Love Affair?

The room had been silent for some time since Tiyara's sudden revelation, but soon it was broken by Eve, who somehow managed to snap out of her shocked state.

"W-WHAT!?" Eve shouted in surprise, her hands trembling.

Tiyara let a small laugh escape because she had said it on purpose to tease Eve, who now looked as red as a tomato.

"W-W-What a-are y-you saying, Tiya? I d-don't have such feelings for my master. He already has a fiancee!" Eve said, letting go of Tiyara's arm to hide her red face.

"But powerfull rich men usually have two or more wives, don't they?" the tanned woman continued teasing, leaving Eve feeling even more flustered.

"Y-Yes, b-but still, I c-can't. I'm just a servant," Eve answered, stuttering while covering her face with her hands.

"Heh~ Well, I'm sorry for saying that," Tiyara said, trying to apologize while patting Eve's shoulder.

After a few minutes, Eve composed herself from her friend's teasing. Tiyara was now sitting at the table with them, waiting for a bottle of expensive wine she had ordered.

Tiyara was chatting with Eve about her latest mission, where she had eliminated everyone inside a clandestine red powder factory. She described how she stealthily infiltrated the place, hiding and taking out individuals one by one until she was left facing the boss alone.

It seems she broke his limbs and threw the man's body into a red powder grinder. After that, she set the place on fire, leaving no one with any idea of who was responsible.

These guys were trying to compete with a powerful gangster family that sold an inferior red powder to its clients. Feeling threatened by the competition, they called in a skilled cleaner to deal with the problem.

Eve listened with animation, eating some grilled meat as if she were hearing about a heroic adventure.

Raziel listened with a stiff smile, observing the tanned woman. Her eyes, which had previously been dark sclera with bright golden irises, were now normal with white sclera and less radiant golden irises. Despite the change, she remained just as intriguing as before.

He noticed she gave him occasional glances with a bizarre, sideways smile, which sent a chill down his spine. He deduced that she was likely a sadistic person hiding behind a friendly exterior.

Now, to contribute to the brutal stories of killings, his bodyguard decided to describe how she had killed a gangster using a toothpick, leaving Raziel feeling a little scared.

The assassin duo stopped discussing such stories after Tiyara tried to include Raziel in their conversation by asking him a little about himself.

Raziel only mentioned basic details, such as how he spends his time, his primary class, and his hobbies, which mainly involve sleeping and reading novels all day. Tiyara found the conversation a bit dull, so she decided to ask a more personal question.

"So, young master Raziel, is it true that your fiancée is really that beautiful?" Tiyara asked, looking at him with a playful smile.

"Oh, she is, and sometimes I even mistake her for a true angel without wings," he said sarcastically, looking at the tanned woman, who covered her mouth with her hand once again.

"Ooh~ I see you really love her, but please don't forget about my friend Eve, or she might feel like an abandoned puppy and even cry to me later," Tiyara said, giving him a slight smile.

She had noticed his sarcastic tone, which suggested that he might not like his fiancée as much as Eve had claimed. 

When Eve heard her statement, she just looked at Tiyara, this time angrily.

"Let's talk about other things, Miss Tiyara. I don't like talking about my fiancée without her presence," Raziel suggested, trying to change the subject.

Tiyara nodded, a little disappointed, but she was still thinking about how to tease him like she does with Eve.

A few minutes later, Raziel and Eve had finished their meals while Tiyara was drinking her wine. The duo exchanged farewells because Raziel wanted to explore the black market to see if he could find more rainbow stones or any other valuable items.

Tiyara felt dissatisfied with their departure because she couldn't make Raziel lose his composure at any moment during their conversation.

She found him an interesting person, being a little different from how Eve described, prompting her to invite Raziel to visit again someday. Tiyara even gave him a guest pass and a VIP key access so he could come whenever he wanted.

Raziel tried to refuse, saying the leader of that place would probably be angry with him receiving such treatment, as he was not one of them. But the two girls just laughed at him at the same time.

A few seconds later, Eve stopped laughing, noticing that Raziel was confused, and said, "Don't worry about that, little master, because Tiyara is the leader."

"WHAT!?"

Hearing this really caught him by surprise.

***

Two hours later, inside a weapon store in the black market zone, Raziel was examining some artifacts while his companion Eve selected new models of crossbows to use at the archery testing area on the second floor of the store.

Raziel still felt a little stunned after discovering Tiyara's true identity. Luckily, that woman didn't get any bad impression of him, thanks to Eve. If she wasn't there, things might have turned out differently.

Lost in his thoughts, Raziel wandered through the store until he noticed some swords displayed on the wall with expensive prices. To him, none of them were interesting.

Only two weapons in this world are worth being bought, considered the two divine treasures for an aura user.

One of these two treasures is called Ciste Geneve, a golden sword blessed with infinite growth and an overpowering ability called God's Will, capable of cutting a mountain like cutting butter.

Sadly, obtaining this one is pretty complicated because it is now sealed in the Divine Cave, which only appears some years later.

In the original plot, Erick accidentally discovers the cave, clears it, and obtains the Ciste Geneve. This sword becomes his most powerful weapon in the future, eventually helping him slay the ancient demon.

The other one is a mysterious treasure called Void Custode, considered a great enigma in this world. Some players have discovered hidden dialogues about the weapon, and developers have confirmed its existence in the game. Despite immense efforts, no one has ever found a way to acquire it.

Hackers have tried to find clues in the game code, but they didn't succeed.

While playing the game, Raziel didn't even bother searching for it, thinking it might be some sort of intentional marketing ploy or just a big troll by the developers.

Without finding anything interesting, Raziel decided to call Eve and try to find that shady seller again. He also checked other places before coming to that weapon store in search of rainbow stones, but none of the sellers had ever seen a rainbow-colored stone in their lives.

Raziel left the store with Eve, and they wandered around the black market streets. The girl by his side was now rubbing her cheeks against a crossbow she had bought, murmuring about testing it tonight, which made Raziel feel uneasy.

While distracted by his bodyguard's strange behavior, a man dressed in a black robe and wearing a red cloth covering his mouth bumped into Raziel, causing both of them to fall to the ground.

"Hey! Are you blind!?" Eve shouted angrily, preparing a bolt for her crossbow.

Raziel quickly got up and stopped the girl, saying it was just an accident. He then went to help the man who accepted the assistance while trembling a little under Eve's cold glare.

The two exchanged apologies, but Raziel stared at him in silence, recognizing that this was the same man who had sold him the rainbow stone last time. He rushed to ask the shady seller if he had any more rainbow stones.

Hearing this, the strange man glanced around nervously before dragging Raziel into an empty alley.

Eve followed them, preparing to beat the suspicious man, but before she could do anything, the man said in a rough voice, "Oh, stranger, I didn't realize you were one of my customers..."

He paused for a moment, then opened his robe, saying, "Here, take a look."

On the sides of his robe were various nearly transparent pockets filled with unique items, including tiny cups of powder in different colors, some strange plant leaves, and stones of various types.

"Master, I didn't know you liked using drugs…" Eve said, almost aiming her crossbow at the shady seller's head.

"I'm not here for the drugs. What I need are those stones over there. And give me that thing before you hurt someone," Raziel said, grabbing the girl's crossbow.

"Noooo, please give it back, little master! I promise I won't point it at anyone," she begged, trying to reach for her weapon.

Raziel simply threw the crossbow into his interdimensional ring, causing Eve to fall to her knees, complaining that he was being unfair.

Ignoring Eve's complaints, Raziel bought all the rainbow stones from the seller at a low price. After all, this poor guy still didn't know how valuable they were.

Raziel, after placing the nine rainbow stones into his ring, thanked the seller and dragged Eve out of the alley. With his major task completed, he decided to head directly home, calling for a carriage.

When the duo arrived home, Clarice opened the door with a troubled expression. Raziel immediately sensed that something was wrong as he stepped inside the house.

Just as he suspected, in the living room sat a very familiar figure on the couch, drinking tea with a visibly angry expression.

"What the hell are you doing here, Sylfi?" Raziel asked, genuinely surprised by the unexpected presence of his supposedly fiancée.

Hearing his question, Sylfi stood up after placing her cup of tea on the table and walked toward him, holding something resembling a newspaper that she had retrieved from her interdimensional ring.

She then grabbed his collar angrily and said, "Do you want to know why I'm here? I'll tell you, but first, read this, asshole!"

Raziel, still confused, took the newspaper from her. The moment he read it, a big headline caught his attention: "Polemic Affair of Sylfi Valternorth: Who Is Her New Lover?"

"Damn..."