Chapter 574 Sanev's Fate

In truth, Ed did not mind what Sanev and Riniya were up to at all. To be exact, he welcomed the competition between them. While Ed wouldn't call himself an upholder of?freedom he did nonetheless respect the right of those under him to seek a better future for themselves.

Still, Sanev and Riniya were trying to do things behind his back and that couldn't be allowed.

It was worth mentioning that had they taken more peaceful means, Ed wouldn't have intervened. They took advantage of his away time to create violent conflicts which could easily result in deaths. If the residents die, Ed loses manpower.

'Should I be happy that they are wary enough of me to do things while I'm away?' Or should Ed punish them more severely for thinking he wouldn't be able to figure it out upon his return?

"Sanev, where is Riniya?" Ed asked, causing Sanev to let out a wry smile.

"She is.." Sanev was about to say something but he hesitated. He made a bitter expression and opened his mouth anew. Any one could tell he'd be changing up his words.

"She is at my home" Sanev looked at Ed in the eyes and said.

"Oh? I didn't realize you guys had that kind of relationship" Ed spoke sarcastically.

"Hahaha.." An awkward laugh, Sanev had no response.

He was originally going to lie his way out of it but ultimately had no choice but to admit guilt and reveal that he was holding the woman hostage. Sanev wondered how Ed found out he did something to Riniya but he also knew he couldn't ask something like that.

Ed then shifted his attention from Sanev and turned back to the murmuring crowd. They knew that Sanev and Riniya were skirmishing and were talking amongst themselves about it.

It wasn't something that could easily be kept a secret. What most of them didn't know, especially those not involved, was that Sanev had captured Riniya and gotten hold of the water fruits. This new development kept them talking.

"You are all dismissed, please return to your duties" Ed said to the crowd who reluctantly shuffled away. They were curious what would happen to Sanev as he had clearly committed a crime.

When Ed and Sanev were the only ones left, Sanev was the first to speak up.

"I'm.. I'm sorry" He apologized.

Ed didn't respond.

"Let's go see Riniya" Ed said and Sanev, though hesitant, led the way.

Upon arriving at Sanev's home, Ed finished organizing his thoughts.

'We need law and order, the two formed gangs while I was gone.' The conflicts were innocent at this stage but Ed knew they only held back from crossing that line since they weren't sure how Ed would react. W's surveillance also likely kept them at bay.

'Money drives the greedy' And Sanev was not just greedy, but also calculating and seemingly cold blooded. Shameless was another way to look at him. A familiar description.. Was it in the nature of water mages perhaps? Or was it a direct result of Sudryal's indoctrination?

Whatever the case, Ed saw through his apology at a glance. If Sanev was sorry for his actions he wouldn't have made the actions. No, if he was sorry for his actions he would have come clean at first instead of waiting for Ed to bring up the matter.

The reality was that Sanev was sorry he was caught. He was also hoping Ed would accept his apology and that he could then somehow weasel himself out of trouble.

"You know, I can appreciate your ambition but.. You should be careful about undermining my authority" As they walked into the home, Ed decided to share some choice words.

"I'll.. I'll keep that in mind.. She is over here" Sanev said as he ducked to activate an array. The floor of the home then parted to his will.

"You are quite resourceful" Sanev was a water mage, manipulating the earth even via arrays couldn't have been easy. historical

"I had help from an earthen mage and her holiness Azalia." Sanev said, wearing a subtle smile. Ed frowned however, forcing the young elf to wipe that smile off his face quickly.

Sanev and Ed then began to descend down a set of steps into a carved out room. "Sanev, you are- E- Ed!" A startled elf cried out. They were in charge of watching over Riniya until Sanev decided it was ok to let her go.

The person in question was currently tied to the wall and in a pitiful state. Ever since her capture, she had been fed only enough to keep her alive but not enough to even think to rebel.

Ed couldn't help but pity her. He also couldn't help but reconsider if he could actually control the elves the same way he had the Orcs and Lizardmen.

'In terms of intelligence, they are not at all inferior to humans' The fact that they could live long lives made them wise to boot. They were not as simple minded as the orcs or as tribal as the Lizardmen.

Coming up with half-assed rules would not stop the elves from committing crimes and behaving despicably.

'There are praiseworthy elves' Like Alolvi, who was a just man. But his 'niece' was far from that kind of person. In a way, her current situation was retribution for her previous delusions. Though it was possible she now paid too steep a price.

"Free her" Ed told the startled elf who jumped immediately onto the task. In nothing but a short moment, the weakened Riniya was freed from her bindings. The elf Sanev left in charge was quite diligent.

"Ed! Please punish him severely for what he has done!" Riniya mustered the most pitiful voice she could with her weakened body to demand retribution.

"Even in your most pitiful state you try your best to screw someone over" Ed's words made Riniya form an expression of being wronged. Wasn't she well within her right to demand he be punished in this situation?

"You know, I gave the fruit that caused all of this trouble to two individuals. Riniya and Sudryal. I planned for the two to compete but the Elder was a lot more patient than I expected" Ed chose not to mention the fact that he took the elf away as well. An oversight for certain though it did help reveal his true colors.

'Actually, things might have been worse if I did leave him here' The old elf was not to be trusted easily.

"..." Sanev did not respond.

"What I am trying to say is that you got ahead of yourself, Sanev. If you knew yourself well then being my right hand man would not just be within sight, it would be a matter of course" Alolvi was the leader, yes, but Ed couldn't entrust magical and managerial matters to him. In other words, Alolvi was a good figurehead. He had the respect of the elves and was strong and his intelligence was only above average. Ed needed someone to take care of what Alolvi couldn't.

'Everyone of value here with the exception of Alolvi is quite troublesome however' Ed was really starting to get a headache. He had never fallen ill since entering the dungeon though so the notion was preposterous.

'Though I feel like I've mentioned never falling ill before..' It was easy to imagine that a mental illness was not out of the question. Luckily, when Ed looked back on his memories he couldn't think of anything that would suggest him being ill of mind.

Leaving the loony world of Ed's mind and returning to reality one could see Sanev falling to his knees.

"F*ck.." Sanev cursed silently under his breath. "It's true.." Ed's earlier comment had struck where it hurt. He had let greed get ahead of him despite showing qualities that Ed was sure to value.

As a self proclaimed genius he had blundered hard. Yet, it was also difficult for Sanev to come to terms with his new reality. In the underground settlement he was not just a prominent figure, he was a guaranteed successor to Sudryal. Who could doubt it?

Ed knew that the only way something like that would happen was if Sanev pried the religious leader position from Sudryal's cold dead hands. While Sudryal was bound to die someday he was still surprisingly lively.

In the end, the only certainty was that Sanev was still too young. Ed was by no means a wise old man but he could only see Sanev's actions as those of a child without the ability to look ahead.

"So now what..?" Sanev who had come to terms with his lacking foresight asked from his kneeling position.

Riniya had been found and untied but Sanev was not yet punished.

"You are still a valuable asset, how about some community service?" Ed said smiling.

For a second the thought that he might be above the law after all entered Sanev's mind. This thought was very promptly squashed after he found out what Ed had in mind for his community service, however.