VIP Chapter 133: Only the Fuse is Missing (1)
“Huh… has the sky… brightened already?”
Iaar had never stayed up all night before.
As a canine, her sleep quality was quite high. Not only did she sleep early, but she also fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
However…
She sat inside their small house, her mind filled with the scenes she saw while following Will last night. The more she thought, the less she could sleep, and the more confused she became.
Who was the person next to the Young Master? Wasn’t he supposed to meet S? Why would he be with a drunken woman? And why did they get on the train together?
These questions clearly had no answers.
Because…
The Young Master, whom she had watched grow up, the Young Master who had never left her sight, was now, for the first time, not by her side.
Ever since Will brought her to the Hysterm family, Will had basically answered any questions she had. As long as she found her Young Master, all problems could be solved.
Although there were some strange behaviors, the Young Master was the one who had always guided her.
How could he pick up a drunken woman from a tavern and run away with her?!
Young Master, that’s too much!
“Waaa…”
Since she had decided to abduct and run away.
At least…
Bring her along.
After all, she had accompanied the Young Master for so many years and wouldn’t cause any trouble.
Moreover…
She could at least protect the Young Master from getting hurt.
Iaar seemed to understand why she hadn’t been able to sleep all night.
She vaguely recalled a very, very early memory, a memory from when she was still wandering in the forest…
She seemed to have been abandoned there, running alone in the forest, heading forward on unending roads…
Until she was rescued by the Hysterm family.
Now, it made her feel…
As if she had been abandoned again.
Why, why, why… why was this happening?!
Young Master… why would you abandon me?
Didn’t you know that Iaar is your most steadfast and reliable shield…?
“Mmm… Iaar? You don’t seem right? And why aren’t you wearing your maid outfit today? Wow, you have such dark circles under your eyes, what’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
Iaar snapped out of her thoughts, awakened by someone’s voice.
“Strange… it’s a bit cold. But the air conditioning in the living room should have been turned off last night.”
It was Liya.
She seemed to have just woken up, without her hat, and hadn’t even tied her Twin Tails yet, which made her appear much smaller.
Liya went to the kitchen, seemingly preparing to toast some bread for breakfast.
Hearing Liya’s words, Iaar realized that her Ice Armor Infusion had been active on her arm the whole time, causing the indoor temperature to drop considerably.
“Come to think of it, aren’t we supposed to prepare to go to the Crystal Mirage today? Ah, that kind of water-filled Dungeon, I really can’t handle it…”
She took out the bread. Her actions were just like usual.
Indeed.
This was just a normal morning.
Just like the past week and a half they had spent here, preparing the Dungeon clear strategies, choosing a good day to set out, and bringing back Loot to process.
Then, as Will had said, they would gather their Adventuring Team’s Points and report them to the Adventurer’s Guild once a month. After accumulating enough Points for the month, they could venture into more advanced Dungeons.
But…
Iaar pulled at her ear, her fluffy ears drooping.
“I… I haven’t slept all night…”
“Lack of sleep isn’t good. Remember to sleep early next time. Don’t… stay up late every day like Teacher Will.”
A somewhat cold but clearly caring voice appeared. Treya sat across from her at the table, reaching for the fresh milk she had just taken from the milk delivery box outside.
She had ordered milk for a month and took a cup every morning as her start to the day.
This…
Was also like usual.
Then…
Should she mention that the Young Master had run off with another woman?
Iaar watched as Liya walked over with a plate of toast and naturally sat down next to her.
On the square table, everyone was in their usual seats, with one seat left empty. They had all tacitly left it for someone—
“Ah, where’s Will? I wanted to ask him earlier if, when going to a water-element Dungeon, we should change the magic in the Ring.”
“Yeah. And I also need him to adjust the Sword Style I’ll use against the final BOSS with me again, to confirm the position of the slashes.”
The two of them chatted naturally.
“He’s sleeping in so late today. Usually, I feel like he’d be sitting opposite us by now.”
“It’s rare for him to oversleep…”
“Then… that…”
Iaar took a deep breath.
She didn’t need to hide it.
Because she couldn’t!
A grown person disappearing overnight, they would discover this fact in a moment!
“Actually… the Young Master he…”
“Uh… ran away.”
“Ah?!”
“Huh?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iaar began by recounting how Will received a Letter from “S” and excitedly started preparing for her pen pal meetup.
Then, she briefly described her actions last night, when she, worried, followed the Young Master and witnessed his deeds.
Finally…
She looked at the two of them.
Liya’s expression was incredibly varied, her eye corners and the corners of her mouth twitching in slightly different directions.
Treya, however, remained calm, hugging her arms and resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
And Iaar silently watched the two of them.
Her mental state was indeed poor after not sleeping all night.
She hoped these two…
One, a university professor, and the other, a well-traveled Princess, could use their brains to come up with something!
“I think something’s wrong. Will definitely wouldn’t do something like this. Uh… you know, even though he looks particularly strange, *cough cough*… and often does things out of character…”
Liya was the first to break the silence.
“But he has goals and ideals. He wouldn’t be the type to abandon what he’s doing to seek pleasure.”
This was what she had witnessed.
For the past three years, as her student, Will had been so diligent and hardworking. Although his magic talent was indeed worrying, his knowledge and comprehension far surpassed his peers.
Moreover…
He had made a plan to stay here for a month – though she didn’t know why he was so fixated on the one-month duration.
How could such a person, upon seeing a drunken woman, get carried away and drive off in a carriage?
“It sounds like S set a trap, and he willingly fell for it. And this trap took three years to set.”
Liya slammed the table after speaking.
“So, I believe he was lured away by that woman and S working together! Absolutely!”
“Mmm… but Iaar saw with her own eyes that it was the Young Master who was helping her…”
“That’s where you’re wrong. It looked like Will was supporting someone, but with all sorts of strange magic nowadays, it’s possible he was drugged and then taken away, creating a false impression!”
Liya felt a bit ridiculous saying this.
But…
She said it…
Because she was somewhat resistant too. Resistant to imagining that scene… For example…
In a tavern, them toasting, Will looking at the other person, his eyes full of her, sincerely revealing everything.
She was very scared.
Will opening up to someone else, someone more straightforward, more dazzling, or even…
Someone more suitable to be his Teacher appearing.
Liya smelled something burning. She looked down and saw that the edges of the toast she had just made were inexplicably burnt where they met her fingertips.
“I believe there are other possibilities.”
Treya interrupted her train of thought.
