Anna-veil half-heartedly agreed to the Very Bad System.
Rei didn’t know her daughter’s true thoughts, but she didn’t care.
As long as this spoiled daughter could produce results, everything else was fine.
“I’m glad you have this intention, and I believe my good daughter has enough strength, but just to be safe… bring it up.”
She clapped her hands, and an Elf Man dressed in red suddenly emerged from the shadows.
Although he was close by, Anna-veil hadn’t noticed him until now.
(What an impressive stealth skill, and… his eyes and lips are blood red, with snow-white hair? I’ve never heard of an elf race with these features.) “Who is this?”
“A new trading partner.
He brought me something interesting.”
The elf gave her a faint smile (a bit creepy), and took out a small box, opening it in front of her.
Inside was a bracelet that looked quite ancient in style.
“What is this?” Anna-veil thought the bracelet’s style seemed familiar, as if she’d seen it somewhere before, but she couldn’t recall at the moment…
“Anna-veil, put it on,” Rei ordered.
“…Is this some rare equipment?”
“Put it on and you’ll find out.
It will guide you to victory—literally ‘guide’.”
“?”
Anna-veil put on the bracelet, but didn’t feel any change in her attributes.
Even after checking her status panel, she couldn’t figure out anything, nor did she receive any special buffs.
Just as she was puzzled—the bracelet suddenly spoke!
[Hello, Anna-veil Alphares, nice to meet you.
I am the Perfect Tactical Advisor System from an ancient civilization.
From today on, you are my new master.]
“What the heck!?” Anna-veil was startled, but Rei signaled her not to worry and to keep listening.
[I will arrange all strategies and tactics for you, helping you reach the pinnacle of strength.
As long as you follow my guidance, you will easily win the Battle Festival, and your future self will become the Phoenix of the Heavens.]
“…Really? So, Mom, you want me to follow the instructions of this… suspected ancient relic?”
“It probably knows more about this labyrinth than the Deville family.
You can’t go wrong listening to it.”
“Uh… alright.”
Anna-veil reluctantly agreed.
A talking bracelet was indeed strange, but it wasn’t cursed equipment, and Anna-veil didn’t sense any malice from it.
She just considered it a slightly odd voice assistant, not expecting it to be of much help, as long as it didn’t get in the way.
Meanwhile, the system, which had transformed from a ring into a bracelet, thought to itself—
[Ha, heaven helps me, I’m back! Milora, Milora, you never expected I’d be dug up by ‘influential people’ so soon, did you? Just wait, I’ll show you how foolish it was to abandon me! And you, Torina Deville, I’ll make you pay! Mwahahaha!]
———————
Note: The betting is open, everyone can guess the ending of the naive and cute system-chan.
———————
Later—
“Huh? Anna-veil was called by her family? To live with them?”
“Yes, she and her mother Rei Papating asked me to inform you,” the butler said.
“Alright…” Torina didn’t think much of it.
After all, staying with family she hadn’t seen in a while was perfectly normal.
She didn’t know and didn’t need to know about the internal affairs of the Alphares family.
The first night passed in busyness, and the next day Patty went out to run errands and buy various tools needed.
Torina personally embedded various runes and enchantments into Milora’s equipment, but during this time, Milora kept secretly admiring the giant mushroom sword she picked up from the boss’s treasury.
She genuinely loved greatswords from the bottom of her heart.
“Milora, do you really like this sword?”
“I like it… ah, no, I mean, the rune short sword you gave me is also great.
I like them both, not saying one is better than the other!”
“Pfft, you don’t have to say that to me.
It’s human nature.
When I was a kid, my parents forced me to eat nutritious meals that tasted awful, so I fed them all to the dog, then snatched the meat bones the dog was gnawing on to eat.”
“…That’s a bit extreme.”
“Anyway, follow your feelings.
If you like greatswords, train with them once your strength improves.”
“But I can’t part with the short sword you gave me.
It would be great if I could use them both…”
“Ha, what kind of swordsmanship uses both a short sword and a greatsword at the same time?”
…Wait, there might actually be one? But now’s not the time to think about it.
At this moment, Patty returned from shopping, having stuffed all the tools that might be needed in the labyrinth into a space-compressed backpack.
“Thanks for your hard work, Patty.”
“No problem, but I noticed some… people worth noting on the way.”
“Who?”
“Some sneaky elves.
Their skin and hair are deathly white, and their eyes and mouths are blood red.”
“Is there such a race of elves…?”
“They give me a very dangerous feeling.
It’s best not to approach them if you see them.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”
Torina quickly recalled the original plot in her mind.
It seemed there were no elf characters with such features.
And so, the rest of the day passed quickly, and the grand ceremony was about to begin.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, all the guests in Valhalla City got up early and headed to the foot of Starfall Mountain.
As the morning light spread across the land, the scene at the foot of the mountain unfolded before everyone’s eyes.
It was a vast expanse of lingering mist, stretching for over ten kilometers, looking from afar like a large patch of cold white mold on the giant peak.
Even though it was now the transition between summer and autumn, the dense fog continuously emitted visible cold air, covering the entire mountain foot with a layer of white frost.
That was the labyrinth managed by the Deville family, known as Niflheim, the “Land of Mist.”
All those who had received recommendation slots were already in place outside the labyrinth, including Milora, who was now blushing with embarrassment.
And the reason was—
“Milora, go for it! Milora, love! M! I! L! O! R! A! Mi! Lo! Ra!”
Torina was not far away, holding a huge banner that read “Follow Taffy (crossed out) Milora Meow! Thank you Meow!” She was wearing a cheerleader outfit, holding two pom-poms, and doing a cheerleading dance (not a pun), her cold and charming appearance completely at odds with her youthful and energetic dance moves.
“Stop, stop shouting! And stop dancing! It’s so embarrassing!!!!”
“Milora, go for it~~~~~~!”
“Stop shouting~~~~~~!”
The more Milora said that, the louder Torina shouted.
Half of her intention was to encourage Milora, and the other half… was to convey a message to everyone at this moment when all the strong were in place: “Milora and I are very close, so don’t try any dirty tricks on her.”
“Take your positions!”
At this moment, Morai’s voice overpowered all the noise.
She tapped the void with a tuning fork-like tool, seemingly activating some mechanism, and the dense fog enveloping the mountain foot thinned a bit.
“Go in now, the labyrinth exploration begins!!”
