“Based on what you just said, do you suspect that the one who wants to kill this rescue team is the Grand Chief Arbiter of the Titan Prosecution Office?”
Imeve nodded and said, “Yes. That is why I used my family's influence to have the Titan Prosecution Office appoint me as the deputy commander of this operation.”
Imeve smiled.
“After all, how could I let my Swordbearer get into trouble somewhere else?”
Ain was somewhat surprised.
“Who is your Swordbearer... Wait, what does that make you, a spy?”
Imeve blinked curiously and asked, “What is that? A special kind of butterfly?”
“Hey, hey, is this 'spy' thing... pretty?”
Imeve's lips curled up slightly, blooming into a smile brighter than the warm spring sun.
The innocent girl had no idea that the word “spy” referred to her.
Imeve leaned forward slightly, looking forward to Ain's response, while the latter's eyes, as if triggered by some low-level programming, darted a quick glance at her two small mounds.
In just an instant, Ain felt his sanity on the verge of collapsing.
He didn't dare look any longer and hastily averted his gaze, pretending to look elsewhere.
“Probably... quite pretty...”
Damn it, I never noticed before...
This girl is actually so beautiful!
And her strength is even comparable to Erylin's!
Suddenly, a thought popped into Ain's mind.
In the end, what's so good about Lillian, that little flat board?
Other than being a bit more proactive...
Then, Ain hurriedly shook his head, banishing the chaotic thoughts from his mind.
The moment he thought of Lillian, he couldn't help but steer his thoughts toward those lewd things.
It was all Lillian's fault!
Her head was completely filled with dirty thoughts!
She had even held up some of those obscene picture books before, saying things like...
“Hey, hey, Ain, what do you think of this pose? Isn't it super fun!”
“Ain, let's do it again...”
“Ain, Big Brother Ain... Please, won't you really try this one? (disappointed)”
The more he tried not to think about it, the more Lillian's coquettish appearance expanded in Ain's mind.
Ain felt as if she had planted some kind of psychological suggestion in him; whenever he thought of Lillian, he couldn't resist the urge to do something to her.
Were the buns Erylin made delicious?
They were.
Were the steamed buns Imeve made delicious?
They were too.
But Ain felt that the tiny soup dumplings Lillian made had a unique flavor of their own.
Lillian...
Just you wait until I get back!
Little Ain is furiously charging up.jpg
...
Along the way, Ain lowered his head in thought, murmuring to himself.
“The academy is at a disadvantage in this operation, and Lance specifically brought out a list to siphon off half of the academy's personnel into this new team...”
“This indeed proves one thing: this list is something he had prepared long ago.”
Then, Ain sighed and shook his head.
“Though I still don't know why he would do this...”
Lance, the Grand Chief Arbiter of the Titan Prosecution Office, was a major figure who wasn't supposed to appear until Act Five...
Could this be one of the current clues?
More importantly, although Ain had considered that Erylin might have fallen into this state because of him...
【5】White Dragon
Reversed.
But the answer from the divination was not so.
This also allowed Ain to breathe a sigh of relief.
The only plot point that had deviated from the original game setting was the “backlash.”
This was essentially the result of the holy spear's power repelling the Ice of Aret within Erylin's body.
This backlash would not be triggered by Erylin's negative emotions at all.
In fact, based on the setting of the Ice of Aret, more negative emotions would only make it absorb them more eagerly. How could it possibly harm its host?
In that case, this was very strange.
What exactly had the current Erylin come into contact with to fall into her present state?
Suddenly, Imeve took Ain's hand.
“Don't overthink it.”
“Didn't you say that only by getting the compass can we help Erylin?”
Imeve smiled gently. “We will figure all of this out soon.”
“Hey, Ain, leave it to me.”
“We will help her together.”
Ain stared at the bright and moving face before him. Her captivating appearance, looking as if she had stepped out of a painting, left him somewhat dazed and lost in thought for a moment.
Suddenly, an angry roar echoed from the city gates.
“This rule is completely unreasonable!”
The two looked over and saw Vanessa arguing with two mercenaries from the chamber of commerce.
One was a light swordsman with a sword at his waist, while the other was a heavily armored warrior carrying a giant shield.
“It's one thing that you made those students pay three gold coins, but why on earth do you insist that I pay ten!”
The two men looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“For this mission, as academy students, you guys have no experience to begin with, right?”
“You might even cause trouble for us during the operation. To put it bluntly, aren't you just a bunch of bratty kids on a sightseeing trip?”
“And you expect us to act as your bodyguards!”
“This is a service fee! A service fee!”
“If I don't charge you, how are you going to save your own skins?”
One of them specifically emphasized.
“This is a task personally inquired about by the royal family and fully supervised by our chamber of commerce!”
Vanessa was instantly seething with rage.
More than half of the students had already been forced to pay and had headed outside the city to prepare for departure.
Currently still inside the city, besides Vanessa, were five other accompanying students.
The five students grumbled behind Vanessa.
“I knew nothing good would come from this trip!”
“A bunch of money-grubbing bastards!”
“Crude country bumpkins! They smell like they haven't bathed in days!”
One of them, however, saw right through it.
“They're just taking advantage of the fact that our Dean isn't here!”
Hearing the students' chatter, the swordsman gripped the hilt of his sword, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
“You don't think you're still in a situation where we can't lay a hand on you, do you?”
“Ever since our Mr. Harrison was injured by that student of yours, that stupid rule has been long gone!”
Vanessa immediately protested, “That was clearly you—”
Before she could finish, the swordsman took a step forward, his aura instantly exploding outward.
The violent gust of wind sent Vanessa stumbling back several steps, her entire body flying backward.
Only with the support of several classmates did Vanessa manage to avoid falling to the ground.
For a moment, Vanessa was left somewhat dizzy by the other party's martial skill. Gritting her teeth, her body swayed as if she had been completely deprived of her ability to move, the world spinning around her.
One of the students immediately pulled out a wand and chanted an incantation, a deep blue magic circle emerging at the tip of the wand.
But at such close range, the swordsman clearly held the upper hand.
Before the magic could fully manifest, the swordsman used his scabbard to strike the student squarely in the stomach.
The student groaned in pain and collapsed onto his knees.
The swordsman laughed disdainfully and kicked the student aside.
“Just a bunch of Tier 3 Mages. Once you reach the monsters' gathering ground, you'll be nothing but fodder for them!”
Aside from the power gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4, mages held absolutely no advantage in close-quarters combat.
With that, the swordsman's lips curled up. He tapped Vanessa's cheek with his scabbard and mocked, “Pardon me, classmate...”
“Right now, the amount you need to pay is...”
“Fifteen gold coins.”
As if addicted to bullying the weak, the swordsman looked at the surrounding students and sneered, “If you can manage to injure me, I'll refund the full amount.”
The swordsman thoroughly enjoyed the furious glares of these students.
He despised these high-and-mighty mages the most.
Thinking they could compare to a battle-hardened swordsman just because they learned some useless tricks at the academy!
Seeing his companion beside him trying to stop him, the swordsman simply waved his hand with a smile.
Then, noticing Vanessa's nearby classmates raising their wands as well, he sneered, “Want to take me on together? Sure.”
“If you can beat me, all the money on my person will—”
“Stop!”
Imeve shouted, quickly rushing to the front of the academy students.
“What do you think you are doing!”
Seeing her arrival, many of the students breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, another male voice reached everyone's ears.
“What's wrong, Vanessa?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Vanessa turned her head. Looking at Ain, she said somewhat aggrievedly, “These shameless country savages will do anything for money!”
“Every single student has been extorted by these two!”
The two men were instantly displeased.
“Hey, hey, what do you mean extorted? Those are the regulations from above. If you have a problem, go talk to—”
“So annoying, so annoying, so annoying!”
Vanessa finally managed to catch her breath. Stomping her feet, she had nowhere to vent her current frustration.
The girl looked at Ain, tears welling up in her eyes.
“If it weren't for the auction being postponed, and the academy being so short-handed, I wouldn't have participated in this mission at all!”
Hearing her words, Ain was about to offer some words of comfort when his pupils suddenly dilated as if he had realized something. Countless thoughts flooded his mind at this very moment.
“So that's how it is...”
Rate on N.U.
