Chapter Eighty-Three: Speculations on the Calamity

“Aileen…?”

After pondering for a moment, Lan nodded.

“You’re talking about the current leader of the Ghost Thieves, right? They’ve already confessed during the interrogation of those prisoners. Although Princess Mona couldn’t catch her during the recent crackdown, she’s said to be just an ordinary person. Now that the Ghost Thieves have been wiped out, even if Aileen managed to escape, I don’t think she’ll stir up much trouble.”

“You’re wrong, you know. This Aileen is definitely not ordinary.”

The Priestess leaned her elbow on the table, raising a slender white finger and shaking it side to side in a gesture of denial, wearing a half-smile.

“If I’m not mistaken, the leader of the Ghost Thieves is just one of her identities; it’s definitely not the most important one. Escaping successfully during the crackdown wouldn’t have been a coincidence either. What, didn’t Tyler mention this person to you?”

“No, although Aileen is technically the leader of the Ghost Thieves, the one actually in charge and responsible for interfacing with my father for intelligence is someone else. Tyler seems to have only heard of that name.”

“I see…”

Nodding with a touch of regret, Miss Vilyric changed the topic again.

“Do you know anything about Sylvester Burwell, or the title of ‘Conjurer Alchemist’?”

“Conjurer Alchemist?”

After a long moment of serious thought, Lan reluctantly shook his head.

“Unfortunately, I’ve never heard of that name or title. At least there isn’t anyone famous by that name in Demon Town. Say, Vilyric, where do you get these bizarre bits of information?”

“Haha… some unique channels, I suppose. If you don’t know, then you don’t know. So, how has Little Wolf Cub, Noviya Moonshadow, been doing lately? Any unusual occurrences?”

Upon hearing this, Lan quickly responded.

“Neither good nor bad. The princess sent doctors, healers, and priests to examine her; her vital signs are stable. Yet for some reason, she remains in a deep sleep, showing no signs of eating or drinking but still maintaining her vitality, much like those magical beasts that hibernate, though the season is clearly not right…”

“Hmm~”

The Priestess mumbled in a vague response, not following up.

It was similar to the condition she detected before; Noviya remains in slumber because the little wolf cub’s soul itself has entered a deep sleep. As for why she could live without eating or drinking, perhaps she’s consuming the nutrients stored in her body or directly absorbing energy from the air—this isn’t uncommon. As part of the divine race, Vilyric could do similar things.

Since she couldn’t quite grasp the reason for this so-called Source of Magic’s slumber, Vilyric couldn’t carelessly intervene to wake her up; it was more prudent to wait until they returned Noviya to the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons and let Tiyelu and the others handle it.

But truthfully, this whole situation felt a bit strange to Vilyric.

In simple terms, it was resolved too easily, or rather, the enemy didn’t exhibit the level of resistance Vilyric had anticipated.

Clearly, she had just formed an alliance with the magical beasts and was preparing to do something when suddenly Little Mona came out of nowhere and took care of all the enemies. Despite some bumps along the way, the difficulties were frankly minimal, as if everything fell into place naturally.

Of course, Vilyric wasn’t questioning how Mona performed; as Liliya’s younger sister, her position was obviously above reproach and she hadn’t swapped identities or impersonated anyone. Otherwise, there’s no way she could have fooled Vilyric.

It’s just that the Priestess had always been concerned about the prophecy she’d mentioned as the Seer, that there would be a “calamity” occurring in the northern and southern United Kingdom.

Having witnessed the Abyssal Disaster in the south, Vilyric confirmed that Mona’s prophecy was not false. But what about the north? Where did that disaster go?

Regarding this, she again consulted with Mona later, but the latter merely stated that the causation and power involved in such a great disaster were too numerous and high-level, making the prophecy given by the Seer very ambiguous. She only knew there was a possibility of a disaster occurring, but whether it would truly happen, and how, remained a question mark.

In short, it was “unknown.”

But given the current situation in Demon Town, if things continued to develop this way, Vilyric really couldn’t think of anything that could suddenly trigger a catastrophe comparable to a God-Made Beast’s arrival.

She initially thought the disaster Mona spoke about was due to humans stealing the Source of Magic and mismanaging it until it ultimately exploded, leading to a series of severe consequences. However, Noviya was now under Mona’s strict protection, and Lan confirmed that the little wolf cub’s vital signs were stable. So, what could still cause the disaster?

Was it the direct interference of the Seer that altered the future? Or was it her presence, difficult to predict, causing some unexpected changes in the timeline?

It was unclear, but the terrifying imagery brought by the southern disaster made Vilyric silently raise her guard. The tidal wave of the Abyss resulted in the demise of millions of lives; had it not been for the Priestess’s intervention at a critical moment, the outcome would have been unimaginable.

Considering the existence of the Withering Goddess, calling it a “Divine Level Disaster” was not an exaggeration.

Since it could be likened to what Mona mentioned, the situation in the north was unlikely to be any simpler.

As both sides contemplated the information exchanged for a long time, Lan suddenly spoke up, as if she thought of something.

“By the way, although I haven’t heard the name Sylvester, there’s someone who might know something. His name is Oliver; he’s the actual manager of most of the Ghost Thieves’ affairs, Aileen’s capable subordinate, and also responsible for interfacing with my father. The guy I ran into while he was talking to my father when he visited the Lord’s residence is him. Later, when we were capturing the remnants of the Ghost Thieves, he was also captured.”

“So, what do you think? Do we need to go see him? Princess Mona has instructed that you have the right to know all levels of secrecy, so I can take you directly.”

The Priestess looked a bit surprised but then nodded without hesitation.

“Of course, where is he?”

“Surely, he’s locked up in the dungeon. If you want to go now, I happen to have some free time and can accompany you.”

“Hmm…”

This time, Vilyric didn’t respond immediately but turned her head to glance at the small Tilysha, who was obediently standing behind her, and then curiously surveyed the surroundings of the garden.

“What about Mona? She doesn’t seem to be at the Lord’s residence?”

The Acting City Lord shrugged.

“Isn’t the negotiation starting tomorrow? The princess went out to inspect those protected non-humans. You know, many of them suffered immense psychological trauma or brainwashing while being enslaved, and a few even exhibited resistance to being rescued. It’s essential to soothe and adjust their mental state as much as possible; otherwise, the handover for safe return will be very troublesome. This is one of the most complicated aspects of the job.”

“I see, that does make sense.”

That’s also why Vilyric was reluctant to help those enslaved girls in the underground black market at the time. While it was indeed simple to rescue them, managing their mental states afterward could be very complicated. If not handled well, she could end up harming them; therefore, it’s better to think long-term.

“I initially wanted to discuss some matters with you, but since Mona isn’t here, we can hold off. This is a significant issue, and it’s necessary for both of you to be present.”

“?”

Miss Lan tilted her head in confusion, her long twin tails playfully swaying with the gesture, but since Vilyric said so, she didn’t dig deeper.

“Alright, shall we head to the dungeon now?”

“Yeah, if we can obtain the information we want smoothly, that would be perfect.”

If possible, Vilyric also wanted to see the former City Lord, Tyler Tuls, who was also imprisoned in the Demon Town dungeon. Despite everything that happened, they hadn’t truly met face to face yet.

   

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