Chapter 10: Edwina’s Strange Encounter

When we stepped out of the [Black Knight Adventure Group] headquarters, dusk had already settled in. The dim twilight cast shadows on the streets and the walls of the houses. The scattered, closed shops along the roadside added a touch of desolation to this city that should have been bustling with life.

Perhaps it was the scenery that stirred her feelings, or maybe it reminded her of what Lester had mentioned before; Tilysha seemed a bit downcast.

“Miss Vilyric, why do you think the United Kingdom is so hostile towards other races? Everyone just wants to live peacefully, don’t they…”

The black-haired girl took a few steps forward, placed her hands behind her back, and casually turned around.

“Racism, huh… that’s just how it is. Only weak and insecure groups act like that. It’s called self-protection in flattering terms, but in less flattering terms, it’s just about devaluing and oppressing another group to elevate one’s own worth and status.”

As she spoke, Vilyric suddenly turned toward the blonde girl beside her.

“Xiao Guang, what do you think? Is there any difference between humans and other races?”

“Huh?”

The Little Dragon Daughter tilted her head. Although she didn’t quite understand why her master asked that, she spoke without hesitation.

“I don’t think there’s much difference; we’re all just ants that can be crushed at any time.”

“See, this is the attitude of a true stronghold. Ahem… although I’m not saying you should adopt her perspective, just using it as an example.”

“Uh… is that so?”

As the three girls chatted, they walked toward their destination. Since they rarely came to Demon Town, Vilyric had already picked a nice hotel for everyone to gather tonight, where they could also taste the local specialties.

Many restaurants in the city had temporarily closed due to the conditions in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, with food supplies running low, but Vilyric had managed to find this place with great difficulty.

When they arrived, Leila and Renée, who were hiding their wings, were already waiting at the hotel entrance. They seemed to have been shopping, as they not only wore new clothes but also casually munched on skewers of grilled meat while chatting.

“Ah, Lady Vilyric, you all are here! How did the investigation go?”

Seeing the approaching trio, Leila raised her hand to greet them, while her sister Renée, still chewing on the grilled meat, hurriedly waved her wooden skewer in imitation.

“Ha ha, it’s complicated, but let’s just say it was somewhat fruitful. We’ll talk more about it later. Where’s Edwina? Hasn’t she arrived yet?”

“No, she hasn’t. Strange, she’s usually so punctual… Lady Vilyric, do you think something happened?”

After glancing around, Vilyric resisted the urge to use her Soul Power for a wide-range detection and simply shook her head for now.

“Though her brain isn’t always working right, she’s a legend after all. It shouldn’t be easy for anything to happen to her. Perhaps she got held up by something. It isn’t completely dark yet; let’s wait a little longer.”

“Mm, sounds good.”

The group stood at the hotel entrance for a while longer. After several minutes, the magical lights on the street gradually lit up, and when Vilyric started to frown, a certain Holy Knight suddenly rushed into view around the corner, running towards them.

“Sorry, sorry! I’m late! Um… something strange happened, and I got held up…”

Edwina arrived a bit frantically by Vilyric and the others. For some reason, she looked out of breath, and the lining of her white Holy Knight armor was slightly sweaty; it was clear she had just been through something intense.

Seeing her like this, the Priestess couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

You’ve got to understand, Edwina is a legendary Holy Knight, her physical condition is far above that of an ordinary person. Just a regular run wouldn’t reduce her to such a state; besides high-intensity training, the only other thing Vilyric could think of was…

“Did you run into trouble right after stepping out?”

Edwina, that girl, is generally fine, except for her bad habit of meddling too much.

Vilyric also liked to meddle, but she only cares about matters that have sufficient value or are interesting. Ordinary trivial matters, the Priestess simply chooses to ignore.

But Edwina is different; she can’t tolerate any evil or suffering around her. If there’s a robbery or a fight, she must get involved. If she sees someone injured and bleeding, she rushes in to heal them without thinking. Even if it’s just a petty thief or an old lady crossing the street, she has to help.

And, oddly enough, this legendary Holy Knight actually has the capability to handle these situations.

Although it wastes a lot of time and energy, it’s not like Vilyric has to do the work, so she just turns a blind eye.

But here in Demon Town… how should I put this? The situation is somewhat delicate, and Vilyric hoped Edwina would hold back as much as possible, lest they all get dragged into something the Priestess isn’t keen on dealing with.

“Huh? Trouble? Lady Vilyric means… um, I didn’t run into any bad guys, well, maybe I did, but how do I explain this…”

Edwina blinked, then swiftly shook her head in denial, but it seemed she felt that wasn’t quite right and began to ramble without really expressing anything.

The several girls exchanged puzzled glances, and the Priestess could only smile wryly and put a hand to her forehead.

“…Alright, alright, let’s go inside and talk slowly. This isn’t the place for discussions.”

Once inside the hotel, the girls requested a private room. After ordering their meals, they all sat down, and recognizing that Edwina seemed ready to speak, Vilyric nodded to signal her to start.

The Holy Knight coughed lightly and awkwardly scratched her head.

“Um… actually, after we separated this afternoon, I just randomly picked a direction and kept walking. As you all know, Demon Town is quite large, and even walking all day might not cover it all. I didn’t think too much about it; I just paid attention to the landmarks to avoid getting lost on the way back.”

“However, as I walked, I suddenly felt something was off. The streets, which should have been bustling with people, became eerily quiet. The moment I took notice, somehow, in the blink of an eye, the scenery around me changed to something completely different.”

“…?”

What the heck is this, are you telling a horror story? Don’t tell me there are seven mysteries of Demon Town as well?

Of course, the snarky thoughts inside the Priestess’ head couldn’t be voiced out loud. She took a glance at Tilysha, who was gulping nervously, and continued.

“While I didn’t know what was going on, I drew my sword, prepared to respond.”

“It was a mountain shrouded in mist—uh, not the kind of gray fog like Sky City. It looked pretty normal, but the place was incredibly tranquil, with not a soul in sight, just a fair number of butterflies flitting about.”

“I roamed around that mountain for quite a while but couldn’t find my way out, and for some reason, my armor and weapons felt really heavy, like I was back when I first became a Holy Knight; just walking made me break into a cold sweat.”

“Just as I started to get anxious, the scenery changed again, and suddenly I was back in Demon Town.”

“And… it was right at the place where I began, as if I had been treading water this whole time.”

   

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