[Vol. 8] Chapter 158: The Little Kitten’s Curiosity
With heavy dark circles under her eyes that looked like she could collapse at any moment, the Lightborn tribe scholar Ayla Light shook her head. Her sapphire-blue eyes were filled with a mix of amazement and helplessness. She lowered her voice and quietly covered her mouth as she spoke.
“Miss Violet, can you just be honest with me? There’s no way things could be such a coincidence. You told me to join the Trial to gain the ability to protect myself, and then I actually made it all the way through and became one of the chosen heroes? Isn’t that a bit… I don’t know… too perfect?”
“Also, you clearly didn’t enter the second round of the trial, but somehow you still showed up in the Trial of the Underworld Gate, and then you just disappeared out of nowhere! At that moment, I knew something was off. It felt like you had some kind of special privilege during the trial, like you were an insider or something… Don’t tell me this whole chosen hero thing was rigged from the start?”
“Pfft~ I guess only you, Ayla, would dare think that way, let alone say it out loud. If the Goddess heard you, do you think she’d be so mad she’d just take your divine artifact back right then and there?”
Even though the priestess was clearly teasing her with a bit of a hint, the scholar girl quickly got serious. Her expression turned sincere as she replied.
“Miss Violet, I just want to know the truth. You know how important that is to me. Just like when you helped me search for the true nature of faith-based magic, I can handle being weak, being poor, even dying. But the one thing I absolutely can’t accept is being kept in the dark and used like a clueless puppet…”
“...That’s my bottom line.”
“You really haven’t changed at all…”
Seeing that she wasn’t joking, the priestess shook her head with a mix of amusement and helplessness. She raised her hand and cast a silent barrier around them, cutting off their conversation from the outside. Then she nodded slightly.
“All right, since things have reached this point, I won’t hide some of the secrets from you anymore. You said I had special privileges in the trial and was an insider. In a way, that’s not entirely wrong. The Goddess really did notice you early on because of me, but things like being chosen in advance or guaranteed to pass? That’s just nonsense.”
“The reason I suggested you join the Trial was simply because Ayla Light is truly outstanding. Like I told you before, this was the fastest and most reliable way to gain power and protect yourself. I believe by now you’ve seen that for yourself. The problems that troubled you before have already been solved, haven’t they?”
“But clearing each stage, giving the right answers, and finally earning the Goddess’s approval, that was all you. You did it by yourself. It had nothing to do with me.”
“…Really?”
Seeing Ayla’s skeptical expression, the black-haired girl glanced at her dragon, who was giving her a "watching-the-drama" kind of look, and continued helplessly.
“What, you think I’d lie to you? There’s nothing unusual about the first trial. But in the Underworld Gate stage, do you know why everyone else saw different illusions behind them, but you were the only one who had the actual body of that monster attached to you?”
“Uh… why?”
Violet nodded seriously, swaying her head as if she were about to share some ancient wisdom.
“There’s a saying, ‘Flies don’t land on uncracked eggs.’ Even the best tricks and manipulations only work when there’s already a crack to slip into. But you, Ayla… you were different.”
“Although you did have a small amount of emotional attachment, because you were rational and calm enough, you managed to suppress and control it very well. That’s why, with only its skills in manipulating the mind, that thing couldn’t break through your mental defenses to create a solid illusion. In the end, it could only lure others to do the dirty work for it. That’s the real reason why the Ferryman and the others were trying to kill you.”
“And don’t forget, when everyone else had no clue where that mysterious false being had gone, who was it that stepped up and used a special method to track it down? Even though your conclusion was slightly off due to limited information, you still went further than anyone else, closer to the truth than anyone.”
“If I hadn’t shown up, in that Trial of the Underworld Gate, you, Ayla Light, would have had the highest chance of surviving. No question about it.”
“So Sybil Roland was eliminated, Mr. Ferryman, Miss Dark Lotus, and Miss Dark Spirit were eliminated, but you made it to the next round. Think about it, if you were the Goddess, would this choice be unreasonable?”
“I see…”
Ayla rested her chin on her hand and fell into brief thought.
It was true. Based on Violet’s explanation, if that certain priestess hadn’t stirred things up, Ayla really would have been one of the few people most likely to survive and uncover the truth. Sybil and the members of the [Reaper Scythe] team had clearly lost their cool. Looking back now, they were probably already being affected by that monster at the time.
Violet had vanished out of nowhere, leaving the rest of them confused and debating what to do next. But soon after, all of the illusions, including the strange jellyfish-like monster behind Ayla, were suddenly shattered by a burst of blinding light from the sky.
The entire trial space collapsed along with them. When Ayla came to her senses, she was already back in the plaza. But the others, like Sybil, were nowhere to be found. Under those circumstances, she couldn’t really ask too many questions, so she was only able to make a few vague guesses in her heart.
So it was true, everything that happened in the Underworld Gate was part of a test secretly controlled by the Goddess. From start to finish, it was all within Her hands. Still, she hadn’t expected the standard for passing the trial to be something like this… it was impossible to prepare for.
With that thought, Ayla suddenly felt like she understood things more clearly, but it also made her even more curious.
“Then, Miss Violet… can I ask, what exactly is your relationship with the Goddess? Are you an ally? A follower? Or something else? Since I’m one of the chosen heroes now, I think I should at least be allowed to know a little more of the truth, right? And about those monsters in the Underworld Gate, they were so terrifying. Were they created by the trial itself, or… was there really something invading it…?”
Seeing the ever-curious scholar throw out question after question like a rapid-fire machine gun, Violet, who was already used to Ayla’s personality, still couldn’t help but raise her hands in defeat, overwhelmed.
“Okay, okay! Stop! What is this, a live Q&A panel? Don’t worry, you’ll get your answers when the time is right. But for now, let’s leave it at that.”
“Ah… hahaha, sorry, sorry. My old habit came out again. You’re right.”
Realizing this wasn’t the right place to talk in depth, Ayla awkwardly scratched her head with a small laugh. She glanced around and noticed that many guests were starting to look their way. She nodded slightly.
“Let’s head in, Miss Violet.”
“Mm.”