Free Web NovelWith Xiao Lü’s tacit consent, the news of the All-Seeing Eye being stolen shot into the skies like a flare, bursting, burning. The invisible current of information surged through the nodes of human civilization, radiating across every great human city.
“Look, I’ve done another big thing.”
Vieya sat atop the Tribunal’s highest tower, gazing out over the brightly lit yet chaotic city under the night sky, her pale legs dangling freely in the air.
She didn’t know if the monster riots in the southern border cities had been caused by the Demon King’s throne being toppled, but at the very least, it saved her some trouble.
“So Flaviel actually prepared a successor beforehand. Looks like she planned it all along.”
Sitting at the tower’s edge, the night wind in her hair, Vieya’s heart felt perfectly clear.
But so what if you planned it? So what if you were Demon King of Kings? So what if you crept into my side? So what if you won my love? In the end you still gained nothing, couldn’t even choose a successor properly. Your judgment was pathetic, heehee. freēwēbnovel.com
You deserved to be overthrown, heehee.
Xiao Lü thought it strange—why was Sister Ye suddenly laughing like that? Her laugh was so eerie!
“Sister Ye...” Xiao Lü spoke carefully.
Vieya raised her brow, tugged her mask aside to reveal her fine profile. “What is it, Xiao Lü?”
“Sister Ye, if you gained the status of a monster girl who could freely walk in human cities... what would you do then?”
“Hmm...” Vieya paused, hand on her chin. “This time... I might want to try a lighter way of living. Yes, something easier.”
“An easier way of living?” Xiao Lü was confused. Could it be that back when Sister Ye was a Hero, her life hadn’t actually been easy?
The number one in the world, shining wherever she went, with the super beautiful and gentle Sister Fu always by her side—how could that not be easy?
But as she thought carefully, Xiao Lü suddenly jolted.
No.
That hadn’t been easy at all... Those dazzling things, those unforgettable bonds—now all gone, nothing but unreachable illusions.
Sigh.
“It really wasn’t easy, was it...”
In an adult’s life, the word easy doesn’t exist.
Xiao Lü felt pity, though she had no heart. She only pursed her lips, curious: “Sister Ye, I think I get what you mean. If it’s easier, then won’t you just sleep every day, wake whenever you want?”
“Sleeping until you wake naturally? That’s your idea of easy?” Vieya chuckled.
“Everyone says that,” Xiao Lü retorted. “Sleeping helps you stay away from all the hard things.” freewёbnoνel.com
That was true.
Vieya silently agreed. If, the moment she had been summoned as a Hero, she had just lain in front of her master and slept and slept and slept... her master, who had paid such a heavy price, would surely have broken down and abandoned her.
If she had only kept sleeping, she never would have gone out leveling, never would have formed a Hero Squad, never would have grinded levels like mad.
Without the squad, the Demon King wouldn’t have come knocking.
Without the Demon King, none of the later chain of events would have happened.
Vieya sighed, her chest feeling cold, like the night wind blowing ceaselessly across the tower top.
“Sister Ye... that expression, are you regretting it?” Xiao Lü slid closer, sitting beside her.
“No.”
Vieya stood, hand on her hip, her still-youthful face carrying the maturity of an adult. She spoke, deeply:
“To form bonds with others, you must accept the risk of tears. That’s something I understood long ago.”
But—
Vieya lowered her gaze, her emerald eyes like stars in the dark night. “I’m not afraid of tears. But I want them to be worth it.”
“Worth... it?” Xiao Lü tilted her head, trying to grasp her meaning.
“I just don’t want everything I did in the past to turn out meaningless.” Vieya’s face grew cold, she huffed with tsundere pride. “I hate betrayal. Betrayal... it stings like salt poured into a wound.”
“Sister Ye.”
Xiao Lü stiffened, unease creeping in. “The accident you and Sister Fu suffered... was it caused by traitors among the humans?”
“That makes sense, doesn’t it? You and Sister Fu were so strong, together—how could you have lost to a Demon King?” Xiao Lü’s mind suddenly sharpened. “There must have been a traitor! A traitor among humans struck you down! That’s why now you’re like the heroes in those story scrolls—
Slain by those dearest, the protagonist climbs back from the abyss in a body of an evil spirit, killing, killing, with no kin spared, killing, killing...”
Her excited voice shrank small and timid. She sneaked a glance at Vieya, careful:
“Sister Ye, did I... say something wrong?”
“You read too many story scrolls!” Vieya glared. “When it’s time to do serious work, don’t you dare mess up, or I’ll put your body up for auction!”
“Aaah nooo—you’re so mean!”
...
The Tribunal hadn’t been this busy in ages. For them, tonight was destined to be sleepless.
Bad news came one after another. The culprit kept stirring trouble, yet still hadn’t been caught.
“Truly a season of calamity...”
The Tribunal Director clenched and unclenched the hand holding his staff, brown eyes glinting with a wolfish, vicious light.
“R-report!”
A Tribunal knight ran in, panting. “Director, Minister Hua asks you to come to the knights’ cafeteria. She says she’s waiting there, with something very important!”
Tch!
Why can’t these people stay in the Royal Capital—why must they all run to the border just to make themselves relevant.
The Director hesitated a moment, then turned.
“Lead the way.”
The knights’ cafeteria was open twenty-four hours.
But now, in the broad bright hall, aside from staff, only two girls sat having a midnight snack: one violet-haired, one pink-haired.
When Hua Shiyu heard the late-night broadcast about the All-Seeing Eye being stolen, she suddenly lost her appetite.
Well.
She had actually trusted that mysterious big sister’s words—but in the end, she’d been tricked.
“Damn it!”
The pink-haired shorty’s face was blank as she stabbed her fork into her omelet again and again, like sticking pins into a straw doll.
Usually she was the one tricking others—how had the tables turned?!
She should have known it—the prettier the sister, the worse the heart!
Fuming, Hua Shiyu ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) thought bitterly. If she’d known, she would’ve resisted to the end, left that bad sister a deep impression!
“Shiyu-senpai.” The violet-haired girl opposite couldn’t stand it anymore, finally speaking. “It’s about time we left. I really can’t waste any more time here.”
“Eh?”
Hua Shiyu forked up the hole-riddled omelet, stuffed it into her mouth, cheeks puffed as she chewed. “Violet-sis, do you actually think I’m wasting time?”
Rania said nothing, her violet eyes full of distrust.
“Ahh.” Hua Shiyu sighed, helpless. “Fine, I can tell you where that bad loli you’re after is. But you have to keep it secret.”
Rania shot to her feet, her chair screeching. Her voice was sharp, urgent:
“Where is she?!”
