Chapter 116: Darkness

In the empty corridor, the faint sound of girls’ chatter could be heard from one of the classrooms.

A black-haired girl, looking very obedient with round glasses and braided hair, quietly walked through the corridor.

She reached out and knocked lightly on the classroom door.

When she lifted her hand, she realized the door wasn’t actually closed; just touching it accidentally pushed it open.

“Damn…no, no way! There’s no way I can wear something like that!”

“Don’t struggle. A bet’s a bet. If you move too much, I’m not responsible if you get hurt, okay?”

“Who wants to wear that thing! Absolutely, absolutely not!”

“Stop talking!”

“Princess Field, I’ll help hold down Miss Liakade’s arm!”

“No, you can’t!!!”

From the black-haired girl’s perspective, Liyakade was being pinned down on the sofa by Field, while Alice stood by, ready to help hold Liyakade.

All three had slightly disheveled clothes, with their delicate shoulders exposed.

Several buttons on their shirts had been undone, faintly revealing the chasm between the two, and their removed bows and socks lay scattered on the sofa.

All three had bare feet on the cool floor.

Because of the sofa’s backrest, the black-haired girl couldn’t clearly see what the three were doing.

She only vaguely noticed something in Field’s hand being pushed into Liyakade’s shirt.

It seemed none of them had noticed the door was ajar, let alone realized someone had come in.

“Ahem…”

The black-haired girl coughed awkwardly twice, trying to assert her presence and remind the three who were laughing and messing around.

The classroom fell silent in an instant, as if someone had hit the pause button.

The three simultaneously looked at the black-haired girl, their eyes filled with shock, confusion, and above all, embarrassment.

“Uh…the door wasn’t closed, and I accidentally pushed it open…”

The black-haired girl felt a bit awkward.

She had witnessed everything that happened during the Cultural Festival as a student of the Academy, so of course she knew Liyakade liked girls.

Now, having stumbled onto this scene herself, it pretty much confirmed their relationship was far from ordinary.

After her reminder, the three glanced at each other in disbelief.

So they were playing like this with the door open the whole time?

“I-I’m sorry! Looks like I came at a bad time!”

The black-haired girl swallowed, glancing at the sultry scene, and at the collar around Liyakade’s slender neck.

She hurriedly tried to leave, even wanting to close the door as she went.

“I swear I won’t say a single word about what I saw today!”

“Wait!”

Liyakade quickly stopped the black-haired girl and slapped Field’s hand away from inside her shirt.

“You came at the perfect time! You must have a request, right?”

Liyakade couldn’t let the black-haired girl go.

Although there were wins and losses in the bet earlier, overall, she had lost more.

Not only had she failed to take off the original collar and leg ring, she now had to wear even more things.

If she let the black-haired girl go now, Liyakade’s little pudding would be doomed.

Hearing Liyakade’s words, the black-haired girl paused in her retreat and looked awkwardly at the three.

“Really…is it okay?”

“Of course it’s fine!”

Liyakade quickly straightened her collar, jumped up from the sofa, and slipped her bare feet into a pair of black shoes.

Although they rubbed a bit, since they were just indoors, it didn’t matter.

“You two as well! What kind of appearance is this? Clean up a bit—you almost scared her off!”

After standing up, Liyakade pretended to scold Field and Alice, glancing at the item in Field’s hand to signal her to put it away quickly.

“Tch…you got away this time.”

Field muttered, then, without a trace, slipped the small item into her pocket out of the black-haired girl’s sight and tidied her collar.

“Have a seat first, make yourself at home!”

Liyakade warmly gestured for the black-haired girl to sit and rest.

“Alright…then I’ll sit.”

Seeing Liyakade’s enthusiastic manner, the black-haired girl, though suspicious, felt it would be rude to refuse.

However, as she walked over, Liyakade’s gaze lingered on her for a moment, the sunlight streaming through the window onto the black-haired girl, giving off an odd sense of incongruity.

“What is it?”

The black-haired girl, now seated, looked at Liyakade, who was staring at her in confusion.

“Ah, it’s nothing!”

Realizing her rudeness, Liyakade quickly waved her hand.

“Sorry, sorry!”

“Hey, can’t move an inch when you see a beauty, huh?”

Field, having straightened her collar, kicked Liyakade under the table as her gaze lingered.

“That’s right, Miss Liakade. Staring at someone for so long is really rude!”

Alice also noticed Liyakade’s gaze and chimed in, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

“Looks like…Princess Field was right.”

“Hey, hey! Enough! I was just zoning out!”

“Pfft…you three really have a good relationship.”

Seeing the three girls bickering, the black-haired girl couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ahem, well…just an ordinary relationship, I guess.”

Liyakade scratched her white head, and thanks to Alice and Field’s antics, she’d forgotten all about the strange feeling she’d had when she first saw the black-haired girl.

“So, what’s your request?”

“Yes.”

The black-haired girl nodded and began to explain.

“My name is Darkness. I came today to ask for your help in finding an item I lost earlier in the Underground Labyrinth.”

“Hmm? Underground Labyrinth?”

Liyakade was slightly surprised.

Sounded like a big request.

“Is it one of those regulated Underground Labyrinths near the Royal City?”

“Yes.”

Darkness continued.

“During the Academy’s Midterm Exam, our class explored parts of the first to third floors of the Underground Labyrinth. On the third floor, due to a Monster attack, I dropped my Storage Ring inside.”

“Ah…”

Darkness sighed.

“There were several powerful pieces of equipment and amulets in there. I asked a lot of people for help afterward, but they all thought the Underground Labyrinth was too dangerous and didn’t want to go with me. The teachers in the Academy were also too lazy to take me to look for it.”

“During the Cultural Festival a few days ago, your strength really impressed me. Even though you’re just first-year students, you’re already at the top of the Academy. And you accept requests, too. So, I’d like to ask for your help in finding my lost ring. Please!”