I regressed and became the Sword Ice King-Chapter 213 - - Trip to the East 32

"Well, she is sort of pretty so I can guess why".

The Mercenaries, the merchants included and Raph as well turned to Rodrick in unison, who shrivelled up on the spot from their intense gazes. Even Elsie looked up from her meat, with an oil-stained mouth, to get a better look at the man.

"Yulk" she muttered and continued her meal while the others sighed in unison and looked away in disappointment.

"Wha–What?! I–I don’t discriminate!" Rodrick struggled to explain himself, but alas, it was inevitable; he only made things worse as Colyn and Azby, who sat next to him, shifted from the spot.

"Co–Come on! I don’t swing that way".

Colyn glanced at him, an expression of disgust on his face as he said. "Just quit it".

Rodrick whimpered as he sat on his spot and remained silent.

Azby continued the conversation from earlier by turning towards Raph. "Well?" She asked.

Raph scratched the back of his head as he glanced at Elsie, who was next to him, with not a layer of breathing room.

"I would like to know as well, um, Ryla, why are you here?" He asked with an intrigued tone.

Elsie looked up from her meat with a raised brow as she stared into Raph’s eyes for a few seconds. ’I see’ she thought before looking away. "You left on your own without your fiance. Didn’t I already tell you that my wolf clan can help you? Why are you trying so hard to do things on your own?" She replied with a pout.

Azby and the others blinked quietly as they watched the scene unfold before them.

"Oh, that’s what happened, but Ryla, you know how much I don’t like to put you in danger" he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

Elsie yelped in surprise as a shade of red blossomed on her cheeks. "Yo–You can’t. Th–There are people here" She whispered, while Raph smirked when he noticed something peculiar behind her.

’She’s trying to be calm, but her tail is wagging so much from the excitement? She really is cute’ he thought as he looked away from her wagging black tail.

He glanced at Azby. "So you see?" He asked with a raised tone.

Azby and her teammate stared blankly at the both of them, a slight blush on their cheeks as they coughed and looked away in unison.

"Ye–Yeah, I see" She muttered in embarrassment, while she regained her composure.

"Well, if she’s a Werewolf, and your fiance, I suppose she has a method of finding you?" She asked.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

"Yeah…." Raph muttered as he glanced at Elsie. ’I’m curious about how she did it as well..’

"Alright then, can you tell us now?" Colyn interjected, causing the group to turn towards him. "You said you saw the scene unfold when you looked into Cruz’s memories, so what made him betray us?"

At this point, most of their concerns about Raph had been settled, albeit not satisfactorily. It was still better than nothing, so now the next issue of the evening was their second main concern of the day. Cruz’s reason for betrayal.

"Well…" Azby muttered as they glanced at Cruz, who simply remained in his tied-up position, resting on the carriage. He returned their gazes with a scowl and turned away with a click of his tongue. ".....I am concerned as well, but I can guess why," She said.

"Is that So?" Raph asked.

"Yes, it had to do something with magical equipment directly from the Green and Blue towers, didn’t It?"

Raph’s gaze widened a little but slowly relaxed itself to usual. "Yes, it did have to do with magical equipment, but it was more specific. Cruz wanted a specific equipment, Something that could tip the favour to his side, despite the odds".

"Oh?" Azby raised a brow in curiosity, and they paid rapt attention to his words.

"The Magical equipment created from the Green Tower are known for their advanced and refined production methods, as well as their unique characteristics in how they are used". Raph explained. "It seemed like Cruz was more interested in Magical Equipment than I gave him credit for"

Azby sighed, and so did her teammates.

"Well, he was always a fan of such. He used to save up money to get the best equipment they released in the market".

"Of course, there were many he couldn’t get his hands on, but Cruz was someone that would struggle to obtain what he wants" Lucky interjected with a mellow tone. Her gaze fixed on the flames.

"Can you explain to us in detail?" She asked.

A moment of silence descended, but it was soon broken by Raph’s reply. "Of course".

FLASHBACK.

As Raph stared into the gaze of Cruz in the early morning of the day. His malevolent white, milky eyes pierced through the man’s very being.

He began to unfold his memories from Cruz’s brain and arranged them in order so he could get a grasp of his goal.

It was around this time that the image of Cruz meeting up with Malen in the dead of the night played in his head.

’Oh’ he muttered as the images played like a video.

In the image, Malen could be seen standing in front of the entrance of the Cave, while Cruz walked in after checking the condition of the Protection Orb.

"You’re a busy man, Sir Cruz" Malen greeted as Cruz walked in, a tired gaze hidden behind his meticulous appearance.

Cruz glanced at him and yawned. "Someone has to observe the Orb, and now that Kael isn’t up, I have to take on that role". He replied with a shrug as he headed towards his teammates, who slept peacefully.

"You make it sound easy, Sir Cruz," Malen said with a chuckle. "When it isn’t. I am impressed by your efforts". A smirk formed on his face as he pulled out a glowing pin, shaped in the head of a Phoenix. The glow exuded a brilliance that swept through the Cave and caught Cruz off guard.

He snapped back towards the man with widened eyes. "Is that a Phoenix teardrop?" He asked with intrigue.

"Oh? You know your equipment. I recently got this from the Blue Tower. You know they are skilled in handling matters like this," He said with a chuckle while Cruz remained in awe at the magical pin, his thoughts lining in order. Find adventures at novelbuddy

’What? That really is a Phoenix teardrop?! I heard just one of those increases your MP by a whopping 100 points permanently when consumed. How does he have That? A mere merchant….’ He thought in wonder when his curiosity began to turn to suspicion. ’A mere merchant? And he mentioned the Blue Tower so easily. Almost like he knows the purpose of the towers…..But most merchants don’t’.

There were a total of six towers under the control of the Merlin Household, each with different colours and functions.

The Green Tower was in charge of creating advanced Magical crafts and Equipments, Some of which had already been distributed for public use. The downside would be their expensive prices, the major reason why low-level mages like Cruz couldn’t afford to get them.

The Blue Tower was in charge of crafting artefacts and body enhancement potions. Healing potions, Strengthening potions, Tracking and other sorts of positions The artefacts involved return ones and protection orbs. These were relatively more affordable and were in use by most Adventurers and Mercenaries.

The Yellow Tower was in charge of researching spells, alchemy and advancing circles. Mages were mostly involved with the theoretical aspect of magic and how to improve it substantially in the magic field. It also involved the important production methods of alchemy.

The Red Tower was known as the Tower of Battle Mages. All Mages known for their proficiency on the battlefield were found here, and their advanced and specialized form of fighting were known for their destructive results on the battlefield.

The White Tower was involved with spirit magic and healing. It was mostly concerned with employing Divine mana in creating magic and important spells that could aid the people.

Lastly was the Black Tower, involved with the Dark Mana and Dark Mages. Necromancy and other forms of Dark Mage Professions were usually found here, mostly to use witchcraft and dark spells.

These were the six known towers under the control of the Merlin Household, and every one of these towers was unknown to the normal person. It could be estimated that more than half of the population would be unaware of the presence or purpose of the Green Towers, and the Merchants were usually among this population of ignorant individuals.

So at the moment, Cruz found Malen highly suspicious. "Who are you?" He asked with a raised tone as he pulled his staff and pointed it at Malen, ready to strike the moment Malen tried anything funny.

"Wait! Wait! Be calm". Malen raised his hands in protest as a slight chuckle escaped his lips. "Cruz of the fallen Household of Dorion. Wouldn’t you like to get back your power?"

Cruz’s gaze slowly widened in shock as his lips quivered. His grasp on his staff faltered for a second, but he quickly snapped himself out of his confusion, as he asked.

He bit his lips as a ball of flames began to form at the tip of the staff.

"If you don’t want to die, then you better tell me who you are"