The haunting presence of Milora grows stronger by the day, and Torina is quite pleased.
Patty, as a teammate, is also diligently teaching her, which makes Torina… pleased as well? Over the past few days, whenever Patty guides Milora in movement and ranged attacks, Torina secretly observes from the side, checking for any abnormalities.
…The result of her observations, of course, is that there are no abnormalities.
Patty is enthusiastic, serious, patient, with a sweet voice and a pleasant fragrance.
So fragrant.
“Captain? Why are you leaning under my arm?”
“Ah, nothing, you two continue.”
Torina smiles and steps back.
The little elf sister really smells so sweet.
Is this a racial trait? But for Torina, a bit of sweat would be even better, hehe.
Hehe.
Heh…
(…Sigh)
Using the scent of the elf Little Sister to distract herself is too unrealistic.
She has asked Sebas countless times if her package has arrived, and the answer is always no.
When will the things she entrusted to her teammates be delivered?
———————
The battle festival is approaching, and not only are the spectators excited, but the gamblers are also in for a feast.
The bets are open, and “Who will marry the second daughter of the Deville family” is the hottest topic.
Some bet on the sons of great families, some on the strong adventurers or mercenaries, and a few bet on Milora as a dark horse.
Among the popular candidates is a young talent from the famous merchant family Alphares—Wilt Alphares.
This young man seems to come from a branch of the Alphares family, and there are rumors that he obtained a very powerful rune from the labyrinth.
His family is full of confidence in him, determined to win.
And this “young talent” has just finished training and is now soaking alone in a large bath.
“Mmm…” Anna-veil stretches lazily in the bath, repeatedly examining her left hand.
The star rune imprinted on her palm and the talking bracelet on her left wrist, she has gradually gotten used to their presence.
However—
“…In the end, this doesn’t really belong to me, does it?” she suddenly says.
[Oh? What makes you say that?] the system in the bracelet responds.
“I haven’t resonated with it as you said, have I? I merely sealed it in my left hand as you taught, and the method to guide its power was also given by you.”
[Indeed, but so what? It’s enough that I can let you use this powerful force.
This is an energy guidance technique long lost in ancient civilizations.
Whether it’s a rune or something else, as long as you have it, you can use it.]
“Tch, I didn’t ask for your help…” Anna-veil says, but she can’t help but carefully examine the beautiful rune, feeling the power of the stars.
Initially, she was resistant to the system, but subconsciously she has acknowledged its role.
It truly teaches with all its might, and what it teaches is knowledge that can’t be learned elsewhere.
Better not to overthink it.
Winning is enough.
After finishing her bath and getting dressed, she steps out—
“Torina Deville requests to see you.”
“Huh?” Anna-veil is caught off guard by Torina as soon as she steps out.
“Anna-veil, I haven’t seen much of you these days.”
“Ah…”
“Want to chat? Just the two of us.”
“…”
Normally, Anna-veil would be overjoyed, but now…
…
…
Torina and Anna-veil sit across from each other in a secluded pavilion.
“The boy who entered the labyrinth before looks quite like you.
Is he a brother or something?” Torina asks.
“His name is Wilt Alphares, just a distant relative.”
“Oh~~ Just asking, how strong is he? He should be participating in the battle festival too, right?”
“You’re not here to gather intel, are you…”
“I’m not that despicable, am I?”
“…………”
Hearing the word “despicable” once, Anna-veil awkwardly averts her gaze.
Using the system’s guidance to easily gain power, she always feels… an inexplicable sense of guilt, as if she’s taken something that belongs to someone else.
“Alright, consider me despicable,” Torina shrugs, laying it all out, “This concerns my life’s major event.
Milora must win, and I must defeat my sister.”
“…………!”
Originally, Anna-veil felt a sense of betrayal towards Torina, but hearing Milora’s name made her unhappy.
“You really are, your mind is full of that person.”
“You mean Milora?”
“Who else? I don’t want anyone other than Milora to win.”
“…You want her to marry you?”
“Hard to say, but at least she can help me out of my predicament.
If someone else wins, I’ll have to run away.”
“No way!” Anna-veil suddenly gets anxious.
If someone else wins, she’ll run away immediately.
Which means—even if Anna-veil wins, Torina won’t accept that result?
“Why not…”
“I think you should be honest.
No matter who wins, you should just marry them! Didn’t your sister say it too? You contribute nothing to your family, this is a form of compensation!”
“!”
This hit Torina’s sore spot.
In fact, Anna-veil has been stepping on landmines since the beginning.
“You’re telling me this? This doesn’t sound like something you’d say! I know you’ve been annoyed with me since school, but I always thought we had some camaraderie as teammates for so long! Now you’re forcing me to marry some random guy!?”
“Can’t you just marry whoever you’re told to? Does it have to be Milora?? Is she that important to you!”
“What you’re saying is really strange! Just asking, do you have some unspeakable secret? If you have difficulties, just say it, we’ll—”
“None of your business!!”
Anna-veil throws down these words and leaves.
Leaving behind an annoyed Torina standing there.
This… This… This… This is just like in some novels or comics where the author forces key characters to be enigmatic to make sense of things.
Clearly, many issues could be resolved by explaining them…
Wait, the original work had a bunch of characters like this, exposing the author’s writing flaws.
It’s no wonder there are many enigmatic characters in this other world.
Torina won’t allow this to happen.
If she’s going to ask, she must get a clear answer.
“Stop! If you don’t explain yourself today—”
Torina immediately chases after her, but Anna-veil—
[Don’t tell her the truth, to avoid complications! She could report you to her sister for Milora’s victory!]
“Don’t come any closer!”
Anna-veil firmly stops her, and Torina suddenly halts.
Not because Anna-veil shouted, but because she saw what was on her wrist.
An ancient, weathered bracelet.
Its design style is very similar to the ring Milora wore back then.
Torina remembers, in the original work, the ring that housed the system could transform into a bracelet, necklace, earrings, or other accessories as needed.
“Anna-veil, is that…?”
“None of your business!” Anna-veil turns and runs.
This time, Torina doesn’t chase.
She knows it would be pointless even if she caught up.
“…Tch, that pesky thing just won’t go away.”
—
(“Tsk… Torina Deville, did you notice me? Or maybe you didn’t?”)
(“No matter, thanks to Anna-veil Alfaris’s abundant magic, I can absorb it to repair myself.”)
(“More of my functions have been unlocked, and I’ll definitely give you a surprise… hahaha…”)
