"Ah owe!!"

Lola sneezed loudly. Xu Milu was sitting next to her, drinking, and another male elf was sitting opposite them.

She glanced at Lola, then at the male elf opposite her, and couldn't help but sigh once again that there were no ugly elves, including this elf who had come to her door.

The golden-haired elves have a pair of purple eyes that could outshine the stars. Compared to female elves, male elves have more defined features, making their gender more obvious. But what remains unchanged is that each elf seems to be exceptionally favored by nature; they are as exquisite as dolls carefully created by the gods.

"You must be the legendary Miss Milu. I am Overland, and my companions call me Overland."

The male elf was much more composed than Lola, and his attire was more in line with the world's imagination of an "elf"—a moon-white elven robe, casually tied at the waist with vines, a string of golden bird-shaped ornaments winding from his long ears to his forehead, and he always carried a brown longbow that was half a person's height.

You mean this?

Overland was quite frank: "I am the chief guard of the Elven court. This is the weapon I use to protect the queen. You should know that not all elves love peace."

Xu Milu glanced at Lola, whose head was practically falling to the ground, and couldn't help but wipe away a tear of sympathy for her.

The elven tree seed hasn't even been found yet, and the elves have already arrived. Look at Lola's bad luck.

When it comes to bad luck, she's never lost.

Lola and Overland seemed quite familiar with each other. She gulped down the ale in her glass and whispered:

"Has the Queen already discovered it?"

Overland's expression instantly turned serious: "That's right, that's why I'm here. I hope you can assist me in investigating this matter. The Queen takes this very seriously, and I'm sure you're aware of its grave consequences—"

Lola wished she could bury her head in Xu Milu's arms:

"Oh no, oh no, how did the Queen find out so quickly..."

Xu Milu felt something was off. She gently nudged Lola's waist, winked at her, and then turned to ask Overland:

"Overland, is there anything I can do to help?"

"Of course, I heard that Miss Milu is a VIP of the Aoki Trading Company. It would be great if Miss Milu would be willing to help."

Overland breathed a sigh of relief: "Elves have been disappearing near the Orok Islands lately, and I'm here to investigate this."

Lola immediately got angry and excitedly asked, "You didn't come here to investigate the loss of the Elf Tree Seed?"

Xu Milu lowered her outstretched hand, wishing she could just punch her unconscious.

My teammates are hopeless.

"The Elf Tree Seed... is missing?"

A look of surprise appeared on Overland's face.

...

...

The wildebeest carriage traveled westward and entered Grand Duke Orlock's castle, where servants bowed slowly and smiled.

"The Grand Duke has been waiting for a long time. The people of Oroc welcome your arrival."

The curtain of the wildebeest carriage was lifted, and Aoki, cloaked and expressionless, stepped down. He looked around and found that the castle was heavily guarded, and no one recognized him.

Aoki glanced at the mercenary driving the carriage, signaled his men to wait outside, and then followed the attendant who was leading the way into the castle.

Inside the castle room, someone was already waiting for him—a young man from Orlock who was less than three feet tall. His head-to-body ratio was perfectly normal, his limbs were slender, and his skin was a light greenish-gray with a grassy tinge. His exquisite and gorgeous clothes, as well as the noble insignia pinned to his chest, all clearly indicated his status.

—It was the owner of this castle, Grand Duke Sivian of Orlock.

The other person sat at a long table adorned with ornate silver ornaments. White candles burned on silver candlesticks, and carefully tended flowers were everywhere in the room. Brightly blooming white lilies emerged from dark green flowerpots, palm-sized irises were placed diagonally in silver vases, and vibrant yet strangely colored red roses bloomed along the long table. The entire room was filled with a rich floral fragrance.

It was as red as blood.

"Welcome, Aoki, my friend. It's been so long since we last met. Don't you want to give me a hug? Good heavens, you humans are so arrogant..."

Sivian raised his wine glass, the red wine inside swirling slightly, its vibrant red hue gleaming in the sunlight.

He was rather short, so he needed to sit on a high stool, but the high stool in front of Aoki was extremely strange in shape—it was carved from stone, and the subject was two elven girls with their arms bound behind their backs. A dark green vine peeked out from their eyes, noses, and ears, blooming with bright red roses.

The entire stone chair is carved so vividly that even the fear on the elf girl's face is expressed so realistically.

Aoki withdrew his gaze, showing no joy at the reunion with his old friend; instead, his tone was colder.

“Sivian, I think you should give me an explanation. What exactly are the ‘goods’ you’ve been transporting on the Aoki Trading Company’s ships?!”

"Oh, my friend, if you don't want to be too intimate, you don't need to look at me like that—I paid for it, so your people are responsible for delivering those goods to where they're supposed to be, aren't they?"

Sivian chuckled softly:

"Could it be that the elves have discovered something? You're so discreet and cautious, are you afraid of being discovered by them?"

"Bang!"

The wine glass shattered, and red wine spilled all over the floor.

Aoki pounced, his movements so fast the other man couldn't react at all. Like a nimble and swift leopard, he grabbed the man by the collar and lifted the short Orok man up.

"I'm warning you, it's time to stop your little tricks! Selling elves is a serious crime. If the elves find out, the entire Greenwood Merchant Guild will be doomed! If you drag my people into your dirty deeds again, I swear I'll rip out your guts and throw them into the deep sea to feed the fish!"

Sivian finally showed a hint of fear on his face; he hadn't expected Aoki to actually make a move inside the castle.

"Damn it! Aoki, are you insane?!"

Sivian struggled desperately, but Aoki was like a giant to him, and he couldn't break free from his control at all.

As the air in his throat grew increasingly scarce, Sivian couldn't help but scream and hysterically curse:

"Foolish! Greedy! Disgusting, sticky liar!! You promised you'd help me! Damn it, I should have known, humans are all liars, humans are all liars!!"

"I did promise you, but I didn't promise to help you transport those elves!!"

Aoki finally released his grip on the other person's hand and said coldly:

"The Elven Royal Court has begun investigating the recent elf disappearances. I don't want the Greenwood Merchant Guild involved in your 'business.' You'd better tone it down and send those elves back to where they belong—"

He suddenly stopped, because he saw a very strange smile rise on Orlock's face—a secret, smug smile.

"It's too late! My experiment has succeeded. The Oroc people are about to join the ranks of the immortal species on the Gourmet Continent!"