Chapter 702: A Fleeting Glimpse
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 702: A Fleeting Glimpse
Ariel scanned the interior of the carriage before finally settling down next to the beautiful girl named Feifei.
For no other reason than this: the languid, lazy-type beauty was exactly her cup of tea.
As for the white-stockinged loli on the other side... setting the "loli" part aside, she possessed a certain trait that overlapped far too much with Ariel’s former self—a trait she absolutely detested.
"Miss Feifei... aren't you worried?" Ariel attempted to strike up a conversation.
In truth, this was the first question that had popped into her mind since entering the carriage.
According to Ariel’s own assumptions, she should have been greeted by a group of helpless, beautiful girls who, having been captured by the demons, were now wallowing in the despair of their inability to escape.
The "beautiful girl" part was accurate enough, but where was the despair? Where was the helplessness?
Setting the others aside for a moment, Ariel felt as though Feifei was merely here on a leisurely vacation.
"Oh my, it seems I’ve given Miss Yali the wrong impression."
Hearing this, Feifei’s brow furrowed slightly. She pressed a hand to her chest, finally adopting the delicate, pitiable posture of a fragile maiden. "Actually, my heart is quite restless and uneasy. After all, we are about to be sent to the demon stronghold, where a Demon Grand Duke personally presides. I doubt anyone could be certain of how their fate will end."
"Then—"
"It’s just that this is simply my personality."
"Your personality?"
"Exactly. Even if I were about to be stabbed, I’m the type of person who would rather squeeze in one last nap if I could. Life is so exhausting, work and studies are so busy, and the pressure from elders is enough to suffocate you. If you don't learn how to slack off, how can you survive?" Feifei stretched her limbs, her graceful curves making it difficult to look away.
"I can testify to that," Nian, the irritable, flat-chested loli in white stockings, suddenly interjected. "Someone really was stabbed once. Her kidney was almost punctured through."
"It’s not nice to air people’s dirty laundry, you know. I was at least somewhat useful back then."
Even as a beauty, the way her unfocused eyes rolled was still charming. But just as she said, Feifei was far too lazy to actually argue with Nian. She tilted her head slightly toward Ariel. "What about you, Miss Yali? I can hear that your heartbeat is very steady. You don't seem to feel any fear regarding our current situation either."
"Me?" Ariel thought for a moment, then coolly interlaced her fingers to prop up her chin. "I suppose I just feel that panicking is useless in this situation. Instead of pointless alarm and fear, what we should be doing is using all our strength to find a way to escape."
"Wow, how impressive." Feifei clapped her hands lightly. "Though I cannot see right now, Miss Yali’s courage and determination are truly admirable."
"..."
Ariel had almost forgotten that this beauty was temporarily blind.
Having played the cool hero for a blind person to no effect, Ariel boredly blew a strand of hair out of her face. She glanced at the white-stockinged loli, who showed zero interest in her and even displayed clear disgust, before finally shifting her attention to the last person in the carriage.
It was a girl who had been extremely inconspicuous from the very beginning. Even while Ariel and Feifei were talking, she remained curled up in the furthest corner of the carriage, hugging her knees in total silence.
"What about you?" Ariel blinked and leaned in toward the girl with a smile. "Do you think I’m right?"
"..." The girl didn't answer.
"What’s your name? We should get to know each other so we can look out for one another," Ariel persisted.
"Julia." The girl finally looked up at Ariel. Her face, which Ariel rated at least an eight out of ten, made Ariel’s eyes light up again.
But before Ariel could say anything more, Julia’s tone suddenly sharpened. "It’s useless. Everything you just said is useless. We can’t escape."
"Why?" Ariel intentionally put on a puzzled expression, but internally, her interest was piqued.
Here she is. The pessimistic-type beauty.
Also my cup of tea.
"Don't you understand? It’s like that person said—this is the Abyss, and we're headed for the demon stronghold!" The girl’s voice grew agitated. "There will be no rescue here. The Adventurer’s Association can’t help us, the Empire can’t help us, and even the Church can’t help us. We are isolated and without aid. Our companions are either scattered or dead at the hands of the demons. In a situation like this... is there even a possibility of escape?"
"We can rely on ourselves," Ariel said seriously. "As long as there is courage and wisdom, there is always a way."
"Heh, rely on ourselves?" The girl buried her head back into her knees, but through the gap between her arms, she cast a mocking glance at the chains binding Ariel’s hands and feet. She whispered, "Look at the state you're in, and you still have the nerve to talk about relying on yourself... You’re too naive. All of you are too naive... Every single one of you will pay the price for that naivety."
"..."
Watching the girl’s stubborn, uncommunicative state, Ariel couldn't help but sigh softly.
With her extraordinary—one might even say master-level—experience in matters of the heart, a girl whose spirit was on the verge of collapse was actually the easiest to win over. Their inner walls were already fragile; as long as one displayed a solid, reliable character, they would instinctively lean on you for support.
But now was not the time.
Because currently, she really didn't have much credibility.
In that case, she would wait until she was fully prepared. When she led everyone in their escape, she would make her move and coolly steal the girl's heart.
As expected, my decision was the right one.
Thinking of this, the corners of Ariel’s mouth curled up slightly.
In just a short time, she had encountered both a lazy-type beauty and a pessimistic-type beauty—two types that danced perfectly on the strings of her personal preferences. And yet, she knew without a doubt that as she went deeper, she would surely encounter even more beauties in the near future.
After all, the Grand Duke of Bewitchment was known for collecting human girls. Ariel’s infiltration this time felt very much like a shark that had allowed itself to be caught by a fishing boat, only to find itself swimming happily in a hold overflowing with fish.
"Speaking of which, is it just us here?" Ariel remembered something and asked curiously. "I recall seeing another carriage outside."
"Yes, that carriage is also filled with adventurers like us," Feifei answered troubledly. "Actually, a few of my friends are in that one."
"Friends?" Ariel’s eyes lit up once more.
According to the Law of Universal Attraction between Beauties, a beauty’s friends... were most likely beauties themselves!
Ariel stood up and leaned against the carriage wall, peering outside through the narrow ventilation slits that served as windows.
Clatter.
The carriage jolted as it was pulled forward slowly by a massive magical beast.
The driver of the other carriage was clearly more impatient; he cracked his whip hard against the beast, causing his carriage to gradually overtake Ariel’s.
The two carriages drew level.
And at the exact moment they were parallel, Ariel finally managed to catch a glimpse of the interior of the other carriage through its equally narrow window...
In that instant, it was as if time had stopped.
"Eh?" Ariel let out a sudden gasp.
"What is it?" Feifei tilted her head, curious.
This Miss Yali, who had seemed so composed and unfazed by her predicament until now, suddenly had a heart rate that was racing.
"I... I think I saw..."
The other carriage pulled away rapidly, but Ariel’s gaze remained fixed on the receding vehicle, as if it contained some peerless treasure she couldn't bear to lose.
"Saw what?"
"I saw..."
Ariel recalled that fleeting glimpse within the dim, narrow carriage—a flash of dazzling, wavy golden hair. In that moment, the lazy beauty, the pessimistic beauty, and the entire hold full of "fish" all vanished from her mind.
Only one face remained in her thoughts—that exquisite countenance she had been entangled with several times, yet had missed just as often.
"I saw... The Beauty."