The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 177 - Establishing Excellence And Alibis

Chapter 177: Chapter 177 - Establishing Excellence And Alibis

The morning sun fell on the foundation stones where Dima knelt to examine her handiwork. She had spent the better part of a week of her spare time carefully chiseling and preparing these defensive sigils. Each one required precise measurement, proper placement, and meticulous attention to depth to work efficiently.

She ran her fingers over a particularly challenging connection point she’d labored on for nearly two hours by itself. Then her hand moved to the adjacent section - the part the ’sweet’ young heiress had completed yesterday in less than twenty minutes before going to eat.

The branch manager’s jaw clenched as she compared them. The girl’s work was... flawless. Even the spacing between marks was more uniform at a glance than her own careful efforts. Done with the exact same set of tools as her that the Goltbred had delivered from her merchants!

"Three hours. She did twice my progress in three hours."

Her muttered words held more resignation than anger. She knew she wasn’t the greatest of sigilists, but something about it still hurt her pride. Dima stood and walked the perimeter, checking how the sigils would all connect once activated. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed something.

The sequence that had been planned required each section to be powered individually from the central ritual point. But these new patterns... they seemed to flow into each other. She crouched again and traced the subtle variations in Elua’s additional work. While she hadn’t seen it in this form, it seemed like it would allow essence to cascade through the entire array.

"She modified the design. While keeping it compatible with what I already finished."

The former liaison, who once dreamed of being the disciple of her idol in the Guild, was incredulous - and she wasn’t sure whether to feel impressed or insulted. The improvements were elegant, practically invisible to the layman unless you knew to look for them. They would make the defensive barrier just as strong while requiring less essence to maintain.

The new receptionist approached with a stack of papers, but he hesitated at her thunderous expression.

"Is... is something wrong with the sigils, Manager?"

"No. They’re perfect. Absolutely perfect. Which makes it so much worse."

She stood abruptly, brushing dust from her hands and knees due to being so engrossed in her analysis. The man backed away as Dima slipped by and stalked toward the entrance. She needed to review documents, but her mind kept circling back to those subtle refinements on the walk up the stairs.

The little snake hadn’t even mentioned the improvements - just smiled that innocent smile and said she was ’happy’ to help. The woman was sure that it was on purpose! She couldn’t think of it as anything but showing her exactly how much better the prodigy was while pretending to be ’helpful’.

Her hand clenched on the doorframe to the office she wouldn’t have without the heiress.

"...and the worst part is, she actually was being helpful. Every single time she does anything."

The former liaison glanced back down the stairwell. For a bit, Dima imagined she could see the girl’s mint eyes sparkling with thinly hidden amusement. She had a sinking feeling this wouldn’t be the last time she found herself thoroughly outperformed while being *genuinely* assisted.

The cultivator really wished again that she had an excuse, like having a lover, back when she made the mistake of flirting with the young Yecine... so she hopefully wouldn’t have made it.

---

The shadows cast by the trees at the research site had barely moved when Navuill caught himself watching the Goltbred heiress for the third time that hour. She bounced between groups of essence researchers, asking little questions that made their eyes light up like they’d just thought of something brilliant.

Even as she steered them toward areas with the best lines of sight from the main camp.

A few (currently inert) essence-powered lanterns hung from the lower branches. He noted that they hadn’t been over there the last time he was at the location. They swayed eerily with their helical shapes every time a stiff breeze shook the trees. The guard camp still maintained more traditional lighting solutions, with a perimeter of torch stands.

The young man shifted on the wooden bench in that section, rolling tension from his shoulders. They’d arrived just after dawn, having left the city early enough to make good time. The walk up the hilly paths to the forest had been quiet but not uncomfortable. The young woman had been surprisingly - or perhaps unsurprisingly - capable of matching his pace and only pausing when needed.

’She even shared some food on the train. Those dry pastries that she looked happy about stopping by the station for. Though I’m not sure why she felt smug about it. ’

It was almost possible to forget that this was the *same* person who had crushed his resistance and threatened him with casual ease. He felt strangely grateful for that encounter now, as it had led to his improved understanding with Qatrand... and a number of nice moments with his own wife.

His steely eyes narrowed again as Elua smoothly redirected another researcher. They seemed to have been pointing away as if desiring to tour the northern storage area with her. She did it so naturally, to keep on this side of the camp, that the man seemed to be unphased while pivoting to show her something in the eastern facilities instead.

Almost like it was his own idea in the first place.

"Quite the popular young girl, isn’t she?"

The guard camp supervisor sat beside him, offering a cup of hot tea. The senior member of The Ironclad Order was one he had met a few times, but they usually did not have roles that intersected that much. Navuill accepted the gesture with a polite nod.

"She’s been very... visible out there."

The Yecine eventually spoke his mind because he was the type to be uncomfortable with silence.

"Indeed. Half that camp has spoken with her already."

The supervisor’s tone held a note of curiosity over the small brunette. Navuill kept his expression neutral after making sure the man’s emotions were simple and not... complex. He felt it was the least he could do for his cousin and her wife.

Then he remembered how the brunette had lectured three different people about essence theory in earshot to him while maintaining clear sight lines to multiple ’witnesses’, including himself. His mouth started moving on its own.

"I noticed she hasn’t gone near the new acquisition area. The Goltbred heiress seems more interested in the research than the artifacts."

He didn’t mention how her ’sweet’ smile grew a touch fixed each time she *deliberately* appeared uninterested whenever someone brought up going to that side of the camp. Frankly, he was scared to admit that he had felt those emotional changes! She had already called his ability disgusting once... clearly Elua did not like being *read*.

The supervisor chuckled at his observation and stood.

"Well, she’s certainly making an impression on the spiritualists. Half our people are already convinced she’s the prodigy they claimed - and she hasn’t even done anything but point and speak."

Navuill watched the man leave, then returned to observing his charge. The fact that she had specifically requested the Guild to place him in the role of escort was only a little surprising. Putting aside the fact that they were technically family, they were also not complete strangers.

At least, that matter was not as odd compared to her building a *record* of her presence and activities. With the behavior of someone establishing an alibi. He’d seen a similar situation... with a cultivator trying to distance themselves from future incidents they knew would occur.

’What has she gotten into?’

The brunette suddenly turned away from her latest group of admirers, gracefully waving off their excited questions with her ’innocent’ apologies. Her mint eyes fixed on Navuill’s position. She stalked toward him with a sense of purpose that made him straighten instinctively.

"Cousin."

Her ’sweet’ voice carried a warning edge in her emotional undertone as she stopped an arm’s reach before his bench.

"I would appreciate it if you kept your eyes - and particularly your thoughts and probing spirit to yourself."

The temperature seemed to drop slightly around them as her facade remained perfectly pleasant. While intent alone could make people shiver, she felt she could definitely make use of *literally* making the area a little colder with her Frost mimicry!

’The dissonance between the physical reaction and lack of a direct spiritual one despite the situation calling for it was a fine misdirect~’

"Do you need another reminder about what happened the last time you tried using your Empath abilities on me? Or perhaps you feel you are ready to continue it and be dragged back to your estate from here."

The swordsman’s throat went dry at the memory of that confrontation. How easily she had negated his Astralism had been startling, but wiping away his Element and locking the essence had made him feel like prey. He inclined his head in quick acknowledgment.

"My apologies. I was merely... keeping watch, as requested. It is hard not to notice your spirit while keeping an eye on those that approach close to you."

She shifted her head to the side then waved her hand in a slow motion.

"Mm. Then perhaps go watch the perimeter instead? Your job was to escort me, but for now I am where I was meant to go. I’m sure there are many fascinating things to observe out there."

She didn’t wait for his response before turning away and returning to a specific side of the camp. Already, another sigilist hurried into conversation with her. This time, Navuill carefully kept his gaze and spiritual sense focused elsewhere.