Chapter 64

**Acacia Point of View**

"So you are here to test me."

I continued to keep my smile and composure while I'm anything but calm inside. Panic is not the way out now so I can only collect myself and deal tactfully with this matter.

"You got me wrong, Milady. How am I capable of testing you? I was just curious." Myx Ranas was one sly bastard.

His words, his eyes and his intentions were all going in different directions.

Blinking innocently, I leaned back on my chair and studied him with a gentle smile like a Lady I was. "Then I must've got you wrong indeed. Please do tell me how you found out about me."

Eelk, who was sitting beside Myx Ranas was already ready to attack at any time. The moment he heard the word 'human' from Ranas' mouth, he prepared himself to strangle him at convenience at any moment.

"My race may not be as powerful as Dr'helellis but we have a strength that excels other races; we can see through most of the armors." He chuckled lightly as if he was just talking about weather.

This Jerk is indeed useless. He gave me a broken locket and assured that it would cover up humanness.

Even a certain small merchant bastard could guess my identity. Say, this Jerk, is he really as powerful as he boasted?

"It must not be just because you could see through the armors and shields, is it? You have something else on you that confirmed your guess." I narrowed my eyes waiting for his reply.

"Indeed a smart woman. I guessed you might be a human because I saw these bicycles from your world." Hmm?

"You saw the bicycles? You saw them in mystical world?" Someone else was already ahead of me?

"No, I saw them in your world when I sneaked out on a visit." I froze hearing those words.

It was as if thunder and lightning struck me.

"You went there before?" The calm composure slowly disappeared and serious air surrounded us.

"Yes. Although some races are not allowed to set foot on human world, we do find some loopholes in the rules and sneak out. As long as a catastrophe does not take place due to our visit, it was still fine to just go and take a look." He spoke casually and he looked at me knowingly as if he was giving me the answer I was looking for.

And yes, I was looking for this.

I wanted to know how to escape from here. Now, I realized that there is a way to get out of here; I felt my heart drummed faster than usual.

Suddenly my mind got clear and my doubtful gaze knocked him. "You are telling me this; there must be a motive of your own."

Now that I think about it, this conversation was pretty suspicious from the very beginning.

"Absolutely not, Lady Dawn. Why would feel so?" He sounded offended and very sincere but am I fool to take his words seriously.

"You knew I was a human so you must have also guessed the back story of my stay here. More or less, you knew my predicament. You casually gave me a hope, telling me there are ways to get back to my world. Tell me, if you don't have a motive, then are you just casually out of good heart saying these things to me?"

"Not bad. Do you want to get back to your world?"

"What is in it for you?"

"Out of good heart?"

"The truth, Mister Ranas. The truth." Out of good heart? The heck?

"Milady, we don't have to listen to him." Eelk said hurriedly.

"I want to." I gave Eelk a look telling him to keep quiet and turned my attention back to Ranas. "Why do you want me to go back?"

Myx Ranas, from the start maintained his nonchalant posture, not scared that he is in another territory and might not leave here alive if spoken wrong.

What is his motive really?

"What you came for was already achieved. Why stay here and waste your life? Your world has the freedom that we lack. Women from your world are respected and treated as equals while here, you will only be looked down. No matter how much you strive here, you will not be accepted completely. Why waste your skills here?"

I nodded to his reasoning and gave him the impression that what he said was absolutely right.

"So you know a way to send me back?" I frowned.

"I do." He nodded with a very small hint of excitement in his eyes.

"Tell me about it." I asked giving Eelk a warning glare when he tried to cut the conversation.

"You are not ready yet to cross the portal."

"And why is that?"

"Because a part of your task is not done yet. Unless it is done, you cannot leave from here."

My eyes moved to Eelk and saw that the always calm man was now raging like an active volcano. If looks could kill, then Myx Ranas would have even lost the chance of reincarnation.

"Myx Ranas, you do know that Eelk here is under the command of his King and what we talked will reach his ears even before you leave this room. With what confidence are you telling all these in front of him?"

What the hell does this man want?

He dared to suggest the idea of helping me escape back to my world in front of Jerk's subject. Where does his confidence come from?

"Of course I know he is as much loyal to you as he is to His Majesty. If you want him, he will not let a word out."

"You did your homework, I see. Alright, let's hear about this task you were talking about."

"There is another side where the curse is not lifted completely. If you could -"

"That's enough." Eelk did not let Ranas finish and punched him.

Only, the punch did not land on him. Eelk's hand went through his body without even touching a hair of Ranas.

"Image. You used an image?" Eelk gritted and was getting ready to attack Ranas again when Ranas took out a small pebble like thing from his pocket and threw it towards Eelk.

The pebble turned into powder when it reached Eelk and before Eelk could do anything, he inhaled the powder and fell down unconscious.

"No wonder you dared to come here. It seems it is not really you in person but just an image of yours." I said looking down at Eelk's unconscious body.

"He will be alright when he wakes up. He will not remember this conversation though." Ranas Shrugged and looked at me slightly surprised.

Maybe, surprised that I did not react as he expected me to.

"Whatever this other side that was still partly under curse must be a group that doesn't see eye to eye with this kingdom. Did I guess it right?"

"No wonder His Majesty couldn't keep up with you, Lady Dawn. You are brilliant. If you completely break the curse then they will send you back to your world." I scoffed at his words.

"However I don't understand the benefits you get in helping the other group. You are clearly a citizen of another race, why are you so keen on a small group that are still partially under curse? It doesn't make sense."

"You only need to know that the way out of here is on the other side of the kingdom. The shadow Spirits, that is what you call that group and unlike Tzalmon Ebernus, the commander of Shadow spirits is a good man. He will not lock you up here."

With those few words, he walked out the way he came from without even looking back.

My eyes locked on him until he got out of my sight. Only then did I took a deep breath of relief.

The shadow spirits.

Who are these shadow spirits and how are they linked to Jerk and his race?

Are they like rebels that every kingdom have usually?

Why would a person from completely different kingdom would come and talk for this small group of shadow spirits?

"Will you help the shadow spirits?" A sudden familiar voice scared me out of my skin. My trance was broke and I jumped in surprise when I heard him.

"Mister Aguelli, you scared me. What are you doing here?" I patted my chest in an attempt to calm myself.

"Did you forget Milady? You asked me to come for discussion about production of next batch." He said and that was when I remembered that I indeed set this time for a small discussion.

I totally forgot about it.

Wait...

"You eavesdropped and even Eelk couldn't detect you? Where and how were you hiding?" I narrowed my eyes at him and scowled when I realized that this normal looking man has an ability to conceal himself from Eelk and Ranas.

Isn't he just a poor man who only has some ability in smiting?

"When commander Eelk came down to escort Mister Ranas, he asked me to stay attentive, hide and come out if and when needed, Milady. So are you going to help the shadow spirits?"

Eelk asked him to stand guard?

He trusted this man with the job?

When he asked the last question, his voice held a kind of power that I did not hear before. Even though he tried to conceal it, I could detect a pinch of it.

"So what if I do and what if I don't?"

**~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello Sweeties,

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