Chapter 162: A Girl Must Learn to Protect Herself
The women looked at Norma with pity. They could foresee her fate.
Yet, strangely, no one warned her. The room was silent, the air thick with unspoken tension.
Norma pondered the name Loseweisse had uttered.
The Second Hero, Qin Chu.
She knew the name, of course.
She hesitated. “But I heard there was a conflict between Karsus and the Hero. Karsus attacked him. Will the Hero really plead for him?”
Loseweisse’s voice was calm. “That’s true, but we have no other choice. No one but the Hero can speak to those four about Karsus, and even if they did, those four wouldn’t care. Only the Hero’s opinion matters.”
“If you truly want to save Karsus, go to Qin Chu. That’s the only way.”
Norma considered this, seemingly accepting Loseweisse’s suggestion. She stood and nodded resolutely. “I understand. I’ll go find the Hero and beg him to show mercy and save Karsus.”
She thanked Loseweisse for her advice and bid farewell to the others.
As Norma reached the door, Loseweisse hurried after her, whispering in her ear, “Sister Norma, please be careful. The Hero…how should I put it…he has many beautiful women around him. Do you understand what I mean?”
“A girl must learn to protect herself.”
Norma, seemingly naive, blushed deeply a few seconds later, a look of embarrassment on her face.
She thanked Loseweisse again for her kind reminder, then practically fled the Saintess’s boudoir.
What a cruel woman, the others thought, watching her go. Not only pushing Norma into the fire pit, but also specifically telling her how to get there… Without Loseweisse’s “kind reminder,” the innocent Norma might have given up after being rejected. But Loseweisse’s words planted a seed in her mind: If she sacrificed herself, perhaps she could persuade Qin Chu to save Karsus.
As Norma disappeared from sight, Loseweisse’s smile vanished. She returned to the room.
Meeting the gazes of the other four, she lowered her eyes. “Karsus is also my companion. I want to save him just like you do, but I can’t leave this room. Or would one of you be willing to sacrifice yourself and convince Qin Chu to save Karsus?”
Sylph and Airi immediately looked away. They wanted to save Karsus, but not at that price. Let his ex-fiancée handle it.
Athena and Ekaterina lowered their eyes, both uninterested in saving Karsus.
The recent setbacks and failures had changed Loseweisse. The once-carefully-maintained mask of innocence was slipping.
Of course, she had a good excuse.
All of this was for Lord Jie Luo.
…
Meanwhile, at the residence.
After Athena left, Qin Chu continued to study the information on the Flame Witch.
He didn’t want to touch those seven scrolls again and risk his consciousness being trapped in the Void. He had already ventured there twice. Those seven Evil Gods were surely waiting for him.
Facing the true form of an Evil God, being invaded by its will…he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Qin Chu didn’t want to be involved in the conflicts of the gods. His goal was revenge. If he could find a way back to Earth after taking his revenge, he wouldn’t waste any more energy on this. But it seemed he didn’t have many choices.
He was about to ask Violet about the Flame Witch. Violet should know more about Witches than Shaye, after all, forty-nine Witches had descended upon this world almost simultaneously a thousand years ago. The Flame Witch was practically Violet’s contemporary.
Just as he stood up, he noticed a figure standing at the entrance. Under the curious gazes of several guards, she was adjusting her clothes in front of the bronze mirror on the gate.
She straightened her clothes, tightened the belt of her mage robe, and flipped back her hood. Her slender little finger tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Looking at her slightly messy braid, her tired face, and the dark circles under her eyes, she frowned slightly.
She was about to meet the Hero, and she was asking for a favor. She had to present herself in the most elegant and presentable manner.
Norma tapped her head in annoyance. She was still wearing yesterday’s clothes. She wondered if they smelled…
It was too disrespectful to meet the Hero like this. She might leave a bad impression. Perhaps she should go back and tidy up?
But Karsus’s situation was urgent. She didn’t have much time.
Norma was torn.
“Beautiful lady, may I help you?” A clear, gentlemanly voice suddenly came from in front of her.
Norma flinched like a startled rabbit, her neck instinctively retracting.
The guards at the gate glanced at the Hero, then at Norma, as if asking if they should drive this impolite woman away.
Qin Chu shook his head slightly, indicating that he would handle it.
As he approached, Qin Chu immediately recognized Norma.
Karsus’s fiancée.
This brought some unpleasant thoughts to Qin Chu’s mind… Unlike the Grand Prince, Karsus truly loved his fiancée.
Karsus was definitely going to die, but this seemed like a good way to make him even more despairing before his death!
This thought made Qin Chu feel a little bad. Was he being too evil?
Qin Chu had met Norma a few times in the first playthrough and had a decent impression of her. She was a kind woman.
In Qin Chu’s eyes, Karsus wasn’t worthy of Norma at all… Although Norma had left Karsus, she had never given up on him. She had been diligently searching for ways to restore him to normalcy through magic and potions.
Karsus, on the other hand, although he claimed to still love Norma deeply and wouldn’t accept any other girl… In reality, besides Norma, who truly loved him, he didn’t have any other choice, did he? No girl would be foolish enough to choose a man who killed his entire family.
From his words, he could occasionally sense Karsus’s deep hatred for Norma. The fact that Norma left him had always made him resentful. Sometimes, even seeing Norma talking to other men would arouse Karsus’s deep jealousy, the dark power within him churning.
Now that he thought about it, although many people had participated in his execution in the first playthrough, and all the members of the Hero Squad were present, Norma wasn’t among them.
The guards at the gate exchanged knowing glances and smirked.
It seemed that another girl was about to fall victim to the Hero’s charms.
Although this girl looked a little haggard, her features were good. With a little grooming, she would be quite attractive.
Unlike the Hero’s other women, this girl was the delicate and demure type, easily arousing a man’s protective instincts.
Startled by Qin Chu’s sudden voice, Norma let out a small, surprised sound.
After a few seconds, she looked up at the black-haired man. His appearance, so different from the people of the Heavenly Continent, immediately confirmed that this was the Hero summoned from another world.
He wore a neat, black suit and looked at her with a gentlemanly smile.
This made Norma feel flustered. She wasn’t mentally prepared to meet the Hero.
“Um, hello, esteemed Hero. My name is Nuorma… no, wait, Norma… Norma Miriam…”
She hated her tongue, always tripping over her words.
Forget about a good impression, she might even be mocked by the Hero.
However, Qin Chu’s reaction surprised Norma. The gentle smile on his face never faded. “Norma? A very gentle name, it suits you, Miss.”
“It seems you have something important to discuss. Let’s talk inside.”
Qin Chu bowed slightly and gestured for her to enter.
Inside the luxurious residence.
Although Norma’s reaction wasn’t as exaggerated as Karen’s, she was clearly shocked. Her family hadn’t been poor when she was young, but after her father’s death in battle, their fortunes had declined sharply. Everything they owned was gone, their mansion and title taken by her uncle, leaving Norma with nothing.
As soon as she entered the hall, Anastasia, returning from the training grounds, saw Qin Chu and immediately beamed, her confidence and beauty making Norma envious.
With her flowing, icy blue hair, she leaned directly on Qin Chu’s shoulder.
He hadn’t noticed in the first playthrough that Anastasia had another side to her besides elegance and nobility.
She was a girl who dared to love and hate.
After overcoming the hurdle in her heart, she no longer hesitated.
If she loved him, she loved him.
She didn’t care about her status, whether she was once the Grand Prince’s fiancée, nor did she care about Qin Chu’s identity as the Hero. For Anastasia, she and Qin Chu were just a woman and a man, and she, the woman, had fallen in love with him, the man. It was that simple.
She didn’t care about the opinions of others.
It was also Anastasia who had initiated the kiss with Qin Chu in the arena, sparking the competitive spirit of the other girls and becoming the beginning of the Grand Prince’s nightmare.
If she hadn’t seen through Qin Chu’s feigned weakness these past few days, Anastasia might have already taken things further.
While shaking Qin Chu’s arm, she complained about Anthea being a demonic teacher.
Even in the icy Ice Duchy, she had never suffered so much. She spent the entire day cultivating, except for mealtimes.
“I’m a mage! And she made me carry a spear weighing dozens of kilograms…”
“Am I supposed to become a mage who uses a staff, or even her fists, to hit people?”
“Please, no, it’s not elegant at all for a mage.”
It seemed that Anastasia had suffered a lot under Anthea’s training. But although she kept complaining, it could be seen that she didn’t really blame Anthea. On the contrary, she had been living a very fulfilling life these past few days.
The Ghost Valkyrie didn’t hold back at all with Anastasia, preparing to teach her everything she knew.
It was foreseeable that Anastasia would probably become a dual expert, both a Grand Mage and a Valkyrie, in the future.
Imagining Anastasia fighting with a metal staff, smashing enemies’ heads with physical magic, seemed to have a unique charm.
Angelica smiled gently. She had also been diligently cultivating magic all afternoon, but she wasn’t mainly focusing on increasing her Mana, but on understanding magic.
Some of the concepts Violet proposed even made Angelica feel like she had opened the door to a new world. Although her Mana hadn’t increased, she knew that the knowledge Violet imparted to her was more valuable than any amount of Mana.
Magic wasn’t just about learning and using spells, it also required comprehension!
She also wanted to cling to her master and act spoiled, but she was covered in sweat after an afternoon of cultivation. It would be disrespectful to approach him like this.
“Alright, Miss Anastasia, Master still has serious matters to attend to. You’re covered in sweat, don’t cling to him,” Angelica reminded her with a smile.
“I’m not!” Anastasia retorted, waving her small fist. She didn’t smell bad at all.
But she still moved away from Qin Chu. When she saw Norma, the guest, Anastasia instantly switched to her elegant princess mode, a perfect smile on her face.
“So we have a guest. I apologize for my previous informality. I hope you don’t mind, esteemed guest,” she said, curtseying gracefully.
She was like a completely different person, even Qin Chu was a little stunned.
“I apologize, we just finished cultivating, and our appearance isn’t suitable for receiving esteemed guests. I believe the beautiful lady wouldn’t mind if we bathed and changed first…” Anastasia said with a smile.
“No, I don’t mind, of course not,” Norma replied, a little flustered.
She didn’t act like an outsider at all, as if she were at home.
Qin Chu touched his nose and didn’t correct Anastasia. This elegant, noble, and lively girl had added a lot of vitality to the residence.
Watching Anastasia and Angelica leave together, Norma remembered Loseweisse’s warning before she came.
The Hero has many beautiful women around him.
A girl must learn to protect herself.
She bit her lip lightly, and some inappropriate images she had accidentally seen in her master’s study flashed through her mind. She subconsciously pulled her mage robe tighter around her.
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