Chapter 180: Is Your Type... Lolis?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180: Is Your Type... Lolis?
The words had barely left her lips.
The two little ones materialized from the air.
The moment they appeared, they rushed to Xie Bai and threw their arms around her in a death grip.
"Mmm! Sister Xiaobai, we finally found you!"
"We did exactly what you said! We moved the crowds here to another space to keep them safe!"
As they spoke, more figures slowly emerged from behind the two little ones.
Having just stepped out of the protective space, everyone wore expressions of utter bewilderment.
"What... what just happened?"
"Wasn't I just eating at a restaurant?"
"How did I suddenly leave Villanova and then come right back?"
Before they could even process the situation, the sight of the surrounding destroyed buildings hit them.
"Wait! What on earth happened? My house is gone!"
"Did the Aodu Empire attack?!"
"No! My savings are all in the Aodu Empire! Didn't they say there wouldn't be a war anytime soon?"
As the crowd broke into a frantic chatter, a burly man stepped forward.
"Quiet."
In an instant, all the murmuring ceased.
Everyone turned to look at the man leading the way, not daring to let out another sound.
Leonard.
The strongest warrior of the Eastern Alliance.
He was also the Lord of Villanova, this great city of commerce.
Relying on his unique judgment and extraordinary decisiveness, Leonard had established trade relations with the Aodu Empire years ago, facilitating the birth of Villanova—the most prosperous city in the Eastern Alliance.
Standing at the front of the crowd, he looked around with a complex expression.
"What exactly happened here..."
He turned his head and immediately spotted the massive crater in the center, as well as several... young girls standing beside it?
Leonard froze for a moment.
Among those girls, he only recognized one.
"Ivy?"
Ivy walked up to Leonard.
She surveyed the surroundings, then looked up at him.
"Um... if I told you a giant Chaos Monster appeared here just now, would you believe me?"
Faced with Ivy's question, the corner of Leonard's mouth twitched.
"Looking at this situation... would I dare not to?"
The surrounding houses were completely leveled, and a hundred-meter-wide crater had been gouged into the center.
Even if she told him the Aodu Empire's Void Fleet had bombarded the place, he wouldn't dare disbelieve it.
Fortunately, he knew Ivy relatively well. He knew she was a mild-mannered instructor from Dome Academy, so he didn't show too much panic.
However, the other girls standing nearby...
Leonard's pupils constricted slightly.
He couldn't sense a single trace of an aura from those two blue-haired girls.
Logically, even a common stone possessed its own natural resonance. Yet, he could feel absolutely nothing from them.
This realization sent an eerie chill down his spine.
As for the white-haired girl they were surrounding, Leonard could tell she was far from simple.
Her aura was powerful but subtle; it required a very deliberate probe to feel even a small ripple of pressure.
But that tiny ripple of pressure was enough to make the blood in his veins surge with restless agitation.
It felt as though she could level this entire place on a whim if she so desired.
Leonard's gaze quickly shifted to the last person.
A petite girl with tattered clothes, emerald-green hair, and a slave collar.
For some reason, Leonard felt a sense of familiarity from her.
But considering her small, underdeveloped frame, Leonard quickly dismissed the thought.
"I've never heard of these people, yet every one of them makes me feel dread. Even that bound slave radiates an aura that cannot be underestimated..."
He had a sinking feeling that not a single one of these girls could be judged by their appearance.
It was entirely possible they only looked petite, but were actually far older than they seemed.
Just like Ivy.
At that thought, Leonard looked at Ivy.
"Lady Ivy, could you perhaps enlighten me as to the identities of these ladies? Of course, if there are details that are inconvenient to disclose, you need not say."
Ivy found herself in a bit of a bind at Leonard's inquiry.
Aside from Nephili, whom she sort of knew, she didn't even know the names of the others.
After a moment of thought, Ivy said to Leonard:
"They... well, they're a few friends of mine. They came here with me recently for a vacation."
"Is that so?"
Leonard frowned.
If that was the case, then Ivy was far from simple herself.
To have so many friends, every single one of whom could strike fear into him.
However, out of courtesy, he didn't press further.
"It seems I was overthinking. Lady Ivy, you and your friends have truly been a great help, defeating such a terrifying Chaos Monster."
With that, Leonard stepped aside.
"I will begin preparations for the town's reconstruction immediately. Before that, please allow me to express my gratitude on behalf of all the citizens of Villanova."
"Once things are back on track, I will write a letter of recommendation to Dome Academy to praise this deed to the Dean."
Ivy's eyes lit up at Leonard's promise.
"Eh? Really? Well, thank you so much!"
With a recommendation from a famous Lord like Leonard, she wouldn't have to worry about getting a promotion or a raise at the academy.
Perhaps even the publishers would try to get on her good side and help promote her books...
At the thought, the corners of Ivy's mouth curled upward.
【"Ivy's" favorability toward you has increased significantly.】
On the other side, Xie Bai looked at the prompt with a hint of confusion.
"Favorability increase?"
She looked at Ivy, who was talking to Leonard, and thought she saw the faint trace of a smile.
"A pity it's not loyalty. But favorability is probably close enough, right?"
Just as Xie Bai was thinking this, Ivy returned from Leonard's side.
"Everything's settled. There's nothing left for us to do here, so we can leave now."
Seeing her slightly excited expression, Xie Bai narrowed her eyes and asked curiously:
"So... aren't you going to look for your two students?"
"Ah?"
At Xie Bai's reminder, Ivy suddenly remembered Kairos and Nimo.
She realized that at some point, her attention had been entirely captured by Xie Bai, causing her to forget her two prized pupils.
"They... they should be able to find their own way back, right?"
The words had just left her mouth when two familiar voices rang out from nearby.
"Teacher Ivy, are you alright!"
"We saw the Dim Kingdom dissipate and rushed back as fast as we—"
Kairos's voice cut off halfway.
He saw the half-smiling look in Xie Bai's eyes and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
In the next second, the two little ones were at Kairos's side, crowding around him.
"Brother Kairos, you're back!"
"We thought you'd be a goner without us to protect you."
Seeing the two little ones surrounding Kairos, Ivy frowned.
"You know them?"
Faced with Ivy's questioning, Kairos scratched his head.
"Uh... you could say that."
Before Kairos could finish his explanation, the two little ones added:
"Brother Kairos was the one who brought us here to play!"
"He didn't just take us to eat yummy food, he even bought us new clothes!"
Hearing their story, Nimo felt something was off.
Kairos, who had always been completely clueless when it came to girls, was now taking cute young girls out shopping and dining, and even buying them clothes?
With that in mind, Nimo glanced at the two little ones, then at Xie Bai further away.
The moment he saw Xie Bai, he seemed to realize something.
After a moment of serious thought, he asked Kairos solemnly:
"Kairos... you never dated any of your many pursuers before. Is it because the type you like..."
He paused.
"Is lolis?"