Chapter 73: What Else Does She Know?

A cockroach?

What is that? Is it referring to this bug?

The thing that scared her dear Ai’er this badly… is this bug that she could crush with a single light step?

In that instant, the anger that had been burning in Elena’s heart suddenly had nowhere to go.

If she had to describe it, the feeling was like taking off halfway only to have both wings snapped off, so she could only fall limply to the ground.

Yes, we’re talking about an airplane.

“Elena QAQ!! S-Save me, save me, save me, save me—!”

Watching the silver-haired girl whose pale golden eyes trembled like rippling water, unable to speak a complete sentence, Elena found it both irritating and amusing.

Ai’er’s two cries had made her so nervous down below, and it was all because of this little bug.

She was angry that something so small dared to bully her Ai’er.

But seeing Ai’er in such a flustered state, scared by a tiny bug to the point of constantly burrowing into her chest, Elena found it a little amusing.

Regardless… as long as Ai’er wasn’t under any threat, Elena could rest easy.

So the girl lightly snapped her fingers, and the black bug was instantly encased in an ice crystal, shattering into powder moments later.

“It’s… it’s gone, right QAQ?”

With two glistening tears in her eyes, Ai’er’s voice trembled as she cautiously asked Elena.

But this wasn’t Ai’er’s fault.

Before becoming a girl, Ai’er had been terrified of the Guangdong Fairy.

And the reason probably traced back to one particular night:

The unfinished snacks in the dormitory became an offering that summoned the Fairy, and after eating its fill, the little creature accidentally crawled onto Ai’er’s face while running around.

The people in that dormitory building would probably never forget the scream that sounded like an air raid siren.

“It’s okay, Ai’er. It’s okay.”

Holding Ai’er, who was still burrowing into her chest, Elena patted the girl’s head.

But when Elena lifted her gaze from the girl in her arms, she withdrew the slight curve of her lips.

At this moment, Saintess Christina was standing not far away, quietly watching the two of them.

Tina was just smiling, but just like when Ai’er had first met Tina, there was no emotion visible in this Saintess’s eyes.

“Saintess, may I ask why you are here?”

Though her words still carried some politeness, the undertone of dismissal was stronger.

She looked at Tina and instinctively pulled Ai’er closer, as if unwilling for Ai’er to be seen by her.

“Young Lady Elena rushed over as soon as she heard the Fairy’s cry, didn’t she?”

This Saintess seemed to have evaded Elena’s question, yet perhaps she hadn’t.

But this Saintess seemed to be hiding something.

Not to mention that obviously fake smile, if you felt carefully… wasn’t there a mixture of several different kinds of mana in the air here?

“Ai’er, was there anyone else in this room just now?”

It felt like a thump.

At this question, Ai’er’s trembling body stopped.

‘Yes, Elena~

‘Besides Tina, there was also a Doctor and your Vice President, Lady Lize, here just now~

‘You know Elena? That doctor is Lady Lize’s older brother, and he said he met me a year ago.

‘That doctor also took some blood from me, said it was for research or something~

‘Oh right, right, to cover things up, I specifically asked Lady Lize to use magic to summon the thing I’m most, most, most afraid of~

‘All to cover up the cry of surprise from being startled by the doctor earlier~’

‘—If she said that, the Witch would descend upon the world again.’

Ai’er had naturally seen it—the white light that, in that instant, was enough to destroy heaven and earth.

Staring at the system text in her field of vision, Ai’er slowly raised her head, still glittering at the corners of her eyes.

[Remaining Lifespan: 177 days]

No matter what, her plan to obtain the Device from the Doctor absolutely could not be ruined right now.

Ai’er couldn’t take the risk. If she missed this chance… she really might not get another.

Ai’er slowly raised her head, still glittering at the corners of her eyes.

“Th-This place…”

But the tone forced out by Ai’er, who had been forcibly calmed by Elena’s question, was still a little strange.

Now there were only two paths before Ai’er:

Either tell Elena the truth directly, or keep playing dumb.

“This place just now di—”

Clearly, Ai’er had chosen the second path.

But—

“Young Lady Elena is indeed very perceptive when it comes to sensing mana. Yes, there were two other people here just now.”

Tina, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

‘QAQ…

‘It’s over…’

But just as Ai’er cast a panicked glance at this Saintess, Tina curled the corners of her mouth slightly.

“And, Young Lady Elena knows both of the other two.

The first is an Imperial Doctor, a young Imperial Doctor who went to the Duchy a year ago; and the other is his former sister, your Vice President, Lady Lize.

But please don’t worry, Young Lady Elena. Everyone only rushed over after hearing Young Lady Ai’er’s voice. If you feel a mixture of many kinds of mana in the air, it’s probably because the Doctor used some magic while examining Young Lady Ai’er.

You know how it is—medical diagnostic magic spells are numerous and their formulas complex~ so it’s natural that they leave behind ‘chaotic’ mana traces.

Isn’t that right, Young Lady Ai’er?”

When Tina smiled at Ai’er, Ai’er was stunned for a moment.

‘Huh?’

‘This Saintess of the Holy Church… she’s helping me?’

“Th-That’s right… that’s right, Elena.”

Even as she said this, those golden eyes, along with the girl’s cheeks, were once again buried in Elena’s embrace.

Ai’er couldn’t look at Elena.

So the girl, whose brain had nearly shut down, failed to realize at that moment—

This Saintess was baiting Elena.

“…Alright.

I believe Ai’er.”

Elena gently patted the silver-haired girl’s head again, but she still didn’t shift her gaze away from Tina.

“Saintess, you just said that besides Lize, there was also a Doctor here?

First of all, I’ve never heard that Senior Lize had a brother.

But what I care more about is—

How can you be sure I know that Doctor?”

Elena knew perfectly well that this question wasn’t important. But this Saintess had deliberately brought up the Doctor.

It meant she knew—

This Saintess knew about the events of a year ago, knew about the Doctor who had once told her the truth about Ai’er’s identity.

‘…What else does she know?’

‘What else does this Saintess before me know?’

‘And the Holy Church behind her, what do they know?’

The chain of questions was like a bottomless pit, instilling fear in anyone who stared into it.

But the moment her words fell, Tina smiled.

She didn’t know much. She basically knew almost nothing.

Everything she knew was from what the Doctor had said earlier.

So she smiled.

Not that kind of faint smile, but the smile of someone whose carefully laid “clues” had finally been discovered, of someone finally being asked for the answer—

A smug smile.

“You mean that~ Well, that’s because—”

But just as Tina was about to continue, a small magic circle suddenly unfolded by her ear, briefly interrupting her words.