VAP - Chapter 48
Chapter 48: The Supreme Sage Hopelessly Obsessed with Beauty (7)
Afterward, Yue Du first returned to the apprentice maids' temporary quarters. She packed up her pitifully few personal belongings and moved into Nai Yin's castle.
Tina, the chief attendant stationed outside, was astonished by this.
Previously, she had assumed the meeting was merely her ladyship's pastime, and that the young eastern woman named Yue would likely become her colleague.
But she never imagined that Yue would actually be permitted to live in her ladyship's castle?!
Everyone here knew that Lord Galor preferred quiet. For several hundred years, she had been the sole resident of her castle. So why was she now making an exception for a girl who hadn't even begun her formal magic studies?
Tina was completely baffled, but she was smart enough not to ask.
Yue Du: “…”
It was true she didn't ask, but her expression might as well have. Her hesitant gaze, shimmering with a thirst for knowledge, completely gave the chief attendant away.
The castle had a new resident, and Nai Yin was highly enthusiastic about it. She wanted Yue Du to stay in her room—the only one on the top floor.
Yue Du was wary. “I'd rather not. I'm used to sleeping alone.”
The Dharma Saint was not resigned to this. “Aren't you Systems supposed to stay by your host's side?”
“Systems have rights, too,” Yue Du stated coolly. “After discovering that my host has improper intentions toward me, I believe I am fully justified in keeping my distance to protect my own safety.”
Lord Nai Yin, who made no attempt to hide her improper intentions, said, “…Oh.”
Lord Nai Yin's heart ached.
Her little moonflower was so cruel!
If Yue Du could have heard her host's inner monologue, she probably would have said, expressionless, “I can be even crueler.”
It wasn't that the castle lacked other rooms, but since no one ever visited, they were all empty and filled with dust and cobwebs.
Without hesitation, Nai Yin selected the room closest to the top floor and summoned servants to prepare it.
Yue Du glanced at her but didn't object.
The male servants were highly efficient. In just a short while, they had the room cleaned until it looked brand new, laid down a carpet, and moved in furniture and various daily necessities, ensuring its occupant would be comfortable.
Only after seeing Yue Du settled did Nai Yin return to her own room with a mournful air.
Yue Du watched her current host's alluring back as she departed, her gaze placid.
Nai Yin, and Qi Jiu.
Yue Du had to admit that in the previous world, all of Qi Jiu's words and actions—those soft, sincere confessions—had touched her in a way she had never imagined.
It was like a pebble dropped into the lake of her heart, like a rooftop bathed in moonlight, like a clear droplet of water melting a ring of fine snow, a feeling that continued to spread outward.
In short, it was just that sort of inexplicable feeling.
Whether this feeling was love, she didn't know.
But Yue Du knew in her heart that if she hadn't been keenly aware that she couldn't stay there, she really would have said yes.
Yue Du was always cautious when it came to emotions, yet with Qi Jiu, she'd had the thought, If it's her, I wouldn't mind giving it a try.
Unfortunately, it had only been a thought.
She wondered how Qi Jiu was doing in her own world. She hoped everything was well.
Yue Du closed her eyes for a moment.
As for Nai Yin Galor—one of the “other me's” Qi Jiu had mentioned—
From what Qi Jiu had said, they were all parts of the same individual, just scattered across different small worlds. In theory, these two hosts were the same person.
Even so, no matter how she looked at it, Nai Yin was not the Qi Jiu who had offered her lazy smiles.
Yue Du had no intention of transferring her feelings to Nai Yin, which was why she had kept her distance from the start.
However, whether it was due to their similar appearances or the familiar sense of déjà vu in their mannerisms, Yue Du found it difficult to view the two of them as completely separate.
Perhaps they were simply two facets of one incomprehensible being: one lazy, the other seductive.
The thought came to Yue Du out of nowhere. She frowned and quickly dismissed it.
…She would just have to let things take their course.
She sighed and sank into the layers of the bed curtains.
That night, the Main System issued its mission.
Yue Du was on full alert, wary of the psycho Main System that had once tried to make them destroy a world. She feared it wouldn't let them off the hook.
This time, however, the Main System crisply issued what was the final and only mission:
“Ding. Final villain Nai Yin Galor is requested to monitor Rand Abio's movements, defeat him at several key junctures, and prevent him from falling in love with Lorins. Upon confirmation of mission completion, you will receive all mission points for this world.”
The cold, mechanical voice rang out simultaneously in the minds of both Yue Du and Nai Yin.
By then, Yue Du had already changed into a soft, loose nightgown and was pondering the unusual nature of this mission.
There were no main or side quests, just a single mission. If they failed to complete it, their entire time in this world would be for nothing.
There's a subtle feeling of being targeted, Yue Du, who had voluntarily abandoned her mission and broken her bond in the last world, thought to herself.
Just as she was pondering this, a rhythmic knock sounded at the door.
Yue Du: “…Lord Nai Yin.”
Only two people lived in the castle. The only one who would come knocking late at night could be Nai Yin.
Nai Yin chuckled from outside the door. “It's me. Did you hear that voice? That must be the mission you mentioned. I thought I should come and discuss it with you.”
She had a point. Left with no choice, Yue Du got out of bed and opened the door.
Nai Yin stood there, the tip of the black-and-gold staff in her hand emitting a warm, candle-like glow that illuminated her bewitchingly beautiful face.
“You're so beautiful, my little—” she began, praising her without reservation, then paused and corrected herself with regret. “I mean, Yue.”
Yue Du clearly couldn't get used to cloying, cheesy terms of endearment like “my sweet,” “my lovely little black swan,” or “Nilperanna, goddess of love,” so she had solemnly requested that her ladyship just use her name.
Lord Nai Yin had reluctantly agreed.
She was used to doing as she pleased, and now she couldn't even use a term of endearment. It was downright depressing.
All she could do was praise her in other ways, like gushing about how beautiful, captivating, and endlessly charming her little cutie was.
…Being relentlessly complimented on her looks by such a peerless beauty was putting Yue Du under a bit of pressure.
The pressure mounted when she realized the other woman wasn't just flattering her but genuinely meant it.
“Come in. Let's talk,” Yue Du said, feigning composure as she stepped aside.
Since the floor was covered with a clean carpet, Yue Du hadn't bothered with slippers when she got out of bed to open the door.
The moment Nai Yin entered, her gaze fixed on Yue Du's bare feet. She urged her to put on her rabbit-fur slippers or get back into bed, her exact words being, “I can't bear to see your lovely pink-and-white toes touching this coarse carpet.”
Yue Du: “I thought we were here to discuss the mission.”
Nai Yin: “The mission? Oh, of course. Say, would you like a cup of hot tea? Your throat might get dry later!”
Right. She hadn't been listening at all.
After a great deal of fuss, the two finally settled down at a small round table to discuss the sole mission.
“I've never encountered a situation like this before,” Yue Du said, frowning. “With only one mission, it means we only have the one point we get daily. If we want the main reward, we'll have to wait until the very end.”
That said, this mission's requirements were on a completely different scale from the “destroy the world” task back with Qi Jiu.
For a Dharma Saint, the protagonist, Abio, was laughably weak. The mission could be accomplished with a flick of her finger; it was just that the timeline was a bit drawn out.
One thing did bring Yue Du some relief: the mission wouldn't harm Nai Yin's interests. Monitoring the protagonist, making trouble for him, or stopping the two leads from falling in love—none of it would cost her anything.
It was different from the last world.
…So what exactly was the Main System thinking? What were its criteria for issuing missions?
Nai Yin saw nothing wrong and analyzed with a straight face, “Perhaps the goal of this mission is to anger me, thereby achieving the ultimate objective of world destruction.”
“How so?” Yue Du's heart tightened.
Nai Yin said gravely, “I am the greatest Dharma Saint on the continent. Forcing me to deal with a mere apprentice is an affront to my dignity. It must be trying to provoke me. Hah. As composed as I am, how could I fall for its trick?”
Hmm…
A Dharma Saint's rage wouldn't destroy the world, but what if this particular Dharma Saint was a fragment of Qi Jiu, who could destroy a world with a single sentence?
Yue Du followed this line of thought. “…”
So that was it—a Dharma Saint's dignity was truly that inviolable! The Main System was truly insidious!
But when she looked up at the Dharma Saint whose “dignity had been trampled,” all she saw was a teasing face, eyes curved into crescents, unable to suppress a chuckle that finally broke into open laughter.
In short, she didn't look at all like someone whose dignity had been offended.
“It seems Your Ladyship is having fun,” Yue Du said coolly, realizing she'd been had.
Nai Yin adopted a pitiful expression. “I am guilty. Punish me as you see fit. Yue, will you punish me by having me warm your bed?”
The unfortunate host, who made a habit of angering her system, was thrown out of the room.
…Just kidding. She wasn't.
The system silently chanted a mantra—don't get angry, don't get angry, it's not worth it—and retrieved her host.
The two continued their discussion and unanimously agreed that the Main System must have some ulterior motive.
Yue Du suspected it wanted to weaken the protagonist. After all, it had done the same in the previous world, having Qi Jiu clear out all the monsters Xing Qingcang could have used to grind for experience. Perhaps the logic was the same this time.
Nai Yin, on the other hand, believed the cold, mechanical voice was simply bored.
The final conclusion was to take things one step at a time. First, they would get a handle on the protagonist's movements, and then decide what to do next.
In any case, the initiative was in their hands.
Only then was Nai Yin mercilessly shown the door by Yue Du. Humming a few mournful lines from a ballad about a bard being jilted by a beautiful maiden, she reluctantly went upstairs.
Inside her room, Yue Du took a few deep breaths.
She had been wrong before. She shouldn't have said Qi Jiu and Nai Yin were equally infuriating.
Her current host's ability to get on one's nerves was clearly on a whole other level than Qi Jiu's!
A young maid had moved into Lord Galor's castle.
Oh, no, not a maid anymore. Reliable sources confirmed she possessed astonishing talent and was set to become Lord Galor's key protégée, her future right hand!
The news spread like wildfire throughout the Dharma Saint's domain, circulating among the maids, manservants, knights, and the mages and summoners under her command.
It was an unimaginable honor, and the loyal subordinates were so jealous their pretty faces scrunched up in envy.
Could it be because the young maid was simply so beautiful that Lord Galor found her exceptionally pleasing to the eye and thus made an exception for her?
No one suspected their ladyship of being romantically smitten. After all, she was the most uniquely beautiful person on the entire continent. She had collected a whole host of decorative vases—no, a whole host of attractive men and women—and remained completely unmoved by any of them, content to just look at their faces.
Who would believe that such a person could fall for someone?
Among the crowd of subordinates, all blinded by Lord Galor's past behavior, only Tina, the chief attendant, sensed that something was amiss.
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