VIP Chapter 428: Let’s Walk Together From Now On (3k)
Will looked up, surprised by Iaar’s current state. She had caught him without any visible strain. And now… Iaar’s smile and gaze were completely different. She was confident, loyal, and reminded him of a delightfully doting wife, no longer the timid little maid who always hesitated to act.
“Iaar, that was… really impressive! Wait, are you okay? Catching someone falling from a height by hand can easily dislocate your arm depending on the speed.”
“Mmm… Young Master… is actually worried about that! Watch this!”
Iaar pouted, slightly bothered by Will’s doubt in her abilities, and tossed him up from her arms. It wasn’t a very high toss, perhaps only half a meter. Will felt a few seconds of suspension and weightlessness in the air.
“W-wait… I think I’m still a little afraid of heights…”
He landed smoothly in her arms. Of course, her arms wouldn’t dislocate. For her now, catching someone from a height in a princess carry was an easy feat. In fact, if it was Will, she would be more than happy to… toss him up again, and again. Her arms wouldn’t feel pain, only a heavy sense of love.
Moreover… she vaguely felt that Will seemed to have gained some muscle since before. She hadn’t noticed when he was in his wheelchair.
“Speaking of which, Iaar… since you understand, and I… I honestly don’t want to hide my Hysterm identity anymore, so Young Master…”
“Alright. I was thinking the same thing, my dear.”
“Isn’t that a bit too intimate all of a sudden?!”
“But, my dear… you… you really are alright.”
She suddenly lowered her head, nuzzling Will’s forehead. Will saw her long eyelashes, slightly drooping. He heard her soft breaths.
“It’s… it’s so good.”
She seemed to be on the verge of tears, and Will felt her ice-cold tears slowly fall onto his cheeks. Will remembered that there were still things to explain about their true reunion, this reunion in their most authentic forms.
“D-don’t cry just yet. Alright, alright, I admit it, I lied to you from the beginning. Of course, the reason for that is…”
“Waa… You look healthy, you can… you can jump and run, and… you don’t need sunglasses to see, it’s so good to see Will like this—”
However, Iaar didn’t seem to want to hear Will’s explanation. She kept nuzzling her ear against Will’s cheek.
“O-okay. Yes, I’m fine. I’ve been fine from the beginning. That battle, I not only won, but I won very smoothly.”
He reached out and gently stroked Iaar’s head, just like he used to praise her.
“I still… have to thank you. Without the power you brought, it definitely wouldn’t have been possible.”
“No, I want to do everything for my dear… Anything I can do, as long as… as long as you are happy enough… enough, everything is…”
“Ahem. Forgive me for interrupting your intimate post-battle… moment, have you perhaps forgotten something?”
Liya’s voice suddenly came from the side. Will remembered that Liya had said she would observe the battle and join at the most opportune moment. Was this… perhaps the most opportune moment for her to appear? After all, he had already captured Al, and the Fire Dragon wouldn’t be immune to Liya now.
“Liya, you’re finally here. Why so late…”
“And what about it?”
Liya crossed her arms, seemingly curious about Will’s upcoming response.
“So late…”
As Will pondered this, he suddenly realized… Where was Al?! Where was the huge Al he had painstakingly retrieved?! It seemed… it seemed like she might have slipped out of his grasp when he fell, and who knew where she’d gone? Well… that small, soft dragon girl, she should… she should be quite resilient, right?
“…you’ve shown up?”
Standing nearby, Liya, holding her staff, had Al floating beside her, controlled by magic. However, it was clear that… she had fainted.
“What happened to Al?! Is Al alive?! This, this, this… Please don’t die—”
“Don’t worry. She just fainted. Although she feels like she’s not breathing and has no heartbeat, but… if she were dead, wouldn’t this dragon drop something?”
Liya shrugged.
“Oh right, when she first fainted, she seemed to be talking… something about ‘Ice Array’. Did you guys beat her up badly?”
“No. It’s because ‘Ice Array’ itself is quite unique, and can be used as a tool to awaken her… Iaar, put me down first. I’ll go check the situation.”
“No! I’ll just carry you over!”
“Huh?”
Iaar ran towards the floating Al and even lifted Will, letting him get a closer look.
“Oh my, it looks like our Classmate Will has found another good mount.”
Liya said this through gritted teeth, deliberately moving the floating Al she controlled further away, preventing Will, held by Iaar, from easily reaching her. This forced Iaar to put Will down. Otherwise, their positions would have overlapped, and of course, she had no desire to touch Liya.
“Yes. Because darling Will loves me the most.”
“Maid Miss, you’re still wearing those clothes, why are you suddenly dropping your honorifics and self-referential pronoun?”
“Hmph, I am *not* just a maid anymore, can I ask this teacher to not be so controlling?”
“Uh…?”
Will, standing by, tilted his head, sensing a strong “harem war” vibe. Although he had anticipated a scene of them vying for his attention, still…
“What? Feeling confident after learning a little new magic?”
“After all, this time it was *my* great contribution!”
Then, as the two argued, they both felt a light pat on their heads. Although it was a very gentle pat, their reactions were fierce—Liya’s face started blushing from the roots of her ears, while Iaar’s tail shot straight up and started wagging.
“Mmm…?!”
“Waa?!”
“In any case…”
Will’s hands moved down from their heads, to their shoulders, and finally, he lowered his center of gravity, resting his head on their shoulders, supported by them. It was as if, after a long period of exhaustion, he was leaning on them for a brief rest, taking a deep breath and exhaling a long sigh. It was also a display of… weakness and fatigue after a major battle, a vulnerability he only showed to them.
“In any case, thank you. Without either of you, I wouldn’t have gotten this far.”
“Will… Young Master…”
Iaar heard the slight fatigue in his voice and reached out, caressing his calloused fingertips.
“For the journey ahead, I’m counting on you both. Let’s walk together from now on.”
“Of course, we’ll walk with you. After all… we’ve already promised.”
Liya, though looking elsewhere, playfully reached out and gently poked Will’s extended fingertip.
“But… where are we going next?”
Iaar tilted her head, looking at Will’s profile. She hadn’t seen those deep blue eyes in a long time. Although his brown hair had grown a bit long and was obstructing her view from her angle, she still admired him silently.
“For now, we need to get Al out of here. The internal society of the dungeon has been largely destroyed, so the only place we can go is probably the Witch’s…”
*Clap. Clap. Clap.*
Liya’s words were interrupted by the sound of clapping. Will, snapping out of his moment of rest, instantly raised his black and white staff, his gaze sharp as he looked towards the source of the sound. The door to the 70th floor dungeon. With the battle paused, and one side victorious, this door could naturally be opened with ease!
“What did I just hear? You mentioned, the Witch’s what?”
Grace, dressed in ice-blue attire and carrying a large blue bow and arrow, appeared before the three, accompanied by almost everyone from White Castle.
“It’s their turn to clear the dungeon?! Liya, we can’t let them get Al. She is of great importance to us!”
“I know that already. I’ll open the teleportation gate to the Witch’s Corridor directly, but I’ll need you to hold them off…”
“Leave that to me, Liya.”
Iaar seamlessly finished Liya’s sentence, her hand already on her shield. Although she had expended a lot of energy in the recent battle, her bristling fur indicated her continued vigilance. Because of her presence, the opposing side, which had intended to attack, halted.
“Since someone has gotten here first, why don’t you just hand over the things that fell out of the Fire Dragon? Don’t worry, we won’t torture her or have any other motives. We just want to kill her and end this dungeon.”
Grace spoke, her gaze subtly shifting to Captain Peflan of White Castle, who stood beside her, but had no right to speak at this moment.
“Right, Captain Peflan? After all, this is the Fire Dragon who has committed countless evils. We are acting under orders.”
“Mm.”
Peflan, clearly reluctant to engage in a fight with Iaar and the others, replied indifferently.
“If you refuse, we will have to take forceful measures. It’s alright, if you happen to get hurt during these forceful measures, the Adventurer’s Guild will compensate your families with full insurance… Oh, but…”
Grace’s tone, imbued with the unique nobility and coldness of an elf, combined with her subtly threatening and sarcastic words, made her sound particularly detestable. Her light blue eyes fixed on Will, who was caught between the two, had put on his hat, attempting to somehow conceal his now-exposed appearance. Looking at him, she licked her lips.
“However, one of you might not be able to claim it, after all, she’s already ‘died’ once.”
