Chapter 244 Chapter 38 Hesitation
Hearing the girl’s clear voice, Ignet’s joy at her sudden visit vanished, and his eyes narrowed.
“Miss, do you think Edgeworth found us with ulterior motives?”
“Of course not!”
Verafia gave Ignet an indignant glare. “If that were the case, would I still be staying here obediently?”
Ignet’s gaze swept over the girl’s delicate body from top to bottom.
Well, if you were really staying obediently, why did you crawl into my room so late at night? And through the window at that…
“Then, what do you mean, Miss?”
“Ignet, do you remember what I said before about the news of the Black-winged Monarch’s ruins in Dorun City being deliberately faked?”
“Miss, you’re talking about this… I thought you’d be embarrassed to mention it again.” Ignet said with a smile.
“Huh? What did you say!”
Ignet obediently shut his mouth, preparing not to expose this little phoenix’s weakness. “Alright. Miss, please continue.”
“Hey, what’s that expression on your face!”
Verafia kicked the boy’s calf with her small foot, causing Ignet to grimace as pain shot through his cheek. She then puffed out her snow-white cheeks and said unhappily, “I had my reasons for making that judgment!”
“Ignet, do you remember? The reason those people in Dorun City made their judgment was based on so-called astrology? Hmph, such a reason would only fool ordinary humans like you.”
“Miss, are you saying that these things were fabricated to deceive people?”
“Of course. You know, the essence of star divination is still the manifestation of demonic power traces. However, I haven’t detected even a shred of the Black-winged Monarch’s demonic power… Hey, it’s not that I misread it!”
Seeing Ignet’s suspicious gaze, Verafia became angry and argued, pointing her slender finger outside the window:
“Look outside, there are more than ten thousand people, but only a dozen or so of them are astrological or Saint Rank, and they are all from near Dorun City or just passing by!”
Ignet thought carefully about the girl’s words and found that they made sense.
The rumors about the Black-winged Monarch related to Dorun City had been circulating for at least ten days to half a month, but most of the adventurers who came were at levels below Crystal. If it weren’t for what the girl said, why would there only be one Saint Rank like Edgeworth?
“Then, Miss, do you mean… this domain of the Black-winged Monarch was deliberately opened by someone?”
“I haven’t finished speaking yet. Of course, what you said isn’t entirely wrong. On our way here, we killed a group of undead skeletons, but they didn’t condense any undead crystals. And I can say with certainty that the undead demonic power in their bodies vanished out of thin air.”
Verafia glared at the boy and continued, “This is the first point. Also, Ignet, you said that the person who could open this domain has had a hundred years, why have they only chosen to open it now, spread rumors, and attracted such a large group of people?”
Listening to the girl’s voice, Ignet’s pupils trembled slightly.
Gathering nearly ten thousand professionals to expand their domain for oneself… such a possibility is extremely small. This undoubtedly hands over the initiative to seize the Black-winged Monarch’s power to others.
“Miss, do you mean they want to use the people here for a blood sacrifice?”
“Ha, although I don’t know, after all, ‘blood contains the power of life,’ such a guess is generally a very high possibility.”
Verafia idly fiddled with her delicate hair with her slender fingers, saying carelessly with her porcelain-white little face.
Ignet’s fingers clenched tightly. He thought of the words he had asked himself before the girl arrived and his voice became hoarse involuntarily: “Are you suspecting Edgeworth?”
“I didn’t say that! Although, this Grand Mage is indeed very suspicious, but if I were him, I wouldn’t be so brazenly jumping into the spotlight and acting as the ringleader…”
Verafia’s tone was still light and casual, and her gold eyes were slightly raised. “Of course, it’s also possible that he wants to buy time and use this group of people to flatten this ruin before other Saints and King Peka react…”
“However, I do want to see what means he will use to topple a Saint-level if the mastermind is indeed not this Archmage. Hmmm, such a thing will undoubtedly be quite interesting to watch…”
Unlike the girl’s relaxed tone, Ignet felt a tightness in his chest, almost suffocating him. Suddenly, the boy stood up forcefully.
“Hey, Ignet, stop!”
Suddenly, the girl’s voice, which had become slightly displeased, came from behind. Ignet stopped in his tracks. “Ignet, you’re not going to see Edgeworth, are you!”
All the questions that had been swirling in Ignet’s mind resurfaced, and he turned to look at the girl.
Verafia pouted slightly, folded her arms across her chest, and looked disappointed, as if he had failed her expectations. “Seriously, you were just suspecting him, why are you still like this? I haven’t confirmed if Edgeworth is the mastermind!”
“Then Miss, why did you come to find me tonight…?” Ignet’s voice was slightly hoarse, and his mood was as low as his emotions.
“Just to tell you this, hmph… But, after talking to you, my thoughts have become clearer. It wasn’t a waste of time.”
Verafia stretched out a small stretch, her slender delicate body outlining a graceful curve in the candlelight. Verafia glanced at Ignet’s dejected expression and playfully chided him:
“Don’t make that face. Anyway, no matter what, it’s not difficult for me to ensure your safety!”
Ignet forced a smile onto his face. “Then thank you, Miss.”
“It’s an easy thing for me!”
Verafia waved her small hand, suddenly let out a big yawn, and her exquisitely small face, like a work of art, suddenly became drowsy. “Ugh… it’s so late, I won’t chat with you anymore! I’m going to sleep.”
Saying that, Verafia kicked off her small boots and burrowed into the quilt on the bed.
“Wait.”
Ignet was startled and became nervous, watching the girl burrow into his bed. “Miss, aren’t you going back to your room to sleep?”
“Tsk. You idiot, Ignet.”
Verafia poked her small head out from the quilt, her gold eyes revealing displeasure, and said, “It’s so late, if I sneak back to your room again, won’t that be suspicious? I’ll sleep here!”
After saying that, the girl burrowed back into the quilt.
Ignet’s mouth twitched.
Don’t you think that crawling in through the window is also suspicious? And, a girl staying in my room all night and not going back, aren’t you afraid of gossip!
The expression on Ignet’s face had just begun to form when it froze. He couldn’t help but think of the topic the girl had just mentioned, and his heart became heavy again.
Ignet casually found a spot and sat down, attempting to meditate, but his mind remained chaotic.
Ignet never considered himself a person of noble character… but the lives of nearly ten thousand people being laid out before him made him breathless. Ignet would have preferred it if the girl hadn’t come to find him tonight, remaining in a state of ignorance.
Encountering something while ignorant, and seeing a tidal wave but being powerless to stop it, the results of these two things are the same, but the state of mind brought about by the encounter is worlds apart.
Tell people who are about to fall into the trap? But, why would strangers believe him.
Find Edgeworth? Not to mention the suspicion surrounding the Grand Mage, Verafia would absolutely not want him to do so.
Ignet had a feeling. Verafia would welcome, even anticipate, such an event happening, perhaps with the childlike curiosity of watching a lively event… or perhaps, the girl herself was also keenly interested in the Black-winged Monarch’s power.
Ignet opened his tightly closed eyes, lifted his gaze to the snow-white bed quilt, where the girl’s gentle breathing outlined a beautiful curve in the silk quilt.
On the snow-white bed, the girl revealed her slender and beautiful face, seemingly already fast asleep.
From the colors of the gray and quiet sky, it faintly shone through the window onto Verafia’s face, which was as exquisite as a piece of jade, like starlight, illusory and dreamlike.
From Verafia’s perspective, this matter was insignificant. In the eyes of a noble phoenix, how much more noble could human lives be compared to other playthings?
It was like how, when humans watched orc slaves fight, they would cheer and not care about the pain caused by the sword cutting into flesh and blood.
Ignet shifted his gaze away from the revered and noble girl, but his heart was filled with a sense of lost confusion.
In the eyes of this phoenix, who should reside in the clouds, would there be any difference between him and other humans? Verafia, who was currently by his side, was she also just a temporary interest…?
…
For the entire night, Ignet rarely had his thoughts so chaotic, and even meditation was difficult to calm his mind.
After dawn, unlike Miss Verafia, who was full of energy and high spirits, Ignet’s tired and dejected expression was undeniable.
Of course, many people showed expressions of “so that’s how it is” when they saw Verafia appearing with Ignet, and even Ophi blinked her ice-blue eyes, her face full of disbelief.
“Huh? Who’s living with this guy! Ophi, you idiot!”
Miss Verafia’s indignant voice, under normal circumstances, Ignet would at least have made a mental retort, but now, he couldn’t even stir a ripple. He only managed to force a smile onto his face, cooperatively denying the girl.
Ignet’s dejected expression indeed dispelled the girls’ doubts. However, Ophi quickly became suspicious again, resting her hands on her cheeks and blinking her big eyes in confusion.
Is Ignet’s expression, which is so different from his usual self, due to being bullied by that phoenix last night?
Soon, the army of adventurers moved, pointing like sharp swords towards the core of the domain where the “Underworld Frost Dragon” was located.
