Chapter 169: The Agreement for Cooperation Again

“Hey, hey… Who do you think you’re looking down on?”

Tiyelu crossed her arms, looking all indignant like someone who’d just been insulted.

“Do you think I went through all that trouble to create Lulu and came to the human territory just to hang out like you do, strolling around and flirting? I was investigating! I put a lot of effort into digging up the background of this situation and making preparations. It’s absurd if I don’t even know the name of the real mastermind behind this!”

“Who’s just strolling around and flirting all day? Don’t make it sound like I’m slacking off…”

After countering Miss Butterfly with a “Don’t say that,” Vilyric straightened up a bit.

“So, what have you found out about this Sylvester? Spill it.”

Upon mentioning this person, Miss Butterfly’s expression became a bit more serious. After pondering for a moment, she spoke a specific term.

“Twilight Council. Have you heard of this name?”

“Oh?”

Hearing about this mysterious organization that I had only heard rumors of, several pieces of information about that Summoner popped into my mind, and I was suddenly interested.

“You mean, Sylvester is an envoy of the Twilight Council?”

Tiyelu raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“You knew the term ‘envoy’? Looks like you know quite a bit about those guys, which saves me some explanation… Right, according to some reliable information, I suspect this Sylvester is very likely an envoy of the Twilight Council. Even if he’s not, he must be connected to them in some way.”

“The Twilight Council has been devoted to opening passageways between worlds since ancient times, regardless of the consequences and impacts. Although they have a low profile, real powerhouses know about these mysterious and frightening folks to some extent. They’ve existed since the mythological era a thousand years ago, and their background is very profound. Even I wouldn’t want to provoke them easily.”

“If Sylvester is involved with the Twilight Council, then his objective must include one thing: to open the gates to the [Phantom Realm], completely connecting it with our world. In fact, his current actions have largely confirmed this.”

At this point, Xiao Lan couldn’t help but interject.

“But… what does that organization want to open the gate to another world for? Are they planning to invade our world?”

Tiyelu’s tone towards her seemed much gentler than with the Priestess, as she simply shook her head.

“As for this, I haven’t found a clear answer yet. Actually, it’s not the first time the Twilight Council has done something similar over the thousands of years. While the outcomes are varied, there hasn’t been any major invasion of envoys from them; even if one or two come over, they’re usually successfully repelled by hidden powerhouses here. So their intentions probably aren’t aimed at invasion but are likely something else entirely.”

“Well, one thing still bugs me. There’s a saying that no one wakes up early for no benefit. Perhaps the general direction of the Twilight Council is as you say, but on an individual level, I don’t think Sylvester would endure for so long and spend such a hefty price for a goal that hasn’t manifested for a millennium.”

The Priestess’s calm silver-blue eyes locked onto the nearby Butterfly Girl.

“I think he definitely has ulterior motives. Tiyelu, you know the answer. Tell me what it is.”

“…Can I take this as a condition for you to help out?”

“That depends on what information you provide and whether it’s worth the price, but don’t worry, I never take advantage of people.”

It was clear that this secret was truly important to Tiyelu, but the situation… obviously wasn’t as optimistic as she portrayed. The Butterfly Girl hesitated for a long time, glancing at Vilyric, then Xiao Lan, and finally gritted her teeth.

“Fine, I’ll tell you, but you must promise me absolute confidentiality and not leak it to any third parties. We’ll sign a contract!”

The Priestess observed the especially serious and earnest expression on the Butterfly Girl’s face for a moment and pondered.

“A contract, huh… Sure, Xiao Lan.”

“Yes, Vilyric-sama.”

Not needing to be explicitly told, Miss Slime, understanding she wasn’t qualified to know such secrets, cast a slightly worried glance and walked off for now. Meanwhile, Vilyric casually set up a barrier to prevent information leaks and turned to look at the seemingly deep-in-thought Tiyelu.

“This should do, right? Hurry up and spill, don’t keep us in suspense.”

“No, you must first enter into a confidentiality contract with me.”

“Okay, okay! How do we do that?”

Because Tiyelu looked unusually serious, Vilyric didn’t joke anymore. Once Tiyelu nodded, she immediately extended her finger, a silver light flashing, and a droplet of blood shaped like a water droplet slowly floated up in the light.

“Take a drop of your blood too.”

“Why do we need blood…?”

That said, the Priestess had indeed read about this world’s contract process in books, so she honestly took out a holy-grade ordinary dagger, deactivated the protection of [Feather Garb: Glarya], and carefully made a cut on her finger. The red, gold-tinged blood oozed out, gently floating up as it was wrapped in energy.

As the wound appeared, the HP indicator on Vilyric’s panel fluctuated for a brief moment, but it was immediately restored naturally. That momentary trace of blood had already vanished.

“Whoa, what kind of physical constitution do you have? Your recovery is way too fast!”

Just after using healing magic to mend her own wound, Tiyelu stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the black-haired girl, who was still murmuring “Ouch, ouch, ouch!” while not a single scar could be found on her.

“Seriously… Why do you care so much? Aren’t we just making a contract? Get on with it.”

“Hmph, if you won’t say it, then I won’t tell you anything! Repeat after me!”

…

About ten minutes later, the barrier concealing the internal situation gradually dissipated, revealing Vilyric and Lulu back in their spot. Nervously waiting nearby, Xiao Lan rushed up.

“Vilyric-sama, are the discussions over? You look a bit strange. Did something happen?”

“Cough… It’s nothing, nothing. Just a certain secret is quite shocking, and I was a bit startled.”

Actually, besides what the Priestess had just mentioned, another more important reason was that after reciting the lengthy oath, promising to keep secrets and so on… After finishing the confidentiality contract, she realized that the sense of having completed the contract didn’t happen normally.

According to the book, the effects of a binding contract should arise, meaning she would feel a strange sensation when thinking of violating it, particularly here, in the context of “revealing to a third party,” there should be noticeable restrictions felt, but honestly…

There was absolutely nothing! What was going on?

Clearly, the two drops of blood had already fused and risen into the air, and the patterns formed should indicate the contract was established. Could it be that some step went wrong?

As she felt bewildered, the Priestess subconsciously glanced at Tiyelu, who looked gloomy like she had just disclosed some massive secret. Feeling that gaze, Tiyelu shot a vicious glare back.

“What’s that for! I told you the secret; now it’s time to do your part! Just so you know, you can’t back out on this!”

   

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