“Weilin, you’re done for.”
As soon as she stepped out of Flowing Firefly Palace, Weilin heard a cold, scornful voice from her side.
“—Airi?” Looking the Ranger leaning calmly against the wall up and down, Weilin paused slightly and asked, “Why aren’t you with Her Majesty the Queen? What are you doing here?”
“Yo, feeling guilty now, trying to change the subject?” Airi sneered, slanting her gaze. “…Guess what I just heard? You actually told that girl you just saved—’I’ll support you’?!!”
Weilin rolled her eyes. “You misheard… She said she wanted to support me.”
“Heh, like hell I believe you. Although I couldn’t hear it too clearly just now, I ask you, who in this world could afford to support you?”
“…”
“Nothing to say?”
The feeling of intellectually surpassing Weilin for the first time utterly delighted her. Airi’s smile widened, pursing her tender lips as she snorted,
“Don’t think I really believe your nonsense! For no reason at all, even making an enemy of the Empire to stand with Her Majesty the Queen, I know exactly what kind of scheme you’re plotting… If Her Majesty finds out you’re sowing wild oats everywhere, leaving affections all over the place, and even wanting to support someone else, do you think you still have a chance with her? So, are you panicking right now? …Well, I’m no Devil either. I can keep it a secret from Her Majesty, but~~~”
The Ranger extended a single, delicate finger and wagged it. “One million!” Then, with a generous laugh, added, “…What do you think? Shutting me up for only a million gold coins, isn’t that a goddamn steal?”
Weilin held her forehead.
Not only a headache, but a damn stomach ache too.
“But I refuse… Don’t bother keeping the secret. Please, by all means, go tell the Illusory Snow Queen right now.”
“…” The Ranger stood dumbfounded, frozen to the spot. “…You, you really don’t care?”
“Yes, long live being single.” Weilin asked flatly, “So, did you come here for something?”
Did you come here for something
Did you come here for some
Did you come here for
Did you come here
Did you come
Did you
You…
…
Fuck, what DID I come here for?!
Airi’s brain short-circuited for about ten seconds before she finally slapped her forehead and remembered. “Her Majesty sent me with an order… to tell the Imperial Chancellor to set up the Snow God Altar in the city center as quickly as possible. She wants to personally appear to quell and reassure the people’s hearts…”
Weilin: “…How could you forget something so important! Then why aren’t you going right now?!”
Airi let out a “Wah,” nearly scared to tears, and turned to leave.
—But Weilin fiercely grabbed her arm.
“There’s no time left, why are you holding me back?!”
“Take this.”
Weilin forcefully pulled over her hand and pressed a peculiar, dark-gold bullet into the Ranger’s palm.
Just by touching it, she could feel the extraordinary destructive power within the bullet. The Ranger was momentarily shocked…
“This is the ‘Apollo Bullet.’ It might even be the only one on the continent. It’s worth far more than a million gold coins… You’re already Huan Xuezhi’s personal bodyguard, aren’t you? When I’m not around, you must protect our Queen no matter what, even if you have to use this bullet. Understand?”
By the time the Ranger reacted and nodded,
Weilin had already lightly patted the Ranger’s shoulder and left.
Airi raised her hand, staring fixedly at the dark-gold Apollo Bullet, resting silently in her palm like a slumbering fiery demon. After a long moment, her five fingers slowly clenched tight.
Ah, of course.
?
Cold Dove Hall.
Within the ethereal icy mist, like a cloudborne fairyland, the peerless young girl with an indifferent expression stood imposingly.
Huan Xuezhi had been quietly resting her eyes.
At a certain moment, she suddenly opened those dreamlike, icy blue eyes.
“Is she better now?”
A black-haired, black-eyed girl walked up before her and smiled in reply, “Thanks to Your Majesty’s concern, she’s fine now.”
“Mhm.” Huan Xuezhi’s gaze remained calm as still water. She looked at the young girl and said softly, “If you must go, then go quickly… Be careful.”
If this “Be careful” were to be heard by all the court officials… or anyone else, they would probably think their Queen had been replaced by an imposter.
Weilin was slightly surprised, then smiled brilliantly.
The young girl stepped forward.
Suddenly,
Without any warning, she grabbed Huan Xuezhi’s small, unprepared, and defenseless hand.
Cool, small, soft.
Smoother than the world’s most polished jade, and with a slight, subconscious struggle from its owner…
In that moment, Weilin could almost feel countless, sharp, bone-chilling, lethal, needle-thin ice swords enveloping her entire body, as if in the next instant, a barrage of a billion arrows would be launched, mercilessly piercing through her…
But that instant didn’t come.
Instead,
Countless tiny ice swords, in that moment, lost their deadly coldness, falling powerlessly, creating a very small, very small drizzle around Weilin.
So… just trying to give the Illusory Snow Queen an item, why did it feel like walking through death’s door?
Was it because…
In this world, no one had ever dared to be as “frivolous” or “transgress” against the Illusory Snow Queen as Weilin did?
That said, the wonderful sensation of that touch, a feeling she wished could last a lifetime, was something even Weilin’s heart couldn’t help but be stirred by.
Even disregarding Weilin’s regrets and guilt from her past life, judging solely by appearance, Huan Xuezhi was definitely the most beautiful girl Weilin had ever seen… without equal.
With a faint flash of light in her hand, Weilin gently pressed a piece of white jade, shaped like a magatama, into Huan Xuezhi’s soft, delicate palm, earnestly instructing:
“This is the ‘Yangli Magatama.’ If, while I’m away, any situation arises that Your Majesty cannot resolve, you can infuse mana into this magatama. When that happens, no matter where I am, even at the ends of the earth, I will certainly rush back to help Your Majesty.”
The Yangli Magatama’s counterpart was the ‘Yinli Magatama,’ currently in Weilin’s possession.
Huan Xuezhi was slightly bewildered, for such an ore, with effects and names so bizarre and completely beyond comprehension, probably only existed in the Weilin family across the entire continent.
Weilin let go of her hand without lingering further. “Then, I’m off.” With a brief farewell, she turned crisply and left.
Huan Xuezhi watched her leave.
Until she disappeared at the end of Cold Dove Hall.
On the skin of the hand clutching the Yangli Magatama, the warmth of Weilin’s hand still lingered, just a little bit warm…
“Why… didn’t you stop her?”
Huan Xuezhi’s gaze trembled slightly as she looked toward the end of the grand hall and murmured the question to herself.
“…I didn’t dare,” Floating Snow manifested the form of Snow Maiden You Jiu, who bowed her head and asked in return, “After all, wasn’t Her Majesty the Queen also unwilling to do so?”
“…”
Outside Illusory Snow City.
On a nameless mountain range, desolate, uninhabited, and covered in pristine white snow, a figure appeared like a phantom, instantly landing upon the mountain peak.
“Eternal Mineshaft, I have returned.”
