“This is so frustrating… The city has turned into this mess, and I can’t even find a place to eat fried rice with egg.”
Vyea was furious, holding her black umbrella as she walked and stopped intermittently.
The streets were in utter chaos—collapsed shelves, shattered clay pots, vegetables smeared with mud…
Even a Slime-girl would feel exhausted after such intense activity, okay?
She found herself nostalgic for the days when she was a Hero—when someone would feed her whenever she wanted to eat, and someone would accompany her whenever she wanted to sleep.
Xiaolu, who had not revealed herself all along, quietly appeared now, her little tail tightly following Vyea like a shadow.
“Humans really are getting worse and worse. Even the defenses of a first-tier city are so lax that these filthy things got in. I just got back and all this happened. I don’t even want to imagine what happened when I was away,” Vyea sighed deeply.
“How can you say that, Sister Ye-ye!” Xiaolu responded in disbelief.
“You’re no better—you’re an accomplice of those Goblins, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean accomplice of Goblins?”
Vyea, whose mood had been somewhat down, suddenly burst into laughter at Xiaolu’s words.
“That’s all humans’ own doing, leaving such a mess because they didn’t take action. What does it have to do with me, a Slime-girl? I’m still young—not a human’s father or mother. And the most important part—don’t give me those weird nicknames!”
“A nickname being weird isn’t so bad, right?” Xiaolu said innocently. “The names ‘Red Sister’ and ‘Xiaolu’ weren’t they just names you came up with? Little Red, Little Green, red and green—sounds easy to remember… Didn’t you say that yourself? And besides, ‘Sister Ye-ye’ sounds better than Little Red or Little Green, doesn’t it?”
What does the name Night Hero even have to do with me, Vyea?!
What era is this? Digging up old grievances—what’s the point?
Thinking of this made Vyea’s emerald eyes widen as she raised her voice unintentionally:
“Is that the same thing?”
“How’s it different?”
Xiaolu looked troubled. She was an Artifact Spirit, but that didn’t mean she was heartless.
Her soul was sensitive.
Now, Sister Ye-ye was acting more uninhibited than before.
Before, it was easy to excuse it as the Hero having a bit of their own temper.
But now…
She was practically evolving into one of those reckless humans who had cut all their ties and lived only for the moment, drunk on today’s wine.
In the past, before dealing harshly with a student, Xiaolu would definitely have a heart-to-heart talk to give them enough time to prepare mentally.
Now? Heart-to-heart talks? No such thing. Enough time? Absolutely not. Patience? It’s definitely lacking.
Sigh.
Not sure if this change is good or bad.
But it seems like Sister Ye-ye enjoys it quite a bit—she looks pretty happy.
Well, that’s fine. As long as she’s happy.
These days, there aren’t many things to be happy about.
Just hope the Hero doesn’t get too lost in the instincts of a monster girl who acts without thinking.
As for giving opinions—Xiaolu wouldn’t dare.
Otherwise, Sister Ye-ye would definitely say:
“So what?”
“You’re telling me how to do things?!”
She was just a tiny Artifact Spirit—how could she teach the Hero?
On this land, probably only Flavail could ever get the Hero to go all out and enjoy herself even a little.
Too bad…
Better slip away.
After Xiaolu fell silent, Vyea quickened her pace considerably.
As a first-tier city, Antler City’s roads were well-maintained and interconnected.
The only regret was the obvious marks of time—this was an old city.
Visiting old places again, it was a pity that everything had changed.
Now, she was all alone.
As Vyea thought this, her steps suddenly stopped.
Ahead, a road was cordoned off, and black-clad men were patrolling, carrying lanterns.
At the same time, a black cat darted across the wall like a released arrow.
“Sister Ye-ye, the source of the monster frenzy inside the city is just ahead. Shall we go take a look?”
“…”
In the past, she would have rushed forward decisively to get involved in such a matter.
Usually, monsters would avoid her, but if one came at her, Vyea would definitely check it out.
What if it was a rare monster respawning in the wild?
Would it drop special materials after the fight?
Being the team captain was never easy—not only did she have to manage the members’ conflicts, but also ensure the timely supply of consumables.
Usually, it was easy enough if she just paid attention.
But now…
Her goal seemed to overlap with that of the black-clad men on the other side.
Should she avoid them? No!
The ones who should avoid were those black-clad men.
Vyea stood in the rain holding her black umbrella.
When she was the First Hero, all those around her had been good people.
Now, a group of black-clad men strode toward her.
Xiaolu blinked and, without any loyalty, vanished from sight, leaving Vyea all alone.
The black-clad men approached aggressively, their lanterns and black rods looking very menacing.
“Unauthorized personnel, leave immediately!”