Volume 5 Chapter 256: The Seemingly Peaceful Night At The Benedict Manor’s New Elven Tavern
Volume 5 Chapter 256: The Seemingly Peaceful Night At The Benedict Manor’s New Elven Tavern
Volume 5 Chapter 256: The Seemingly Peaceful Night At The Benedict Manor’s New Elven Tavern
Translator: The Light
Edits by Grandia
The third floor of the brand new Elven Tavern within Benedict Manor, inside the Filomena Nobility Academy located in the northern campus of Olsylvia Academy.
Inside the Moon Elven Princess Delias’ room, Bella had turned to leave once she ensured that the princess had settled in. Before she left, she asked the other female Moon Elves on the same floor to keep an eye on their chairman.
The new Elven Tavern was currently unnamed as a suitable one would be picked when they officially opened for business. At the moment, Bella still did not know what to name the tavern. To be honest, she was not the best at coming up with names. Most likely, she would have to ask some of her girlfriends for help and see if they had any good ideas.
A place to worship the Goddess of Life was set up in the middle of the new tavern. Bella had made a last minute decision to change it from an altar for worshipping the Goddess of Life to the Altar of the Gods. After all, this was a tavern that was targeted towards girls from all races. It would not be comfortable for the other races who worshipped other Gods.
The craftsman that was responsible for building the altar had been able to finish the alterations quickly. He had built it based on images of the Gods that the Radiant Church had passed down over the years and had designed the altar to replicate where each of the Twelve Gods were seated within the God World. Right now, he had already completed the sculptures for the Death Goddess and the Goddess of Life, as well as the one of the high ranking Gods, the Water Goddess.
“The aura of the Death Goddess and Water Goddess... could it be that these sculptures have sealed the Gods’... but since ten thousand years ago...”
Bella let out a little shriek of surprise when she held the Goddess of Life’s sculpture and walked into the Altar of the Gods as she could faintly feel the aura of the Second Generation Death Goddess Maureen and the Second Generation Water Goddess. If her instincts were correct, these two companions must have attached part of their soul to the sculptures.
“My Goddess, these sculptures shall be your temporary residence. When I move your bodies from the sealed location, you will have to enter into a master-servant agreement with me!”
“You... What exactly do you want? Bella, could it be that you wish to fill up all these spaces?”
As the Goddess of Life looked at the half-built sculptures of the Goddess of Light and the Moon Goddess, she was a little confused at Bella’s motives. Was she really intending to collect all the goddesses? The Goddess of Light and the Moon Goddess were originally female. In fact, every single sculpture that was being worked on were all Gods who had been verified to be female.
“My Goddess, don’t ask anymore questions. You will find out eventually.”
Bella was not sure if she actually intended to commence the “Goddess Collection Game” or not. Once she ensured that the soul of the Goddess of Life was properly situated, she returned to the Elven Tavern’s main hall where Kriss and Lisha had been waiting for her. Lolita had her eyes closed, as though she was taking a quick break.
“Lisha, did that useless prince come by again?”
“I haven’t seen him. Earlier on, Older Sister Natasha sent a messenger to inform us that she had rejected the Moon Elven Prince’s complaint. However, I think he has not given up. He said something about handling it himself and that Older Sister Natasha should not interfere!”
Chairman Natasha from Olsylvia Academy’s Disciplinary Committee had used the excuse that she would not be involved in the Elven Race’s internal affairs to reject the Elven Prince Felix’s complaint. Furthermore, she was a member of the Rose Society and it was impossible for her to lead a team to investigate her own society. If she really went through with it, Bella would definitely not hesitate to punish her when she returned to the dorm at night.
Determined, Prince Felix approached President Lucia of Filomena Nobility Academy in hopes that she would be able to correct the injustice for him. Although President Lucia did not belong to Bella’s harem yet, her Vice-Presidents, the “Thunder Knight” Aurora and the “Dusk Knight” Daphne were part of Bella’s group and had used all sorts of excuses to prevent Prince Felix from meeting President Lucia. In the end, Prince Felix could only return without accomplishing anything.
Initially, Prince Felix had thought about seeking out Lucia’s grandfather, Principal Elvis of Filomena Nobility Academy. However, that money grabbing principal had a rule. Anyone who was not a student of the academy had to pay a meeting fee of up to ten gold coins if they wished to meet him during his personal time.
Just like the Moon Elven Princess Delias, Prince Felix did not own much human currency. He had no choice but to sigh and complain about the fact that the Human’s world had too many traps and left silently. The fees that Principal Elvis demanded were nearly equivalent to the “service” charges by most of the girls of the neighboring Antoinette Academy. It would be too much of a loss to pay that amount of money to hang out with an old man.
After having a simple dinner with Lisha and Kriss, Bella asked that they return home. They still had to attend a networking event at the Euphemia Imperial Academy for female royals from the various empires! President Isaman was in charge of organizing this particular event. If Bella did not intend to continue hiding her surrogate’s true identity, she would be able to attend the gathering as Princess Felia.
Bella often suspected that President Isaman was going against her on purpose. She tended to host such networking events for the female royals despite knowing that most of Bella’s harem was made up of princesses, including those whom she held dear. Her younger sister Lisha, her girlfriend Kriss, fake girlfriend Ariel, and close friend Noreya were all princesses who were required to attend those events.
It seemed like Bella would have to find a way to get rid of President Isaman as soon as possible. Intentional or not, these constant disruptions would prevent Bella from further developing relationships with them. After reluctantly sending Lisha and Kriss to the teleportation array, Bella arranged for Lolita, the Devastating Evil Loli, to keep an eye on the Moon Elven Prince Felix. Until now, he had yet to leave Olsylvia Academy, as though he was coming up with some evil plan in secret.
When Bella returned to the Elven Tavern, her second important guest of the day had arrived. A well dressed person in a suit was seated in an inconspicuous part of the tavern. Chairman Sally Roy sat quietly with an open menu in front of her.
Other than Kleina, Chairman Sally Roy was one of the other beauties among the four main Evil Organizations of the Human empire’s Underground World whom Bella really liked. Sally Roy was visibly uncomfortable as she was a descendant of one of the Ten Underworld Kings. This Elven Tavern was secretly worshipping three Gods and Underworld Kings typically disliked the Gods’ auras.
Fortunately, one of those gods was the Death Goddess, who had similar characteristics with the Demon World’s Ten Underworld Kings. This meant that Chairman Sally Roy could still endure being in the presence of the Death Goddess’ aura. Otherwise, she would have left a long time ago. Rather than a bustling Elven Tavern that was full of life, Sally Roy personally preferred to spend time in a dimly lit underground bar. It was also her occupational habit.
“Grand Duchess Bellina, you... you were looking for me? Have we met?”
“Erm, Chairman Sally Roy, you must be mistaken. We’ve never met before. Have a glass of fruit juice, on the house. By the way, call me Bella.”
At the moment, Bella was unable to admit that she had known Chairman Sally Roy before. She had abducted Kleina, who was the daughter of the lord of the Skeleton Tower, and “devoured” her. Furthermore, Bella also cheated the Blood Skull’s young master, Randall, out of one hundred thousand gold coins. Right now, he was still unaware of her true identity. Bella felt that it was good for her to try to stay out of trouble as much as possible!
“Is that so... I think I must have made a mistake, Bella. I don’t drink fruit juice. However, if you have some wine, that would be great.”
Captain Sally Roy took a peek at Bella’s hands and did not say anything else. However, she already knew the answer. She clearly remembered that Bella was not wearing gloves back then. Since Bella was unwilling to admit anything, then Sally Roy would not pursue it any further as everyone had secrets that they did not want anyone else to know. Regardless, the main purpose of Bella’s invitation was for a business proposition.
The taverns owned by the Elven Race did not sell any wine. Instead, they combined and fermented various fruits, which could only be considered as a type of fruit wine. This particular drink was extremely popular with most girls. However, there was a minority group, including Sally Roy, who did not enjoy the drink. She felt that the drink tasted just like a mixed fruit juice and did not have the desired effect at all.
There was all sorts of fine wine inside Bella’s storage ring that the various Demon Lords had given her as an offering to their Demon God. For instance, she possessed the “Blood of Sin’, “Spring of River Styx”, “Stares of the Dead Sea”, and many other famous dark wines. However, these wines were made for the Demon Race. No matter how powerful Chairman Sally Roy was, she was still human. Is it really okay if she drank those wines?
This was proof that Bella was simply underestimating Chairman Sally Roy. Although this female underworld leader was dressed rather decently, she was in fact a rare “seasoned drinker”. She did not even use a glass for the Demon Race’s wines. Instead, she drank directly from the bottle. Bella followed suit and matched her bottle for bottle.
Each of them had finished three bottles before they got down to business. Chairman Sally Roy politely refused any side dishes to go with the wine. As the Elven Race were vegetarian, there were no meat dishes available at the tavern. However, it was still a suitable replacement.
Chairman Sally was rather open. After three rounds, she quickly agreed to provide undercover protection for Bella’s Hausmann Hotel. After all, it was located within the Fraternity’s territory and it was not convenient for Bella’s Rose Society to arrange for one of their own to stand guard at the hotel either. Furthermore, the guards in the hotel were not omnipotent. If any unexpected circumstance occurred, she would require the assistance of an underground dark power like the Eye of Darkness.
“By the way, I think someone might be coming here to steal the Seed of Life tonight! The mission was announced in the name of some Elven Prince and it was released to the public at my hotel earlier on. Interestingly enough, the payment will be made by a certain princess of the Fairy Race.”
Chairman Sally Roy had divulged this information to Bella after drinking an entire bottle of the “Spring of River Styx”. Typically, such information would not be directly revealed to the party involved. Acting otherwise was going against the rules of the underground transactions. However, Chairman Sally Roy did not care about all those details and would say whatever she wanted, depending on the person she was working with. The wine that Bella had shared was the most delicious thing that Sally Roy had ever tasted since she founded the Eye of Darkness organization. In her delight, she decided to give someone away.
Technically speaking, Sally Roy did not really betray anyone as she did not provide any names. Even if there were to be an investigation in the future, she would not be implicated at all. Of course, if Bella had shared a few more bottles of wine with her and got her drunk, there was a chance that Sally Roy would reveal the name of the instigator in an accidental “drunken slip of the mouth”.
Without thinking, Bella knew that the prince was Prince Felix of the Moon Elves. When she first heard the news, she almost thought that she had heard it wrongly. Prince Felix’s situation should have been similar to the Elven Princess Delias, which meant that he would not have any gold coins. It was strange how he would have the money to release such a mission.
However, it made sense now that someone else was coming up with the money. Although the Fairy Race and the Elven Race were distant relatives, the former had already integrated into the daily lives of the various Human Empires. For instance, the Eiffel Hotel a street over from the Rose Society’s new property was opened by the Fairy Race. In fact, Bella heard that their business was doing quite well. Therefore, it was not surprising that the Fairy Race would have acquired some money.
The Seed of Life was a sacred being. In its first month, it would be similar to a demonic beast’s demonic core and the seed was entwined within the branches of the Tree of Life that were near the ground. It could only be temporarily removed by a special tool. After a month, the Seed of Life would transform into pure energy and fuse completely with the Tree of Life. By then, unless the thief was willing to uproot the entire tree, stealing the seed would be practically impossible.
“Thank you, Older Sister Sally Roy for the information. A toast to you, from a younger sister. By the way, let me know how much the reward for the mission was and I will transfer the full amount to you!”
“Younger Sister Bella, it seems like you’re pretty rich. Well then, I shall accept. I will keep you informed about anything related to the Rose Society in the future.”
Chairman Sally Roy did not decline any further. As a leader of the underworld, she was more straightforward than her counterparts who would go through the motions of refusing only to accept in the end after putting up a show. After sending off Chairman Sally Roy, Bella felt like she now had a deeper understanding of the other girl. She was sure that this big sister of the underworld was very much to her taste.
Moreover, the fact that Chairman Sally Roy was able to drink such large amounts of the Demon Race’s fine wines proved that she was not a normal human. There was a possibility that they were the same kind and had the same dark background as Bella. In her heart, Bella had already secretly claimed Sally Roy as her own.
As the new Elven Tavern inside the Benedict Manor was not officially open for business yet, the students of Olsylvia Academy who had been gathering around the tavern began to leave when it got dark. The night was still young. It was still worth it as they managed to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Elven Princess Delias and Prince Felix as well.
The Rose Society had spared no expense at employing guards to patrol the area outside the tavern. Those guards were responsible for looking after the large forest in the territory as well. Although there were more than two hundred guards, it was still a large expanse of land to cover. It was a stretch, even for nearly three hundred guests.
The elves of the Moonlight Society had already gathered in the newly opened conference room on the third floor of the tavern. Bella planned to stay the night. Lolita was there as well and had brought back some important information. Prince Felix of the Moon Elven seemed to be making secret contact with one of the Fairy princesses and they had planned to arrange for someone to steal the Seed of Life. She did not manage to get the name of that Fairy princess either as the princess did not mention her name at all and Lolita could not read the Fairy Race’s script either.
Back at the dorm, Bella’s other dorm mates – Lisha, Kriss, and the others would be staying at Euphemia Imperial Academy that night. The networking event seemed to be an all nighter which meant that Bella would be returning to an empty room that night. If that was the case, she might as well stay here!
Other than Lolita, Bella brought some of her lolis on the outside as well – the Demon God Angel, the Great Evil God Mia, the Demon of Time Noesha, and the Poison Origin Betty. Those two Demon Gods of the World Destructors and two members of the Chaos Bringers were currently seated harmoniously at a table while playing a game that looked like the mahjong set that Bella had brought from her previous world.
Their divine artifacts were placed casually beside their seats. To them, mahjong was new and exciting and they were absolutely delighted. Anyway, Bella did not intend to ask them for too much help. After all, they were lolis and all they needed to do was to look cute. If she really needed a capable loli, she still had Lolita by her side!
The Elven Princess Delias had already turned in. Being possessed by the Goddess of Life had drained a lot of energy out of her and it would take her at least a day to recover. Fortunately, before she fell asleep, Princess Delias had spoken to the members of the Moonlight Society and informed them that Bella would be their interim chairman for the night.
At this moment, Bella was doing “naughty things” behind the conference room’s closed doors! She had drawn the curtains at every window to prevent any passersby from taking a peek at the beautiful scene that was unfolding.
Bella was giving the female Moon Elves a full body check and was taking their measurements with the excuse of designing new clothes for them. The naive Moon Elf girls did not suspect that Bella was doing anything with sinister intentions at all. Furthermore, Princess Delias had named Bella was her temporary stand in.
Although they felt a little embarrassed at Bella’s strange request, none of them raised any objections. They took off all their clothes and formed a line in front of Bella for her to personally take their individual measurements, just like in a physical examination. Bella was thrilled and quickly jotted down their secret measurements in a small notebook. Her plan was to collect all the data from the hundred-odd Moon Elf girls before the thieves arrived at the tavern.