Chapter 317 - Meeting Kuromi

Taking a few breaths to calm herself, Shiro glanced back in relief.

'Thankfully that Keomi girl is rather concerned about the surroundings. If she was one of those more reckless B classed adventurers, there was no doubt that she would have gone all out just to get this key. Nice girl.' Shiro thought with a smile.

{Yeah, it's just a shame that she had to meet you.} Nimue said with a questioning gaze.

'Cough* Now, let's just say it's bad luck for her eh? While she is a nice girl, you know I'm not gonna be giving back the key right? It's quite important for our group as well.' Shiro replied.

{I know. Hence why I said it's a shame that she met you.}

Shaking her head, Shiro only smiled and started to make her way back to the castle. Now that she knew that Keomi could be quite persistent, especially with the fact that she could break into her rift, she wanted to use the keys as soon as possible.

Arriving at the castle, she immediately made her way to the room and called out to Silvia and Madison.

"You two, come, we're using the keys immediately."

"Eh? I thought you wanted us to rest?" Madison asked in confusion.

Currently, the entire party was playing a card game around the bed.

"That would still be the case if I wasn't chased by Rising Sun's branch master since she realised that I have her key." Shiro scratched her cheeks in embarrassment.

"!!!"

Her sentence was like a thunder strike through their ears as the party blinked in shock.

"Wait so she knows your true appearance?!"

"I had a disguise so it's fine. But it would be best for us to use this quickly." Shiro replied.

Looking at each other, Madison and Silvia nodded their heads and got dressed.

"You lot keep playing, we'll be back in a sec." Madison called out.

"Yu! You better not take my stuff or else I'll give you living hell." Silvia narrowed her eyes at Chen Yu.

"Yes ma'am!" Chen Yu replied as he instantly sat up straight.

"Good."

Leading the two out of the room, Shiro couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Silvia.

"W-what?" Silvia blushed in embarrassment.

"Seems to me like you got him wrapped around your finger. Why don't you tell us what's going on between you? How far have you gone? Though probably not far since everyone is in the same room." Shiro grinned.

"Shiro you'll be surprised at their little aura when they're in the dungeon." Madison laughed which only caused Silvia to hide her face.

"I just find him a little cute that's all." Silvia muttered.

"Hou hou~ A little?" Shiro raised her eyebrow.

". . . Ok maybe a little more."

"She couldn't take her eyes off him when we were in the dungeon." Madison smiled.

Teasing Silvia a little more, Shiro and Madison expressed their support for her.

While Madison's may be the generic I'll help you get him, Shiro's was a little. . . strange to say the least.

"He's definitely a nice pick for you. Don't worry, he's packing quite a bit down there too." Shiro said with a nod.

"Eh?" Silvia and Madison's eyes widened in surprise.

"Shiro. . . how do you know that he's packing down there?" Madison asked hesitantly.

"Well I saw him when he just got out of the shower." Shiro replied while placing a finger on her chin.

"Why were you in his room when he was showering?" Silvia asked.

"I broke in. I needed his help to contact his branch master since he owes me some medicine." Shiro shrugged.

"Oh is that right? Fair enough then." Silvia sighed in relief.

"Don't worry, it's not like I'll take him from you." Shiro smiled.

"I swear, why are you so perceptive of other people but never towards yourself." Madison sighed.

"Oh you mean Lyrica?" Shiro tilted her head.

". . . Wait so you know how she feels!?"

"Well yeah. I'm not dense you know?" Shiro furrowed her brows in confusion.

"I. . . I feel lied to. Then how come you don't react at all then?" Madison asked.

"Hmm. . . Because I don't know if what Lyrica feels is dependence as I am her first friend or genuine feelings. Plus, it's a little awkward now due to personal reasons." Shiro scratched her cheeks. Now that she knew Lyrica's mum was her best friend, she'll be akin to being Lyrica's aunt.

"How come?" Silvia asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later. But for now, let's focus on the task at hand." Shiro shook her head since she wasn't going to tell them about her reincarnation just yet. She planned to tell them after they sort out the elven kingdom since she'll most likely have to face Kuromi's past sooner or later.

Especially since she's almost reaching the peak of C class. After all, Yuki did say that she should contact her when she reaches B class.

Bringing out the key, she added the two to her party and activated it.

Three sets of doors appeared in front of them as they nodded their heads and entered the door.

The last thought that both Silvia and Madison had before entering was not anything in regards to the trial but rather the fact that Shiro wasn't dense as they thought she was.

Now that they understood this fact, they don't know if they should feel happy for Lyrica or sad. Happy since she knew of her feelings or sad that she hadn't made her stance clear even after knowing.

As for Shiro, she was wondering what would happen to her current set of berserk skills.

'Would the backlash be increased because this trial zone condensed my skills?' She wondered to herself.

Normally, Nimue would respond but Shiro found it weird that she hadn't heard anything from her.

'Nimue?' Shiro called out in her mind but received no response.

Furrowing her brows, she wondered if this was due to the key.

Looking around her, she saw that she was in the middle of an endless ocean that had a clear blue sky.

"Strange…" She muttered.

Crouching down, she was about to scoop her hand into the water but paused when she saw her own reflection.

Recognising it to be the appearance that Kuromi had when she was alive, Shiro narrowed her eyes.

"Well this is quite peculiar." She muttered with a frown.

-Indeed. Quite strange to see someone occupying my body this way. Previously, it was always me seeing you but with this area, you can see me.-

Shocked at the sudden response, Shiro watched as Kuromi reached up to the surface and crawled out.

Hopping back a few steps, Shiro put her guard up and looked at her with caution.

"You're still here?" She asked with a frown.

-Why wouldn't I be? I still have my revenge against the b*stard after all.- Kuromi laughed.

-Though I'm surprised at how compatible we are.-

Staying silent, Shiro wondered why she could talk to Kuromi like this.

'This place is called the Enlightenment Zone, could it be that I need to be enlightened about my current body?' She wondered.

-But I have to say, meeting lil sis like this is kinda sad. I'm already gone and you've just robbed her. Kuromi chuckled while walking around and looking at the surroundings.

"Keomi's your sister?" Shiro raised an eyebrow.

-Yup. I still remember when she was still so small. I can't say we had the best relationship but she looked up to me like an idol. From what I saw, it seemed like she didn't know I died or else she wouldn't be wasting time in a place like this.- Kuromi shook her head.

"Mn, so what now? Are we just going to talk?" Shiro asked.

-No idea. But while I have time, I'm going to talk to you about those who you can trust and those you should be wary of. I'm not going to talk about sh*t like taking over my body and carrying out the revenge since my soul is already incomplete. All that's left is just the vengeful side of me so there's no point.- Kuromi sighed.

Snapping her finger, she made herself an ice chair and sat down.

-Take a seat. Since you're going to be living my life for me, I should probably give you a small run down.- Kuromi smile as they were going to have quite a lengthy talk.