Chapter 47: A Treacherous Duel and a Twisted Reunion

Meanwhile, the raid team members had all noticed Theresia’s signal.

Lola, however, was still agape, forming an ‘O’ with her mouth as she watched the magic armor with great interest. She had completely abandoned her biggest benefactor.

“Cough, cough, Lola.”

Unable to do otherwise, one of the raid team members patted Lola’s shoulder.

Lola jolted, looking at the person in confusion. Then, following their gaze, she saw Theresia, whose face clearly screamed, ‘I want to devour her.’

“Hiss~”

Lola immediately understood. She had fallen into a trap!

An enraged Lola pointed her staff at Larkin, who still looked somewhat bewildered, and shouted, “You treacherous scoundrel! You deliberately distracted me, preventing me from helping Theresia!”

Larkin: “???”

Larkin, having been falsely accused, was utterly dumbfounded.

“Help with what? Aren’t they dueling?”

Lola snorted. “Hmph, still trying to play dumb! None of us are knights, so what’s with this knightly duel? We believe in no-rules duels! Brothers, let’s go, support Theresia!”

As she spoke, Lola deactivated the barrier sealing the room. The raid team members immediately split into two groups as planned. One group prepared to assist Theresia against Theodore, while the other confronted the few individuals Theodore had brought with him.

****

Watching the thirty-plus raid team members approaching, Theresia’s aura instantly swelled. She spoke in a low voice, “Theodore, I greatly admire your journey from afar to challenge me, yet I am a dragon with grand ambitions…”

Theodore abruptly interrupted, “Do ‘grand ambitions’ mean you don’t want to ‘do’ me?”

Theresia nearly choked. “Of course not! That’s just a bonus!”

Theodore looked enlightened. “So, you actually want to ‘do’ me?”

Theresia: “…Alright, alright, Theodore, I’ve never seen you so sharp-tongued in front of me before!”

Theodore calmly replied, “What can I do? It’s a side effect of losing my mind after you ‘floated’ me. Speaking of which, how many times did we ‘do it’ during those three days?”

Theresia instantly flushed crimson, a mix of shame and anger. “Theodore! Even if the Old Patriarch came today, he couldn’t save you! Brothers, let’s go… Hey, hey, hey, brothers, where are you going?!!!”

****

Rewinding a bit.

Larkin was momentarily dazed. Was this not a slight deviation from the rumored noble elves? Or had his moral standards simply failed to keep up with the times? The decline was too severe!

The raid team members wanted to control Larkin immediately and charged towards him.

With no time to ponder philosophical questions about societal ideological trends or new-era morality, Larkin’s first instinct was to flee.

However, his most trusted teammates intervened.

Larkin felt a dizzying sensation, and in an instant, he found himself beside Samuel.

Samuel clapped Larkin on the shoulder, saying, “Well done, Larkin. Your plan was a success; you delayed them for so long.”

Aesop also sighed, remarking, “Brother, you truly can’t judge a book by its cover. I thought you were a bit foolish, but you’re actually a great mind disguised as a simpleton.”

Alicia commented, “How cunning, Mr. Larkin.”

“No, I didn’t, don’t talk nonsense.”

Larkin had already seen Lola’s face growing redder with each word from his teammates. If affinity had a numerical value, his current standing in Lola’s heart would probably be decreasing by a frantic 100.

‘Why is this happening!!’

Ignoring the withdrawn Larkin, all pretense was unnecessary at this point. Samuel eagerly removed his mask, excitedly shouting to Lola, “Hi, Lola, I’m here! Your dear master is here! It’s so good that you’re alive!”

Lola felt as if she had been struck by lightning, asking with a trembling voice, “How are you here?!”

“Because I missed you so much, Lola. I regretted it after you were redeemed,” Samuel said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. “No one washes clothes, no one cooks, no one prepares materials, no one sets up magic, and there are no wake-up calls anymore. I’m truly miserable.”

“You could do all of that with your alchemy golems!”

Samuel said dejectedly, “But those rigid alchemy golems are simply not as useful as you, Lola. Remember my favorite cup? It was gone the day after you left.”

Lola took a deep breath, saying, “You must have put it in the blue cabinet on the second-floor balcony again!”

Samuel paused. “There? I haven’t looked there yet. Oh, and my favorite going-out outfit is missing too.”

Lola’s face darkened. “You shoved it under the duvet in the master bedroom again, didn’t you?!”

Samuel scratched his head. “I see. I haven’t slept in the master bedroom these past two days. Also, the potion I concocted earlier, called ‘Pink Dream,’ seems to have been stolen.”

Lola covered her face, exclaiming, “Who is strong enough to steal something from your house! You must have carelessly thrown it into the storage room!!!”

Samuel’s expression cleared, then he said with determination, “Indeed, I can’t live without you, Lola. Let’s go back. Those alchemy golems are too rigid! They don’t do anything unless I command them, and they lack any spirit. They almost tore my house apart trying to find something.”

“You, Lola, are so clever and perceptive, beautiful and pleasing to the eye. And when you’re bullied, your cheeks puff up, and they feel wonderful to rub—so stress-relieving. Because of you, my years of depression have been greatly alleviated.”

“So, I’ve decided! I’m going to buy you back! I can’t be without you, Lola! Come back to me, and be my ox, my horse, my pet!”

If one ignored Samuel’s last sentence, it would have sounded like a declaration of love.

Lola raised her staff expressionlessly and shouted, “I was going to let bygones be bygones, considering you didn’t overly abuse me and taught me some alchemy knowledge, and because I’m a kind and benevolent princess. I wouldn’t have bothered with all the past wrongs and various bizarre and perplexing hardships. But I never expected you to be so insatiable! There’s no other way. Don’t blame me for betraying my teacher and destroying my ancestors!”

Samuel pouted, saying, “Little Lola, I didn’t have the heart to tell you before, seeing as you were only a little over a hundred years old, but have you ever considered that those bizarre and perplexing hardships were things your own mother asked me to do? I merely wanted you to be my ox and horse.”

Lola coldly stated, “Impossible! My beautiful, gentle, and intelligent mother would never do such a thing! Witch, stop your attempts at sowing discord! You don’t understand my mother at all! It’s time to teach you a small lesson, Samuel.”

Samuel kindly reminded her, “Lola, your mother and I have been best friends for over a thousand years. Perhaps you should reconsider? I think it would greatly benefit your future life. Also, are you sure you want to attack me?”

“What a clumsy slander! Don’t explain!” Lola didn’t hear a single word. “Samuel, I’ve seen through all your tricks. Standing here now isn’t your true body, but merely an alchemical shell imbued with your spiritual essence. Today, I’ll just test the waters and make you repay some of the humiliation you inflicted upon me. In a thousand years, I’ll tie you down in my home and make you my ox and horse!”

With that, Lola raised her staff high, and a massive magic array unfolded. The terrain of the entire castle began to shift, walls twisting and deforming to become a cage surrounding Samuel and his companions.

Samuel smiled faintly at the sight, resting his chin on one hand. “Alchemy-infused magic. Little Lola is truly capable. To think, in seven years, others might not even manage to get started. And it’s laid out so secretly, across five coordinates…”

Lola’s pupils contracted. Everything Samuel said was correct, meaning her setup had been completely seen through. And if it was seen through, it could be altered, which meant…

“Little Lola, once I take you back, I’ll secretly show you your mother’s true face. You’ll surely cry and stay by my side then!” Samuel’s eyes snapped open, his beautiful violet irises covered by a golden film of light.

The castle’s terrain continued to change, but this time, it was no longer Samuel and his companions who were separated and imprisoned.

Lola’s face changed. She thrust her staff heavily into the ground, using a massive surge of magic to make one last change to the castle’s terrain, hastily dividing the battlefield before directly shattering the magic array, preventing Samuel from utilizing it further.

The vast castle was divided into four dueling arenas.

Battlefield One featured Alicia and Aesop, the married couple, against over thirty raid team members.

Aesop: “Please let me face them alone!!!”

Alicia: “Please don’t say such selfish things, Mr. Aesop.”

Battlefield Two had Larkin, the unlucky bachelor, against over twenty raid team members.

Larkin: “Why must I face them alone!!! This is a fix, absolutely a fix!!!”

Battlefield Three was a solo match between Lola and Samuel.

Lola: “It’s time to avenge myself!”

Samuel: “Oh my, we get to be alone. How considerate, little Lola.”

Battlefield Four, the much-anticipated ‘floating’ duel between Theodore and Theresia.

Theresia: “Why is this happening?!”

Theodore: “It’s quite good, isn’t it?”

.

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