Chapter 30: 30, I told you to leave, and you really left.

"So, thanks a lot, Captain." Lin Da taunted with a smirk.

No credit, just hard work.

It turned out that in Lia's eyes, he was utterly useless.

Those all-nighters spent on strategies, probably meant as much to Lia as wastepaper.

Lin Da felt again that leaving the team was the right decision.

As he thought about it, he said to Kafni, "Everything's done, let's go."

"Oh." Kafni yawned, rose from the sofa, and with a teasing glance at the restless Lia, said, "Former Captain of the Snow Goose, we're leaving now, okay?"

"Wait."

Lia snapped her book shut.

Her face darkened as she looked at Lin Da:

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Uh, what else?"

"Still playing dumb? Miss has seen right through you."

Lia clenched her teeth and stormed over with a menacing presence.

She was genuinely angry.

Usually, Lin Da said a lot, and she would respond with a sentence or two.

Now, he was ignoring her love.

Only responding with 'mm-hmm,' 'uh,' 'what else.'

Are these words appropriate to use with your direct superior, the captain?

Lia thought it was time to make things clear.

With a stomach full of resentment, she stomped up to Lin Da, stood on her toes, and furiously grabbed his ear.

"How long are you going to be stubborn? If you don't come back, Miss will really kick you out of the team!"

Hearing this unreasonable tantrum, Kafni couldn't help but laugh, regretting that she had finished her sunflower seeds.

Lin Da had pampered her for three years, she got used to it, and only when Lin Da was about to leave did she start to panic.

With Lin Da's determination to form a team, there was no possibility of turning back.

She had cut off the last thread of hope herself.

"Let go."

Lin Da's calm voice contained a trace of coldness.

Like a bucket of ice water in the summer.

The shock made Lia shiver, and the hot blood in her head cooled significantly.

"Last time I'm saying this, let go."

"Huh? It's just pulling your ear, that's all?"

Lia said incredulously.

She thought it was a sign of esteem and affection for Lin Da.

It's not like she would pull just anyone's ear?

Outside, a bunch of peculiar adventurers begged her to lift a finger, she disdained it. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She thought she was quite familiar with Lin Da, but it seemed she was just being presumptuous?

Was it as Aiko said, that Lin Da really didn't like her, and his special treatment was just because she was the captain of the Snow Goose Adventure Team?

Lia's heart skipped a beat.

All these jumbled thoughts turned her face paler by the moment.

The two stood at an impasse, the atmosphere in the living room reaching an excruciating level of awkwardness.

Lia thought letting go would be losing face. But if she didn't, Lin Da's expression grew more and more terrifying.

At that moment, all of Lia's attention was on Lin Da, and she failed to notice Kafni slowly approaching.

When she sensed something was off, what she saw from the corner of her eye was Kafni, smirking as she raised her hand.

Suddenly, a crisp slap sound!

Kafni's hand hurt from the slap, and she grimaced, shaking it off.

The body of a thief class, not really up to par, huh?

She watched as Lia's right cheek swelled rapidly, her face dazed as if she had been stunned by the slap. She taunted sarcastically,

"The former leader of the Snow Goose adventure team, could you let go of someone else's teammate? We're actually in a hurry to get dinner."

Kafni couldn't stand it anymore.

Just how well had Da treated Little Red in the past to spoil her to this extent?

Even though Da had left the team, he was still polite to Lia.

At the Adventurer's Guild, Kafni would have flung the resignation certificate in Lia's face right in front of all the press reporters, infuriating her completely.

Since coming to the Snow Goose Adventure Team, she endured various taunts and never retaliated against Lia, considering it best to 'endure a moment of calm.'

But Da's philosophy of life did not work for Kafni.

Only by stepping forward did one really know how exhilarating it felt!

Kafni saw how dazed Little Red looked after being slapped and almost lost her composure from excitement.

In the Divine Realm, Kafni was meek and compliant, but upon coming to Another World, she acted on her own will!

This slap was unexpected by Da, and even more so by Lia.

She released her grip on Da's arm, dumbfoundedly covering her right cheek, her mind buzzing, slightly unclear about what had just happened.

She just felt her cheek burning painfully.

Lia glanced at Da, surprised for merely a second, then quickly appeared indifferent, a mix of sour, bitter emotions bursting from her chest.

What an irony it was.

At the same time Kafni slapped her, the mansion's main door was opened from the outside.

Aiko and the others, who had gone out shopping, just happened to witness this sight.

Aiko, Klyne, and Chloe all stood dumbstruck, unable to believe their eyes.

Lia got slapped?

Crazy, right? Someone dared to slap the Powder Keg!

And why was Da still standing unmoved? Wasn't he always the one who dealt with the aftermath and mediates the leader's mood in the past?

A very bad premonition arose in the hearts of Aiko and the others.

Lia, already furious and embarrassed, became even more enraged when she realized Aiko and the others had seen everything, her face immediately turning red. She clenched her fists and stormed towards Kafni, "You dare hit me, you piece of trash?"

Kafni, with no hesitations and relying on a trace of Divine Power within as her trump card, held onto her own against Lia's profanity,

"Little Red, don't think everyone is like Da, trying to please you, fawning over you!"

"You drive away team members and still expect others to return? Maybe you should go back to sleep if you haven't woken up yet."

"Incensed over what you can't have? Sorry, in my eyes, you're just a selfish brat! That such a person can be a leader is purely the Adventurer's Guild's oversight!"

Each of Kafni's words was like a steel needle piercing Lia's chest.

Lia's face grew redder, and she gritted her teeth, like a fiery red arrow that rushed up in front of Kafni, lifted her hand for a slap—

"Stop!"

Aiko and the others panicked. Lia didn't know her own strength, and if she injured someone, it would be a huge blow to the reputation of the Snow Goose Adventure Team!

Klyne was the first to step forward, trying to stop Lia, but she was too far away to catch up.

Just as everyone felt helpless, there was a click.

The wrist Lia had raised was grabbed by a hand as strong as iron tongs.

"Huh?"

Lia made a confused noise.

She found it unbelievable what was happening before her eyes.

It was like seeing the sun rise from the west, or the World Tree collapsing.

So much so that her beautiful ruby-like eyes revealed a look of bewilderment.

Why would Da stop her?

One side was a barmaid he had met less than two days ago, the other a captain he had worked alongside for three years, battling over a hundred times.

Such an overly simple multiple-choice question, why would Da get it wrong?

Lia pursed her lips, stubbornly lifting her head to meet Da's eyes, her voice slightly hoarse as she spoke,

"You're taking her side?"