Chapter 168: I'll Help You Massage It
Strolling under the starry sky was quite picturesque, but every time, someone who couldn't understand the atmosphere would come out to cause trouble.
For example, an assassin who wielded two swords and had a fierce face.
When they reached the entrance gate of the courtyard, Loria and Vita were stopped by someone.
Originally, Vita wanted to find a chance to leave Loria, or persuade Loria to let her go. But seeing the current situation, she had no other choice and could only agree to escape with Loria.
Maybe this is what they call "making a decision after the fact".
"Last time in Creek Town, people suspected that you betrayed the organization. After all this time, you finally showed your true colors!"
The dual-blade assassin scanned Vita with a cold gaze.
Vita slightly turned her head away, unwilling to meet their gaze.
She felt conflicted in her heart, or rather, unwilling.
However, she knew that such emotions were unnecessary. She had to let them go. From that moment on, she stood in opposition to the Hidden Leader.
So, before Loria could speak, she sighed and said, "Step aside. Considering the missions we've done together, I don't want to kill you."
The dual-blade assassin was not frightened by Vita's words.
She is not alone.
Standing behind her, there are also many assassins trained by the Hidden Leader.
And she had long been displeased with Vita. In the past, Vita's strength was not as good as hers, but just because she was chosen by the "god", her strength suddenly increased, suppressing her.
How could she bear something like this?
"Just a lucky traitor!"
The burning fires of jealousy and resentment were raging in the assassin's heart. Now, all the dual-blade assassins wanted was to take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of Vita.
Indeed, Vita is strong now, but her strength is not bad either. She can completely hold on until others come to help.
"If you have the ability to betray the organization, then have the guts to kill me directly!"
The dual-blade assassin looked at Vita, and any subtle expression on their face revealed mockery.
"Oh, today you and your friend won't be able to leave. The organization will use the most cruel methods to torture and kill your friend in front of you, and then send you on your way!"
Loria's eyelids twitched slightly.
Oh, blah blah blah, talking nonsense.
She specifically looked at the profile of this dual-blade assassin. It had 148 points of strength, which wasn't bad among C-grade adventurers.
But...
"My base strength is 117 points, even without being in heat. With the bonus, it can reach 152 points, and..."
Loria decisively released the binding of the Multi-person Team skill with Miss Plump Sheep and instead bound with Vita. In an instant, her strength soared to 174 points.
After all, Vita's strength was as high as 241 points. With a 10% bonus, that would be 24 points, a whopping 22 points higher than Miss Plump Sheep's 2-point bonus.
"See if I can beat you to death! You want to torture me? What a joke."
Loria was very confident and even a little happy.
As expected, Vita's liking for her was also over 50 points. She wondered how high Vita's liking really was.
Just as she was about to approach, Vita, who was holding her hand, suddenly took a few steps forward and stood in front of her.
"It will be over soon."
Vita said these words and threw them away.
She really didn't want to fight with these former companions, but the words of the dual-blade assassin still angered her.
Torture Loria to death right in front of her?
That would be even more painful than killing her, because it would be the "other half" that she had been longing for!
The dual-blade assassin looked indifferently at Vita who approached slowly.
Everyone came out of the training camp and eliminated many competitors along the way. She was absolutely confident in her fighting skills.
"Just hold on for 30 seconds and I will..."
The body of the dual-blade assassin suddenly shook.
Wait.
Something's not right.
She realized that she had lost control of her right hand; her fingers were trembling, and the knife that was originally held tightly in her palm fell to the ground with a clang.
Before she could figure out what was happening, her left hand was also "infected".
"What did you do to me?"
The dual-blade assassin looked at Vita with extreme fear as she got closer and closer.
Vita didn't say much.
But when she looked around, the dual-blade assassin understood the situation.
Threads as thin as a breeze hung from her hands and feet, turning her into a puppet controlled by Vita.
"Let go of me, quickly let go of me."
Fear uncontrollably emerged in the heart of the dual-blade assassin.
This is the power of the gods, she couldn't understand why the gods chose Vita.
Clearly, she was stronger than Vita at the beginning, and her belief in the gods was a hundred times deeper than Vita's.
Unfair, this is completely unfair!
Before the scream could even come out, a dagger had already passed across her neck.
"Quack quack quack..."
Blood frothed from the corner of the mouth.
The assassin's eyes widened so much that they almost bulged out. She couldn't even say a word. Weak and powerless, she couldn't even fall to the ground.
"I don't want to kill you, but if you force me, then I have no choice."
Vita looked full of worries. Her deep brown, slightly wavy long hair lost its luster, evoking a sense of pity.
"Let's hurry and go."
Loria caught up from behind and grabbed Vita's restless left hand.
In that moment when their hands tightly clasped, Vita felt solid ground beneath her feet. It felt secure, dispelling any trace of unease.
"Hmm."
The two of them quickly disappeared into the darkness of night.
After a few seconds, the dual-blade assassin fell to the ground with a thud. She was out of breath, but still stared in the direction Vita had gone.
...
Loria grabbed Vita's hand and ran towards the meeting point they had agreed upon before taking action.
She ran very fast and arrived at her destination in just a few minutes.
However, the cold wind blew and she couldn't see the guildmaster and Doris anywhere, no matter where she looked.
"Should we go and find them?" Vita suddenly suggested.
Loria said, "I'll go and check, I'll be back soon. Stay here and don't..."
Vita interrupted her, saying, "I'll go with you."
Loria paused for a moment, "You probably don't want to make enemies with the Hidden Leader right now, do you? Don't worry, I can handle it."
Vita's heart warmed up.
Little did she expect that Loria would take care of her in such a place.
She nodded with a gentle smile, "It's okay, I just killed one earlier, so I don't feel burdened."
Loria looked Vita up and down, and it seemed like Vita wasn't pretending.
Vita said, "Hurry, if we're late, Adeline and Doris might be injured."
In that moment, she regained her usual cheerfulness, her image overlapping with the one of the renowned journalist from before.
"Then let's go together."
Without hesitation, Loria turned around and the two rushed back to the place where the commotion occurred.
On their journey, they didn't encounter any obstacles, but the bumpy ground and extensive damage to the surroundings still made them worried.
After crossing a puddle, Loria finally found the guildmaster and Doris who were entangled with the heavy warrior.
The guildmaster had some injuries, but they didn't seem to be a problem, which relieved Loria.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness."
She patted her chest.
Vita became interested in the wave-like trembling.
She frowned slightly, but in the end, she focused her attention on the heavy warrior.
"Vita？"
The heavy warrior stopped and a pair of black eyes appeared under the black round helmet.
She didn't seem to like talking much, and after a while, she understood the situation.
Obviously, Loria wasn't captured by Vita.
Vita looked solemnly at the heavy warrior and said, "My weaving ability doesn't work on her. I suggest we shouldn't engage with her too much, in case more enemies come later."
Loria nodded.
She never intended to fight against such a stubborn opponent, as it would be a futile effort.
If the fight took place in a secluded area with no interruption, she would be interested in gathering a group of people to attack this steel-clad person who had worn her down in the simulation.
You like to hide behind heavy armor, don't you?
I'll just lift you up and use special flames to roast you!
"The wind is blowing fiercely!"
Loria shouted something that no one else understood, then rushed forward to help the guildmaster escape.
After a fierce battle, the heavy warrior who was surrounded clearly fell behind.
They seized this opportunity and quickly fled.
But this escape was only the beginning of a trap.
Vita's desertion had a great impact, even though Hidden Leader's people were currently fighting the army of the Imperial organization, they forcibly split up to chase after Vita.
Loria had prepared for this.
After taking Vita away, she kept running non-stop in the direction away from Count Norton's territory and the Province of Claren.
She was not planning to meet up with Count Lidilia and the others.
Hidden Leader's people were too ruthless, and she didn't want to bring danger over there.
Just like Loria imagined, the people from Hidden Leader could sense Vita's presence, so no matter how fast they ran, they couldn't completely shake off their pursuers.
"Don't worry about me, Hidden Leader's main target is me. As long as they capture me, they won't bother you for a short time."
Vita sat by the bonfire, her hands wrapped around her knees.
Sitting on her left and right were the guildmaster and Doris, respectively.
The guildmaster quietly drank water, while Doris boredly poked the bonfire with a small stick. It seemed like they weren't interested in Vita's words.
Loria pursed her lips.
She didn't want to be an authoritarian, but she had to make the decisions in the current situation.
"Vita, if you trust me, please don't say things like that anymore."
"But..."
"Hidden Leader won't chase us forever, maybe in three or four days, their focus will no longer be on us."
"？"
Of course, Loria wasn't talking nonsense.
When she was on the run, she didn't forget to use a simulator to improve her abilities.
While improving her abilities, she also gathered a lot of useful information.
For example, there was a time when she was caught by one of Hidden Leader's people. She purposely showed weakness, expressing willingness to exchange her body for a chance to survive.
It's unclear what those women were thinking, but they actually agreed.
Perhaps they thought they were humiliating Vita in this way.
But in reality, Loria had a great time, having not eaten meat for a long time, she almost ate too much this time.
In order to calm those women down, she pretended to be in great pain, with a pained face and teary eyes, calling out Vita's name.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
With just these three words, all of those women became dizzy and tried everything to make Loria completely fall into evil.
They never expected that Loria would be so cunning and tricky.
To the point that not only did they reveal crucial information, but they also lost their innocence and even their lives in the end.
[Tsk.]
[You stood up from the ground, lightly licking your moistened lips, saying discontentedly, 'Is that all?']
Aah...
Loria couldn't help but gasp when she saw this scene.
Women are really scary.
Ah, she's not saying she's scary herself, she's just saying that those women's jealousy is very scary. Otherwise, they wouldn't have fallen for her and been completely drained by her.
"No matter how cunning a fox spirit is, they need someone to cooperate in order to show their skills."
In this quite enjoyable battle, Loria learned that Count Norton was defeated by the Empire's elite forces three days later.
At the same time, she also learned that the Hidden Leader had already broken through the Empire's eastern defense line and, with the help of the monsters, is expected to reach the imperial capital in about a month.
There are no particularly treacherous terrains near the imperial capital for defense. Meanwhile, the emperor will definitely flee in a hurry and escape to another place, rallying her forces.
The only thing worth celebrating is that she has the Stone of Enka in her hands, making it not so easy for the Hidden Leader's plan to be realized.
"I really have great foresight."
After much persuasion, Vita finally believed Loria.
Loria quickly ate some food, then put out the fire, and set off on her escape again.
She also wanted to rest, preferably take a hot bath and have a skilled slime girl give her a nice massage, but the current situation didn't allow for it.
When the fourth day came, Loria finally saw in the newspaper that Count Norton had been defeated and his whereabouts were unknown.
"Almost done."
Up until this point, the events unfolded exactly like in the simulation.
If nothing unexpected happened, Count Norton wouldn't tell those people about the whereabouts of the Stone of Enka. This way, the Hidden Leader wouldn't immediately come after Vita. Instead, they would focus on finding the lost Stone of Enka.
"Yay, today I'm going to take a nice bath!"
Excitedly, Loria walked to the entrance of the slime girl service store.
However, instead of a friendly waiter/waitress, what awaited her was a cold gaze from behind.
"..."
Loria slowly turned around, and the guildmaster was staring at her.
It turns out it's better not to be too cocky and do such things secretly.
"Then let's find a better hotel."
Loria turned and walked away, and the guildmaster immediately followed.
Not long after they walked out, Vita and Doris also caught up.
After about twenty minutes, inside the hotel, Loria leaned over the pool, squinting her eyes, and the warm water gradually eased her fatigue.
At a certain moment, suddenly two soft and tender hands landed on her shoulders.
She abruptly opened her eyes, straightened up, and bumped into something squishy.
"Don't move around."
It was the guildmaster's voice.
Loria's body stiffened, she couldn't see, but just by imagining it, she could feel herself relaxing.
The guildmaster gently kneaded her hand, "You've been fighting with that assassin for a long time and haven't had any rest. If you don't take the time to soothe your muscles, it might leave some lasting effects. Let me help you massage them."
"Oh, okay."
Even though Loria felt like the guildmaster was making things up, she still agreed.
Who doesn't like feeling comfortable?
She lay down by the pool, allowing the guildmaster to knead her muscles.
Comfortable days won't last long. If she doesn't seize the opportunity now, she might not have a chance in the future, right?
In a daze, Loria turned around and met the guildmaster with an "honest" gaze.
"The guildmaster, can I ask you a question?"
