VIP Chapter 193: Information Compilation
Shuna listened to Will’s words expressionlessly. “Amazing, truly a passionate confession. Should I applaud and praise you?”
“Uh… Shuna, did Liya not show up? Or… did you really agree to meet her for five minutes, and it hasn’t arrived yet?” Will was anxious.
Upon hearing Shuna’s clap, he got up in quite a hurry, only to stop as his glasses, perched on his nose, almost slipped off. His expression was anxious. His words were sweet. His confession was earnest. Shuna watched him with her arms crossed.
She… She truly regretted setting up such a scenario for Will. Not only was she sitting here listening to him pour out a string of enviable confessions to another woman, but… and it was quite heartfelt too. He felt somewhat like a “hardened stone” that had been softened. If he had spoken insincerely, she might not have regretted it as much as she did now. Shuna felt like “the one who pulled him out of his self-inflicted, morbid environment was now like a jilted lover.”
She looked at Will’s innocent face. His expression seemed to say, “Help me give some advice, was this part not said well?” Forget it. She had dug her own grave. She had initially thought Will, having been treated like that, even losing his virginity for the first time as the Hysterm Family’s supposedly most upright Young Master, according to the remnants of the scene, would hate Liya, resent his inability, and instinctively avoid it. But… he still faced it directly, with sincerity and thoughtfulness.
Yes. She knew him clearly, understood him well. Will was just like that, the same as she felt when he wrote his letters: simple, direct, and brave enough to take responsibility. It was precisely because he was someone who wouldn’t give up easily, someone who would always choose the most difficult path… that she liked him. After all, only someone like him could write letters that could change her back then…
“You can still act like this even when drugged and controlled, what kind of pervert are you? Really, are all Young Masters of the Hysterm Family a bit abnormal?” Shuna mused for a moment, then finally said something a bit sour, half-jokingly – she still held out a small hope that Will might understand.
“Huh? Isn’t that good? That’s exactly what I taught you! So… where is Liya? She wasn’t injured too badly by you and is still unconscious, right?”
Fine, he hadn’t understood at all.
“You’re still so worried about her. You… believed it?”
“Wh-what do you mean, I believed it?”
“I was talking about hypothetically. Liya wouldn’t appear after five minutes, because she isn’t with us.”
“?”
“Ahaha, you’ve been tricked again.” Shuna watched his dumbfounded expression and thought that tricking him into an earnest confession, making it so embarrassing, and then turning into a silly look at the right moment was also a kind of gain.
“Actually, it’s…”
…
Will listened as Shuna recounted her encounter with Lis – Liya’s mother. And the most important thing… Liya had been taken away by her mother to pay off the debt owed to the Witch Association for causing such a big trouble.
Wait, wait, wait…?!
“What? How do you feel about that?” Shuna asked calmly, then watched Will’s surprised expression with satisfaction.
“If I had known that maxing out her mother’s credit card could directly summon her mother, she wouldn’t have had to search for so many years! As expected, Liya was too well-behaved these past few years! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”
“…Your feeling is this?”
“Then all of these… these heartfelt… words of mine just now… wouldn’t that mean…” Will finally realized. He had truly spoken so earnestly because he believed Liya would appear. But now, she wasn’t here at all. In Shuna’s eyes, wasn’t he just like someone possessed by a performative personality, suddenly pouring out a bunch of heartfelt words?
“Mhm, I heard it all. If you want, you can say it again, it’s fine. I’d be happy to be your audience and watch your brilliant confession performance.” Shuna narrowed her eyes, a sly, fox-like smile appearing.
“Then… then let’s forget it.” Being stared at by Shuna, Will felt a chill. Her expression somehow suggested that if he said it again, she might devour him – although Will couldn’t figure out what he had done to displease Shuna.
“So, in the short term, I won’t be able to see Liya again, is that right?”
“Yes. Currently, witches have methods for operating within the Dungeon.” Shuna spread open the witch’s manual she held, drawing a line on the inner page, seemingly to indicate the inside of the Dungeon. “This is also the reason why a certain ‘organization’ that Lis belongs to can deliver ‘Green Ghost Stones’ to the corresponding Dungeon by combining methods inside and outside the Dungeon. For example, Green Ghost Stones cut in Moonlit Ice Extreme could be wrapped in gift packaging from Yamik Town and then delivered through the Dungeon’s interior to Rock Fire Iron Wall.”
Will calmed down, watching Shuna’s fingers demonstrate the movement between the inside and outside of the witch’s manual.
… Mmm… Staring at Shuna’s very serious “demonstration,” Will suddenly realized something… something extremely important that, for now, he had truly forgotten…
Oh, right?! When they first entered Moonlit Ice Extreme, it was to find out how “Green Ghost Stones” came to be!
“Uh, Little Will~ why the expression? Don’t tell me… you had such a great time being toyed with…” Shuna paused. “Another cute witch delivering herself!” Shuna leaned closer by ten centimeters. “Another sensory experience from being drugged!” Shuna leaned closer by fifteen centimeters. “And you even gave up your virginity!” Shuna was almost nose-to-nose! “So… you completely forgot why we entered Moonlit Ice Extreme, right?”
“I-I-I-I…” Wow, why was Shuna’s resentment so strong now? In front of her, Will could almost see endless black mist rising from the top of her head. Uh… thinking about it, she was injured saving him, and he completely forgot why they entered Moonlit Ice Extreme… If it were him, he’d be resentful too!
Will decided to perform a slide, which was his specialty right now. He clasped his hands together and bowed in apology. “Sorry, sorry, sorry! I really forgot. After all that’s happened, fainting, waking up, uh… I feel like time is passing several times faster than before! It’s okay, from now on, I’ll listen to every single word you say!”
“Well… that’s an overreaction, but… that’s right. Little Will who cares about important matters is a good Will.” Shuna seemed somewhat appeased and sat back down. “It feels like you’re trying to coax me. Then, what information did you get from Clodell, the Ice Queen of Moonlit Ice Extreme?”
“Simply put, she cut it, making it impossible for the Green Ghost Stone to reassemble after shattering, reducing its chances of being discovered. And the person who supplied her with the raw material appears to be a witch now, and it should be Lis, who appeared before us at the end.”
“It sounds like an operation to prevent anyone from discovering the Green Ghost Stone.”
