Chapter 166: Delia

"Humph, that jerk Yelan has zero manners," Xia Li said, resting her chin in her hand as she looked at the carriage ahead.

With Gerant gone, Yelan had run off to the front again, maintaining his usual cool demeanor. Previously, she hadn't given it much thought, but after getting used to the knight's gentleness and consideration over the past few days, the contrast with Yelan's attitude felt jarring.

Qianlong, driving the carriage, sighed. "Gerant has all those manners, but what's the use if you don't like him? Yelan is to you like the Goddess Athena is to me—sigh, the moon in the water, a flower in a mirror, visible yet forever out of reach." Tilting his head back to gaze at the sky, Qianlong wore a look of profound melancholy.

Crossing her arms, Xia Li scoffed, "Idiot. I just feel like I owe that punk and want to make it up to him."

The noble High Priestess would never admit her true thoughts aloud.

"Hey, hey, Priestess, I am no wooden block like Yelan, but I always felt that the two of you were a bit... strange..."

The carriage had already entered the Gray Thirteenth District, encountering no danger along the way.

In stark contrast to the desolation of the Fourteenth District, the Thirteenth District boasted clear streams, lush mountains, and pleasant scenery, possessing a much greater sense of tranquility and far less bloodshed.

Yelan, whose nerves had been tightly strung for so long, finally allowed himself to relax. Clutching his Cliff heavy rifle, he leaned against the carriage and drifted into a doze.

Watching his tired face, Lois tenderly draped a black fur-lined robe over him. After a brief hesitation, she gently wrapped her arm around his waist, burying his head against her chest.

Fruya blinked her large eyes, looking at the two of them for a moment before returning to her own drawing.

"Yelan, how wonderful it would be if it could always be like this..."

She murmured softly, like someone talking in her sleep.

The various factions in the Gray Thirteenth through Tenth Districts were as numerous as swarming bees and ants, with no fewer than two hundred large and small organizations. However, kept in check by the Big Three—the Battle League, the Chimeras, and Bolan—the surface remained peaceful. Conflicts between factions were either mediated by the Big Three or resolved upon the God-Battle Stage, making these three regions the most peaceful and serene within the entire Gray Zone.

It took Constantine's party a full two months to travel from the Thirteenth District to the Eighth. Along the way, Yelan witnessed a multitude of eccentric and extraordinary people. Within the Battle League, there was a Thousand-Handed Weapon God who possessed an origin called "Weapon Mind"; ordinary weapons exposed to this origin would fall out of control and come under his command, and even legendary divine weapons would have their power drastically reduced when repelled by this origin.

Among the Chimeras was a man named Zachary, whose body could undergo bestial transformation, growing wings on his back that allowed him to traverse the skies and the earth omnipotently.

Bolan was likewise brimming with extraordinary talents. Wherever they went, Yelan made it a point to visit the God-Battle Stage to watch the matches, often observing for an entire day at a time. He studied everything in the hopes of comprehending the techniques inscribed upon the blood stele within his body, yet after two months, his progress remained pitifully small.

When the carriage finally entered Constantine, the travelers all shared a feeling of parting the clouds to see the bright sun. For each of them, this journey had simply been too long.

Constantine was the secondary capital of the Bolan Kingdom, even larger in scale than Torrent City, with a thriving commerce and a profound heritage.

Yelan took out the letter Delis had given him before his departure, scanned through it once opened, and asked, "Uncle Maglian, do you know where Storm Cape and the Cake Cottage are?"

Maglian, steering the carriage, thought for a moment and replied, "I know where Storm Cape is, but I've never heard of the Cake Cottage."

"Oh, then could you please take us to Storm Cape?"

"You got it!"

Putting the letter away, Yelan muttered to himself, "This Delis, always acting so mysterious."

Her letter specified the exact address of the Cake Cottage as Number 81, Travel Street, Storm Cape, but added a parenthetical warning instructing Yelan not to tell anyone.

Constantine was entirely unlike other cities; the infamous Nile River of the Eighth District happened to border the back gate of Constantine. This great river was quite expansive, its waters even more violent than ordinary rivers. While it was fine in the summer, when winter arrived, cold winds swept across the river surface and collided with the massive city walls, frequently generating severe gales near the gates. Hence, the area around Constantine's back gate was known as Storm Cape.

Maglian was a seasoned veteran of the trade, so finding the way to Storm Cape was naturally second nature to him.

Travel Street in Storm Cape was lined with restaurants and inns, interspersed with houses bearing red lanterns. Anyone living in the city or adventurers who had visited before knew precisely what those places were.

After settling Lois and the others in a street-side inn, Yelan walked alone with the letter to Number 81 Travel Street. Seeing several unfamiliar letters written on the sign of the street-side lodge on his left, accompanied by a painted cake next to them, he felt a strange sensation in his heart.

"Sir, are you looking for lodging?"

The receptionist stood up and asked politely, while the small youth beside her amused himself by playing with a short dagger using nimble, slender fingers.

Yelan glanced at her. Dressed in white leather with a flushed, pretty face, she bore a striking resemblance to Delis. Facial features alone, she was even more captivating than that petite young woman. However, she was still young, around fourteen or fifteen, and her body had yet to fully develop, lacking the alluring curves of Delis.

Yelan shook his head and handed Delis's letter to her.

The young girl took a look, a look of surprise crossing her pink face.

"Yelan... It's you. Please come with me. Little Tiger, I'll leave things here to you."

The youth nicknamed Little Tiger had thick eyebrows and big eyes. Hearing her words, a look of jealousy appeared on his face as he scoffed, "Delia, if you spend more than ten minutes with another guy, I might just kill someone."

Delia's face flushed pink and she glared at him, yet still replied in a gentle voice, "I don't mind making you jealous. You'll be jealous for a lifetime."

"Oh." Little Tiger shrugged with an expression of complete indifference.

Delia led Yelan to a room in the middle of the corridor ahead and made a gesture inviting him to enter.

Yelan pushed the door open, then stopped in his tracks, feeling a wave of astonishment. The furnishings of this room were remarkably similar to his room on Mud Tile Street, only much larger.

"Mr. Yelan, Lady Annai had us prepare this for you two months ago."

"Lady Annai... Two months ago... You Twelve Fiends truly possess magical powers." Yelan strode into the room. Two months ago—that would have been right around the time he discovered his true lineage.

Delia pulled a letter from her bosom, presented it to him with both hands, and said, "This is the letter Lady Annai left for you. She always had me keep it on my person."

A faint, youthful fragrance still lingered on the letter. Yelan nodded, accepted her letter, but set it aside for a moment to ask, "Are you in charge of the intelligence here, Delia?"

Delia replied, "Yes. If you have any needs, I will provide you with any information you require, and the expenses will be charged to Lady Annai's account."

Yelan nodded. "I won't be staying here long, and I need a great deal of information: the three branches of the Demon race, the history of the Moon race, the current status of the Temples, and the present territorial distribution of the Rabbit race. If you have them, bring them all to me."

As he spoke, he broke open Annai's letter.