[Vol. 7] Chapter 76: The Word "Sister" Has Many Meanings
"Got it? So next, all we need to do is track the traces she left behind. That should lead us straight to their hideout."
Inside the guild’s rest area, everyone stared at each other in shock after hearing the black-haired girl’s explanation. Eventually, it was Enrique the [Tree Bow] that spoke first.
"Miss Violet, did you just say… that child let herself get caught on purpose? Was this some kind of trap?"
"No way! I didn’t even know about the disappearances before this! I just felt like there were some weird eyes watching us in the guild, that’s all…"
Seeing how Miss Priestess firmly denied it, the young Tree Spirit warrior looked even more baffled.
"If it wasn’t planned by you, then… No, even if it was, it’s way too unbelievable. That kid looks like she’s only eight or nine years old. How could she possibly protect herself in such a dangerous situation, let alone leave clues for us to track?"
Before anyone could respond, he muttered to himself with a strange expression.
"Wait… now that I think about it, I have seen some extremely long-lived races before. Ones that are hundreds, even thousands of years old, but still look like children. Could that blonde girl be…"
Hearing that, Sophie the [Tree Wall], standing beside him, immediately rolled her eyes and snapped back at him.
"Oh, come on, bro. That only happens with mythic races! And those have been nearly wiped out for ages now. Even if some still exist, what are the chances you’d randomly run into one, especially such a rare type?"
As she spoke, Le Qiaoqiao and Hongyan exchanged glances, then turned to Violet with the same curious look as the Tree Spirit siblings.
Even though the two of them had spent more time with that tiny dragon girl, their understanding of her was still pretty basic.
All they knew was that she was connected to dragons, was way stronger and more aggressive than she looked, had a huge appetite, and could sleep all day without a care in the world.
As for her true origins, identity, and why she suddenly appeared by Violet’s side, both Le Qiaoqiao and Hongyan had no clue.
Even though the thief girl called her "little child" or “little dragon” all the time, deep down, the two of them still saw Xiao Guang as nothing more than a naive, innocent, and food-loving odd little girl, someone who needed care and protection.
Being strong didn’t mean she couldn’t be hurt. No matter what world they were in, the darker corners of society were always filled with dirty tricks and underhanded schemes. With Xiao Guang’s impulsive nature, it was way too easy for her to be caught off guard. Let alone the fact that she was also an adorable girl.
"Hmm… how should I put this…"
Under everyone's curious gazes, Violet pondered silently.
She needed to explain things in a way that made sense.
It was rare for Xiao Guang to take the initiative to do something purely out of interest rather than direct orders. As her master, Violet naturally had to support her fully.
If the disappearance cases were really as serious as Enrique and the others described, then even if she and Xiao Guang could solve the case, wrapping things up neatly would be another matter entirely. A perfect ending was far from guaranteed.
Accepting Enrique’s earlier team-up proposal and using the Adventurers’ Guild’s resources was the safest choice right now.
And if they were going to work together, she had to show some sincerity. At least enough to make them accept the ridiculous story she was about to tell.
Besides, Xiao Guang had no idea when she’d return to her original form, so giving her a reasonable identity would be helpful in many ways.
Luckily, Violet had already thought about this.
"Enrique and Sophie, since you’ve heard about my adventures, you should also know that as a [Priest], I have my own adventuring party, right?"
The green-haired young man nodded slightly.
"Of course. The duo of [Priest] and [Lightscale] is quite famous in the adventurer world, especially among high-level adventurers. According to the guild records, Miss Xiao Guang the[Lightscale] is the complete opposite of you, an incredibly powerful close-combat warrior with dazzling golden hair. She has a strong personality and serves as both the spear and shield by your side…"
As [Tree Bow] kept talking, he suddenly froze mid-sentence.
"Wait a second… Don’t tell me she’s actually [Lightscale] herself?!"
Sophie slammed the table and shot up from her seat, looking absolutely frustrated.
"Big brother, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?! If anything, saying she is Miss Violet’s and Miss Xiao Guang's daughter makes more sense! Sure, it’s rare for two women to get married and raise a kid together, but there is a rumour that [Priest] and [Lightscale] are actually a co—"
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
What the heck were they even talking about…? Sophie was already bad enough, but Enrique was way too sharp! Even though it was just a random guess, in a way, he actually stumbled upon the truth.
"Come on, how could that be possible? You guys are overthinking things…"
Putting on an exasperated expression, the black-haired girl quickly waved her hand dismissively.
Violet had no intention of revealing Xiao Guang’s true situation. Whether it was the fact that she had reverted to a child or anything related to her divine potential, spreading such information would only bring trouble.
Besides, Xiao Guang had lost her past memories, and a lot of things didn’t match up with her original self. Trying to explain everything would just make things more complicated.
And as for the daughter theory? That was even more ridiculous! Violet couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of chaos that rumor would cause in her life…
"Her name is… uh, Light! She’s my teammate Xiao Guang’s younger sister. Right now, Xiao Guang is in seclusion, training to break through to a higher level, and has completely cut off contact with the outside world. Before she left, she specifically entrusted her sister to me."
"Although there’s a big age gap between them, and Light is not as strong as her sister, she still has some ability to protect herself. She’s also much more mature than an ordinary child. There’s no way she’d get kidnapped without realizing it or resisting. The fact that there hasn’t been any follow-up commotion only means one thing. She got captured on purpose."
"Sisters?"
"So it's just that simple…?"
Sophie and Enrique exchanged glances, both looking a bit unsatisfied. Enrique still had some doubts, but he was smart enough not to push further. It seemed like, for the most part, he had accepted Violet’s explanation.
"Alright then… Since you’re so confident, Miss Violet, we definitely can’t pass up this opportunity. More importantly, we have to make sure Miss Light doesn’t actually get hurt while putting herself in danger. Do you have a way to track the clues she left behind?"
The priestess nodded slightly.
"Of course. But it’s not time yet. As the saying goes, ‘set a long line to catch a big fish.’ The missing persons case in the coastal city of Layla is clearly just the tip of the iceberg. Now that we’ve grabbed hold of their trail, we need to dig deeper and find out more. How long will it take for your team to gather?"
The two pondered for a moment before Sophie, now back to her usual serious self, responded.
"Some of our teammates are still out on missions, so they won’t be able to arrive immediately. But I can send them a message via carrier bird and urge them to drop what they’re doing and return… It’ll take about a day. At the latest, they’ll be here by tomorrow morning. Will that work for you?"
Sophie had thought that even a short wait like this would already feel long. But to her surprise, the black-haired girl simply smiled, looking completely calm as she shook her head.
"You two are strong. That means your teammates are probably handling some pretty important tasks as well. There’s no need to rush them too much."
"How about this, let’s meet back here in three days. Then we’ll set out together to track Light’s trail. But I should warn you in advance. This mission might take quite a while. We may even end up far from the coastal city of Layla. I’d suggest preparing for a long journey."
"Oh, and one more thing. Could you get me a list of Layla City’s top-ranking imperial officials? Just the highest-level ones will do."