Joshua was unable to find any trace of the black cat after it disappeared. The only thing he was certain was that the cat was most definitely not an ordinary cat. Even though its outward appearance was that of a cat, it was an originium crystal.
Thinking about why that black cat would be there, Joshua soon thought of the elf from earlier.
After all, that elf drew her weapon at him the moment he touched the black cat...
Could it be that elven girl was the owner of that black cat?
Joshua decided to go and personally ask that elf about it.
“To draw your dagger to attack your guests and then fleeing immediately afterwards, isn’t that lacking in etiquette?”
Joshua spoke to the empty garden.
His voice was not very loud. However, the elf’s sharp senses allowed her to clearly hear Joshua.
“Could she have left this place already?”
Ciri slowly walked over to Joshua’s side. Ciri was able to detect Flay when she attacked. However, now that Flay had concealed herself, Ciri was unable to determine her location at all.
“No, she’s still here.”
The Duke of Bones’ inscription on Joshua’s palm not only allowed him to control the dead, it also allowed him to detect the ‘life auras’ of the living.
On top of that, Joshua was a Chaos Demon. While his ability cannot match his older brother and older sister, Joshua’s strength cannot be considered to be weak at all in the human world.
“Are you unwilling to reveal yourself? If that’s the case, I’ll have no choice but to a some crude method.”
Gray-colored magic power appeared on Joshua’s hand. The magic power with a chaos characteristic began to spread like fog. It spread over to a cluster of flowers.
Frost and dewdrops appeared on some flowers. Some of the other flowers dried up from heat.
Joshua was not using a lot of his magic power. As such, it did not affect the flowers too much. But, to magic that required intense precision, Joshua’s magic could be said to be fatal.
The elven girl who had relied on the runes on her body to conceal herself had her stealth destroyed the instant she came in contact with Joshua’s magic.
She looked to her hands with her green eyes wide open. She seemed to be pondering what just happened.
Ever since she inherited the position of ‘Guardian of Blackwood,’ the runes inscribed onto her body, the ‘Stealth’ runes, has never once failed her.
Having lived in the stealth world for over a dozen years, Flay had created a habit of not removing her stealth and showing herself to others.
Even if she was to find herself in a crisis, she would be able to remain absolutely calm as long as she was able to continue to stay in the shadows.
But, this time around, the runes that she had relied on for survival her entire life actually lost its effectiveness.
No matter how she poured her magic power to activate the runes, the runes were unable to activate at all. It was as if they’ve lost their effectiveness.
Because of this, Flay immediately started panicking. The magic from the Guardian of Blackwood, the magic that allowed her to easily conceal herself in the shadows, was the source of her confidence and her greatest reliance in survival.
To Flay, losing her stealth rune was equivalent to losing her legs.
“Although this method is a bit boorish, miss unknown elf, could you answer a question of mine?”
Joshua walked over to the panic-stricken elf.
The perception of the elven race was far sharper than that of humans. As Joshua approached her, the aura of death emitted from Joshua’s palm grew even clearer to the elf.
The moment her confidence was shattered, fear began to slowly fill her heart.
Having lost her most-prided ability of stealth, Flay had no idea how to face the terrifying demon before her.
In the end, she chose a method that she had only used to survive in her childhood... she held her hands on her long ears and tightly closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”
The elven girl repeated that phrase like she was chanting a spell of some sort.
The sudden apologies caught Joshua who was prepared for a fight completely off guard.
What the heck? Ostrich effect?[1]
Joshua had thought the elven race to be as proud as the dragons.
Perhaps the Duke of Bones was simply too imposing? Joshua took a glance at the imprint on his hand.
Regardless, since she had already held her ears and closed her eyes, this elven girl has been reduced to a... little rabbit... that Joshua could slaughter at will.
“Ciri, could this elf be your little sister?”
Joshua looked at the female mage next to him.
Ciri reacted in the same manner as this elf when she first met Joshua.
“Hey, I at least risked my life and tried to take you on, okay?! I’m nowhere as cowardly as that!”
Ciri refuted with dissatisfaction. She believed that she was only captured after she was defeated by Joshua. Her situation was completely different from the elf before them.
“Well then... calm yourself. I only wanted to ask you a question.”
Joshua was not an expert at comforting other people. This was especially so as the elven girl was in a completely panicky state of mind. Trying to talk with her calmly would be a very difficult task.
Nevertheless, Joshua still tried his best.
“Do you know where that black cat came from?”
Joshua had successfully raised a lizard to serve as his server. Raising a cat to serve as another server would be completely plausible.
But, in order to do so, he must first know about the whereabouts of that cat.
“I... I will never tell you that.”
Once Flay heard the question concerning the ‘black cat,’ her state of panic was suppressed by her race’s honor. But, she was still holding onto her ears and pulling them down. The only difference was her facial expression, there was a look of determination.
“Quite stubborn. That’s fine, I believe we will have a lot more opportunities to meet each other in the future.”
Joshua had already noticed this elf’s existence when the Flower of Farucci Gallolei came to visit the Hearthstone Tavern and expressed to him her desire to be in his next movie.
Just from how this elven girl had quietly followed the Flower of Farucci in the shadows, Joshua could guess that she should be Gallolei’s bodyguard or something similar.
Thus, once the filming for ‘Léon: The Demon’ begins with Gallolei being the main female cast, Joshua would be able to meet this elf frequently.
During this conversation, the effect of Joshua’s magic power gradually disappeared. When the elven girl discovered that the runes on her body were able to be used again, she pursed her lips up. Without any desire to continue fighting Joshua, she once again disappeared into the cluster of flowers.
She had disappeared from Joshua’s range of detection. She ran away from the indoor garden with quick steps.
At this moment, the mistress of this mansion slowly entered the garden. Entering together with her was a bunch of attendants pushing carts of black tea and desserts.
It would appear that the mistress of this mansion placed great importance in this chat over tea. After all, Joshua held the technology that could change this entire art form.
[1] [1. a myth that ostrich would bury their heads in sand to avoid danger. Basically the response of someone unwilling to confront reality.]