Chapter 21
Miel looked at Beren who was trying to get up from the ground, as if he was looking at a newborn fawn that couldn't quite walk yet.
If this drow was not a slave owner, perhaps Miel would feel sorry for his current situation.
But those who make a living by oppressing others are not worthy of sympathy at all.
It took Beren a moment to remember how to control his legs. He struggled to get up from the ground and walked through the pool of blood to the other door of the room.
The soles of his shoes were soaked with bright red blood, and every step made a "puff" and "puff" sound, as if mocking his life so far.
Miel and Czulola followed him at a distance.
After leaving the room, I walked along another sewer for a while and arrived at another room.
This room was even smaller and had no light.
Miel raised his hand and moved his ring forward, illuminating the scene in the room.
Eight huge iron cages, each higher than the waist, were stacked together in disorder, like eight huge monsters, five of which were starving, and the remaining three were devouring people.
A human female, a human male, and a half-elf male.
Miel came to the black iron cage that imprisoned the half-elf man, bent down to look at him, and his long silver hair slid down from his neck as he moved.
The half-elf in the cage huddled up with his knees hugged, his body trembling slightly, not sure if it was from fear or the cold.
He had slightly pointed ears and short chestnut hair. It was indeed the person Miel saw through the Eye of Insight. His hair color was brighter than the one he saw through the Eye of Insight, without that dusty and gray feeling.
Seeing his interest in this half-elf, Beren began introducing her professionally, "Half-elves are very popular in the slave market because both humans and elves view them as alien, and enslaving them carries no moral reprimand. But this half-elf is incredibly aggressive. The last customer who showed interest in him simply touched his thigh, and he kicked him in the face. His nose bled all over the floor, and I ended up paying him quite a bit of money."
Miel glanced at him coldly, and the latter fell silent instantly.
Miel was not in a hurry to talk to the half-elf. After all, he had already seen the person and all the people who were in the way were dead. It was only a matter of time to get information from him.
He turned away from the room, making sure the half-elf couldn't hear him, and then asked Beren, "Where did you get him?"
"He was sold to me at a very low price," Beren replied. "At first I thought I was getting a bargain, but as you can see, many people are interested in him, but few are willing to buy him."
It sounds like Beren didn't know that this half-elf has the blood of the Akunira family flowing in his veins.
"I want to know who sold him to you." Miel demanded.
"This..." Beren showed an embarrassment. "Master Miel, I really want to answer your question, I really do, but in our line of work, the most taboo is knowing too much. So, I don't know, I really don't know. I don't even know if the other party is human or elf."
Miel felt that he really didn't know.
Also, if the person who sold this half-elf to the Zhentarim at an extremely low price was Bros, Bros would definitely hide his identity during the transaction.
But Bross is not short of money, so why would he go to such lengths instead of just killing him and burying any evidence that might point to him?
Miel continued to ask Beren: "How many slaves did my father buy from you? Were they all women?"
"Four, yes, all women," Beren answered readily. But his next words were, "If you're investigating the disappearance of women in Syracuse, whether you want to uncover your father's crimes or cover them up, I can provide you with help beyond your imagination. However, I can't guarantee that you won't kill me after achieving your goal, so I must provide you with assistance in a completely safe environment. So, I have a proposal."
"explain."
"Let me go first. Three days later... no, tomorrow night I will have someone compile all the information you need and bury it under the wall of the Akunela mansion."
Miel did not respond immediately, but pondered for a moment.
After a tense silence, his thoughts came to fruition: "Okay, but before that, tell me, have you ever seen a book with silver lettering on a black background?"
"What? A book with silver writing on a black background?" Beren looked bewildered. "I'm sorry, but this alone doesn't help me recall anything... Is there any other information?"
"No." Miel responded, and after a pause, he said, "Now, you can go away."
Beren was stunned for a moment, and when he realized that Miel accepted his proposal, he opened his eyes wide with joy.
"That's right." Miel stared at Beren with his beautiful, calm sapphire eyes, his gaze icy. "Tomorrow night, if I don't find the information in the place you mentioned, then, you know what I mean, right? If I can find this place, I can find you. No matter where you flee to, as long as you're still in this time and space, don't even think about escaping from my grasp."
"Of course, of course, I understand! Honorable Master Miel, I will definitely not let you down!"
After saying this, Beren ran away excitedly, like a dog whose master called its name.
Obviously, he didn't expect that he could actually leave the sewer alive.
But what he didn't know was that no matter whether he could prepare the information Miel needed by tomorrow night, he would not be able to live to see the sunrise the day after tomorrow.
Miel would not allow a slave owner who had trampled on the dignity of countless people to walk freely on the land of Liye Continent, let alone in his Snow City.
As soon as Beren left, Miel asked Cthulola beside him: "Mr. Lola, can you help me remember his smell?"
"I've remembered that," Cthulora replied. "If you want to kill him after this is done, I can do it for you."
"So good?" Miel looked up at him and showed his first sincere smile since entering the sewer.
"Well, it's because I want to see your expression like this." Czulola lowered her head and looked at Miel, the corners of her lips raised with him. "Although I really like your decisive look, this expression really suits you better."
"Really?" Miel was flattered. "The great Cthulhu is showing me his new tricks of coaxing people?"
"I didn't mean to coax you, but I'd be very happy if you were coaxed by me," Czulola responded. "Also, I must say, he knows too much."
Come to think of it, Czulola did say that he wanted to explore this world in a low-key manner, so he disguised himself as an elf like this.
However, the touch of the abyss alone brought great shock to Beren.
"Well, then I'll leave his aftermath to you." Miel had no doubt that Cthulora would put a perfect end to Beren's life.
"Now, let's get to the real target."
Miel said, not rushing back to the dark and small room, but first went to the larger room full of corpses to get three sets of clean clothes.
All three victims were naked. Miel had spare clothes in his family ring, but he didn't like anyone touching his personal belongings.
Fortunately, the Zhentarim’s base has everything: weapons, potions, clothes, food... Oh, and we have to bring them some food too.
After a while, Miel returned to the room full of black iron cages and stuffed three sets of clothes between the two bars of each cage.
Then he stuffed some bread and water into his mouth.
After stuffing it in silence, he walked up to the half-elf and asked him, "Name?"
The half-elf raised his head halfway from his knees and looked down at the clothes and food at his feet.
His eyes were a gentle brown color, without any trace of Akunela blood.
But his facial features and contours, whether compared with the humans in Snow City or the tree elves in the Hillna Forest, appear softer, as if he came from the inland with a mild climate - this is indeed the characteristic of the high elves of Akunira.
He stared at the clothes and food at his feet for a long time, with no intention of taking them, as if he was thinking about something.
There was no answer to Miel's question either.
Miel understood his uneasiness and decided to introduce himself. "Hello, nice to meet you. I am Miel Akunela, heir to the Lord of Snow City and a lawful good warlock. I detest the Zhentarim's slave trade, so I personally went deep into this place to crush this evil."
Miel said as he carefully watched the half-elf's reaction.
When the Snow City Lord was mentioned, he did not react.
When the word warlock was mentioned, he didn't react.
When the topic of the Zhentarim was brought up, he still had no reaction.
But when he said "crushed the evil", his eyelashes trembled slightly, and he finally raised his head and shifted his gaze to Miel's face.
Then, with just one glance, I was stunned.
He looked as if he was stunned and couldn't recover for a long time.
After a while, he hurriedly looked away, then reached out to tug at the clothes at his feet and said in a hoarse voice: "I'm sorry, you're so beautiful, so... I'm sorry, I shouldn't comment on your appearance casually. My name is Rocas."
"Don't worry, I don't mind being called pretty. There are more suitable people to be described as handsome." Miel raised his hand and supported the arm of Czulola beside him.
Rocas looked up and saw Csulola's face. He was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and put on his clothes silently.
Seeing that he had let down his guard against him, Miel felt it was time to ask a question: "Rocas, do you remember how you came to the Zhentarim?"
Rocas put on his pants first. After that, before putting on his clothes, he answered Miel's question: "I'm sorry, I don't know what the Zhentarim are. I've been a slave for as long as I can remember, and I've had several masters. My last master was a goblin priestess. She was nice to me at first and wanted to train me to be her assistant, until she found out I was a loser who couldn't even learn the most basic magic... She was the one who sold me here."
"I'm sorry, you saved me, but I'm a useless piece of shit. Although you're beautiful, I can't be with men... Of course, I can't be with women either. I don't want to be used as a tool for that kind of thing. But if you want me to do some odd jobs for you like cleaning, running errands, or delivering mail, I'd be happy to do that."
"...Wait, you mean, you can't use magic?" Miel raised a hand and pressed it on his chest.
His heart was pounding, shocked and excited by the emergence of this crucial information.
Thinking of the magic pool that had suddenly disappeared, could it be that...
"Yes, I'm half high elf, but I can't use magic. It's strange, isn't it..." Rocas laughed self-deprecatingly. "But it seems it's not that I'm stupid, but that I was born unable to use magic. Miss Kazarosa said that I have no talent for magic at all... Uh, Miss Kazarosa is the goblin priestess I mentioned earlier, my previous master."
Miel didn't respond.
The child who inherited his bloodline, the missing magic pool, the Ice Sigh that was so powerful that it could kill elves in seconds...
He understood.
He finally understood the connection between all this.
I see.
There was never any curse or retribution, it was all a conspiracy of Bros Akunila.
That man, that damn bastard, had somehow stolen his magic pool without him knowing.
With what kind of mood did he say to him, "Even if you can no longer use magic, you will always be my, Bross's, dearest child"?
"Ha." Miel raised his hand and pushed the hair in front of his forehead back to relieve his irritability.
Frightened by his sudden reaction, Rocas shrank back and stopped putting on his clothes.
Miel took a deep breath, suppressing his urgent urge to confide in someone. He looked at Rocas and spoke calmly, "I'll notify the church to handle the matter here, whether it's the bodies of the Zhentarim members or your whereabouts. Rocas, you...if you have something you want to do, go ahead and do it. You are not my slave, nor anyone else's slave. But if you want to stay by my side, that's fine. I just happen to be in need of a follower."
Miel didn't want to admit that Rocas was his half-brother, nor did he want him to be involved again because of him after he had already escaped from Bross's conspiracy. But... as a fellow victim of losing the magic pool, Miel felt a little sympathy for him, so he didn't mind keeping him by his side.
Although he is a follower, as long as he has a bite to eat, Rocas will have a bite to eat as well.
In response to this, Rocas said:
He struggled to change his position in the cage, knelt on one knee, and lowered his head: "I am willing to serve you, my respected master."
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