Chapter 51: Night Talk of the Reunion with the Girls

After giving someone a light reprimand and receiving a promise of “I’ll definitely take it easy next time,” I listened to Vilyric describe the hidden history of the Forgotten Land. I felt a bit emotional but decided not to mention it further.

Although Vilyric was willing to interact with them as equals, it didn’t mean that the Ranger Lady was completely oblivious. She understood very well the extent of education and what should or shouldn’t be intervened with; this seasoned legendary adventurer had it all figured out.

After all, Hua treated Vilyric as a peer and a close friend, which allowed her to play around freely.

After chatting for a while, Hua left Liliya’s bedroom to give the two of them some space.

Some choices can only be made by Liliya herself, observing from the sidelines wouldn’t help. She had already said what needed to be said as a close friend and couldn’t interfere too much.

After all, Liliya was the princess, and even the future queen.

However, just before leaving, the Ranger Lady suddenly made a remark that seemed pointed.

“Regarding that matter… I believe that if I lose my courage to face the strong, my arrows will forever stay where they are. But you’re right, Vilyric; I’ll keep that in mind… Thanks, twice over.”

After saying that, Hua seemed a bit flustered and left without looking back.

“…?”

What the… turns out this person has an honest side too? I thought she was one of those stubborn mules that eight unicorns couldn’t pull back!

Liliya exchanged glances with the Priestess, both chuckling softly, not deliberating on the topic further.

After sharing various tales and experiences from their respective times apart, Liliya gradually calmed down from the initial excitement of their reunion, resumed her place at the desk, and moved a chair over for Vilyric.

“So, huh… Vilyric, you’ve really been through a lot. It’s a shame that as a princess of the kingdom, I’m destined not to be able to travel around with you.”

Liliya rested her chin on her hand, leaning on the table while gazing dreamily at the Black-haired Girl’s serene face.

“Sometimes I think, while this princess identity brings endless convenience and power, it’s also a kind of shackle, isn’t it? To be honest, I really envy adventurers like you and Sister Hua who can roam freely; that must be a life of a different taste, right?”

“Can I take that as some sort of Versailles?”

The Priestess chuckled back at her.

“Seriously, Vilyric, you’re using words I don’t understand again. With all those various amazing things, I’m really starting to suspect you came from another world.”

Saying this, Princess Liliya looked thoughtfully out at the starry sky.

Although she meant something else, it sounded quite different to Vilyric, the traveler.

The Priestess wasn’t willing to divulge much on that topic, so she just laughed it off.

“Well… maybe, it doesn’t really matter. The point is, we’re both in the same world now, right?”

“That’s true~”

“By the way, here’s this back for you. It’s quite useful, but I’m not going to be shameless and keep it.”

Liliya took out a rather old-fashioned, square pair of bookworm glasses from her storage ring and placed it on the table in front of Vilyric, her expression showing no regret.

This was a holy artifact translation tool lent to her by the Priestess, so she could understand the game language in that skill introduction book.

Although it was initially just a casual mention to confirm her identity, since Liliya returned it on her own, Vilyric wouldn’t refuse. After all, it was just one, and it might still come in handy.

After storing the black-framed glasses back in her inventory, Vilyric brought up the two workers she had found for the princess.

“By the way, has Plakaka been working hard during this time? He’s not exactly a good person, so don’t feel sorry for him. Just drain his remaining value. Of course, don’t trust this rat too much; after all, he only pledged loyalty to me out of fear for his own life. The same could very well happen with others.”

Regarding this former seventh seat of the Throne of Immortality, Vilyric didn’t feel much—neither affection nor aversion. To her, it was just a sneaky, opportunistic rat.

But it had some use, and since Liliya urgently needed high-end combat support, Vilyric agreed to revive it to assist the princess.

Useful, but not trustworthy.

“By the way, about that Fierce Wolf Nickles, it seems he’s a disciple of some Gale Faction in the Empire; his skills are just average, but it looks like he plays with a sword quite aesthetically. If Liliya doesn’t mind, you could learn a thing or two from him.”

“This person seems to have good character and personality. If he can break through to legendary status, he’d make a pretty good fighter. If I pardon his past, treat him well, he probably wouldn’t betray us.”

Watching the beautiful black-haired girl go on and on about her analysis, a hint of unnoticeable emotion crossed Liliya’s eyes.

While these may have been small favors for Vilyric, they genuinely helped the princess who urgently needed talent. Both Plakaka and Nickles could be considerable allies at this stage.

Meeting the person before her was truly her greatest fortune in various senses.

Thinking this, Princess Liliya smiled lightly.

“Well, that guy seems quite honest. Perhaps it’s because you gave it a new life. Although Plakaka is a bit sneaky and cowardly, he knows how to repay kindness. As long as it doesn’t involve significant secrets, it’s fine to let him do whatever.”

“By the way, just a couple of days ago, he sneakily broke into Patrick’s… oh, the Third Prince’s palace and burnt down all the arms and equipment he secretly prepared. I figured he was planning to start a coup before the ceremony ended, but now that idea is nothing but vapor.”

Liliya let out a somewhat delighted chuckle, and upon hearing this, Vilyric laughed too—now that was truly unfortunate.

“Unless Patrick plans to have his subordinates fight with fire sticks.”

The princess added a finishing touch before continuing.

“As for that Nickles guy, I will also assign him a suitable job, but I’ll first need to assess his skills and character. It’s not that I don’t trust you! I just need to understand the details to utilize them properly.”

“Got it, no need to be so worked up.”

Seeing Liliya analyzing everything with calm confidence, Vilyric refrained from showing off her own expertise in that area. After all, how to make subordinates willingly work was probably something the princess had a better grasp of than her, a novice.

“So, about the throne, has everything been smooth lately? Once the ceremony period ends, you and those brothers will have to decide the victor, right? Do you have any confidence?”

Mentioning this topic, the princess’ smile faded, and after a moment of silence, she lowered her eyes and pointed at the mountain of paperwork piled on the table.

“As you can see, the pressure is quite considerable. Besides, who dares to say they’re absolutely sure before things are decided?”

“The three princes each have their own cards. From my investigation, the Second Prince Ban seems to have relied on the power of that Throne of Immortality; the Third Prince Patrick appears to have connections with some military officials and might be plotting a coup, but for now, that plan is cut off; as for the Fourth Prince Devitt…”

Liliya paused, revealing a hint of hesitation.

“Honestly, he seems very honest and straightforward, seemingly having no plans to compete for the throne. The forces he has gathered seem to be the weakest and least numerous. Yet, I still feel that guy is dangerous.”

“I suspect the death of my eldest brother, even my father’s severe illness and sudden passing have something to do with Devitt. But whenever I try to dig deeper, I find that the involved parties either end up dead or missing, or they conveniently provide me with false information regarding Ban or Patrick, but nothing comes up about Devitt.”

“It’s as if he is truly outside of all this, showing no interest in the throne. But if that were the case, Devitt wouldn’t have partnered up with the other two to trick me into heading west.”

“In short, all three of them seem off, right?”

The Priestess succinctly summed it up.

Seeing the princess nod, Vilyric suddenly recalled what she had witnessed today in another palace.

“So, what about the little princess Mona?”