“Soaked… who the hell did this!”
Moon-white hair plastered damply against Vyea’s delicate face, she frowned and instinctively licked the rum clinging to her skin. The strong alcohol inside her began breaking down, dulling her overactive thoughts.
The bitter, choking taste of rum made Vyea cough twice, and her fair cheeks flushed a rosy red.
Suddenly, a robe with a faint scent was draped over her shoulders. Vyea looked up in surprise to see the Purple-haired Girl standing before her.
“You…”
A flood of questions surged to Vyea’s lips but turned into a single concern instead: “…Are you hurt?”
The Purple-haired Girl shook her head and sighed softly at the white-haired little girl looking up at her, her tone apologetic:
“Sorry, Miss Vyea, after this is over, you’ll probably have to come with us to the Bronze Tree. But don’t worry, it’s just a routine procedure. Nothing serious.”
The Bronze Tree?
Vyea’s heart tightened slightly at those words. The name was far too familiar.
The Bronze Tree, the name given in the Capital to the Arbitration Office.
The Arbitration Office was a special organization composed of elites from the Church, the Priory, the Academic Tower, and other frontline human institutions.
Their shared goal was, naturally, maintaining human society’s stability.
And to maintain stability, unstable factors must be eliminated.
This was going to be troublesome.
“It’s fine, Brave.”
Vyea tucked her wet moon-white hair behind her ear, looking fragile, “If I have to go, I have to go. After all, something like this happened, and I don’t want to see it either. Who would have guessed, after my family fell and I left the Capital alone to live here, the first person to be kind to me actually had sinister intentions!”
Vyea rambled incoherently.
“That’s true. No one would take this well, no matter who it happened to.” The Purple-haired Girl agreed deeply. Even she hadn’t realized how much instinctual trust she had placed in this mysterious little girl shrouded in fog.
Like a great gray bear in the forest seeing honey for the first time she just knew it was delicious!
“Miss Vyea, how long has that cat-shaped monster been lurking around you? Has it done anything bad to you?” The Purple-haired Girl pondered and asked.
Recently, the city was rife with undercurrents and thick mist, and that high-level cat-shaped monster certainly wasn’t here just for fun.
“It’s been a while, since the day I arrived in this city, she showed up.”
“As for bad things?” Vyea paused, “What do you mean?”
“Ahem, nothing.”
The Purple-haired Girl coughed, glanced around, then changed the subject: “That monster is pretty dangerous. Too bad it ran off decisively once our reinforcements were close. Luckily, it didn’t hurt you, just threw you… into a fermenting wine barrel.”
“…” Vyea was speechless. The way she switched topics was really terrible no progress over the years.
Come to think of it, that dumb cat’s escape skills certainly hadn’t declined.
“Miss Vyea, have you been held captive by that monster the whole time?” The Purple-haired Girl had a new question.
“I guess so? I fell asleep in the middle of it all and knew nothing.” Vyea answered slowly, feeling like she had been trapped in a long dream, her mouth tasting bitter and astringent… She really still couldn’t get used to these high-purity spirits.
Sweet and sour fruit wine suited her taste better; its only downside was a weaker effect.
“Is that so?” The Purple-haired Girl seemed a little disappointed. She placed a round necklace into Vyea’s hand, then waved to summon two guards from a distance. With a mature air, she said:
“You two, escort her back to Nyx Avenue No. 66. Make sure Miss Vyea’s safety is absolutely guaranteed.”
The two guards saluted crisply. “Yes, ma’am!”
“Do you have any urgent matters?”
Vyea asked suddenly.
“Well, someone very important to me might have appeared.” The Purple-haired Girl smiled, summoning the giant scythe from the Hero’s Mark on her palm. “No matter what the outcome, I have to go see for myself. Sorry, Miss Vyea, I can’t see you home tonight.”
“That’s okay. You’ve already helped me a lot.”
Vyea waved toward the direction the Purple-haired Girl was leaving, “And I hope you find the person who’s important to you soon!”
After taking a few steps with the two guards, Vyea suddenly realized something.
Hmm?!
Could it be that the person the Trainee is looking for is… me?