“I understand why you are asking for my help in this matter,” Robin said. “But, wouldn’t it be better if you let the Rankers of the Kingdom deal with this personally?”

Lux shook his head. “I’m pretty sure that Twilight Rain has already planted their spies in almost all the cities of the Kingdom, including the Royal Palace. If any prominent members of your Kingdom’s Elites start to move, they will certainly catch wind of it.”

Robin was unable to refute Lux’s words because this was indeed the truth. Even his father acknowledged that even those he trusted might have already been bribed by Twilight Rain in order to help them usurp his rule.

“Understood.” Robin nodded. “Since you are doing this for the sake of the Kingdom, I will help you. I’m sure that Nevreal will set aside his personal grudges in order to rid ourselves of these hidden dangers.”

“Tell Nevreal to meet me at the earliest time tomorrow after we arrive in Whitebridge City,” Lux stated. “He will be meeting with that Merchant in the afternoon, so we need to create a foolproof plan in order to ensure that he will not be able to escape.”

Lux wasn’t too conceited to think that the mission to capture Lucius would be an easy one. He was only able to capture Sam because he used the element of surprise in order to do so.

Just like Amir, the Half-Elf was certain that the Honorable Elders of Twilight Rain had artifacts that would allow them to instantly teleport to somewhere in order to escape those who wished to catch them.

Unlike the Head of the Merchant Union in Wisp Tree Town, Lucius was more prominent, and more influential. He also had powerful bodyguards, including one High-Ranker that went by the name Ferron.

Because of this, capturing him would not be easy.

“Just to be on the safe side, make sure that Nevreal also brings a bodyguard with him,” Lux proposed. “A High-Ranker would be good.”

“Okay.” Robin nodded.

He could tell that this mission carried a lot of risks, and he didn’t want Nevreal to be hurt, or worse, captured by the enemy, whom Lux was planning to capture alive.

After their talk ended, Robin returned to his room and used his artifact to contact Nevreal, who was currently in the Royal City of the Kingdom of Gweliven, Aeronwen.

——————-

The next day, just an hour after sunrise, Lux and the little band of Dwarves entered the Teleportation Gate of Wisp Tree Town in order to head directly to Whitebridge City.

Dungeon Towns had access to a Teleportation Gate that could easily connect to all the Major Cities of the Kingdom.

The only problem was the Teleportation Fee. The farther the place was that you wanted to go, the more expensive it was. Because of this people only traveled to nearby cities before riding in Wagons in order to save a bit of gold during their travels.

Lux didn’t have this problem because he was filthy rich. In the past, he didn’t even have a hundred gold coins.

Now, he had millions.

After arriving in the city, the first place they visited was the Guild Headquarters of Eternal, where Aina was already waiting for her sister’s arrival.

As soon as Lux entered the Guildmaster’s Office, the sight of the doll-like beauty, who looked so perfect in any angle, made Lux’s heart skip a beat.

‘She really looks like the younger version of Luna,’ Lux thought as he tried to calm down his wildly beating heart.

Although this wasn’t the first time he had seen and talked to her, Lux still felt like he was a fan that was meeting his favorite idol for the first time.

If only he was holding glow sticks in his hand, he would certainly be waving them right now, just like the fans who go to Luna’s concert would do in order to cheer for her.

“Big Sister!” Colette immediately went to hug Aina, who also held her lovingly in her arms.

Although the doll-like beauty’s expression didn’t change, Lux was certain that Aina was very happy to see that Colette had returned safely from her mission.

“Big Sister, I have many things to tell you!” Colette said as she reluctantly took a step back from Aina’s embrace. “That Dark Guild tried to kidnap me while I was out on a mission! If Eiko wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be standing here with you right now!”

Aina briefly narrowed her eyes before shifting her gaze to the Half-Elf, who had removed his disguise after entering her office.

“Words cannot express how grateful I am for your timely assistance in rescuing my sister each and every time she is in trouble,” Aina said. “If there is a way to repay you, just say the word. As long as it is within my ability to do so, I will do it without fail.”

“Then, can I have your autograph?” Lux asked before he could stop himself from talking.

In front of Aina, he was not the Guildmaster of Heaven’s Gate, but a Fan who regretted not being able to go to her concert because he died before he could get that opportunity.

“Autograph?” Aina’s expression didn’t change. “What’s that?”

Colette also tilted her head in confusion. “Big Brother, what’s an autograph?”

“Um, an autograph is when you give people your signature as a sign of goodwill,” Lux tried to explain the concept of Autograph to the Dwarves who were hearing about it for the first time.

“Big Brother, getting my sister’s autograph is lame,” Colette pouted. “You should just ask her hand for marriage. Don’t worry, I will convince my parents to approve of yo-ouch!”

Aina, slightly pinched her sister’s cheeks with a dead-pan face, making the other Dwarves chuckle.

“Stop playing matchmaker and rest for now,” Aina said before releasing her hold of her little sister’s cheeks. “Your Big Brother and I have things to talk about in private, so be a good girl and don’t leave the Guild Headquarters until we are sure that no one will try to kidnap you again.”

Colette rubbed her right cheek, but still nodded her head obediently. She then winked at her Big Brother before giving Lux a thumbs up.

“Goodluck, Big Brother!” Colette said in passing before leaving the room with her friends.

Only when Lux and Aina were the only two people in the room did the doll-like beauty turn around to walk towards her desk where she usually completed her duties as the Guildmaster of Eternal.

“Please, have a seat, Lux,” Aina said as she made a gesture to the chair in front of her table. “I would like to hear all the details about Twilight Rain’s failed kidnapping attempt on my sister.”

Lux nodded and sat across Aina. He then relayed everything that happened, including his plan to capture Lucius, who was the Head of the Merchant Union in Whitebridge City.

“It seems that I owe you a bigger favor than I initially thought,” Aina replied after listening to Lux’s entire explanation. “Twilight Rain has indeed made several attempts in order to make me their pawn against the Royal Family. But, I never thought that they would try to capture my sister and use her as a bargaining chip in order to make me agree to their demands.”

Aina’s words were steady, and firm, but Lux could sense the anger hidden between her words. Although the doll-like beauty’s expression was still calm on the surface, deep inside her heart, a raging volcano was about to erupt.

“Don’t worry, if my plan succeeded, Twilight Rain will have no time to bother you and your sister for a period of time.”

Aina stared at Lux, holding his gaze. Her clear, blue eyes, that seemed to contain a myriad of emotions and nothing at the same time, made Lux feel as if he was looking at a woman who had sealed her heart away.

He didn’t know what Aina’s circumstances were, but being able to raise Eternal’s Rank to the Gold Rank was not an easy task.

For such a small body to carry so many responsibilities on her shoulders, Lux couldn’t fathom just how many things Aina had sacrificed in order to get to where she was now.

“Why are you going this far for us?” Aina asked. “I know you care about Colette. But, what you are doing far exceeds the boundaries of friendship. Do you perhaps have a hidden agenda?”

Lux was about to shake his head, but stopped midway. Although he didn’t really have any hidden agenda, and just wanted to help Colette because he wanted to help her, he believed that this was not the answer Aina was looking for.

Because of this, he decided to tease the doll-like beauty and see how she would react to his words.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” Lux asked. “What if I tell you that I fell in love with someone who looks exactly like you in the past?”

“Love at first sight…,” Aina replied. “I am aware that this exists, but I’ve never felt it before. As to you falling in love with someone who looks exactly like me… I can tell that you’re not lying.”

Aina then rested her chin on the back of her intertwined hands and narrowed her gaze.

“So, Lux Von Kaizer,” Aina said in a tone that was as flat as a board. “How confident are you in capturing Lucius alive?”

Lux didn’t answer this question right away, instead he lightly tapped his finger on top of Aina’s table and glanced at the map of the Kingdom of Gweliven, which hung on the wall of her office.

“There’s no guarantee that I will succeed,” Lux said after a few minutes. “But, even if I don’t, it will be fine.”

The Half-Elf had already prepared a contingency plan just in case his attempt to capture Lucius failed. Even if the Dwarf managed to escape, he would have a way to track him down, as long as he was within the territory of the Kingdom of Gweliven.