Chapter 58: Me Fighting Elise? Are You Serious?
Peiya thought back to what she had just said, but still couldn’t understand why Elise suddenly changed her attitude.
In the end, she had only mentioned Guild Master Maya. Thinking about the last time at Elise’s house, when she said she wanted to meet Maya, Elise had also insisted on going with her.
“Did you and Guild Master Maya have some kind of conflict before?”
“No. On the contrary, we’ve known each other for a long time.”
That answer only made Peiya more confused.
If they already knew each other, then what was there to worry about?
“Really? Why don’t I believe that?”
“It’s true.”
“Then why last time, when I mentioned her at your house, you kept sticking to me? Were you treating me like a child?”
Elise bit her lip and shook her head. “No, I’ve never thought like that. But I’m a bit surprised, you remember these things so clearly?”
Peiya paused, not sure what Elise was trying to say.
She just felt like there was another misunderstanding.
Blinking her clear eyes, she placed a hand on her chest.
“Of course. It’s about you, so I remember it clearly. The reason I want to meet Guild Master Maya is to learn about other adventurers’ information. I already have a plan for the Ice Bear King, but not for the bear guards. It’s been many days, so I think Guild Master Maya should have some useful information from the front lines. That’s why I want to ask her. Otherwise, if my overconfidence causes you to get hurt… I would feel really guilty.”
Elise’s eyebrows trembled slightly, and the heavy pressure around Peiya suddenly faded a lot.
So that was the reason…
Elise let out a soft sigh, letting her emotions slowly drift away with the wind.
“Silly girl, why would I blame you? Sorry… I must have scared you just now.”
Peiya scratched her head. Seeing Elise was fine, she also stepped back a little.
“I’m not blaming you. It’s also my fault for not explaining things clearly. I’ll try to do better next time.”
After realizing it was just a small misunderstanding, Elise stepped closer.
“Then let’s go. Let’s go meet her.”
“‘Meet her’? Why do you say it like that? It sounds so stressful.”
“Does it? Maybe I’m just not good at socializing.” Elise turned back and smiled lightly.
“You’re not good at socializing?”
Peiya felt like Elise had recently become almost too bold in social situations, yet now she said she wasn’t good at it.
She decided she would never believe such words again!
But Elise spoke very seriously.
“That’s right. Except when I’m with you, I feel more relaxed. When I’m with others… I don’t know how to say it, but I just feel annoyed inside.”
Peiya nodded quickly, as if she understood.
“I see. If you feel annoyed, maybe going out more would help.”
“Then will you come with me?” Elise looked at Peiya curiously, studying her face as if she could look at it forever.
“Will you walk with me?”
Elise’s question caught Peiya off guard, and she started to stutter.
“W-why are you suddenly asking that?”
Elise smiled slightly. “I don’t know. I just want to hear your answer. Otherwise, I feel restless and can’t calm down.”
Peiya tilted her head. That was a thing?
If she felt restless…
Wouldn’t reading more books solve it?
But that felt too self-centered. Not just Elise, she also needed to change a little.
After all, Peiya wasn’t good at dealing with people either. There were still many things outside of books that she needed to learn.
After making up her mind, Peiya stepped forward and met Elise’s intense gaze without avoiding it. She looked at her quietly, and when she finally gathered enough courage, she quickly said,
“I… I’m willing, I guess. After all, I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”
The second half was her escape route. She couldn’t deny that she still couldn’t face certain feelings in her heart.
Thinking back to the moment when Elise got off the carriage last time, Peiya felt restless.
It was like her head was pushed underwater, she couldn’t breathe properly.
Looking back on her life, it wasn’t extremely dramatic, but it had definitely been unstable.
Fortunately, those were all in the past.
Right now, she only wanted to defeat the boss, uncover the truth about her witch identity, and, if possible, heal Elise’s injuries.
As for anything else… she didn’t want to think about it for now.
Elise shook her head. “The second half was unnecessary. Next time, just say ‘I’m willing’.”
“?”
Peiya said nothing. She only felt that Elise was really strange today.
No, she had been strange every day recently. She seemed to care a lot about Peiya’s thoughts and opinions…
Peiya still remembered that Elise used to blush even when speaking and hesitate for a long time.
When did she become like this?
If she thought carefully, Elise still acted cold and quiet with others.
But with her, she talked endlessly. It was hard to believe these two sides belonged to the same person.
Also… Elise’s presence had become really strong lately.
Sometimes, just standing next to her made it feel like the ground was sinking.
Was this what people called a powerful aura?
Peiya couldn’t figure it out, so she pushed her thoughts aside and followed Elise, who was walking ahead.
At the same time, someone else who felt troubled was Victoria at the Adventurers’ Guild.
After so many days of waiting, she was almost worn out. Every day, she either ate or sat in the office reading newspapers with Guild Master Maya.
During this time, a girl named Nara came by and grabbed her hand, asking her to vote for her.
After asking around, Victoria learned that Nara was participating in a “Best Guild Manager” selection.
Victoria found it a bit ridiculous. To her, this kind of thing was just a routine event for important people.
But out of respect, she still gave Nara her vote. Guild Master Maya watched quietly, saying nothing, and continued organizing her documents.
With nothing else to do, Victoria lay on the sofa under a small blanket, counting how many lines were on the ceiling.
Even though she knew it was boring, she didn’t seem to have anything else to do.
She couldn’t really help Maya with work, right? Being suddenly sent out by her teacher to find someone was already tiring enough. If she also had to work for Maya…
Wouldn’t that make her the ultimate unlucky worker?
She didn’t want to be the one getting pushed around anymore.
Victoria was already completely exhausted…
As for the last person, Nara was clearly the most active one in the office.
She kept changing her position and posture, practicing her lines in front of a mirror for the upcoming competition.
“Dear judges, hello everyone. I’m Nara from the Dikert Guild. I like singing, dancing, and sports. If you like me, please vote for me~”
Victoria sat up, her hair messy like a bird’s nest. “Nara, you’ve been saying that line for more than three hours. Aren’t you going to try a different one?”
Nara turned around and asked, “What’s wrong? I say this every year.”
“That just proves the reason you don’t get selected every year is your lines. You should think about what kind of speech the judges like. It’s not hard to find out who the judges are. Then you can write something they understand, or something they want to hear…”
“...The higher-level judges, like the main guild managers who have more voting power, you need to be extra careful with your wording. If your lines sound too shallow, the old-fashioned judges will reject you right away. That would be a big loss. So instead of thinking about how to show yourself, think about how to make them remember you longer.”
Nara suddenly understood. “That makes sense! I really ignored the judges’ preferences. Thank you, Victoria, you really know your stuff.”
“Of course. This is wisdom from the Holy Academy. I don’t share it easily.”
Victoria gave a thumbs-up, completely fooling Nara.
“You’re really not afraid of divine punishment striking you,” Maya said with a helpless smile.
Victoria turned her head away. “I’m so bored here. That Peiya still hasn’t shown up. If this goes on, I might die of boredom before any punishment even arrives.”
Maya put down her pen and looked at Victoria gently.
“She’s very busy. If you’re bored, you could read some materials. That way, you’ll have something to talk about when you meet her. Also, I should remind you, she’s not interested in your ‘Holy Academy wisdom’.”
Maya handed her a stack of documents.
Victoria felt a headache coming. “Do you really think I’m the kind of sneaky person who uses tricks and schemes?”
“What else would you be? I think if you knew who the person beside her is, you’d behave immediately.”
“Oh…”
Victoria took the documents. She could tell Maya wasn’t lying.
But deep down, she still felt that the Holy Academy wasn’t that bad. If anything, only those old guys at the top were awful. Overall, the Holy Academy wasn’t terrible. For people in Avalon, being able to join it was a great honor.
And yet now…
Why does it feel like the Holy Academy is the one begging?!
Oh, gods…
Please open your eyes and look at your poor follower. Even being someone else’s servant isn’t her turn…
“Don’t be sad. The person you’re waiting for is here,” Maya suddenly said, interrupting Victoria’s thoughts.
Victoria noticed her fingertips starting to turn cold, covered with a thin layer of frost. She shook her head slightly.
“What do you mean ‘here’? Wait…”
She realized her fingers were getting colder, and even the holy mark on her arm began to flicker.
A power strong enough to affect the holy mark… that must be close to the “Power of Order”. Something only top-level elemental users or exceptional individuals could have.
Abilities like controlling temperature belonged to that level. With training, they could even develop into domain-type powers.
Realizing someone powerful had arrived, Victoria immediately felt like backing out.
Maya, you really kept your mouth shut…
She hadn’t told her who that person was at all, probably just to watch her make a fool of herself!
Even after all these years, Maya still loved teasing people. As expected of a mind mage…
Creak—
The office door opened.
Elise walked in. Her gaze passed over Maya and landed directly on Victoria, who was wearing the Holy Academy robe.
Feeling that sharp gaze, Victoria shivered. Fine sweat appeared on her forehead.
Elise’s cold voice sounded beside her ear.
“Someone from the Holy Academy?”
Her tone was calm, but her eyes were already sharp.
Maya answered first, “Yes, she’s here to find Peiya.”
Victoria: ?
Wait! Seriously? You’re selling me out right away?!
Elise nodded and looked back at Victoria. An invisible pressure filled the room.
Under the blazing sunlight outside, the window glass slowly froze over. Then her voice, soft like a nightingale yet cold, sounded again.
“So, you’re here on behalf of the Holy Academy to find Peiya, right?”
There was almost no warmth in her voice, like a cold wind from the far north.
The nobles, who supported the king, never liked the church much. Now that someone directly came asking for Peiya, Elise’s already low opinion dropped even further.
But this made things very difficult for Victoria. She had planned everything last night, to put on a dramatic act when Peiya arrived, pretending the Holy Academy was trying to recruit her.
She didn’t need to actually take Peiya away. As long as the act was convincing enough, she could bring back an answer to report. But she never expected things to turn out like this.
Elise was from the kingdom. Even if they weren’t outright enemies, the kingdom and the church had been rivals for years.
They would secretly cause trouble for each other all the time.
And now, if she tried to act and “take” Peiya…
Elise might kick her out before she even finished.
Then the king might question her, and the Holy Academy would likely cut ties with her, blaming everything on her being just an intern.
In the end…
Only Victoria would suffer!
Thinking of this, she felt like the word “DEAD” was written above her head.
What do I do? What do I do?
How do I solve this situation? Someone help! This is urgent!