Chapter 36: The Perfect Toad

Chapter 36: The Perfect Toad

Freya gazed at Gersey for a moment, her face betraying her lack of emotion.

"People in the other one?" she asked.

Gersey hesitated before responding, his voice filled with uncertainty.

"Yeah... I can't explain it, but this one isn't normal, emissary-like normal. He was looking at me like he was trying to dominate me, so I looked back... But when I met his gaze, I felt like his eyes were no longer his own... I felt 'their' gaze"

He shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. Freya regarded him coldly before turning to look down the corridor.

"Your intuition has always been accurate. Who was he?" she inquired.

"I don't know. He never said his name." Gersey replied, his voice strained.

She bit her lip and pivoted to face Hope and Moonra, who were engaged in a heated argument.

"What now? Are you ready to fight or will you run again?"

Hope, looking forlorn, replied,

"I've never fled from a battle, my prince. I'm just feeling a bit fatigued right now."

"You're lying! You ran when that man threatened you. Draw your sword and face me, the victor will be Freya's knight!" Moora declared, his eyes flashing with determination.

"Why don't we settle this with another deal?" Hope suggested. "If I impress you, then maybe you'll consider me worthy of Lady Freya."

"You think you can beat me?" the prince scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. But fine, let's get this over with. Freya, can you please start us off?"

Freya rolled her eyes and led the way down the hall.

"You two are quite the match, perhaps you should consider him as your knight." n(/O-.V./e-(l/.b-.I(.n

Moonra was taken aback.

"What? No way! I don't need a knight. I can take care of myself, and he's only an E-rank."

"Then why bother fighting him? Is it because you enjoy defeating weaker opponents? How disappointing. Some people even think you could be a better leader than your sister."

Moonra was at a loss for words as Freya departed, Hope was uncertain whether Freya's intentions were to help or insult him.

In the meantime, Dora reached the end of the corridor and found himself in a vast garden. He surveyed his surroundings, hands on hips.

"Who would have thought it would be so hard to find a failure among the riches? Have they gone extinct?... Hello? You have been very quiet lately."

"Why do you care? You keep ignoring my advice."

"Hey, it's okay! I didn't use the dark power to attack him, so it doesn't count," assured the speaker.

"Great! We'll focus your stats on intelligence from now on."

"You said you would never insult me, your precious toy."

A heavy sigh could be heard from Midgard.

"I didn't mean it as an insult at all, OK? I'm just a little tired, you know? We're running out of time, after all."

"You lie, you're mad."

But strangely, Midgard just laughed

"No, I'm not mad at Beta or Sigma. I just want to finish this quickly so we can continue our training. Let's do this together, okay?"

"You promise you're not angry?"

"... On Gamma's life."

Dora's sudden silence spoke volumes. Clearly, something of great importance had occurred, and Midgard's didn't miss this.

"Sugarcube? Hello? What's happening?"

Despite her efforts to take control of his body, she was unable to do so, just as his multiple personas.

"Target located."

Panic set in as Midgar exclaimed.

"What? What is happening? I can't see anything, lend me your eyes!"

"I said that I've found the perfect toad, check this."

As she looked through Dora's eyes, she finally saw what had caused his stupor and was left in awe.

Before them, in the middle of the garden, stood a tall girl who was even taller than Dora. She had long black hair that covered part of her face. Her skin was extremely pale, almost as white as milk. Her face was partially hidden by her bangs, but one could see a purple eye surrounded by a black circle, indicating a lack of rest. When she laughed ominously, her sharp, white teeth were visible. Unlike the traditional uniform, she was wearing a veil that made her look like a witch. As she held a toad and placed it in her basket with a sinister laugh, Dora thought to himself.

"I was looking for gold, but I found... No, I'm not copying anyone's words. Midget..."

"I know, She's perfect. Get her at any cost."

He advanced towards her, his confidential approach betraying his confidence of success. Though he had never met the girl before, he knew that a high noble couldn't let their child turn out like this, so he was sure that she wasn't a big shoot.

As he approached, the girl noticed him and sat up, startled by his presence. Without hesitation, he curtsied in front of her, revealing the depth of his manners and breeding.

"Excuse me, miss." he said with the manliest tone he ever used, "but I couldn't help but notice your beauty. If you have siblings, I'm sure they are ugly as hell because you took all the beauty from your parents."

At that moment, the girl dropped her basket, and three toads jumped out and ran away. Dora, who had been watching the scene unfold, couldn't resist and let his natural self slip through.

"Oh, I see you're a toad fanatic too. I was just looking for one myself, and I'm glad I never stopped believing."

But before anyone could say anything else, the holy voice of Midgard interrupted:

"Little toy?"

"One moment, please, I'm seducing."

"Let me tell you something..."

The young girl appeared to be troubled as she pointed her finger towards herself and hesitantly murmured.

"Beauty? Me? Is this some kind of joke?"

It was evident from her body language that she was uncertain about her own charm and lacked confidence. However, for Dora, this sealed her fate.

With a spark in his eyes and a widening smile, he saw in her the combination of everything he was looking into his target.

"I expected an easy challenge but this is a tutorial."