“Whoa! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Liewata hurriedly apologized.
She didn’t know who she had bumped into, but she knew she had caused trouble again.
She should have been calmer at a time like this, but the thought of Li Si being nearby made her spirit uncontrollably excited.
Liewata braced herself against the floor to get up, then suddenly felt something was off.
Why was the floor so soft?
Huh…
When she pressed down… it bounced back…
Liewata silently lowered her head.
Suddenly, her mind went blank.
Beneath her, her hand was pressing against the chest of a flowing black dress.
That chest was so full it was almost unreal, even more spectacular than her sister’s.
Above the chest was a snow-white neck, with a hint of collarbone showing, and above that was a stunningly beautiful face with slightly trembling lips, pupils in an earthquake, silver brows drawn coldly, and long hair flowing.
“Ah… it’s over… my life… completely over…”
Liewata froze in place, as if she could hear the goddess’s blessing ringing in her ears.
“Are you… planning to get off or not?”
Li Si looked at the person straddling her, took a deep breath, and tried hard to suppress her anger.
But her eyes couldn’t help glaring fiercely at those hands pressing against her chest.
When she saw them still squeezing, she couldn’t take it anymore.
Her fist instantly hardened.
“S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-sorry!”
Liewata leaped up into a series of backflips, her stutter suddenly returning.
By the time she came to her senses, she had already backflipped out of the hot spring inn’s entrance.
Li Si took a deep breath.
She was beyond speechless.
This person that Kind Mother had chosen was far too reckless.
That didn’t make sense.
This guy looked like a member of the Bear Tribe.
That race was supposed to be quite composed.
Li Si shook her head.
At least the food hadn’t spilled.
She looked back at the two plates she had caught steadily, stood up, and handed them to the service staff who had come to check.
Seeing how terrified they were, she comforted them briefly.
She turned to call Lily Ya to eat together, but saw that Lily Ya had another strand of ahoge sticking up on her head.
She was holding her staff, mouth open, frozen like a statue.
Click!
Another sneaky photo sound rang out nearby.
That sound had been going nonstop ever since she fell.
Li Si was getting annoyed.
She grabbed Lily Ya and went straight to the dining hall.
She didn’t want to stay in this village any longer.
After breakfast, she went directly to the village chief and announced a combat meeting.
“A strategic meeting for the thorough eradication of the Minotaurs?”
When Loren first heard the meeting name, he looked bewildered.
The Minotaur colony was hidden in a secluded part of the mountain forest, extremely hard to find.
If they could easily locate them, they would have hired adventurers for a complete siege long ago.
There wouldn’t have been this long-term defensive battle.
“C-can this really be completely cleared?”
Loren’s voice couldn’t help trembling.
If they could truly eradicate them, the Hot Spring Village’s future would be limitless.
Li Si nodded.
“If it were before the Crimson Moon’s arrival, complete eradication was completely impossible. But after the Crimson Moon descended, the magic beasts developed intelligence. This makes them want to explore the world like adventurers. However, to balance this evolution, the Demon Realm will select one beast and promote it to a lord beast.”
“Lord beast…”
Ailin squinted, puzzled.
“Do you mean it’s like a dungeon? Kill the lord, and the dungeon resets?”
“Similar, but not exactly the same. Dungeons reset; in the wild, the group disperses. More precisely, it’s like our empire.”
Ailin was stunned.
She realized Li Si was implying the emperor of the empire, and an inexplicable chill ran down her spine.
Luola immediately understood.
“In other words! The mutated beasts have given birth to the concept of an emperor! Once this emperor dies, its subjects will scatter on their own!”
Li Si nodded.
The entire meeting hall was packed with all the combat-capable people in the village.
Besides the thirty-six defense team members, there were several teams of foreign adventurers.
Judging by appearances, they had been staying here for a long time, helping the village repel several waves of Minotaur attacks.
When they heard Li Si’s offhanded solution, they all wore dissatisfied expressions.
A female archer carrying a longbow raised her hand.
“Let’s assume your judgment is correct for now. But there’s one problem: how do we find their emperor?”
“Right. The Minotaurs are very good at hiding their tracks. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been stuck on defense.”
Without any nonsense, Li Si pointed directly at the simulated map in the meeting room.
She extended her index finger and circled a deep valley.
“Right here.”
As soon as she said this, everyone froze.
A moment later, someone came to their senses and said in shock, “You say it’s there, so it’s there?”
“Wait… that’s Sunset Valley, just west of the village. We often go there to fetch water… We haven’t seen any Minotaurs there at all…”
“Hey… are you joking with us?”
“What’s the point of holding this meeting?”
“I say, don’t go spouting nonsense just because you stopped yesterday’s war!”
“Right! Dictator Li Si, even though the villagers welcomed you yesterday, to be honest, I’ve heard quite a bit about you in the Beginner Village.”
Compared to the defense team’s complete inability to understand, the foreign adventurers’ words were much harsher.
Li Si didn’t explain.
The location of the Minotaur emperor was based entirely on her multi-cycle experience and direct sensing.
Neither of these could be shown as proof.
But she wasn’t entirely without a way to convince these people.
Li Si looked under the table.
Under the table, a purple-haired figure was lying on the ground, looking up at various skirt hems, mumbling a bunch of photography techniques.
When she caught Li Si’s gaze, she instantly scrambled out, stood at attention, and said, “Boss! What are your orders?”
Li Si grabbed Yadana and lifted her onto the table.
She explained that this creature was once a dungeon lord, and finally gave her conclusion.
“She can sense the aura of beasts of the same rank. A race’s king almost possesses all the conditions to open a dungeon. That means its aura is different from ordinary beasts. My familiar can rely on this aura to find it—of course, only if the distance is close enough.”
Yadana immediately snapped to attention on the table and saluted everyone.
“Folks! Your vanguard Yadana is reporting for duty!”
Li Si swept her gaze across everyone and gave her final conclusion.
“Anyway, whether you believe it or not, you should go ahead and do it first.”
Although it was completely unfounded, those last words clearly moved everyone.
Just as a defense team member had said earlier, that place was where the village fetched water, perfectly safe.
Going to check it out was no problem at all.
“But what if you’re wrong!”
The elven archer who had objected first raised her hand again.
This time, her gaze carried a scrutiny.
“Dictators are not welcome here.”
“L-Li Si would never be wrong!”
Li Si was a little surprised that someone answered for her.
She turned to look.
Liewata had just backflipped and landed at the entrance.
Li Si initially thought she was just being emotional—after all, anyone could see that this mage worshipped her.
But when she looked into Liewata’s eyes, Li Si saw that it wasn’t a gaze of flattery, but of resonance after thought.
Liewata walked solemnly into the meeting room and said in a deep voice, “I’ve been to Sunset Valley during my previous investigations, and I found many strange traces there. Moreover, in every battle, the Minotaurs appeared from all directions, but very few ever charged out from near that valley.”
Li Si nodded with satisfaction.
She decided to play along with Liewata’s words and show off a little.
“So, I will never be wrong.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a notification appeared on her panel.
[Liewata’s Recognition +15%]
[Liewata’s Recognition 100%]
[Liewata Training Panel Unlocked——]