Torina happily picked up a bargain and smugly returned to the arena.
Now, she just had to wait for Milora to bring out the Star Rune.
The day passed in waiting, with Torina holding onto the divine beast egg the whole time.
Even though she was a girl, she had two eggs, truly a divine being.
Finally, in the afternoon, as dusk approached, the time limit for the first opening of the maze arrived.
“All challengers, please shout ‘exit’ to the sky to leave the maze.
Those who are late will be disqualified from the second and third explorations!” Morai announced, and a large amount of smoke blossomed around the maze, with challengers appearing one after another.
Most of them looked dejected, though a few were beaming with joy.
Patty shrugged with a bit of regret, indicating she hadn’t gained much.
As for Milora—
“Ah! Milora! Over here, over here!” Torina cheerfully waved at her—then saw Milora approaching, looking deflated.
Torina’s heart skipped a beat.
“Milora…? Why the long face? Where’s the Star Rune?”
“Sorry… I… couldn’t find it…”
“What???”
———————
Rewind a bit—
Milora in the maze was in a bind.
She reached the northwest side of the maze, searching desperately in the thick fog, and finally found the place Torina described: an abandoned small observatory, surrounded by a few dead trees.
However, there was no sign of the Star Rune.
It was just a desolate place covered in white frost.
Milora first tried to sense the rune using the method Torina taught her, but failed; then she used her skills as a scout to conduct a thorough search, but still found nothing.
Where was the promised Star Rune?
———————
During dinner, they discussed the situation while eating.
After listening to Milora’s explanation, Torina was at a loss.
“Nothing???”
“Yeah, nothing.
I searched the surrounding area too, but there’s really nothing.”
“How could this be…”
“Could it be that I don’t have the aptitude, that I can’t even sense the basic rune…?” Milora said apologetically.
“It shouldn’t be your problem, don’t overthink it, but… um…” Torina was full of questions.
In the original work, the Protagonist entered the maze and quickly found the target through the system’s guidance, and as soon as they arrived, they saw the silver Star Rune source, impossible to miss.
And now, with Torina’s hint, Milora could reach the correct location without the system, but where was the rune?
“Leader, could you have remembered wrong? Is there any other possible place?” Patty interjected.
“This… I… uh…”
How would she know??
In the original work, only “the ruins of the observatory on the northwest side” was mentioned as a clear location.
If even that couldn’t be found… Torina couldn’t think of any other noteworthy places.
Moreover, if Torina couldn’t get the Star Rune, she could forget about winning the upcoming battle festival! One wrong step leads to another, and the impact is progressive!
(Ah, why did the first step go wrong? Where did the Star Rune go?)
Just then—
“…I’m back.”
Anna-veil appeared, looking a bit tired.
“Yo, Anna-veil, aren’t you having dinner with your family?” Patty greeted warmly.
“I have to have a meal with you guys…”
“Did you also enter the maze? Did you gain anything?”
“Gain? Ah… well… not much, I guess.
The Fire Rune seems to resonate well with me, but I didn’t take it.”
“Seems like you weren’t impressed.”
“Of course, this lady is strong enough without runes.”
Anna-veil’s words were somewhat lacking in confidence, and her gaze was a bit shifty.
She immediately sat down and started eating to cover up her inner turmoil.
During the meal, Torina was deep in thought, trying to recall details from the original work.
Milora was also pondering, wondering if she had missed something in the maze.
After dinner, Anna-veil tried to excuse herself by saying, “My family wants me to stay with them tonight,” and left.
Once she was far enough from the house, she let out a small sigh of relief, and that annoying little voice echoed in her mind:
[Hehe, it seems they didn’t find the strongest Star Rune—of course, since we got there first!]
“…Yeah.”
Anna-veil opened her hand, and a faint silver light appeared in her left palm, forming an ancient and mysterious rune.
This was the Star Rune Torina hoped Milora would obtain.
[How about it? Thanks to my guidance, you gained power effortlessly.]
“But, there’s no sense of achievement…”
Anna-veil felt no sense of achievement, instead feeling like she had taken something she shouldn’t have.
She did want to defeat her fiancé candidate, thwart Milora, and marry Torina, but now it all felt strange.
[Achievement is just a self-deception for humans, only ‘victory’ is necessary! Now you’ve only established an initial connection with the Star Rune, you need to further familiarize yourself with this power during the second and third maze openings!]
“I understand, no need for you to say it.”
————————
That night, Torina couldn’t sleep until midnight.
She stared at the two eggs on the knitted mat by her bed, her mind constantly thinking about what to do if Milora couldn’t win.
What to do?
What else can she do, beg her sister?
Otherwise, what, fight her way out? Impossible.
After awakening her past life, this former villainess had turned over a new leaf.
Bullying and fighting were not good; she was a civilized person from Earth’s civilized society.
But, what if begging her sister didn’t work?
Damn it, if worse comes to worst, fight her way out.
“Reason” is only for those willing to listen, if consensus can’t be reached, then just tear the mask off.
While she was steeling herself, she used a sword to cut her finger, dripping blood onto the two eggs, using blood as a medium to infuse magic into them to nurture them.
In the original work, Odin’s ravens had the power to traverse space, maybe these two silly birds would hatch soon?
Knock knock.
“…Hmm? Who’s knocking?” She quickly put the eggs into her backpack.
“It’s me…”
The door opened, revealing Milora holding a pillow.
She was wearing a white silk nightgown Torina had given her, the thin material easily revealing her body’s outline.
She shyly used the pillow to cover her chest, but in doing so, left her long legs exposed, and the air seemed to carry a pleasant scent.
“Milora? So late, is something wrong?”
“Did I… make you angry?”
Milora lowered her head, like a cat that had caused trouble, and snuggled up to Torina.
“Eh, no, I’m not angry, and it’s not your fault.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“But…”
“If you really want to make it up to me, just let me hug you.”
“Ah!?”
Torina pulled her onto the bed, hugging her like a large pillow, feeling the cool and smooth touch of her skin, her slightly curly silver hair tickling her face.
So comfortable~~~
Feels so good~~~
Is this the power of Feng Aotian? Just hugging feels so healing~~
