Chapter 17: Investment 17— Chased Down

His words delivered a brief blow of shock to Elliot and the rest of the team. They had just ascertained that it wasn’t just one perpetrator involved, but three. From the horrid look on Renshi’s face, he couldn’t have been lying due to extreme fear and guilt.

"Vena," Seria snapped her fingers in realization. "She was the purple-haired girl that bumped into me the other day while going to class."

Last week, Seria was in a hurry for class and had just left the dorm when a purple-haired girl crashed into her. Seria’s bag fell to the floor, and all its contents spilled out, including the stamp of the Migalison seal that was found on the letter delivered to Flora.

The girl quickly helped Seria pick up her things and walked away while apologizing. Seria paid no mind to it, but ever since that day, a page from her signing book that contained her signature had been torn off. She didn’t suspect the girl immediately because she felt maybe it got lost somewhere else.

"This Vena, am sure you know where she is right now?" A scary aura surrounded Deria as a crude smile tore across her face.

"Yes, yes. I do," Renshi gawked in absolute fear.

He quickly stood on his trembling toes. According to him, Vena was currently doing some stretches in the arena. The arena was quite a distance from the garden, but nevertheless, after a couple of minutes, a purple-haired girl with her legs split wide open and stretching from side to side came into view.

"Vena!" Renshi called out to her, his eyes filled with tears. At the sight of him, she scrambled to her feet.

"Tsk. Don’t tell me you got caught." She turned around in a fit to run, but the stone wall that emerged in front of her stopped her in her tracks.

Deria’s hands were lifted upwards as a wide grin tore across her face. She was the one that summoned the stone wall to block Vena’s escape route.

"From the unsightly expression on your face, you must be Vena." She adjusted her grip on the rock and let it down with a bang.

"We would appreciate it if you were cooperative and stopped making this hard for both sides," Edith mentioned, trying to allay Vena’s anxiety.

"They already have proof. I think we should surrender and face the due consequences for our devious acts,"

Renshi said. He was more than willing to cooperate. Plus, Elliot had already promised him to put in a word that would lighten his overall punishment.

"Ahahahaha. Renshi, I always knew you were a wuss and a fool from the first time I met you," Vena laughed in a sinister manner, flailing her hands and feet haphazardly.

It looked as if she had lost it and gone totally mad. Two weeks ago, on the 14th precisely, Renshi was approached by a mystery lady who happened to be an upperclassman either in her 4th or 5th year.

The wind blew, carrying roses along with the subtle breeze that swept over the garden. The sun was descending slowly, making for a perfect sunset.

A velvet-haired girl wearing long socks that extended above her knees and a pair of well-polished cover shoes, along with the perfect academy uniform, walked slowly from side to side with her head held down.

She placed her hands backwards, joined together in a mesh of fingers.

She took each step with intense caution and precision as if she were afraid to be blown away by the wind. Renshi stared intensely at her silhouette until her actual body figure came into view.

She raised her head slowly as a creepy yet subtle smile crept across her face.

"Tell me, Renshi... would you like to become a part of something big?"

She bent her head slightly such that her shoulders became crooked, with a hand over her lips, and the smile on her face expanded.

He was completely mesmerized by her alluring gaze and charisma.

"How could a human being be this beautiful? She must be an angel," he mused, allowing himself to be held captive by her otherworldly beauty.

"What a perv," she grinned inwardly while still maintaining her angelic smile.

She turned around slowly, and her gaze swept across the grass field towards the female student standing behind a tree.

She placed a hand by the side of her

mouth and leaned her chest a bit forward.

"Vena-chan. You can come out now," her voice echoed.

The female student stepped out from behind the tree immediately after her call.

"Yes, yes," Vena said with an uninterested tone as she stood by the mystery lady’s side.

She turned away from Vena towards Renshi again.

"I would like for you to turn her into Seria Ale Migalison on the 17th," she demanded with a voice as light as the breeze, yet carrying weight as heavy as a metal block.

"Eh-Eh." Renshi stumbled backwards. "For what exactly?" He adjusted his steps so he wouldn’t fall.

"Consider this a test to deem if you are worthy of joining the cause." She leaned forward.

"But of course, it won’t be without rewards." She winked and handed him a copy of a book.

"Whoa! I thought all of Wexx’s works were lost forever," he beamed. The Wexx was a popular story book series that was lost entirely after all the volumes caught fire and the author met an early demise.

"That is just volume one. You will get the other volumes when you complete your task," she stated.

"But how did you acquire it?" He gawked.

"That, my friend, is a company secret." She put a finger on her lips as a slight grin spread across her face.

"I think he’s a wuss and won’t be able to fulfill his task," Vena grunted, folding one arm above the other.

"Trust the process," the mysterious lady whispered.

"I’ll need a biological sample from Seria for the spell to work," he mentioned.

"Don’t worry, we will make preparations for that," the mysterious lady added.

"Tsk. I guess he will have to do," Vena sighed as she walked away.

"I will try my best not to disappoint you, lady," he said with a strong sense of conviction.

"I’ll be counting on you." She disappeared into the wind.

"Teleportation, cool." He doted over her.