"Don't tell me... you're planning to do that kind of thing to me?"
Elise crossed her arms over her chest, her expression filled with vigilance.
The group ignored her question and exchanged glances among themselves. The one in the lead spoke up.
"How did you discover us?"
Without waiting for Elise to answer, he continued talking to himself.
"You're blindfolded, so you shouldn't be able to see... That means it's some kind of special skill? If you can't see, you probably can't even manage normal daily life."
These people...
Elise's brows twitched.
"If you don't have any business with me, then I'll be leaving now. My goddess is still waiting for me at home..."
Just as Elise was about to leave, the leader spoke again.
"I heard you defeated the floor boss on the seventeenth floor all by yourself. Is that true?"
Elise froze for a moment, then said somewhat nervously, "O-Of course it's true!"
"I might look like this, but I'm actually very strong!"
"You people are definitely no match for me. If you know what's good for you, go back now and don't show up in front of me again!"
Although she said those words, anyone with ears could tell how lacking her confidence was.
Even the masked men in front of her thought the same.
"Looks like it's fake..."
When Elise heard that sentence, her entire body trembled. It lasted less than a second before stopping.
But in the eyes of the masked men, that single second of trembling already revealed more than enough.
Sometimes, the correctness of words doesn't depend on how you answer, but on how you react.
And Elise's reaction had not disappointed them.
"Even if your value isn't as great as we thought, you'll still come with us."
"We've already prepared your future destination."
The masked men slowly approached Elise, while she gradually retreated.
"Y-You... what are you trying to do?"
As more and more figures appeared around her, Elise's face filled with fear.
"Don't come any closer!"
"What a pity..."
The masked man, who had been advancing slowly, suddenly accelerated and rushed straight in front of Elise, throwing a punch into her abdomen.
"Ugh—"
Elise let out a miserable cry and collapsed to the ground.
"What a shame. Such a beautiful woman, yet she was chosen by that Lady."
"Who knows whether that's your fortune or your misfortune..."
Another masked man walked out from behind, holding a pitch-black sack and pulling it down over Elise.
"That wraps up our mission."
The leader nodded and left with the others.
Inside the sack, Elise quietly opened her eyes.
Just as planned!
Now then, let me see who you people really are... and what exactly you're trying to do.
If you go too far... don't blame me for not holding back!
...
"Hey, did you bring the goods?"
A man's voice sounded from outside. It seemed they had already arrived at their destination.
Elise slipped back into her "unconscious" state, preparing to listen to what they would say.
And behind all this... who exactly was targeting her?
"Calling a beauty like that 'goods'? You've got some nerve," came the voice of one of the masked men who had kidnapped Elise.
"Cut the crap!"
"We've brought enough valis. All you need to do is hand over the merchandise!"
Another man's voice rang out. Elise had never heard it before, but through her perception of the surroundings, she could sense their numbers and attire.
The man who was preparing to purchase her wore extremely revealing clothing, strikingly similar to the Amazons Elise had seen before.
Not only that, the people behind him were all Amazons.
In Orario, there weren't many Familias like that.
In an instant, Elise thought of that person...
"Fine. Then hurry up and hand over the valis. We'll take the money and leave."
The masked man clearly had no intention of wasting more words. He directly tossed the sack containing Elise onto the table.
"Wait!"
Although the buyer did not wish to talk further, there was one thing he had to do.
"Before I pay the remaining valis, I need to inspect the goods."
This was normal in transactions. The buyer couldn't be certain whether the seller had tampered with the merchandise, so he requested an inspection.
"Of course. We're long-term partners, after all."
The masked man gave a look, signaling his subordinate to open the sack.
A flash of gold appeared before everyone's eyes. The moment Elise's shimmering golden hair came into view, it captured the attention of every person present, male and female alike.
Then her delicate features and perfectly proportioned figure were revealed to the crowd.
"Truly astonishing!"
The buyer's face lit up with fervor the instant he saw Elise.
"If it's a beauty like this, Lady Ishtar will definitely be pleased!"
Ishtar!
The moment that name was spoken, Elise confirmed her suspicion.
So the mastermind really is that wretched goddess?
She actually hired people to make a move on me?
"But... the blindfold doesn't look very good on her."
As soon as the man finished speaking, he reached toward Elise, grabbed her blindfold, and tore it off.
Elise's beauty had once been listed separately in the Lord God Space as a talent of its own. Naturally, it possessed something extraordinary.
That otherworldly beauty was precisely why the buyer, who frequently served at a goddess' side, understood just how astonishing it was.
"That's much better."
"Once Lady Ishtar sees her, I wonder how she'll reward me. Heh heh!"
Seeing the man immersed in his own fantasies, the Amazons behind him clicked their tongues helplessly.
Little did they know that Elise's eyes had quietly opened...
Hm? What's that movement?
The masked man felt something on the table brushing against his hand and lowered his head to look.
The instant he did, he met Elise's sapphire-like eyes. The light in his gaze vanished at once.
"Since the goods have been inspected, you can take the remaining valis."
The buyer gestured, and an Amazon stepped forward carrying a large bundle. When it was opened, it was filled to the brim with valis.
"The transaction is complete!"
He was just about to reach out and touch Elise when another hand seized his wrist, causing him to frown.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I said the transaction is complete!"
"You can get lost now!"
The man's words burst out without restraint, but the masked man acted as if he hadn't heard them, tightening his grip on the wrist.
In the next second, a streak of sword light flashed past his head.
The masked man had actually severed the buyer's head with a single slash.
The atmosphere instantly turned explosive.