“You bully who’s bullying Master!”
The fiery red rabbit plushie that had been crouching at Yiruo’s feet suddenly launched itself from the ground, lunging straight at the “villainous” witch.
Its clumsy limbs flailed wildly, hitting and kicking at Yilena’s head and arms without any technique, as if trying to drive away the bad guy who was “bullying its master.”
“Eek!”
Feeling the tapping on her head, Yilena finally stopped her face-pinching. She looked down in slight surprise at Rabi, who was angrily swinging its tiny legs, trying to attack her.
Instead of getting angry, her eyes lit up even more.
The next instant, her hand shot out like lightning, precisely grabbing the rabbit plushie’s long ears and lifting it up to eye level.
“Whoa~ A sudden rabbit plushie! What a cute little thing.”
The witch examined Rabi, casually squeezing its soft belly.
“But little one, randomly touching a beautiful and powerful witch isn’t something a good kid should do~”
Rabi struggled even more violently in her hand, letting out urgent “grrr” sounds as if expressing intense protest and anger.
“Let it go!”
A crisp voice laced with anger and disbelief rang out.
Yiruo, whose cheeks were now slightly red from being pinched, finally regained some composure from her “glitched state.”
She snatched Rabi back from Yilena’s hands in a flash, hugging it tightly to her chest as if reclaiming a precious treasure.
Once back in her owner’s arms, Rabi immediately calmed down, but still stared at Yilena with wary eyes, letting out a threatening growl from its throat.
At that moment, Elliana and Reya also stepped forward, standing beside Yilena.
Holding Rabi, Yiruo took a couple of steps back, her eyes still filled with vigilance and dissatisfaction. The faint red marks from the pinching lingered on her fair cheeks, and her slightly puffed cheeks and wide-open eyes made her look like a child who had been bullied but couldn’t fight back.
“I’m very sorry.”
Elliana bowed slightly, her silver hair slipping off her shoulders as she tried to ease the tension with a gentle tone.
“Sister Yilena… when she encounters something especially cute or beautiful, she occasionally has a little… trouble controlling herself. But! She means no harm. I think she just… likes you very much, so she was a bit rash.”
As she spoke, she signaled Yilena with her eyes to calm down.
“Pervert! Lolicon!”
Yiruo finally couldn’t hold back, pointing at Yilena and accusing her with a slightly trembling voice.
But the “culprit” seemed completely unfazed, even licking her lips as if savoring the feel of the touch just now.
Elliana twitched at the corner of her eye and decisively nudged Reya, who was barely suppressing a laugh.
“Reya, quick, take Sister Yilena over there… to look at the ancient runes on the wall! Hurry!”
“Oh! Oh, right!”
Reya caught on and half-dragged, half-pulled the still “reluctant” witch away, barely holding in her laughter.
“Witch, over there! Over there looks like there’s a powerful magic circle!”
With the troublemaker out of the way, Elliana let out a sigh of relief and looked back at Yiruo, who was still a bit puffed up.
She thought for a moment, then carefully took out a small delicate cake from her storage pouch.
She unwrapped it and held it out to Yiruo.
“This… is for you. A small apology for Sister Yilena’s rudeness. I hope you’ll accept it.”
Yiruo looked at the cake warily, then at Elliana.
The sweet scent drifting to her nose was strange yet enticing.
Rabi in her arms stirred slightly but didn’t stop her.
After a few seconds of hesitation—maybe the fragrance was too tempting—she slowly reached out and took the cake.
Then, she took a cautious bite.
The soft cake, the sweet cream, and the slight tartness of the fruit melted slowly in her mouth.
Yiruo was momentarily stunned.
She unconsciously closed her eyes, savoring this unfamiliar taste, and her tense expression involuntarily relaxed.
Watching the girl lost in the sweetness, Elliana’s heart softened.
After Yiruo finished, Elliana spoke again.
“My name is Elliana. That… somewhat rude sister earlier is Yilena, my mentor. And that’s Reya.”
She pointed at the two in the distance.
“You know this place well, don’t you? If it’s possible, I hope you could guide us.”
Yiruo licked the corner of her lips where cream still clung. She looked at Elliana, paused, then nodded slightly.
“You can call me Yiruo. Rabi, go fetch those two… and that perverted witch. Follow me.”
Her voice returned to coldness, but the hostility from before was gone.
The girl and the plushie turned and walked toward a hidden passage on the side of the hall.
Elliana quickly called Reya and Yilena, who was still looking around, to follow.
They went around the huge black door and descended a secret spiral staircase, arriving deeper in the ruins—
The treasure warehouse piled high with riches.
“…This… this could buy how many cities…”
Reya murmured.
The needle on Yilena’s compass spun wildly a few times before steadily pointing to an inconspicuous corner deep in the treasure room.
Her expression instantly turned serious.
With a flick of her wrist, the exquisite compass reappeared in her palm.
She walked over quickly, brushed aside a few rusted suits of armor and scattered coins, and picked up an ancient dark red metal box from underneath.
A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Yilena’s eyes as she carefully opened the lid.
“…Huh?”
She raised an eyebrow, brought the box closer for a closer look, and then sensed it with her mana.
It was empty inside.
“Strange… it shouldn’t be like this. The compass’s indication was very clear, and the residual mana reaction shows that a powerful mana crystal was indeed stored here once.”
While Yilena was lost in thought, on the other side, Elliana and Reya were talking with Yiruo.
“You mean… you’ve been in this ruin ever since you were born?”
Reya crouched down and asked curiously, her tail gently swaying.
Yiruo hugged Rabi and nodded, her gaze drifting as she scanned the mountains of treasures around them.
“It’s not so much that I was born in this ruin… but rather that this ruin gave birth to me.”
Her voice was very soft, as if telling a story unrelated to herself.
Elliana’s heart jolted.
“From the moment I was born, I knew I couldn’t leave here. The outside world is like a barrier I can never break through.”
Yiruo raised her hand and pointed back the way they came.
“That door you saw… it’s the core power source of this ruin, and also… the ‘node’ that binds me.”
She turned to look at Yilena in the distance and said calmly, giving them a dismissal.
“If you want treasures, this is enough. Take whatever you like. Then leave as soon as possible.”
She paused, a flicker of barely perceptible emotion crossing her eyes.
“I don’t like… you adventurers trespassing into my territory.”
With that, she ignored Elliana and Reya, who seemed to want to say something, and holding Rabi, she prepared to leave the warehouse and return to the cold black coffin to continue her slumber.
But—
Just as she took a few steps!
BOOM!!!
A powerful mana resonance erupted without warning!
“Ah!”
Yiruo stopped abruptly, instinctively covering her chest. She turned back in shock.
Yilena had somehow lifted her head. Her compass was being activated at full force, and a concentrated pink beam of light was aimed precisely at Yiruo’s chest!
There, a blue gem necklace was resonating violently!
“So that’s it…”
A glint of surprise flashed in Yilena’s eyes. A slow, confident smile curled at the corners of her lips.
“The ‘gem’ isn’t here at all—”
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