The next few minutes were a blur of healing and whipping for Nuo Ai’er, who let out a constant stream of “Oh ho ho ho~” cries.
Every time Stella’s black whip landed, it carried a perfectly calibrated sting—nothing too painful, but just enough to make Nuo Ai’er involuntarily want to stick out her tongue.
The blue-haired loli beside her kept her healing magic ready at all times. The moment Nuo Ai’er seemed like she couldn’t take it anymore, she’d be fully healed on the spot, and then Stella would begin another round of cyclical torture.
This pattern of beating, healing, then beating again left almost no physical traces, but it was an extreme drain on the psyche.
‘This is bad…’ Nuo Ai’er thought internally.
She knew it all too well.
If this kept up, her mind would definitely—absolutely—break!
Time rewind couldn’t trigger, and toughing it out would only mean endless suffering.
Better to play along and pretend to cave first… temporarily placate these two devils.
Once she reached that conclusion, Nuo Ai’er immediately dropped all stubbornness and put on a pitiful act of being completely beaten down and submissive.
Her voice turned soft and weak, thick with tears, as she whimpered out a plea:
“Boo-hoo… please, no more hitting… I-I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything!”
Nuo Ai’er’s performance was flawless.
‘Oh? Turns out playing a cowardly dumb loli is this easy?’ she mused internally.
“Oh? Finally ready to come clean?”
The whip-wielding Stella paused her endless assault.
She retracted her whip, stepped in front of Nuo Ai’er, and looked down with interest at the teary-eyed white-haired loli.
“If you’d cooperated earlier, you wouldn’t have had to suffer,” Stella said with a smirk.
“All right, then. Spill it—everyone in your Glaze Guild: their talents, abilities, weaknesses… Don’t leave out a single detail.”
Beside her, Tina raised her eyes slightly, her cold gaze fixed on Nuo Ai’er as she silently awaited the information.
‘Boo…’ Nuo Ai’er whimpered.
Betraying her teammates was absolutely out of the question!
But she could fabricate a set of fake intel.
After all, these two had no real understanding of the Glaze Guild’s situation; they couldn’t tell truth from lies. This was the perfect chance to stall for time.
Nuo Ai’er sniffled, pretending to still be shaken, and slowly began:
“O-our guild… there’s this big sister named Leinata who wears a little red hood… She’s really good at ranged attacks. If you face her, don’t keep your distance—close combat is better.”
“The blonde sister, Emilia, is our Guild Master. She’s great at magic but weak in hand-to-hand combat… She never dares fight head-on.”
“And there’s a little girl, Hui Mei… She’s the youngest, completely useless in a fight, but she has the strong luck talent. Try to avoid fighting her if you can…”
Yeah, good. She’d perfectly fed them misinformation about her two top-tier fighters.
As for Hui Mei, Nuo Ai’er didn’t want them targeting her, so she attributed Emilia’s talent to her instead.
“Hm?”
Stella and Tina exchanged glances, both frowning in thought. They couldn’t immediately judge the truth of the information.
After all, in their minds, the words of a cowardly dumb loli like this were quite trustworthy.
Nuo Ai’er’s tearful story sounded perfectly reasonable.
“… Hmph.”
Stella paused for two seconds, then raised her hand and pinched Nuo Ai’er’s small chin with two fingers, tightening her grip slightly, her eyes sharp with warning:
“I’ll believe you for now, but I warn you—don’t lie to me. If I find out you’ve been messing with us—”
Stella lifted her whip.
The next second, the whip was enchanted with lightning.
Her unspoken threat was clear: right now it was just a leather whip disciplining Nuo Ai’er; if she lied, she’d get the electric whip.
Nuo Ai’er: ‘Terrified’
The little white-haired cutie quickly nodded vigorously, her eyes brimming with tears, looking utterly frightened.
Nuo Ai’er’s acting was top-notch, making her seem incredibly easy to control.
Satisfied that Nuo Ai’er was subdued, Stella couldn’t be bothered to keep her bound and tormented.
She raised her hand, and the ropes loosened with a snap, releasing all the restraints on Nuo Ai’er.
“Tina, heal her.”
At the command, Tina raised her hand and released azure healing magic. A soft blue light enveloped Nuo Ai’er’s back.
The slight sting from the whipping vanished instantly. Her body was completely restored to full condition, except for her heart still pounding. There was no remaining discomfort.
“Oh.”
Once the healing was done, Stella casually picked up the limp Nuo Ai’er and walked a few steps to a small, enclosed room at the inner side of the wooden house. She pushed open the wooden door and gently tossed Nuo Ai’er inside.
Thump.
A soft landing sound.
“Stay here quietly. We’ll deal with you once we’ve verified your information.”
With that, the wooden door clicked shut, locking Nuo Ai’er alone in the small room.
“Phew… Finally over with~”
Nuo Ai’er let out a long sigh of relief and slumped onto the floor.
At least she’d temporarily escaped the endless cycle of whipping and interrogation.
She looked around her small prison.
The cramped room was walled in thick wooden planks, airtight, with no windows. The only exit was the door.
‘Still not good…’
After thinking it over, Nuo Ai’er realized her situation was far from optimistic.
The fake intel she’d made up to get free was a ticking time bomb.
Stella and Tina would eventually run into Leinata and the others. Once a fight broke out, the false information would be exposed immediately.
By then, those two vengeful types would probably lose to Leinata and Emilia.
But if they managed to escape and come back…
They’d definitely take double revenge on Nuo Ai’er!
‘No… I can’t just sit here waiting.’
Nuo Ai’er clenched her small fists, her gaze turning resolute.
She had to find a way to escape from here before the intel was exposed!
Once she got out of the wooden house and found her teammates, everything would be fine.
But how would she escape?
For the next while, Nuo Ai’er stayed quietly in the small room, pretending to be completely resigned.
She patiently waited for her chance to flee…
Time ticked by, second after second. She didn’t know how long had passed…
Finally, she heard light footsteps and the sound of a door opening from outside.
Stella’s voice rang out: “I’m going to patrol the perimeter again and see if anyone else is around. Tina, keep an eye on the little prisoner.”
Tina’s cool reply followed.
Then the main door closed again, and the entire wooden house fell silent.
‘Could this be…?’
Nuo Ai’er’s ears twitched, catching every sound precisely.
This was her chance!
Now…
The entire cabin was left with only Tina, that one loli.
Maybe this was the opportunity to escape!
Not long after, the lock on the small prison door turned gently, and the wooden door creaked open.
Tina entered carrying a simple wooden tray with a glass of water and a few slices of black bread.
After all, a prisoner couldn’t starve—they’d need her as a hostage later.
“Eat.”
Tina’s tone was flat and emotionless. After speaking, she turned her back to Nuo Ai’er, intending to set the tray on the small table in the corner.
Staring at the other girl’s defenseless, thin back, Nuo Ai’er’s heart raced.
The opportunity was right in front of her!
Nuo Ai’er quickly calculated in her mind:
They were about the same size, both lolis, with similar height and build.
Tina seemed to be a healer type—she didn’t look like she could fight at all.
If she attacked by surprise, snaking her arms around Tina’s neck from behind and knocking her out instantly, she could bolt for the door!
The odds were definitely in her favor!
‘I’ll gamble it!’
The next second, Nuo Ai’er softened her footsteps and lunged at Tina, who still had her back turned!
She raised her slender arms and reached for Tina’s neck, aiming to lock her in a firm chokehold and subdue her in one move!
She was fast, completely catching Tina off guard.
…But the next moment.
“Urgh…”
The anticipated scene of domination never happened.
Nuo Ai’er’s ambush technically succeeded—Tina really hadn’t reacted in time.
But what Nuo Ai’er hadn’t expected was that this seemingly frail and aloof loli, Tina, was much stronger than she was!
The moment Nuo Ai’er’s hands touched Tina’s neck, Tina’s muscles instinctively tensed.
With a slight shrug of her shoulder and a subtle push of her neck—
Crack!
Nuo Ai’er’s arms, locked around her neck, were easily thrown off. A strong recoil shockwave sent her stumbling.
“Whoa!”
Nuo Ai’er lost her balance completely. Her small body staggered backward and landed hard on the cold, hard wooden floor.
Ambush failed.
‘How is this possible? We’re both lolis!’ she thought.
“… How surprising.”
Tina turned around slowly. Her usually expressionless face was now completely dark.
Then, a heavy, dangerous aura erupted around her.
She stared calmly at Nuo Ai’er, who had failed her sneak attack and was now sprawled on the floor, and said flatly:
“I guess a prisoner who’s too docile starts getting bad ideas.”
“… Since you’re so disobedient—I’ll have to punish you properly, in Big Sister Stella’s place.”
“P-punish?” Nuo Ai’er stammered.
Ignoring the trembling Nuo Ai’er, Tina continued, “Just now, you wanted to choke me unconscious, didn’t you? Not bad.”
Nuo Ai’er: “W-what are you going to do?”
Tina: “Let you experience the feeling of suffocation too.”
The blue-haired loli stepped closer to Nuo Ai’er, one step at a time.
“Eeek! Help!”