a ranger who considered himself invincible below seventh-tier, all he had to do was play to his strengths.

When he returned to the front hall.

Rod noticed two gentlemen chatting up the banshee Chris.

Chris didn't seem interested; the moment she saw her master approaching, she quickly slipped away from them.

"So boring, those guys don't even have a few coins in their pockets, Master. How about we swindle that young noble's money over?"

"I've told you, no cheating or trickery. Are all banshees this wicked? I saw one of you lot working as a bandit outside Emerald Jade City before."

Most rumors about banshees weren't flattering, and the Emerald Jade City side was even worse.

But in practice, the papers over here didn't carry much bad press about them; the Snow Hill Evening News even ran a few stories of humans and banshees falling in love.

In one story, the human-ghost couple even had a baby.

Rod glanced at Chris.

Her figure was admittedly decent—around five-foot-nine, a proportionate but not small chest, pale skin that didn't look out of place even under the dim lighting, black smoky makeup hiding her swollen, tear-reddened eyes, making her look more like a normal person.

Not bad.

But in her current state, she lacked sexual punch.

In Rod's eyes, she couldn't even compare to the ghoul Pan Ni.

All in all, she was just too much like a normal human.

"Most of us, yeah. We're not really a communal species; in peacetime we prefer to sleep in the forest and scare the occasional woodcutter. But now, well, there's war, natural and man-made disasters keep coming, more people die, the urge to keen grows stronger, and plenty of my kind choose to come out into the world."

"The urge to keen—what's that?"

"Desire isn't just lust, my master. The more famous, the more the world favors someone, the faster we advance after keening for them. Like that guy from some family over there—he's just... uh, forget it, a total piece of trash."

Rod chuckled.

"Maybe he's not that outstanding within the Agar family, but he is still a noble who governs Coral Bay."

"Most likely some good-for-nothing who draws a salary for doing nothing. I'd rather keen for that old turtle-man who fancies his own stepdaughter than keen for him. Whoa, snake-people are here again!"

"They're called Naga."

Not far off, three land naga slithered over.

The one in front was that four-armed naga priestess, followed by two figures who looked like guards.

God knows how the City Hall arranged it, but they'd invited them too.

This group of naga, most inappropriately, hadn't removed their armor and weapons; a murderous aura instantly blanketed the whole venue.

Everyone present felt a bit uneasy.

The atmosphere had gone stiff, in any case.

Rod couldn't be bothered with them; his peripheral vision stayed on Tally, who was shapeshifted.

The succubus was a fine actress; combining Tobeika's background and profession, she'd crafted a persona quite close to the original.

For now, no one had seen through it.

Soon.

As the music began, the banquet officially started.

Everyone took their seats.

And amid the mingled scent of carefully blended incense and exquisite cuisine, they got through dinner without incident.

After a brief rest once things quieted down, the banquet moved to its next segment: the ball.

Rod seized the chance to invite Tally to dance.

Everyone had seen Rod chatting up Tobeika before the banquet and spending time alone with her in an empty spot, so this moment didn't seem all that out of place.

As for the banshee Chris, that brazen creature had actually gone over to chat up that group of land naga.

"Anything?"

Rod asked.

"Big discovery! This noble's retinue has mushroom-folk and feather-folk! And they're all girls—we can collect two exotic races in one go!"

"... If my hands weren't full from dancing right now, I'd definitely pinch your face hard."

"If not the face, how about pinching my chest? I like being squeezed by Master's fingers."

"I'll count to three—"

"Okay, okay, I'll talk."

It was clearly Tobeika's rather plain face, but under Tally's performance it grew more and more enchantingly lovely.

Every move a succubus made came with a built-in charm bonus.

She lowered her voice and said:

"This Fried Agar is a complete good-for-nothing; the rebel mages overrunning Coral Bay owe him a share of the credit."

"How so?"

"This guy listened to bad advice, thought sirens and ghost pirates were the same fun-loving sort as him, and actually invited them to the Sea Revelry, telling them to take whatever they wanted, figuring once they'd grabbed enough they'd pack it in and the recent disputes would be settled.

Heh, setting aside those man-eating sirens, letting those greedy ghost pirates in—this noble heir's brain must have grown on a pig's body."

Rod also shook his head.

"Even the Igo tribe's bugs wouldn't want his brain."

"Exactly. And regarding the loss of Coral Bay, he never dared to report it to Stormwind City, nor did he split his forces into two groups."

"He can't hide this; the bards are already crowding into Coral Bay."

"According to his personal guards, they wanted to obtain support from Shi Ying Town to retake Coral Bay in one blow, thereby earning merit to atone for their crimes."

Rod couldn't help but laugh.

How many men does Shi Ying Town have? On what basis could they retake Coral Bay?

Tally also chuckled softly, rose on her tiptoes, and kissed her master on the cheek.

"It's related to you, Master. This noble descendant is utterly awestruck by the Ranger who saved Shi Ying Town not long ago. He believes that if this Ranger intervenes, he can surely save Coral Bay from the flames and flood."

"..."

Seeing the speechless expression on the face so close to hers, she found it adorable.

Oh no, it's wet.

"What about Tobeka? Why use a mental protection spell on her?"

"It is said they knew about the relationship between Tobeka and the old turtle-man Humbert; if the request for aid failed, she could be used as leverage. In reality, Tobeka shows signs of mental control."

Rod frowned slightly.

"In the time it takes to eat a meal, you already know this?"

"Did you forget my new spell? 【Deceive Gods and Trick Ghosts】!"

The succubus proudly shook her small head.

"Well done."

"What about the reward? Little Tally wants a reward."

"An extra meal tomorrow."

"Yay!"

The song ended.

The two retreated to the edge of the dance floor along with the crowd.

The succubus, having completed her mission, refused to continue playing Tobeka and secretly jumped back into Rod's shadow.

Rod pondered on the side.

The full picture came too simply; he inexplicably felt something was off.

However, there was no time for him to think too much.

A spiritual breeze stirred his emotions.

"Hmm?"

Splash!

The hall's colored emerald glass was pierced through!

Intense spiritual fluctuations instantly filled the air.

A spear made of red crystals flew past at high speed.

An assassin?!

Rod instinctively looked toward Fried Argyle.

But the spear was not aimed at him.

"Hmph!"

The Land Naga priest snorted coldly.

She tapped her staff lightly on the ground, and a layer of magical shield covered her entire body.

The red spear collided with the magical shield, immediately producing a violent sound of magical friction.

The upsurging air blast instantly threw the entire hall into chaos!

(End of Chapter)