Chapter 70 Going to the Abyss to Comb the Dean's Hair

The guild's core members have all gathered at the new stronghold.

Ancia sat at the head of the long table, still wearing her pristine white priest's robe. When she spoke, the slightly noisy room quickly quieted down. "Give me a report on the current situation."

Franka cleared his throat. "President, the warehouses at the Red Maple City docks have been thoroughly searched. Black market merchant Katz has been secretly summoned by the royal family, but there are no further developments from the royal family at the moment."

Ancia: "Who are the intelligence agents corresponding to these two pieces of fake news?"

Franka: "Old Jack the grocer, and Shuen the coachman."

Tucker clenched his knuckles, his face darkening. "I'll go and eliminate them!"

Franka disagreed, saying, "The elimination is too obvious; we'll just abandon the other unreliable intelligence personnel."

Ancia shook her head. "We can't eliminate it. Doing so would only alert the royal family and let them know that we've already detected the betrayal."

She pondered for a moment, "Now that we've identified the mole, we might as well make use of him. Turn Old Jack and Shuen into dedicated channels for transmitting false information. Later, we can use them to mislead the royal family, exhaust the guards' energy, and ensure the guild's safety."

Tucker loosened his clenched fist and nodded silently; this method seemed to be better than his decision.

Franka immediately understood and whispered a few instructions to the person next to him. Soon, two pieces of false information that corroborated each other would quietly flow to Old Jack and Shuen through a specific channel.

These core members began reporting on the information they had recently gathered, which Franka recorded one by one. Most of them were minor news items, but only one caught Ancia's attention.

"Uncle Velian, under the pretext of inspecting the border, led an elite griffon guard regiment to the northern border, seemingly heading towards the orc tribes. The royal family claimed it was a routine exercise, but the scale of the mobilization far exceeded that of previous ones."

Tucker: "The Orc Horde? They want to attack the Orcs?"

Franka: "Wasn't the Crown Prince always suppressing the Dark Night Guild? Why has he suddenly changed his target?"

Ancia was also confused, unsure whether this was a feint or another order from the old king. However, the primary goal now was the survival of the guild. With Verion temporarily gone, the guild could finally catch its breath.

After listening, she nodded. "Very good. The guild has stabilized for now. This place is a newly purchased base, so everyone can stay here without worry. I'll bring Mortley back, then we'll adjourn."

Franka led the core members out of the conference room and introduced them to the facilities of the new base: "The ground floor is all rooms, the first basement level is a training ground, and the second basement level is a secret room where we can store data."

Tucker: "Such a well-equipped base, when did our guild become so generous?"

Franka glanced at him. "It wasn't the guild that paid for it; it was the guild leader who paid for it himself."

Tucker craned his neck. "She paid for it herself?" He looked at the outpost again, then asked incredulously, "How many gold coins did it cost?"

Franka: "460,000."

Tucker: "..."

He swallowed hard. "When did Lord Merri manage to latch onto such a powerful patron..."

Franka was also pondering, "Is Lord Mertri really worth that much money?"

The others fell silent, then one person spoke up, "I'll go train."

"I'll take the night watch."

"I'll go see where it needs repair."

...

Inside the meeting room, Ancia was still creating a new Shadow Messenger. After the guild had initially stabilized, the confirmed reliable intelligence personnel would also be managed using Shadow Messengers, so that even if she temporarily left, the guild could still operate autonomously.

Knock knock.

Ancia didn't even look up, continuing to etch the magic circle in her hands. "Please come in."

The person tiptoed in and placed a steaming cup of milk on the table. Ancia looked up and saw that it was Tucker.

Tucker looked away and said in a muffled voice, "...President, don't overwork yourself."

Ancia smiled and said, "Okay, I understand."

She left the base under cover of night and returned to Gracia, but when she stood at the door of Villa No. 11, Ancia suddenly hesitated.

How can we find Mortley? The small shadow blessing magic on the dagger he gave her hasn't worn off yet, which means he's still alive. But now, in the reactivated intelligence network, there's not a single trace of Mortley. It's as if he's vanished into thin air in the Augustinian Empire.

Anciya changed direction, and after a year, she stepped onto the lotus leaves by Moon Lake again.

The Dean's teleportation array's anchor point isn't a location, but a person. Merri also left magic in Gracia, so that teleportation array should be able to locate him as well.

However... she didn't know what kind of reward the dean would charge this time.

Heligaluo is the gentle dawn you see every day, Ellan's beauty is as captivating as a crescent moon, Skark is a passionate and unrestrained flame, and even Velien is as cold and hazy as winter fog. Only Mortley's presence is not high, just like the night now, silent and taciturn. But when you turn around and meet those dark red eyes, you will find that he has been gazing at your back.

She had grown accustomed to the shadow behind her, a constant source of peace and security.

Ancia's steps on the lotus leaves were steady and firm, even quickening slightly. No matter where Murtrie was now, she would bring him back.

As she climbed the last three lotus leaves, the Moon Tower automatically opened its doors. Ancia frowned slightly; the astrologer dean had once again predicted her arrival.

She walked up the white seashell staircase, through the pearl door, and into the mysterious Milky Way room, where a dark green sofa slowly floated to her side.

The dean sat casually in the flowing starry sky, his head bowed as he observed something. A strand of deep blue hair pierced through the nebula beneath his hood and fell to his chest. He looked up, unsurprised. "You've come."

Ansia pursed her lips. If she could, she would never want to deal with such an uncontrollable and mysterious person.

The dean's beautiful voice carried a hint of amusement, "Was the memory pearl from last time useful?"

Anciya: "...It works great, it's been a huge help."

She hadn't repaid one favor yet, and was about to owe another one; this feeling of indebtedness made her extremely uncomfortable.

The dean asked knowingly, "Have you encountered new problems?"

Ancia wasn't in a hurry and chatted with him calmly, "The Dean even divined that I was coming, so how could he not know my purpose?"

The two sofas were only a meter apart, but Anciya could not see the dean as if they were separated by a deep sea. She could not see his thoughts. Anciya's gaze fell on the layers of his robes, but his thoughts were not important. As long as he had something in mind, he would reveal it when the time came.

The dean chuckled. "I can help you find Merritt, and even use a teleportation array to send you to his side. After all, I don't plan to replace Gracia with a new assassination instructor yet. But it would be too much of a loss to not take any payment. The transaction for the Memory Pearl hasn't even been settled yet, what do you say?"

Ancia remained impassive, her hands, clasped in her lap, clenching subtly. "What do you want? Gold coins? Magic scrolls? Magical items? Anything I have."

The dean lifted a lock of her long hair with her slender fingers, twirled it around her knuckles, and said, "Comb my hair for me."

Ancia's fingers twitched slightly, her eyes widening slightly. "Combing your hair? Is that all you want?"

A seashell comb appeared in the dean's hand. Her glossy fingertips rested on the smooth, polished teeth, and for a moment it was impossible to tell which was whiter.

His sofa transformed into a flying carpet, turned around, and flew in front of Ancia, who could touch his shoulder with just a reach.

The dean handed the comb back to the back of the room. "Please."

If this is the price she has to pay, it's much easier than she expected.

Ancia hesitated before taking the seashell comb, carefully avoiding the dean's fingers and not touching them at all. She gently pulled down the dean's hood, revealing his entire profile and ears covered by nebula, with only a portion of his long hair showing.

Her deep blue curly hair cascaded down her back, smooth and slightly cool to the touch. Ancia held the middle section of her hair and gently combed it to the ends. The room fell silent, with only the sound of the comb teeth brushing against her hair.

A strand of hair clung to the dean's chest. Ancia lifted the seashell comb and gently brushed it across his neck, pulling the hair back. Amidst the flowing nebula, she saw a small patch of fair and delicate skin, like a deep-sea pearl.

The dean said, "Help me tie it up." He didn't offer Ancia any hair tie, but just sat on the flying carpet without moving.

Ancia had no choice but to take out one of her own black hair ties from her system inventory, loosely tie it up, and simply put a bow on it.

The dean gently shook his head, his dark blue curly hair lying neatly within the black headband, swaying slightly. He seemed to be smiling, his voice rising at the end, "Thank you, I'm very satisfied."

A six-pointed star magic circle appeared in the center of the room. The flying carpet spun around and moved to the edge of the magic circle. The dean sat lazily on his knees, supporting himself with one hand on the flying carpet. A large number of magic crystals slipped from his hand and fell onto the magic circle.

As the teleportation array absorbed magic power, the dense array patterns gradually lit up. Ancia eagerly stood up from the sofa, walked to the edge of the array, and waited until the teleportation array fully emitted its flowing light before stepping inside.

The dean looked up and said, "Good luck, may the Mother Goddess of Life bless you."

In the blink of an eye, the scenery before Ancia's eyes changed. She was standing in a luxurious palace filled with semi-transparent gauze curtains, surrounded by decadent music. The person on the main seat had a beautiful face, and it was impossible to tell whether he was male or female. He was embracing a scantily clad high-ranking demon on each side, and the air was filled with a thick demonic aura.

The feast seemed to be paused, and all the demons turned to look at the human who had suddenly appeared.

The demon general raised his eyes, his scarlet eyes looking over with amusement, his smile flippant. "Oh? The banquet has an uninvited guest, and a... priest full of light. What an unexpected surprise."

Ancia took a deep breath, took a half step back, and raised the staff in her hand.

Isn't this the Demon General, Lord of Lust?

Dean! Where did you send this message from?!