VIP Chapter 317: United Against the Outside
Iaar raised her head, not avoiding the gazes of the other two, but instead straightening her back and looking at them.
The setting sun cast long shadows of the three people. Liya and Treya’s shadows, in particular, resembled two sword blades aimed at Iaar, pressuring her to reveal the answer.
For a moment, in a town that was once a Novice Village, the aura surrounding the three of them cast a somber atmosphere over the entire environment.
When rivals meet, their eyes burn with animosity.
All three of them exuded an air of not wanting to lose to the other two.
Whether it was in terms of strength…
Or in words—
“She took Will away from me. It’s just that I didn’t expect you to be the one to snatch him away when you were supposed to be the one coming to stop the wedding. Why did you make a move first?”
Treya’s sword, in the faint cold wind blowing on a winter evening, did not tremble in the slightest. The sword tip was fixedly aimed at Iaar.
“It’s nothing. I just felt that with a certain Empress’s personality of liking to drag people into dreams, if Iaar had been any later, it would have been a disgusting nightmare.”
Iaar slightly lowered the shield she had raised, which was in an intermediate state between attack and defense, resting it half-buried in the ground, shifting into a stance that could seemingly defend against both of them.
Then, she leisurely patted her Maid dress.
This action was more like showcasing her余裕 (yúyù – composure/余裕) in blocking all attacks to Treya, whose Maid dress had been slightly singed at the hem by Liya’s explosion, making her look less elegant.
Liya looked left and right. As someone whose information had stopped at Treya still needing to complete her wedding with Will, she clearly didn’t know what had happened afterward.
Then, her gaze settled on Iaar once more.
The Maid whom they had once seen as Will’s follower, always obedient to him, and who would softly hide behind him.
The ordinary, unremarkable Maid who would take care of everyone, prepare food and daily necessities for them—perhaps only exceptionally advantageous as a Shield Saint because she mastered the Ancient Magic of Ice Array.
Of course, she wasn’t looking down on Iaar. She performed her duties as a Maid very well and was impeccable in her role as a Shield Saint, undoubtedly the most perfect Maid.
However, there was a rebellious aura about Iaar now that was completely contrary to this “obedience.”
Of course, in this regard—
Treya, clad in black light armor with a hint of chill in her eyes, as strong as someone who would do anything for a purpose, was no longer the silent, obedient, good student Treya.
A breeze blew, gently lifting the tips of Liya’s hair, which had streaks of red. The Blood Mint Essential Oil clutched in her hand made her heart pound in her chest. At this moment, she was no longer the “good teacher” in Will’s eyes.
They were all “similar.”
The three of them, when they had first directly clashed without communication, wishing to kill each other, had understood one thing—
Whether “Witch,” “Princess,” or “Maid”…
They were no longer the same as when Will had left.
And they had all gathered here for that one person.
Even…
They had come here to fight for that one person.
That one person…
Who was exceptionally important to the “Shining Star,” to their fates, and to their world.
The one who refused to yield to anyone.
“Wait a moment. Since Her Majesty the Empress said that you were the last person to see him, shouldn’t you be the one to explain?”
Liya, the oldest present (but with the smallest chest), decided to step forward and “manage the situation” amidst such a serious atmosphere.
However, her address of “Her Majesty the Empress” was laced with sarcasm, her tone shifting several times.
As she spoke, her iron Staff spun in her hand like a display of skill, pointing at Iaar.
This was a battlefield for the three of them.
But it didn’t mean the three of them had to fight alone.
When necessary, forming an alliance to pressure the other party was also essential.
Especially when a certain Maid had taken the baton of the last encounter.
“Young Master… is not here.”
Iaar was silent for a long time. As if she had prepared herself mentally, she let out a sigh and spoke.
“Naturally, that means he is not in Iaar’s hands.”
“Iaar originally thought he would return here. It seems…”
Her words were interrupted by Treya: “Then who took him away? Don’t tell me that after you frantically, angrily, and dominantly snatched him away, he managed to escape on his own?”
“Yes. Let alone a little Maid. Even if he were in my hands, he probably wouldn’t be able to escape~”
Liya didn’t want to lose in a war of words either. A smile appeared on her face, her red pupils narrowed, and she, along with Treya, applied pressure on Iaar.
“The person who took him away… should be Shuna.”
After saying this, she glanced to her left at Liya and to her right at Treya.
She gripped her shield tightly but made no further move.
Treya remained silent and lowered her sword.
Liya sighed and lowered her Staff.
“Shuna… You mean that woman? The black-haired woman who was here from the beginning and led Will away? Coincidentally, I fought with her.”
Liya spoke first, looking around at the expressions of the other two, wanting to convey her “exclusive information.”
She remembered it very clearly.
In the Dungeon of Moonlit Ice Extreme, in her own room, she had encountered that black-haired woman and had a fierce confrontation with her.
“Then did you win?”
Treya asked Liya very calmly, as if asking “Did you eat yet?”.
Paradoxically, this tone was more like a provocation!
“Joking, I… I certainly…”
As for the result…
She opened her hand and looked at the witch’s big hat drawn on her Staff.
She had picked up this Staff, given to her by Will, and saw the carefully designed print. That was when she… she was slightly distracted…
“…I only made a slight mistake.”
Liya angrily flicked her hair and deliberately twirled the Staff in her hand, as if showing it off to the other two.
“It seems you didn’t even lose beautifully, Miss Liya.”
Iaar, despite still using a “respectful” tone, spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
“I could guess it was her.” Treya put away her sword but still crossed her arms, not closing the distance to the other two. “I temporarily confined her in the Dungeon, but unfortunately, she still escaped… even…”
Treya paused.
Because she was unwilling to admit that Will’s memory, which even she could not access, had been broken by Shuna, and she had escaped from it.
Even…
Even Shuna might have learned things about Will that she didn’t know.
“Well, I suppose I won a round against her.”
Treya’s words were calm and carried no hint of mockery.
“Hmph. If you see that woman again, all of you, stop her and let me take care of her first.”
Liya looked at Iaar again.
“You lost?”
“No. For some reason, she didn’t choose… to fight Iaar. But… Iaar could smell her. It’s difficult to describe, she had a faint… scent, like a Dungeon monster.”
After this statement, the atmosphere between the three of them eased slightly.
They looked at each other, observing each other’s expressions and the state of their weapons.
They had only understood one thing…
The three people standing here had to be united against the outside.
No matter what.
Retrieving Will from “that woman’s” hands was the most important thing.
“Come inside.”
Breaking the silence, Treya spoke and walked towards the entrance.
She silently stepped over the broken door, which had been shattered by Iaar, and entered the room.
