A hint of despair flickered in Milly’s eyes.
The separation from Anna and the others was something she found hard to accept, especially since it was very likely that Anna and the others had already…
Nothing like this had ever happened before.
Still, she forced herself to lift her spirits and gave Estelle a weak smile.
Milly even spoke to comfort this girl, who was clearly much younger than her, yet managed to stay calm and composed in such a dire situation.
“Let’s go first. Waiting here won’t get us to them.”
Milly wiped the sticky sweat off her face with the back of her hand.
She glanced down the passageway, took a deep breath, and after a moment spent calming the unease inside her, continued.
“Maybe once we get out, we can meet them on the surface?”
After all, anything was possible, wasn’t it?
Anna and the others should be fine, perhaps already searching for a way out.
How could she just stay here and wait?
That would only make them worry about her up there.
Estelle looked at Milly but said nothing.
She nodded calmly.
Whether Milly wanted to keep waiting here or to continue exploring deeper, she would stay by her side.
Estelle could probably make it out safely on her own, but Milly certainly couldn’t—she was just a priestess with very limited combat skills.
If Milly lost Estelle now, there would be no way but death.
Estelle squeezed Milly’s cold hand gently, wanting to reassure her.
She could feel a slight tremor in Milly’s body—the chase and escape earlier had been extremely dangerous, and if they had been a second slower, they would have been overwhelmed by those bugs.
Life and death hung in a single moment.
After deciding to keep exploring the ruins, they pressed on along the stone corridor.
The path was extremely complicated, and many places were blocked dead ends.
This forced Estelle and Milly to turn back several times.
Though they hadn’t encountered any traps or attacks from the bugs, the narrow hallways and suffocating darkness made them almost lose track of time.
They returned from a collapsed dead-end to a crossroads.
Milly leaned against the wall, panting, brushing a stray lock of hair off her face.
She grabbed Estelle, who was about to head down the last path, forced a smile, and said,
“Estelle, little sister, let’s take a break. I’m a bit tired.”
“Mm.”
Estelle nodded.
Although she was young, her constitution was not comparable to Milly’s.
Her face showed little sign of fatigue.
Hearing Estelle agree, Milly stopped forcing her trembling legs and plopped down on the ground, not caring about dirt or dust.
She just wanted to sit and rest properly.
Estelle sat down beside her, planning to rest a little as well.
They now faced a deadly problem—the supplies they carried had been lost during the escape.
They had neither food nor water.
And they didn’t know how much longer it would take to find a way out…
After resting for a while, Milly tugged at the neckline of her blue-and-white priestess robe and dug inside.
She pulled out a small pouch no bigger than her palm.
The pouch was sewn from scraps of cloth by a skilled hand.
Even pieced together from bits of fabric, it looked exquisite.
It was tied with a black string, bulging slightly with something inside.
Milly untied the string and took out a white cube, roughly the size of her pinky fingernail.
She pinched one piece and held it out to the silver-haired girl’s small, delicate lips.
Estelle didn’t know what it was, but she opened her mouth.
Milly placed the white cube inside, then took one herself.
Estelle found it sweet, with a pleasant aroma.
Delicious…
Milly shifted closer, pressing herself tightly against Estelle, even resting her head on the girl’s shoulder.
She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.
Estelle’s pale golden eyes opened slightly.
After a while, Milly moved her head a little but kept leaning on Estelle’s shoulder, shifting to find a more comfortable position.
Then, she began quietly recounting the past.
“Ruby’s father was a squad captain in the city guard. When the previous Lord Asades was in power, positions like that could be inherited directly, but Ruby didn’t agree with the old Lord Asades. She had a big fight with her father and, out of spite, became an adventurer.”
“Mapelle was born strong, much bigger than other kids, but her mother died after giving birth to her. Her father was cold but still raised her. I heard he never remarried. Their home was very quiet, hardly any talking or communication.”
“Actually, her father was quite good, just stubborn and prideful.”
“Fate is cruel. Mapele’s father broke a leg during a mountain expedition and lost it. Unable to work as a hunter anymore, he sank into silence and heavy drinking. Over time, he just gave up, and their family fell into hardship.”
“But the old Lord was a vampire. He didn’t care if your family was poor. Because Mapele couldn’t pay the taxes, she was almost taken away to settle the debt. Luckily, Anna paid to help her out. After that, Mapele followed Anna and became an adventurer.”
Milly paused for a long moment after speaking, as if searching for distant memories.
Then, after careful thought, she continued.
“I was an orphan abandoned by my parents, raised from a young age in the Cathedral of the Goddess. As for why I became an adventurer…”
“It was also because of the previous Lord Asades of Redwood City.”
“He kept raising taxes year after year, even taxing by headcount. This caused many baby girls to be… abandoned.”
“This indirectly made the Cathedral take in many girls. Each extra mouth to feed meant more expense. Prices back then were much higher than now.”
“I was already sixteen and had some cultivation. I heard adventurers could make good money, so to repay the Cathedral for raising me, I decided to try.”
“But at first, I hit wall after wall. After all, a female priestess didn’t have much fighting power. Though I could help with support, an extra person was often just a burden. That’s why I couldn’t find work for a long time.”
“Eventually, I barely joined a team, but we argued over the task rewards. Later, during a hunt in the northern mountains, we had internal strife and even fought each other.”
“I was almost killed. Fortunately, Anna and the others happened to pass by and saved me. Then I became part of their team. The four of us helped each other and became sisters who could live and die together.”
Having said all this, Milly placed the pouch containing the sugar cubes into Estelle’s hand, then took out another small cloth bag.
Inside were many silver coins.
Milly also put this coin pouch into Estelle’s arms.
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