'A sword that absorbs magic and then reflects it? It sounded familiar, but I don't remember where I heard about it. I am sure I have heard of it somewhere, though.'

The more Layla tried to remember, the more she felt she was forgetting some very important pieces of information that she needed to know.

But since it was likely unimportant, Layla forgot about it and nodded at Siduri's explanation.

She was sure the information would come to her if she pushed harder on her head to recall it.

"I understand! I will be careful when we face that man. But for now, take care of yourself and keep yourself safe. You did a good job protecting everyone in here. People come first and everything else second."

Layla's words touched the workers, and they all had tears in their eyes as they heard her speak.

Despite this, Layla was a six-year-old with an odd sense of justice and morals. She was the first owner who paid attention to her workers' safety and was willing to take a small loss if it meant that her workers were not hurt.

This might sound like common decency, but one would be surprised to know just how little most people who ran a business cared for it.

If something like this had happened to them, most owners would have yelled and hurt the employees (even fired them).

But Layla did none of that. She already paid them well, and now she is forgiving as well. It was a combination that was worth serving someone's whole life.

"Mary, we should get going now. We have already seen the condition of this place, so I would like to look around for our culprit now. Also, I will leave this matter up to you later. I am sure you will give me a satisfactory result."

Layla asked as she looked at her demon maid.

Mary's smile looked bloodthirsty, and Layla knew Mary's opponent was cooked.

The demon did not need to use magic to dominate someone. Her core strength and flexibility were enough. Plus, she had an incredible weapon that she knew how to wield.

'This fight would not be tough…well, as long as that sword does not turn out to be annoying. But I have a feeling I know that sword from somewhere…and that is never a good sign.'

In the end, Layla sighed and decided to tackle things as they came. There was no point in worrying about it all at the moment.

Layla will try to find a way to tackle this situation, but she needs more information first.

...

"Boss, give me another drink. I am in a mood to get smashed."

Keith ordered another drunk as soon as he could after finishing his first one.

He felt incredible after trashing that scummy store, but now he felt hungry and trusty. With his limited budget, drinks were all he could afford.

Keith was not someone who got drunk quickly, but he was still intoxicated with his victory against the store, and it made him feel dizzy.

Despite his intoxicated state, he kept an ear out for rumors since he wanted to know what was happening around him.

That was when he heard people talking about what he did. The news had already spread around.

"Hey, did you hear what happened to that hygiene business? Someone tried to take it down."

"I heard that the front door got smashed, and many bottles were spilled open."

"Tsk, this is so bad! Does the attacker not know how rare it is to get one of those products? They are produced in limited quantities, and people travel here from far away to get those bottles. He is going to make a lot of people angry at this rate."

Keith heard all this and felt a little bit guilty.

But then he quickly remembered that the business was built on exploited dark elves, and his fury came back in full force.

"Anyway, this was too bad! This happened, especially after Lady Layla went through all that trouble of getting those dark elves here and saving them from the temple because of her contract! Life is not fair."

"Yeah! I knew those dark elves were bad luck, but Lady Layla insisted it would be fine and there was nothing wrong with them. What a waste of time and effort."

Keith was intoxicated, and it made him wonder if this was interfering with his hearing or ability to understand as well.

Because to him, this conversation sounded like the 'enslaved dark elves' were not actually 'enslaved.'

If so, then had he just made a mistake? Or had he been lied to? What was the truth, and what was the lie?

'I need to get to the bottom of this. I refuse to be a source of problem for these dark elves, but I am trying to help out.'

Keith suddenly stood up and slammed his hands on the table. He was so loud that almost everyone in the bar turned to look at him.

*Hic*

"O-Oi! What you said about those d-dark elves, is that true? Are they here b-because they want to b-be?"

Keith asked as he tried to keep his balance. But he spiraled down every time he tried. It was frustrating, and Keith pushed himself to lean against the table.

The people in front of him looked at him with a scared and annoyed expression, but they were happy to answer him outright.

"Hmm, that's right! Lady Layla saved those elves. We usually keep quiet about them because the temple does not like to hear about them, but Lady Layla and her business are an honest place. They did not deserve for this to happen."

The lady told Keith.

Every business had its fair share of dirty secrets. Despite that, Layla's business was considered a clean and honest place because it did not interfere with anyone else, and there was no noise of abuse or overwork being heard.

Moreover, the benefits it gave its workers were massive compared to anywhere else.

It was a place where everyone wanted to work, but the business was not hiring.