Free Web NovelSomething was wrong with the aura of these night watchmen—thick with ill omen.
So it was true: behind that earlier goblin horde, there was an even bigger hand pushing events.
And of all things, in this city the strongest human combatant, the Hero, had already been knocked unconscious by her lesson and could no longer rise.
And she had, as intended, drawn all the attention onto herself.
Probably more than eighty percent of the city’s defensive forces were being wasted searching for her whereabouts.
Utterly stupid.
For no reason she was about to carry someone else’s blame.
Vieya’s mood grew heavy—she did not like doing the hard work only for others to swoop in and profit.
“As the saying goes—if you knew it would come to this, why bother in the first place.”
Softly she asked, “Xiao Lü, tell me... have I done wrong?”
“I don’t know!”
Xiao Lü appeared at her voice.
She did not even glance at the black-clothed watchmen surrounding them who could neither see nor hear her. Instead she turned sideways, looked into Vieya’s emerald eyes, and said seriously:
“But even if it all happened again, wouldn’t you still have scolded your student in front of everyone?”
“...”
Vieya gave no reply, but her silence said enough.
“Ye-ye sis, I don’t know what you went through in the past, or what you’ve experienced in these three years, to become what I see now. After all, you won’t tell me.”
“Why, after everything, do you still cling so hard to the position of Hero among humans...”
Her tone grew tinged with sorrow. “Ye-ye sis, just now in that duel with your student, you secretly used Authority, didn’t you?”
Vieya still did not answer. After all, cheating was not honorable—how much worse for a teacher to cheat against her own student.
She simply held up her umbrella and quietly watched the faces of the black-clothed night watchmen, which were growing increasingly unnatural.
The watchmen could not hear Xiao Lü’s words.
To them, she must look like a crazy brat, talking to herself in the middle of the night, having just kicked one of them senseless.
Even so, Vieya found her mind unusually clear.
“Ye-ye sis, you only tapped a little Authority, yet your hard-won grown body shrank down again by a whole size.”
Xiao Lü’s voice turned urgent, quivering with the edge of tears. “Using Hero powers in a monster girl’s body comes at a cost, doesn’t it? If you overuse it, won’t you end up as a restricted figurine on a shop counter?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Once a certain limit is reached, the body won’t shrink any further.” Vieya’s voice was flat. “Besides, being smaller makes moving around easier.”
Someday she would stand firm again within human society, and personally investigate the matter of the Demon King Flaviel.
In Vieya’s heart there had always been a thorn.
After all, Flaviel had hidden by her side for so long, in the end even sharing her bed.
Through all that time, she had never sensed anything, never doubted.
By rights, being so defenseless before a Demon King, Vieya should have been the one ensnared.
But when all was said and done, it was the Demon King who was utterly defeated and lost everything.
“Hey!”
The surrounding watchmen’s eyes sharpened with wariness. The monster tide had ended; the last thing they wanted now was trouble before they clocked off.
This white-clothed brat was clearly not normal!
Out in the middle of the night, alone on a street just cleared of monsters.
And on sight, she had kicked one of them flying. Sure, his tone had been rude, but that was no excuse to assault city guards!
By standard rule, they should drag this brat off to a detention cell, “educate” her for a few days, and see if she would behave.
So what if she was strong? Did strength make her special?
The leading watchman wore a thin black raincoat, his face hard, gray-black eyes sharp as a hawk’s. In one hand he held a lantern, in the other a baton.
He ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) barked, “Who were you just talking to?!”
“Hmm?”
Vieya, returning from her exchange with Xiao Lü, blinked and looked at the approaching watchman, her tone faintly apologetic:
“Sorry for injuring one of your men just now. I held back—he’ll be fine.”
She explained with calm indifference, then added, “I don’t... harbor hostility toward you.”
Suddenly—
Her eyes, lazy until then, turned severe, glancing sharply around her.
The golden rain was weakening—that meant the super-tier spell ‘Rain of Creation’ was nearing its end.
And when it ceased, the hidden mastermind would surely make their move.
Sensing the girl’s abrupt tension, the watchmen too looked about. freeweɓnøvel.com
They realized the street was strangely quiet—beyond the sound of wind and rain, nothing at all.
A silence that pressed on the heart.
The lead watchman followed Vieya’s gaze, saw nothing unusual, and pulled his eyes back.
“If you mean no harm, then come along quietly to the detention cell. Our shift’s just about over—convenient, isn’t it?”
“Not convenient.”
Vieya shook her head. Meeting the hawk-like eyes, she began to lie smoothly:
“I was speaking with the Tribunal just now. They told me there is a mastermind behind this goblin raid. I need to confirm your operational status.”
In an instant, their positions flipped.
But the lead watchman’s face showed only disbelief. With a sneer, he said, “And why should I believe you? For all I know, you’re lying.”
The watchmen laughed, itching to drag this brat back and chalk her up as an achievement.
Snap!
Vieya snapped her fingers. A crushing gravity fell on the black-clothed men, pinning them to the ground, unable to move.
In an instant, the watchmen were stripped of all power to resist, their faces twisting with fear.
“Before me, you’re simply not qualified. Stop struggling. Lie still and tell me what you’ve seen and heard.”
Hypnosis!
Vieya crouched with her umbrella, looking down at the watchmen flattened in the muddy water, their faces pale with shock and terror.
“This small one did not know Your Excellency would descend in person,” the leader babbled, pressing his forehead into the ground in dread.
“But this small one truly does not know of any mastermind behind it!”
“Think more carefully,” Vieya urged softly. “For example—are you really the only squad assigned to this sector?”
