Chapter 294: The Thief Who Fell into the Trap.

Although they knew Sperien possessed a powerful magical artifact capable of creating illusions, Moresy and Seidler were still worried something might go wrong during the night.

Neither dared fall into a deep sleep.

Listening to Budno's steady breathing, they felt utterly helpless.

That kid really didn't have a care in the world!

He was sleeping so soundly that neither had the heart to shake him awake.

They struggled through the night until, sometime after midnight, their extended senses detected something unusual. Both opened their eyes at once.

Sixteen adventurers, weapons in hand, were creeping toward the Light Squad's campsite from different directions.

Their objective was unmistakable: the Light Squad's tents.

However, the intruders seemed to have reached some sort of agreement, silently and unanimously ignoring the tent occupied by Moresy and Seidler.

Sure enough, bullies always picked on the weak.

Knowing better than to provoke a Dark Elf, they had wisely decided to steer clear.

Falm, who was curled up beside the campfire, had sensed their approach long ago. He twitched his {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} ears, rolled over, and continued pretending to sleep.

The Little Fairies had already prepared a countermeasure, so there was nothing for him to do. He might as well lie back and enjoy the show.

Under Moresy and Seidler's watchful senses, the sixteen adventurers crept closer and closer to the Light Squad's campsite. When they noticed that the little magical beast supposedly keeping watch hadn't stirred, contemptuous expressions appeared on their faces.

They hoped these rookies would know what was good for them and surrender their money without a fight. Otherwise, they couldn't be blamed for showing no mercy.

All sixteen adventurers stepped into the Light Squad's campsite simultaneously. Just as they reached out to touch the edges of the tents, a faint beam of light suddenly appeared beneath their feet.

The next instant, their minds went blank.

It was as though something had sucked their consciousness away in an instant. Their bodies swayed twice before, with a series of thuds, all sixteen collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Moresy and Seidler, who had been monitoring their surroundings with their senses the entire time, "watched" the thieves fall in perfect unison.

Both abruptly sat up and turned to stare at each other, their faces reflecting the same astonishment.

What an incredible illusion artifact!

All sixteen adventurers had fallen victim to it at once.

And among them was an Intermediate Grand Swordmaster.

Just to be safe, the two kept their senses trained on that particular adventurer for quite some time. Once they were satisfied that he wouldn't escape the illusion anytime soon, they slowly lay back down and, in perfect unison, pulled their blankets over themselves.

After an unknown length of time, Seidler spoke.

"Let's sleep."

"Mm," Moresy replied.

Falm opened his mouth wide and let out an enormous yawn. He slowly rose from his spot beside the fire, spread his wings, and stretched.

Now that the adventurers were trapped in the illusion, he could go hunting.

He flicked out his tongue, transformed into a streak of red light, and shot into the snowy wilderness like lightning, happily setting off in search of magical beasts on the mountain.

As the owner of the Phanis Ring, Shu Li hadn't allowed himself to fall completely asleep that night. Until the thieves arrived, he had maintained a sliver of wakefulness.

Consequently, he was aware of everything the people around him were doing.

For example, Ace had rolled over six times: twice onto his right side, twice onto his back, and twice onto his left side.

With all that tossing and turning, his blanket had gradually shifted until, without his noticing, it ended up on Kumandi's side.

Feeling cold without it, Ace had actually reached over and tried to steal Shu Li's blanket.

Half asleep, Shu Li had fought him for it.

Unfortunately, Ace was stronger, and not only did Shu Li lose the battle, but the enemy proceeded to invade and occupy his territory.

Yes, Ace had squeezed right under Shu Li's blanket. Apparently displeased that Shu Li was fighting him for it, he had ruthlessly subdued him.

Feeling his body restrained, Shu Li groggily opened his eyes.

At that very moment, the thieves triggered the illusion.

Ignoring Ace, who had wrapped himself around him like an octopus, Shu Li immediately extended his senses to investigate what was happening outside.

Excellent. All sixteen adventurers had fallen into the trap.

A wicked grin spread across Shu Li's face.

Heh, heh. They can forget about escaping that illusion for the next four or five hours.

To upgrade the Phanis Ring, he had incorporated plenty of additional "ingredients."

He had drawn inspiration from horror movies back in his original world, ensuring that the scenes were terrifyingly realistic and packed with enough suspense and horror to scare the living daylights out of anyone. Then, by combining those elements with the Demon Lord's nightmare ability, he could draw out the deepest fears of anyone caught in the illusion and give them the full experience of starring in their very own horror movie.

If their willpower proved too weak to overcome their fears, their souls would remain trapped in the illusion forever, leaving their bodies in a vegetative state.

Unfortunately for them, their luck was particularly rotten.

The world outside was a frozen wasteland, and nighttime temperatures had plunged to thirty degrees below zero. They probably wouldn't survive long enough to become living vegetables. Human-shaped ice sculptures, on the other hand, were a distinct possibility.

Tomorrow morning was going to be quite a spectacle.

Shu Li couldn't help laughing. He was about to turn over when he discovered he couldn't move.

Only then did he remember that he was being held captive.

He withdrew his senses, stopped paying attention to the thieves outside, and turned his attention to the young man who had stolen his blanket, invaded his bed, and wrapped his arms around him.

Although both of them were wearing magical robes, being pressed together so intimately made them acutely aware of each other's body heat.

He had to admit that two people cuddling together were considerably warmer than one person sleeping alone.

But this position was far too suggestive!

Shu Li's cheeks flushed scarlet.

They were both lying on their left sides, with Shu Li tucked into Ace's embrace like a doll. Completely enveloped by the young man's presence, he could neither move nor break free.

Although they had slept together before, they had never been this intimate.

Shu Li understood that camping in the snow at night was nothing like sleeping indoors. No matter how thick the blankets were, they couldn't provide the same warmth as a proper room. It was perfectly natural for someone to instinctively seek out a "heat source" in their sleep.

The way Ace was holding him so tightly made it obvious that he had mistaken Shu Li for a portable heater.

Actually, Shu Li didn't dislike being close to Ace.

There was something wonderfully clean and pure about his presence, as refreshing as a mountain spring.

His embrace was warm and made Shu Li feel safe.

His golden hair was as smooth as silk, and the strands brushing against Shu Li's face felt wonderfully soft.

And then there was his scent...

When they had shared a bed at the inn, Shu Li had already noticed that the fragrance of the blazing flame flowers had faded, replaced by a delicate, elegant scent that seemed suspiciously like moonlight grass.

Shu Li twitched his nose.

The more he smelled it, the more convinced he became that it really was moonlight grass.

A giant question mark practically appeared over his head.

Was something wrong with his nose, or had Ace started using a different fragrance on his clothes?

But moonlight grass was a unique gift bestowed upon the Faerie Forest by the Moon God, Mottel Lena. Ordinary humans weren't allowed to use it as incense or perfume.

Determined to identify the scent, Shu Li slowly began turning around despite being trapped in the young man's embrace.

After an enormous struggle, he finally managed to face Ace.

Excellent!

He hadn't woken him up.

Shu Li edged his head closer, pressed his nose against Ace's hair, and inhaled deeply.

The familiar fragrance of moonlight grass filled his nostrils.

He froze for a moment, then lowered his head toward Ace's neck, bringing the tip of his nose so close that it almost touched the young man's skin.

The refreshing fragrance of moonlight grass flooded his senses with unmistakable clarity.

Shu Li went rigid.

A suspicion he had once buried deep in the recesses of his mind suddenly surged to the surface.

Why...

Why does Ace smell like the Elven King?!

It's so similar!

Almost identical!

No—it's exactly the same!

A person's appearance could be disguised, but their natural scent couldn't be concealed.

Ordinarily, they maintained some distance from each other, and the fragrances applied to their clothes made it impossible to distinguish their true scents.

But now, pressed intimately together with their scents mingling, the fragrance that had been deliberately concealed was gradually revealing itself.

A storm erupted in Shu Li's heart.

Ace is the Elven King. Ace isn't the Elven King. Ace is the Elven King. Ace isn't the Elven King...

His mind swung back and forth between certainty and denial, the two possibilities waging a fierce battle like opposing armies until his head felt ready to split apart.

Shu Li admired the Elven King so profoundly that he couldn't bear the thought of profaning him, much less entertaining the slightest improper fantasy about him.

Whenever he dreamed of being intimate with the Elven King, he would afterward be overcome with guilt and repent deeply.

That was why, despite having uncovered several clues before, he had never been able to bring himself to equate Ace with the Elven King.

And now he had discovered another important clue.

This one was far more compelling than any of the others. He couldn't think of a single reasonable argument to refute it.

There's no running away from this anymore.

That was the only thought left in Shu Li's mind.

He had to confront the possibility head-on, uncover more clues, and prove that Ace really was the Elven King.

His heart pounded wildly.

His emotions were a complicated mixture of excitement, bashfulness, and a faint but undeniable sense of anticipation.

There can be only one truth!

He decided to become Sherlock Holmes himself, gathering more irrefutable evidence until he was absolutely certain. Then he would slap it all down in front of Ace and leave him with no room for denial.

Having made up his mind, Shu Li relaxed his body and slowly extended a hand toward Ace's neck.

The Elven King possessed a storage ring just as rare and valuable as Shu Li's own: the Ancient Ota Ring.

The ring Ace currently wore was an ordinary storage ring.

If he really was the Elven King, there was a good chance he had done exactly what Shu Li had done: threaded the Ancient Ota Ring onto a necklace and hidden it beneath his clothes.

If Shu Li could find that ring, half the mystery would be solved.

Just as his fingertips were about to reach Ace's neck, the young man suddenly released him, rolled over, and turned his back.

Shu Li's hand froze in midair.

Holding his breath, his heart racing, he feared he had accidentally woken Ace.

Half a minute passed.

Ace remained on his side, facing away from him.

Shu Li silently breathed a sigh of relief.

That was close!

He quickly withdrew his hand and glared resentfully at the back of Ace's neck.

Unfortunately, it was covered in hair. To check whether he was wearing a necklace, Shu Li would have to brush those golden strands aside.

And moving someone's hair without waking them was a delicate operation.

Shu Li was getting a headache.

On the one hand, he was desperate to find the answer. On the other, he couldn't risk alerting his suspect.

While he was still hesitating, Ace rolled onto his back.

Shu Li's eyes lit up.

Another chance!

With Ace lying on his back, however, only a tiny section of his neck was visible.

He had to admit that Ace's magical robe was remarkably conservative. It had a half-standing collar, and every button was fastened neatly in place.

Then again, Shu Li had seen Ace with his neck exposed before.

When they had slept together previously, Ace had often worn shirts that revealed his alluring collarbones.

Shu Li suddenly froze.

He remembered!

Ace didn't wear anything around his neck!

Grabbing a handful of his own hair, Shu Li flopped back down in defeat.

Well, there went that lead.

He couldn't help puffing out his cheeks as he pondered where Ace might have hidden the Ancient Ota Ring.

Perhaps he had been moving around too much, because Ace suddenly seemed to be showing signs of waking.

Panic seized Shu Li.

He immediately shut his eyes, steadied his breathing, and pretended to be asleep.

Several minutes passed before the person beside him finally stirred.

Ace was awake!

Upon discovering that he had somehow ended up under Shu Li's blanket—and had even stolen it—Ace sat up and stared for a while.

Then he carefully climbed out, retrieved his own blanket, and quietly returned to his place.

After straightening his bedding, Ace lay down again.

Shu Li was a bundle of nerves, terrified that Ace would realize he was still awake. He silently prayed over and over for the young man to hurry up and go back to sleep.

Perhaps his prayers worked.

Once Ace lay down, his breathing soon grew steady, and he quickly fell asleep again. He even shifted a little closer to Kumandi.

At last, Shu Li's heart settled back into place.

Thank goodness!

He didn't notice anything!

As soon as he relaxed, a wave of drowsiness swept over him.

His head tipped to one side, and this time, Shu Li finally fell properly asleep.