Although Elena didn’t care about Lin Xiao’s safety, but she felt a discomfort with not knowing where Lin Xiao went, like something was missing.
She was held on tightly by Lin Xiao with a ‘Maid Dog Leash’, she couldn’t escape even if she wanted to, now that she was suddenly abandoned, she felt a bit annoyed.
Even if she was a maid, as a master, Lin Xiao shouldn’t have just run off without saying anything to her, right? He even left an extra-large magic crystal for her, how stupid.
Elena even suspected that Lin Xiao was setting up a trap and that the crystal was fake. He wouldn’t be coming back and she would die because of the contract rebound…
It might really be possible!
With how coldly she has been treating him recently, he probably got tired of this stinking maid and lost interest in her body, so he wanted to toss her aside… That definitely sounds like something Lin Xiao would do, and now that he has his beloved princess, he could abandon her without consideration.
Elena suddenly realized that it seems she was too full of herself all this time. Lin Xiao treated her as a maid and she really took herself as one when actually she was but a lowly slave whose life was grasped within his hands.
“Damn…”
On the way, Elena couldn’t stop her imagination from running wild.
The three person team with Caesar in lead and two beauties following closely behind followed the map and slowly headed towards the center of the islands.
The five person team suddenly became three and it felt off. Usually, Lin Xiao and Shen DaiYing would be flirting all the time and everyone was used to it and didn’t mind. But now that they were gone, they didn’t know what to talk about.
There was only two days left in the competition and something like this happens, so it couldn’t be helped that they were tense. It was especially quiet and no one said a word.
Where did those two run off to, can Loran Academy still get the championship? No one could guarantee anything, even Caesar lacked confidence.
“Hey, Caesar…”
Rosie glanced around uneasily, sped up and grabbed the corner of Caesar clothes.
“What?”
“D-Did we go the wrong way?” Rosie raised her head and looked around at the surroundings and quietly asked.
She keeps feeling that they’ve seen this place before, and that they’ve been going in circles since earlier and walked back to their starting point again.
“Huh?” Caesar stopped.
He quickly spread open the map and compared it with Rosie for a while before realizing that it was bad.
“Crap… we went in the opposite direction.”
They made such a mistake even with a map, perhaps they were all lost in anxiousness from Lin Xiao and Shen DaiYing’s disappearance that no one bothered checking if they were going in the right direction.
“Then which way should we go now?”
“We should go… hmm…”
Caesar fell into thought while looking at the map.
They were already near the center and if they continued they could probably enter the forest where the silver vault is located by tomorrow. That dense forest is called despair forest, the ground was bumpy, the trees were tall, and it was extremely difficult to distinguish positions. Even with the map, they might take a whole day just to find the silver vault.
That meant that they had to get there before tomorrow so that they could ensure making it to the silver vault on the last day of the competition and collect enough points.
Heino Academy and the other teams were also headed there, if some other team got to it first, then they would be finished.
“There are two paths we can take to head there. One is following this river, the terrain is flat, and we don’t have to worry about ambush so it’s a lot safer, but it’s a long detour.”
Caesar used his fingers to gesture on the map, with Rosie listening seriously on the side. As for Elena, she didn’t bother participating in this triviality. She was a mere maid anyways so Rosie and Caesar wouldn’t bother asking her opinion.
“The other path cuts straight through a valley, it wont be as safe but it looks a lot faster.”
“We have to get there before Heino Academy! So let’s take the shorter path!” Rosie said without any thought.
“Yeah, but…” Caesar frowned and lifted his head to look at Elena.
If it was yesterday, then they would unhesitatingly choose the closer path, but without Lin Xiao and Shen DaiYing, two of their main force, only Caesar was left and they still have Elena and Rosie, two dead weights, so it was too dangerous.
The path that cut through a valley had complex terrain, just by looking at the map, Caesar could find tens of places for possible ambush, not to mention the night guard. If the chose the short path, they could encounter danger at any time.
“Are you worried about us…” Rosie understood why Lin Xiao was hesitating.
If they chose the shorter path, they would have a higher chance of catching up to Charles and fight for the rights to the silver vault. But the risk would also increase, and if they were to be ambushed halfway, the outcome would be unthinkable.
If they gave up on the short path, then they might let a good opportunity slip…
Which path should they take?
Rosie and Caesar looked at each other, neither saying a word.
This was the first situation where they were undecided.
When Lin Xiao was here, he could always think of some schemes, even though it didn’t sound reliable, but generally worked well. Under Lin Xiao’s lead, they didn’t have to think much and just had to follow his orders, but now…
Now that Lin Xiao was gone, there was no one to make decisions.
Whether it be Caesar or Rosie, neither were ready to take on the responsibility of being leader. Their decision would directly affect the outcome of the competition, how would they shoulder that burden…
“Why don’t we follow the river.” Rosie took the lead and suggested.
After what happened last night, she has completely accepted the fact that she’s a dead weight. Not just her, Elena also needed someone to protect her, and Caesar alone couldn’t protect them both.
“But, time…” Caesar was a bit hesitant.
“Don’t worry Caesar, I don’t believe that Lin Xiao and Shen DaiYing left just like that!” Rosie smiled and said, “I’m thinking that whatever they went to do had something to do with the competition, since they also want to win! So we don’t have to worry and focus on protecting ourselves while waiting for them to return! Isn’t it worse if we’re ambushed and lose the crystal before then?”
“Un, you’re right, then let’s follow the river. Sigh…”
Although he agreed with Rosie’s point, but he still sighed and looked dejected.
This powerless feeling sucked, he could only hope that Rosie’s judgment was right an that they could quickly return. Otherwise, if they faced Heino Academy with just them three, then the chances of winning was dim.
After finally deciding the path, Caesar collected the map, and they set off again.
Actually, something interesting happened.
While they were discussing on which path to meet they were ambushed!
Well, strictly speaking, not ambushed, more like a coincidental encounter.
“Eh? LingTian, look! A-aren’t those people from Loran Academy?” A yell from nearby surprised the three.
Caesar vigilantly looked out and vaguely saw a beautiful black-haired girl, at first he thought it was Shen DaiYing. On closer inspection, she had short hair and not long, it was that Strange magician they met from Bamboo Academy, YaoZi!
“Sis, stop using such a loud voice! They’ll hear us!” After that, they heard an even louder voice.
He wanted others to quiet down, yet used such a loud voice himself.
Caesar knew that should be YaoZi’s little brother, ice magician, LingTian!
“S-sorry… I was too loud, but it seems like they’ve already heard!”
“Damn, it seems like they’re also heading to the silver vault, so we met by chance… no, we have to escape! Don’t get caught!” LingTian’s firm and resolute voice echoed through the forest.
“Eh? But weren’t you the one who said that you wanted to fight them to prove that you were stronger?” YaoZi innocently asked.
“D-did I? Tsk… I’ll let them go this time! I, I-I-I… I still can’t torture them to death yet… hmph, when I become stronger, I’ll come back for payback! For now, sis, let’s run!”
“O-okay… aah!”
“Sis, what’s worng?”
“Wuu, I-I fell…”
“Foolish woman! You really are useless! … Grab on, I’ll carry you!”
“But…”
“Okay stop wasting time, hurry!”
After all that panicked yelling, they finally escaped and disappeared deep into the forest.
The three looked at each other flabbergasted and were confused by the sudden appearance.
“Puh… haha, those siblings really are interesting.” Rosie covered her mouth while laughing.
She was worried that they would be ambushed, but it seems like they didn’t notice that they were missing members, and ran, which really did save them a lot of trouble.
“But… Rosie, look at which way they headed.” Caesar looked in the direction in which they ran off to, lost in thought.
“That direction is… the short path?”
So it turns out they were going in the same direction as them and following the river, but after that, they just focused on escaping and changed directions, unknowingly heading onto the shorter path.
The path that had more risk, but also entailed more rewards. Who knows what results would this accidental choice bring them.
“Okay, let’s go as well!”
After seeing those siblings off, they also set off.
As she was getting up, Rosie suddenly lost her balance and almost fell.
“Eh? Elena, why are you grabbing me?”
Rosie turned to see Elena grabbing her sleeves.
“Um… that’s…”
Elena lowered her head and had a complicated expression.