"Let's split up! I and Ella will go together. Elena, you can search for him yourself, right?"
Aleshia asked Elena. They were currently outside in front of the Phoenix-Dragon Inn.
"Yes!"
Elena nodded her head. Aleshia then turned right, and Elena turned left.
"Hello, did you see a red-haired man?"
Elena asked the first person she saw. She kept doing that continuously.
As for Aleshia and Ella, they were both asking two passersby at the same time. They moved to the right side of the city much faster than Elena.
…
After asking around for a while, Elena found a lead.
"Hm? Did you say that the red-haired man was brought into this inn?"
Elena asked the woman in front of her.
"Yes. If I remember correctly, he was being carried by someone."
The woman nodded her head and explained to Elena.
"Someone?"
Elena repeated in confusion.
"Yes. I think she wore a maid uniform."
The woman nodded to her.
"M-Maid!?"
Elena jumped in shock.
"Yes? Is there a problem?"
The woman asked in confusion.
"No! Thank you for answering my question!"
Elena then left and returned to the Phoenix-Dragon Inn. She scoured her belongings there, finding something.
"Found it!"
Elena lifted her maid uniform in front of her. She then wore it immediately.
After wearing it, she left the inn with the looks of confusion from the people around her. She went back to the inn the woman pointed her to.
…
"Let's head back, Ella. It doesn't seem to be this way."
Aleshia said to Ella. They had already asked a lot of people. None of them said that they had seen a red-haired man recently. They would have to come up with an efficient plan as asking everyone in the capital city is not efficient.
"Yes, Big Sister."
Ella nodded her head. They then headed back to the Phoenix-Dragon Inn.
…
"Hello, do you know what room the red-haired man in this inn is staying in?"
Elena asked the innkeeper behind the desk.
"A red-haired man? Why?"
The innkeeper squinted his eyes as he looked at her. He wore simple tunic clothing.
"Actually he's my master."
Elena replied to the innkeeper.
"Sorry, young girl. My customer's privacy is my priority."
The innkeeper crossed his arms in front of her.
"Y-You!"
Elena looked at the innkeeper in anger.
"But he's my master!"
Elena said to him in protest.
"Nope. I don't believe you."
The innkeeper shook his head at her.
"Ahh! I'm so close!"
Elena screamed in anger.
"Hey. If you're gonna make a scene, leave."
The innkeeper shooed her away.
"No! I'll go up and find his room myself!"
Elena shook her head and said to him stubbornly.
"Hey!"
The innkeeper watched as Elena walked up the stairs.
"Jin, follow her! Make sure she doesn't cause trouble to the customers and the goods."
The innkeeper turned to the wall beside him.
"Affirmative."
The wall opened, and a woman wearing a tight black outfit walked out of it. There were different blades sheathed around her body. On her arms, waist, stomach, back, etc.
She skipped steps on the stairs and followed after Elena.
"Sigh. What an annoying kid."
The innkeeper sighed.
…
"Master?"
Elena turned to her right and looked at the hallway. There were many doors inside it.
She walked forward, and just as she took another step, she felt someone behind her.
"Who?!"
Elena turned around and stared at the black-clothed woman. She had her face covered except her eyes.
"Young girl, don't open the wrong door."
The woman warned her.
"Wrong door?"
Elena blinked her eyes in confusion.
"Let's get this over with. Who are you looking for, exactly?"
The woman walked towards her and asked.
"My master! A red-haired handsome guy!"
Elena replied to her loudly.
"A Rubrignis?"
The woman frowned under the cover on her face.
"No! His name is Lawrend."
Ella said to her.
"Alright. Since you're a little girl, I'll lead you there."
The woman nodded her head. She doesn't mind leading the girl as she doesn't feel that she had malicious intentions.
"Thank you!"
Elena thanked her with a smile. And so, the woman led Ella to Lawrend's room.
"Here. This is the room."
The woman pointed to the door in front of her.
"Master is in here…"
Elena felt her heart beat fast realizing that she was so close to meeting her master again. Though, there was also the doubt that she could be meeting the wrong person, which is also why she didn't tell Aleshia and Ella first.
But just as Elena was about to open the door, it opened by itself.
A masked maid walked out and closed the door. She glanced at Elena before heading downstairs.
"...Wait!"
It took Elena a while to react before she was finally able to call out to her.
"Oh?"
The maid turned around and looked at Elena in confusion under the mask.
"Is Master there? No, I mean, Master Lawrend!"
Elena said to her, and she quickly realized that it would cause more confusion, so she included Lawrend's name.
"Fufufu. You know, Lawrend?"
If you still didn't guess it by now, she is Aezel. She bent her body forward and looked at Elena with interest.
"Who are you!?"
Instead of becoming joyful, Elena raised her hand in guard. Her master's safety is her priority.
"Fufufu. I can't tell you."
Aezel laughed and shook her head. She found Elena's reaction cute.
"Open the door! I know Master is in there!"
Elena said to Aezel angrily.
"Hohh… Who are you first? I don't recognize you."
Aezel's eyes under the mask sharpened as she stared at Elena. Elena had changed so much that she couldn't put her together with Elena from before.
"I'm Elena!"
Elena replied to her.
"Elena…. Your name sounds familiar, but I don't remember you."
Aezel held her chin in thought. She could barely remember hearing the name Elena before.
"Enough talking! I'll open the door!"
Seeing that Aezel still didn't recognize her, Elena opened the door into Lawrend's room.
"Master!"
Elena immediately recognized Lawrend who was sleeping on the bed unconscious. She ran towards him and shook his body.
"What did you do to Master!?"
Elena shouted at Aezel angrily after realizing that Lawrend was unresponsive.