"Huh!? Is that how it is?"
Lucrezia Sylvania widened her eyes, looking at Leo in surprise.
She didn't expect this small fry to be so smart!
Hmph! As expected, it’s all thanks to this princess's excellent training!
However, she also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed her embarrassing thoughts from earlier hadn't been noticed.
"Hmph, I guess you have a little bit of talent."
Vespa steadied herself and asked with feigned indifference, "By the way, where are you two from? And where are you going?"
It seemed the long tunnel was getting a bit boring. Whether Vespa was trying to fish for information or simply killing time, she spoke up to ask.
"None of your business! Just lead the way, you stinking cat!"
Lucrezia glared at her like a little tiger protecting its food.
This damned stinking cat, who knew what kind of spell she had cast on the small fry to make him trust her so much.
Could it be...
Lucrezia's gaze fell on Vespa's furry ears and constantly twitching tail, as well as her healthy tanned skin.
Dammit! I can meow too! This princess's meow would definitely be cuter than a crude stinking cat like yours!
Wait! Could it be... is this fellow Leo a... uh, what was that word? Human-beast? Furry! Right! A furry-con!
But this guy is a young boy! No way...
Wait! Could it be! This fellow Leo actually has the same hobbies as those perverted priests from the Holy Light Church?! And an even more twisted version... a shota furry-con?!
Ahhhhh! I... I’ve discovered some incredible secret!
Lucrezia's small face turned pale for a moment, then flushed red, her expression a whirlwind of emotions.
Wait... Leo did say he doesn't like flat-chested girls... so it seems he's into mature women? Then it's fine...
When I grow up, I'll only need this princess's beauty to make this stinking small fry kneel at my feet and be a good dog! Hmph hmph hmph!
But... will I really grow? There's been no movement for several years now... Sigh... I'll just ask my mentor when we get to the Floating City...
Leo watched the ever-changing expressions on the little girl beside him, finding it somewhat amusing.
"Amitabha."
Leo suddenly pressed his palms together, looking at Vespa with a solemn, saintly expression:
"This poor monk hails from the Great Tang of the East and is traveling to the Western Heaven... oh, no, to the Floating City to obtain the true scriptures."
"Huh?"
Vespa and Lucrezia both froze at the same time.
"A... mi... tabha? What Great Tang of the East?" Lucrezia looked utterly bewildered. "Where is that? Is it a place like Earth?"
"Huh? What kind of nonsense is that?"
Vespa also wore an expression as if she were looking at a crazy person.
"In any case... you're going to the Floating City, right?"
Although she didn't understand that Great Tang thing, she understood the words "Floating City."
That legendary holy land of mages, the city in the sky.
"Indeed, that is the case."
Leo returned to normal and looked at Vespa, offering an olive branch:
"I wonder if the benefactor... oh, no, Mr. Vespa, would be willing to come along?"
"What!?"
Lucrezia's face paled as if facing a great enemy.
Did I really guess right just now! This guy Leo... really likes furry little boys?! How can this be!
"Huh? Me? Uh..."
Vespa felt a bit tempted.
She could see that the identities of these two were definitely extraordinary; they certainly had significant backgrounds.
Just Leo, this freak of a mage, was enough to be reckoned with, let alone the little idiot he was protecting—her background was likely even greater!
This was an opportunity to change her fate! But it also represented a huge risk!
Fortune favors the bold! Whether I, Vespa, can transcend my class and turn my life around might be right in front of me!
I must consider if this will be the only chance I have in this lifetime!
However...
Vespa glanced at the exit ahead, which was gradually lighting up.
I should observe a bit more, at least until A-Ling's side is finished...
"Let's talk about it after we're out of danger... there's no rush..."
"No problem."
Vespa's answer was within Leo's expectations. Besides, even if this fellow didn't agree, Leo had plenty of means and methods.
Looking at the long-sealed, decaying wooden door ahead, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Bang!
Leo raised his foot and unceremoniously kicked the wooden door open.
Cold moonlight spilled down.
Outside the door stood a person.
It was a middle-aged to elderly blonde handsome man who looked extremely well-maintained.
He wasn't wearing cumbersome armor but rather a well-tailored set of noble hunting gear convenient for combat. On his back, he carried a greatsword that seemed completely at odds with his temperament, giving him an extraordinary air.
At this moment, he was standing with his back to the wooden door, striking a lonely pose of a solitary master, gazing up at the bright moon in the sky at a standard "Shaft 45-degree angle."
Hearing the commotion of the door breaking, he spoke without haste, his voice magnetic and deep:
"Yo! Young and powerful mage, it is time for this farce to end. Consider serving my Hawthorne family..."
Whoosh—!
Before his voice could fade, his figure blurred.
Without any redundant movement, he performed a highly stylish 【heroic Leap】, instantly crossing dozens of meters to appear before the three of them!
A powerful aura pressed down like a mountain!
This was the pressure of a true 【Glorious】 rank warrior!
Baron Gareth Hawthorne slowly opened his eyes, a confident smile of total control on his face as he looked at the three "little mice" before him.
However.
The next second.
His smile froze.
His pupils constricted violently, and in those deep, charming eyes, a look of terror as if he had seen a ghost instantly reflected!
What did he see?
Beside Leo.
That silver-haired, red-eyed, petite girl who, despite wearing coarse clothes, still couldn't hide her noble temperament.
And, beside the girl, that black-haired, black-eyed young mage who exuded a dangerous aura.
Silver hair... red eyes... a petite body...
The "deceased person" wanted by the Holy Light Church...
The eerie guardian who could cast spells instantly...
Boom!
Baron Hawthorne's brain felt as if it had been struck by a bolt of lightning, ringing incessantly.
The information he had deliberately gathered about the Holy Light Church's holy war, the Solan Empire's Seventh Legion's expedition, and the fall of the Sylvania Kingdom...
All the fragments of information, whether official or hearsay, flashed wildly before his eyes like a revolving lantern at this moment, finally converging into an answer sufficient to grant him a family-erasing achievement or...
The wind stopped.
Baron Hawthorne maintained that cool pose, but cold sweat had instantly soaked his back.
My name is Gareth Hawthorne.
I am a hereditary baron and the local tyrant of Kent Town. My greatest wish in life is to restore my family's glory.
But now...
Looking at the silver-haired girl in front of him, who was tilting her head and looking at him with curiosity.
Baron Hawthorne let out a scream of despair in his heart:
I think I'm a billion percent dead right now.
Rate on N.U.
