'… Just how did it end up like this?' William thought as he stared at the ceiling.
Currently, two beauties were hugging him from his left and right sides.
Earlier, William asked Raizel if she had a way of dealing with Morax's plan to make the Black Tower fall under his control.
The young beauty said that there was a way, but in order for that to happen, William and Lilith had to trust her with their lives.
The two readily agreed to Raizel's condition because they felt that they could trust her. However, the first thing that Raizel said after that was for the three of them to take a bath together.
Naturally, William escaped the room because he felt that Raizel was just teasing him. He thought that everything would be over by then, but an hour before he was about to go to sleep, Raizel dragged him to her room in order to strengthen their trust with each other.
William didn't expect that the girl would insist that the three of them sleep together every night, with the excuse of raising each other's trust.
The red-headed boy was going to reject it initially, but Raizel gave him the "If you leave through that door the deal's off" gaze.
Left with no choice, William found himself, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep because two beautiful ladies were using him as a hug pillow.
Eventually, William fell into a dreamless sleep.
—–
Three days had passed since their meeting with Morax, and the entire alliance busied themselves in the search for the mirrors that the Dread Lord was looking for.
So far, no one had succeeded in finding one, but the search continued day in and day out.
The Glory Shelter had been divided into two groups.
The first one was the resources gathering group led by Xenovia and Cathy.
The second one was the treasure finding group, which was composed of William, Lilith, and Raizel.
Although the Undead no longer attacked anyone in the Deadlands, Raizel was still worried that conflicts would arise between their Shelter and Swiper's Demonic Shelter. In order to prevent this from happening, she assigned Xenovia to become the group's protector, in order to prevent the Demons from doing something stupid.
Also, having only three people in the treasure gathering group was more ideal because the things they needed to do were highly confidential. If possible, Raizel didn't want to share it with the others, including Xenovia.
William agreed with Raizel's decision. Although he had freed Xenovia from Morax's control, ther was a high possibility that the Dread Lord would be able to spy on them through the Death Lord's eyes.
The golden crystal that Morax had given them was also left in the Shelter. What they were going to do was a sensitive matter, so they didn't dare take any chances with anything that belonged to Morax.
"I'm getting a strong presence in that direction," Lilith said after using her Divinity.
Raizel glanced at the direction where the Amazon Princess was looking and a frown appeared on her face.
"That is where the Glittering Bay is located," Raizel muttered. "Is it possible that the mirror is under the sea?"
"Let's check it out first," William proposed. "We can just look for other locations if it is really under the water."
Raizel nodded and drove the truck towards the Glittering Bay. There were nine mirrors in total, so they didn't have to force themselves to retrieve the mirror themselves. If push came to shove, Raizel could suggest to the Lizardfolk to check the sea surrounding the area, in order to look for the mirror.
As long as they got one of the mirrors, they would be able to delay the Dread Lord's plan without fail.
After arriving at their destination, Lilith once again closed her eyes to concentrate. Several minutes later, she nodded her head, confirming Raizel's conclusion that the mirror was indeed under the sea.
"Okay, since we have a rough idea where one of them is located, let's try to look in other locations," Raizel stated.
"Good plan," William replied.
Lilith nodded as she closed her eyes once again.
Raizel started the engine and drove southwards.
While William, Lilith, and Raizel were looking for the location of another mirror, a commotion broke out on the Eastern outskirts of the city.
"Lady Avril, is this it?" an Elf with short, blonde, hair asked as he presented to her a mirror that they'd found in a ruined mansion.
Avril held the mirror with one hand, and activated the golden crystal with the other. A projection materialized and the images of the nine mirrors appeared in front of them.
The beautiful Elf then touched one of the images to enlarge it. After doing so, she looked at the image, and the mirror in her hand, to check for similarities.
"This looks like one of the mirrors we are looking for," Avril stated. "But, I am unsure whether it is the real thing. For the time being, let me contact Lord Morax first. Your reward will be given to you once we confirm that this is one of the mirrors that we are looking for."
The blonde Elf nodded in understanding. All of them had been promised great rewards if they were to find the mirrors that the Dread Lord was looking for. Naturally, Avril wouldn't deny these rewards to them because she knew that she needed to motivate them to work harder.
A few seconds later, a projection of Morax appeared in front of them.
"Your Excellency, we found this mirror and wondered if it is the same as one of the ones that you are looking for," Avril said in a respectful tone.
"You've done well, Avril," Morax praised as he gazed at the mirror in her hand. "That is indeed one of the mirrors that I am looking for."
The Dread Lord smiled in happiness because he was now one step closer to achieving his goal.
"You may bring the mirror to the Black Tower, so I can personally give your team the reward they deserve," Morax said. "A good deed must be rewarded, so don't be shy and come. I'll wait in anticipation for your group's arrival."
"Thank you, Your Excellency," Avril replied with a smile.
Morax gave her one brief nod before closing the connection. The Elf who found the mirror was overjoyed, while his companions were filled with envy.
Avril was not worried that she wouldn't receive any rewards from Morax. After all, the Dread Lord had assured them that even if their subordinates were the ones that found the mirrors, they could still ask him for a reward.
The beautiful Elf stared in the direction of the Glory Shelter with determination before ordering her subordinates to pack up and head towards the Black Tower.
Soon, the news of their discovery was relayed to everyone in the Deadlands, which made the Leaders sigh in relief. With one mirror in hand, they had bought themselves another week of peace.
Although they felt a bit envious about Avril's accomplishment, they didn't worry too much about it.. There were still eight mirrors waiting to be found, and all they needed to do was mobilize more manpower, as they swept every inch of the city, in search of the mirrors that would lead them back home.
