Chapter 3: Lady Liz’s Miscalculation
The following afternoon, on the roadside near the clinic, a woman lay face down, her head turned to the side, her glossy purple hair fanned out on the ground like waves against a shore.
It was Liz, a woman who usually lurked underground, plotting to seize control of the slums.
Now someone just needs to find me and bring me to the mastermind, she mused, chuckling internally as she lay there.
The plan was simple: the ruler of the slums appeared to have a strong taste for women, as evidenced by the fact he had a young elven girl at his side and a captive on the second floor of the building. Thus, if she pretended to have collapsed on the street and his lackeys found her, they’d automatically bring her to him as an offering. She could’ve simply approached him directly, but that would’ve aroused suspicion. However, being presented as an offering gave her the opportunity to infiltrate the enemy’s lair without raising any eyebrows.
All that remained was to wait for an opportunity to be alone with the mastermind, then use her succubus powers to control him.
They hadn’t acted immediately after Gaion spotted the woman beckoning on the second floor due to the possibility that it could’ve been a trap. Liz had decided to wait and see if the woman had spotted her and would report her to the mastermind before doing anything. However, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Hurry and find me already, she grumbled internally. It was daytime, and she hated being exposed to the sun, but pretending to be unconscious in the middle of the night would’ve made it less likely that she’d be found. Despite being fed up with the oppressive sunlight and the musty smell of the dirt, if she wanted to seize control of the surface, she had no choice but to endure. Liz was a woman who would stop at nothing for her goals, after all.
After a while, several sets of footsteps echoed nearby. Discreetly peeking from underneath her eyelids, Liz spotted a group of werewolf men.
“Hey! There’s someone passed out on the street!”
“You all right, lady?”
“What do we do? Should we take her to the doctor?”
“Yeah. She’s still breathing. Hey! You okay?”
As a werewolf shook her shoulders, Liz smirked internally at how easily they’d taken the bait. She did think it odd they’d referred to the mastermind as “the doctor,” but perhaps it was some sort of odd power trip on his part.
Not that it mattered. She’d just continue pretending to be unconscious, and have the werewolves carry her to the mastermind’s lair. It was all going according to plan too, but just as they lifted her up, a voice rang out behind them.
“Wait,” said a woman with gray hair and large beast ears, her tone sharp.
“Oh, hey boss,” said one of the werewolves.
“Is something the matter?” respectfully asked another.
Lynga the Tyrant, Liz mused in recognition, still discreetly peeking out from underneath her eyelashes. Leader of the werewolf clan. The woman roughly matched the description Gaion had given.
Lynga spoke to her men coolly. “I want to know what you’re planning on doing with that woman.”
“Uh, she was passed out on the ground, so we figured we’d take her to the doctor. Should we not?” a werewolf asked.
“You shouldn’t.”
Liz’s heart skipped a beat. Does she know? The patrols she’d attempted to control would’ve had vague memories of their encounters with her, after all. Liz continued to silently observe the situation, not showing any outward agitation.
The werewolf men exchanged concerned glances. “H-How come?” one asked.
“I mean, look at her face,” Lynga said.
Liz’s pulse sped up as she felt the werewolf leader’s contemptuous glare fall upon her. My face? She shouldn’t know what I look like... Had she underestimated the three leaders of the demi-humans? Sweat began to bead on her forehead, her eyes still closed.
Lynga peered intently at Liz and continued, “She’s kind of pretty. Not as pretty as me, of course.”
What?
The werewolf men also leaned in to examine Liz’s face. “Y-Yeah, I guess she is,” one said.
“What’s the problem, though?” another asked.
“You lot don’t get it, do you?!” Lynga snapped in frustration. “That’d just be risking another rival. And I don’t need more!”
Pardon?
Still holding the perplexed Liz, the men nodded in mysterious understanding. “Right, yeah. Makes sense.”
“So that’s what you mean.”
“That is what I mean,” Lynga agreed. “So just leave her by the roadside.”
“Hey! Wait a second!”
“Huh?”
Oh, crap. Feeling like she was about to be tossed away for incomprehensible reasons, Liz had accidentally spoken up.
“Wait. Did she just talk?” asked one of the werewolves as the group eyed her suspiciously.
