Chapter 162: Barbed Stinger

“Yes, you may indeed not be skilled in direct combat, but you are no longer an undead. I have given you the potential for growth as a living being, and Edwina has been putting in effort to spar with you, helping you to learn. You should understand how busy she is now and how precious time is for her, right?”

“Always slacking off while bringing up your past insignificant abilities and accomplishments, and when faced with difficulties, you cry out that you can’t do it, throwing the responsibility and trouble onto others. Do you think I’ve invited you here to be a princess?”

Getting criticized and belittled in such a harsh manner continuously, Chromans, once a revered seated figure and a legendary powerhouse, felt cold sweat running down her back but couldn’t help but feel the urge to argue back.

“B-but that Plakaka hasn’t made any progress either! At the end of the day, it relies on past abilities as well…”

“Oh, I had forgotten about it until you mentioned… Plakaka traveled all the way from the United Kingdom to here just because of a command from the queen. Regardless of achievements, at least it is working hard, and what about you? How do you treat your employer?”

In the silver-blue eyes of the black-haired girl, a chilling coldness and indifference seeped through, almost making one shudder.

“Or do you think Edwina has no right to give you orders… noble lady of the throne?”

A legendary powerhouse is recognized by the vast majority of ordinary people in this world, only appearing once in a million or ten million, aside from those naturally superior races.

Thus, every legendary figure carries pride and arrogance.

Even the Holy Empire’s Fiery Blossom, after witnessing the true strength of the Priestess, could still speak with her without changing her expression because of that.

The Martial Madman from the Wasteland dares to challenge calamities as a mere mortal, also for this reason.

The soul of the Grim Reaper’s Scythe dares to seek out the Spiritual Fox Priestess for guidance, even after knowing her overwhelming power, and even to undergo Miss Vilyric’s “one move” test, for the same reason.

Therefore, the current Chromans is no exception.

Aside from merely seeking to survive, having almost no other requests, and being indifferent to the notion of dignity, the figures Vilyric has encountered who are above legendary level mostly possess a kind of pride belonging to the strong.

Letting a long-standing legend like Chromans serve as a substitute shadow for another legend, even if it is for a girl under twenty, it’s easy to imagine she would hold many discontents and complaints, thinking she should be able to take on a more significant role… and so on.

Even if she doesn’t voice it, such thoughts would manifest in practical actions, such as complying on the surface while subtly defying, finding excuses, being uncooperative, and Edwina’s relatively gentle nature would only exacerbate this behavior, leading to the current situation.

It’s not to say Chromans has character flaws; rather, perhaps due to years of imitating various figures, her personality is relatively complete and stable among the undead Vilyric has come across, and she’s heard to have not committed any extremely cruel acts.

This is also the reason why the Priestess decided to give her another chance at the request of an old mouse.

At the end of the day, Edwina’s qualifications were still too shallow, and her methods lacked the necessary ruthlessness to manage this proud, long-standing legend.

Some people can be friends, but some can only be subordinates. In this regard, the Holy Knight certainly does not compare to a certain princess.

Indeed, after being criticized, or rather intimidated, by the Priestess, the legendary powerhouse known as the Thousand-Changing Phantom dared not retort anymore and could only lower her head somewhat awkwardly.

“I’m sorry… Miss Vilyric, I won’t dare again…”

“Shouldn’t you be apologizing to me?”

Chromans’s body slightly froze. As an actual old powerhouse whose surface age doesn’t match, she understood the Priestess’s implication immediately and, grinding her teeth, a bit reluctantly turned toward the confused Holy Knight.

“I’m sorry, Lady Edwina. I won’t make excuses to slack off or trip you up anymore…”

“Ah, no, no, no, it’s partly my fault too…”

“…”

Observing their conversation and behavior, Vilyric decided not to say anything further.

This level of reprimand should be enough. Pushing too hard might spark a rebellious mentality, leading to extreme actions. I just hope Edwina can rise to the occasion and truly make good use of this girl.

Vilyric did not toss Chromans over for trouble.

Setting that matter aside for the moment, Vilyric patted the shoulder of the Holy Knight who was still comforting the Substitute Miss, then raised her hand to point at the couple of protruding round boulders by the abyss.

“How about we find a place to chat privately?”

“Ah? Sure, sure!”

Nodding hurriedly, Edwina shot a glance at the demoralized Chromans, who immediately caught on and, after bowing to the Priestess, vanished into the shadows and disappeared underground.

This time, she probably left the area for real.

Not minding her any longer, the two girls made their way to the quiet, clear little pool. Seeing the black-haired girl sit casually on a stone, the Holy Knight followed suit, finding a nearby round stone, sitting properly with her legs together and soon chuckling with a hint of emotion.

“It’s been a while since we last met, Miss Vilyric. You’ve become quite imposing! Just now when you reprimanded Miss Chromans, I even felt slightly pressurized just breathing; Miss Chromans… probably got scared too! Haha… Don’t be fooled by her demeanor; she’s actually quite timid.”

Facing her friend, whom she had met several times in this world due to fate and established a friendship, Vilyric naturally wouldn’t carry the air of superiority she had around Chromans, and upon hearing this, she revealed a lighthearted yet resigned smile.

“Do you think I shouldn’t have scolded her like that, or that my words were too excessive?”

Thinking for a moment, the armored Holy Knight girl tucked her hands into her thighs, lowering her head slightly, looking a bit awkward as she spoke.

“I didn’t mean to comment on whether Miss Vilyric was right or wrong; it’s just… how to put it, I’m used to your gentle side. Suddenly feeling that intimidating and icy authority makes me want to exclaim, and then I recall how you’ve dealt with enemies, truly deserving of—”

At this point, Edwina suddenly seemed to have an epiphany, slapping her thigh wrapped in thick armor, producing a loud “bang!”

“Oh no, I got so nervous I forgot! Such an important experience, I definitely need to record it down!”

“!??? ”

In a flurry, managing to stop the Holy Knight’s burgeoning enthusiasm for an extensive write-up, the Priestess couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed as she settled back down.

To be honest, there are times when she really wants to snatch Edwina’s thick notebook and see what kind of nonsense is written inside. She hasn’t seen Edwina writing anything significant during many noteworthy occasions.

Even after being stopped, Edwina suddenly appeared very dejected, mumbling about “such important content… what if I miss some details…” and other strange things, but Vilyric chose to ignore it and immediately switched topics.

“By the way, how’s your family doing lately?”

With the Priestess speaking up again, the Holy Knight didn’t care about her earlier gloom and quickly raised her head, pondering for a moment.

“Um… What kind of situation does Miss Vilyric mean specifically?”

The black-haired girl lazily waved her hand.

“A lot, like how the Cecelia Family is preparing to respond to the upcoming Holy Crusade, how do you all stand regarding the Saint of Bright Light who just arrived in the Holy City, and… your sister, Judging Saintess Fleidetrika Cecelia, have there been any updates on her?”

“My sister…?”

Although Vilyric had asked several questions in succession, Edwina was evidently most concerned about her sister, who was missing in the Eastern battlefield of the Holy Nation. Upon hearing this, her expression immediately turned serious and solemn.

“The situation in the Holy City is a bit complicated. I’ll organize it later and explain to Miss Vilyric slowly. As for my sister… we have found some clues indeed.”

“Oh? Found her?”

The blonde girl instinctively shook her head, then suddenly shifted the conversation to a name that sounded somewhat familiar and strange to the Priestess.

“Miss Vilyric must have heard of… the Church of the Light, right?”

   

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