VIP Chapter 240: Quest 1003
[Quest 1003: Genuinely move her.]
How should one deal with a young girl who had completely blackened?
There were many solutions. But ever since Will felt the emotion of a “witch” from Liya, ever since he responded in a way that pleased the other party, ever since he gave her a staff and made Liya a little more lucid…
He decided to choose this gentle path.
—Genuinely move them.
To do this, he needed to retrace Treya’s “blackening” process using existing information.
Using this page as scratch paper, Will wrote down the information he remembered.
From the “Quest System” he had recorded before.
The first key event was that on her birthday, Treya had understood her “desire” and thus gained the appreciation of a “demon.”
This way, she could not only participate in the royal family’s infighting as a “naive sweet girl” but also wield the Entak Sword Style, which originated from demons.
When he first formed an Adventuring Team in Nov, Will had not noticed Treya’s strong potential for “blackening.” She just seemed to have a bit more cunning than before.
At most…
She had a slightly intense desire for control over him.
For example, on the matter of meeting Shuna, she was completely against it, just like Liya. The only one who supported the matter was Iaar, who always stood by his side.
“…Perhaps I should have noticed some clues back then.”
Next was…
The two months he was separated from Treya.
These two months were a long distance because the path she chose was completely opposite to the path Will chose.
However, due to the gradually developing technology in this world, the speed of information dissemination had somewhat shortened the distance between them.
Something must have happened to stimulate Treya during these two months that ultimately led her down the path of “blackening.”
“What could it be?”
“If I were to guess…”
“It must be that newspaper, the root of all evil, with Shuna in the photo.”
After all, Liya had suffered for the same reason.
From Treya’s perspective, Will, whom she thought had left due to some important political or family matter, was instead vacationing with another woman. He wouldn’t have tolerated it either!
However, this gave Will a great idea—
“To truly understand her, perhaps I should try to put myself in Treya’s shoes, like an ‘offender profiling’ ability.”
It was a peaceful morning in the royal palace. Warm sunlight streamed in through the window. Treya sat by the window, her heart excited but her expression cold as she took the newspaper that her subordinate said had news about Will.
“Let me see where Teacher Will is? Oh… here…”
“Teacher Will, so you didn’t leave without a word due to an emergency…”
“You were just living a happy ‘couple adventurer’ life with another woman…”
“No… he shouldn’t be like this, perhaps… he has other ‘undertakings’ besides me…”
—The above were lines that Will, after confirming that no one was in the room or outside the window, had spoken in Treya’s cold tone, in a “script-like” manner, as if he had a flair for the dramatic.
What a scumbag!
Will had completely immersed himself in that situation.
Although there was a hint of misunderstanding, …
During the period he was out having fun with Shuna, he actually… actually…
It was quite enjoyable.
If he hadn’t enjoyed himself, he might still be able to lie to himself that it was a misunderstanding.
Now that he had enjoyed himself, well, he really should take responsibility for having fun.
“However, she didn’t immediately post a Wanted Poster after finding out; it was about two weeks later. During this time…”
Will’s deduction reached a difficult point.
His two weeks had been accelerated inside Moonlit Ice Extreme.
He had been “missing.”
For him, it was only a few hours, but in the outside world, it had been two weeks, and it was two weeks during which he couldn’t transmit any information or receive any.
So, what could have happened during those two weeks?
From the Wanted Poster she posted and the turmoil in the royal family, Will could see her deeply hidden feelings—perhaps this was what the “Teacher Will” she wanted would have done.
First, the unstable situation in the Entak Empire prompted the return of the three married princesses who were living outside.
This was fine; it might have just provided Treya with an opportunity to return to the capital from her destination in the north.
Second, the Seventh Princess suddenly began impeaching the Fourth Prince, using a method akin to cutting off a limb to survive. This impeachment was extremely successful, and within a week, military power was almost completely released from the hands of the Fourth Prince, who had held it for a long time.
And this matter…
The most disadvantageous thing for “Will” was precisely…
He had mentioned it to Treya.
At this time, according to some descriptions, Treya did not seem to have taken any action regarding this matter, unlike other members of the royal family…
When she was more nervous and agitated, she would focus on one thing, such as “practicing swordplay” to relieve her feelings…
She would probably be swinging her sword continuously, thinking in her heart—
“For the royal family, such struggles are common. Yes, Teacher Will told me so.”
“Do you know?”
“You told me yourself that something terrifying happened.”
“Then you should appear here as you did before and help me, right?”
“In my heart, I still… believe you will return here because of the situation in the capital.”
“But… where are you?”
“You’ve disappeared…”
“Don’t you want to see me?”
…
How terrifying!
Imagine the panic in the royal palace due to the loss of military power, and “Teacher Will,” who foretold all this, not only failed to appear as if by magic as before but had also disappeared from the Entak Empire!
Treya’s pressure skyrocketed!
No wonder she started posting Wanted Posters all over the country to find him when this happened.
It wasn’t about forcibly “capturing” him; it was likely not just a psychological state. In the current state of the royal family, she wouldn’t have been able to mobilize so many resources.
“At the same time, the long-feuding Sixth Prince and Eighth Prince also began their ‘duel’…”
Unfortunately, Will didn’t hear the “results” of this duel from the streets. According to everyone’s descriptions, only the royal family and some of their trusted confidants watched the duel.
This was the second thing Will had mentioned.
For Treya, it was tantamount to “crises” closing in.
“Although it was a ‘duel’ between the Sixth and Eighth Princes, Treya might have received an invitation related to it, but…”
She would refuse.
She was an excellent student, and she would believe Will’s words.
Therefore…
As a rule-abiding member of the royal family, she would watch the duel punctually, but she would not participate…
“Teacher Will said this is a very dangerous action…”
“So I shouldn’t get close…”
“But… why aren’t you back yet? Look, it was you who told me about the future, you who pointed out the dark path to me.”
“Hurry up and appear…”
“Teacher Will…”
…
This was “Treya” written from Will’s perspective. It was precisely because of her “seriousness” that she gave Will the overwhelming sense of “blackening.”
In her own way, she was crushing Will with this burden to the point where he couldn’t breathe.
And she couldn’t breathe either.
“Hoo… is this how you are? Treya…”
Just as some people would criticize Treya, the Ninth Princess, for being too “fragile” and “ambitious” compared to others.
But Will understood completely…
In the original work, where the overall tone was relatively cheerful, she appeared in her most innocent and pure form, faced the most difficult situation, and tragically met the most miserable end.
Her royal family was overthrown. In the process, she lost an eye to her own siblings. In the end, she had to bear the burden of “revenge” and lead the remaining army to restore the glory of “Entak.”
Precisely because of this…
Will not only taught her swordsmanship, to defeat her destined “Ghost Swordsman.”
But rather…
He hoped she could survive, living with her own two intact eyes.
“So, what will she do now?”
“If… if she still believes me as she did before, even if I didn’t truly respond to her…”
Will looked at the line of text on the paper.
This was information he had not yet obtained, but it was indeed information he had obtained through recalling every sunny afternoon he had spent with Treya—
“Teacher Will said I need to win over someone…”
“—His father. ”
“—Even if negotiating with others, especially those skilled in deception, is difficult…”
“—I have to try.”
…
A bead of sweat appeared on Will’s forehead.
It was hard to imagine that after coming here, the person he distrusted the most, feared the most, and wanted to stay away from the most was still his father.
He was like a darkness outside his visible “fate.” You knew such darkness was deep, deep, and certainly hid great secrets.
But you could never see what it was. It always stood one step away from the “death fate” that was clear and unavoidable.
“She will meet Carver—perhaps she already has, but… this is not a good time.”
He was too focused on telling Treya that “whoever obtains the resources of the Dungeon will be the winner.” Perhaps he shouldn’t have introduced Carver to her so early.
“No, no, no…”
Will panicked slightly and turned to the next page.
[Reward: Princess Treya.]
Right, there were no other options.
“Tomorrow, if the sword isn’t ready by tomorrow, no matter what, I’ll go directly to see Treya. Before Carver makes his move, everything can still be saved…”
Then, he looked at the window in front of him, where the outside was moonlight and starlight, his own shadow fading and unclear.
The candle was almost out, the light dimmed, and the night grew deeper.
He should rest.
Tomorrow, he would first go to the blacksmith’s shop. After all, with a weapon, Treya could seize the initiative in the “duel.”
Having analyzed this far, he understood how to save Treya and how to be “sincere” when they met.
He blew out the candle and looked at the tabletop in the darkness. There was no longer a thick “Quest System” book, but he had looked at that book so many times that his eyes seemed to retain its afterimage.
The sense of incongruity…
It had not stopped since he woke up from that dream, and it was the key that drove him to sit here and re-examine everything.
Had he missed some information?
Had he underestimated… something?
No, it shouldn’t be… This was a calculation based on existing fate, and it was from the perspective of Treya, whom he had personally nurtured and understood well.
Everything would not…
Be problematic.
—Just like before.
—Right?
