Looking at the scene inside the tent, which was completely different from what he had imagined, Colin froze on the spot.
The beautiful girls inside the tent, who had just been chatting moments ago, all fell silent upon seeing Colin enter.
An eerie silence spread throughout the area.
It wasn’t until Liami and the others behind him, worried by Colin’s stillness, stepped forward that the tense atmosphere began to shift.
When Liami entered, she froze just like Colin.
Where had this group of armored girls come from? Could it be that they had come to the wrong place? Was this not actually the Holy Knights’ garrison?
Colin shared the same thought. Seeing Liami step inside snapped him back to reality, and he started questioning the group of beautiful girls in front of him.
“…Excuse me, what are your names? Have any of you seen knights affiliated with the Holy Temple pass by? If so, could you tell us where they went? Also, is this your garrison?”
After Colin fired off a string of questions, the girls glanced at one another, uncertain how to respond.
Colin’s frustration grew. He desperately needed to find out what had happened to the Knights—why they had used the Temple’s exclusive communication magic to contact him.
The thought that his master and his old comrades might be in danger made him restless.
At that moment, a petite silver-haired girl stepped forward from the group.
She looked no older than thirteen or fourteen.
Despite her young age, her delicate features made her appear like a living doll—a truly adorable sight.
Could she be the daughter of some noble family?
Colin thought so.
No matter her appearance, given the situation, she must be the leader of these girls.
But the one sentence she said next left Colin’s mind in chaos.
“…Uh, Colin. You need to calm down and listen to me first…” the young lady spoke in a tone that suggested familiarity, and strangely, Colin felt an odd sense of recognition emanating from her.
“…Well, how do I say this? I… I am your master, Larian!”
Just those words made Colin’s entire perception blur.
He could feel something quietly unraveling within him.
“…W-what did you say? How is that possible? Did I mishear?”
Colin refused to believe her.
He wished it were all a hallucination.
Meanwhile, Liami was beginning to piece things together.
This scenario felt oddly familiar to her.
Just then, Elinor, Sifnie, and Lavinia entered the tent.
They all froze at the sight of the armored girls.
But soon, Sifnie began to guess what had happened.
Elinor also had her suspicions, while Lavinia was simply puzzled by the presence of so many beautiful girls.
“…Uh, you didn’t mishear. I really said that.”
Seeing Colin still pretending he hadn’t heard, the silver-haired girl who looked like the leader could only emphasize helplessly.
Colin remained skeptical and, unwilling to accept the truth, posed a question only he and his master would know the answer to.
“…Alright, if you say so, then you must know this, right? Over a year ago, during a high-risk mission, I saved a girl who gave me a special gift. Do you know what that was?”
The clue was vague.
Only someone closely following Colin’s experiences would understand.
Even Liami, who had joined Colin’s team a little over a year ago, didn’t know what he was referring to.
But the silver-haired girl answered without hesitation.
“Xiao Xiang’s concert ticket, right? I remember it was a VIP seat she gave you to thank you. That was her first concert, wasn’t it? You even bought some merchandise afterward, didn’t you? They should still be at your mansion in the capital. I think there’s also—”
“Stop! Stop! I get it. I… I’ll believe you for now.”
When the silver-haired girl revealed all the details of that event, Colin had no choice but to accept her identity and hurriedly stopped her from continuing.
If she went on, he was afraid she’d expose all his secrets.
The silver-haired girl—no, it had to be Larian—crossed her arms triumphantly, showing off her memory.
“How’s that! I remember everything clearly! Don’t think just because I look young that my memory’s bad! I even remember what you were like as a kid. You were really cute, like a little—”
“Enough! Enough! Stop talking! I know already, Master! You really are my master!”
Seeing Larian go on endlessly about Colin’s childhood, even attracting the attention of everyone present, Colin panicked and quickly told her to stop.
After the scene finally calmed down, Sifnie explained to Colin, “It seems she really is Lady Larian. Probably the magical trap inside ‘Yiqu’ transformed her like this. That’s definitely where Rain and Lant went.”
Elinor added from the side, “Exactly. She is your master! The communication magic I received was sent by her. She was the one who told me and Colin to come here!”
After hearing Sifnie and Elinor’s explanation, Colin finally understood what had happened.
Still, the headache remained—this wasn’t something he had anticipated at all!
At that moment, Lavinia, who had been standing there clueless, spoke up.
“Ummmmm??? What’s going on? What do you mean she’s Larian? Who is Larian anyway? Isn’t that a male name? Colin’s master, if I recall, was an old man, wasn’t he? How could it be this little girl? Can someone explain what’s really going on?”
Liami looked at Lavinia with some pity.
Unlike Liami and the others, who had seen Larian before, and Elinor, who had known Colin’s master from the start, Lavinia had no idea about the current situation—she was completely in the dark.
Seeing Lavinia still confused, Sifnie pulled her aside to explain while Colin turned to ask where the rest of the Knights had gone.
After exchanging a glance with Colin’s master, Lady Larian, and the other armored girls, Colin’s heart sank with a dreadful suspicion.
“Uh, they… they’re right here! See? Aren’t these them?”
Larian pointed to the armored girls nearby.
They, in turn, pointed to themselves, their meaning clear without words.
Colin felt like the sky was collapsing.
His body swayed unsteadily.
Slowly and trembling, he extended a finger toward the group of beautiful girls.
Finally, utterly drained, he collapsed.
“Colin!!!”