Vellandelle shivered all over.
What was going on?
Why was she hearing Veronie’s voice?
“Miss Vellandelle, it seems someone is calling you?”
Karansa spoke up nervously, her gaze flickering to where Veronie stood.
It was clear this was no illusion.
No—Veronie had found her…
“What happened?”
Vellandelle looked up in confusion, and at the sight of those emerald green eyes, she instinctively shrank her neck.
“Veronie… is here?”
“Heh, seems I came at a bad time, huh? Did I interrupt your intimacy with other girls?”
Veronie walked forward step by step.
Vellandelle sensed a hint of danger from her.
She had a strong feeling that something was wrong with the Veronie before her eyes.
“No, it’s not like that, Veronie, I was just with Sister Karansa—”
Karansa was also startled by the sudden voice, subconsciously shrinking back, and releasing her grip on Vellandelle’s sleeve.
“Seems I came at the wrong time.”
Veronie cut her off.
Her voice was terrifyingly calm, and her gaze swept between Vellandelle and Karansa, whose face was still flushed.
“Did I interrupt your… mutual comfort?”
The last five words were bitten out with special clarity, laced with thick sarcasm.
“It’s not what you think!”
Vellandelle waved her hands frantically, feeling her scalp tingle.
“Miss Karansa felt unwell after the battle and fainted. I just—”
“Just what?”
Veronie took a step forward, closing in on Vellandelle, looking down at her with an unprecedented dominance in her eyes.
“Just happened to stroke her face and praise her beauty?”
To be honest, when Veronie first heard the siren song from afar, she was delighted.
As the Elf Princess, her senses for Vellandelle’s singing were very precise.
She was certain it was Vellandelle, so she followed the voice.
Who would have thought, the scene she found would be this?
Karansa didn’t quite understand why this Elf classmate was so angry, but she also sensed the atmosphere was off.
She explained in a small voice, “Classmate, you misunderstand, Miss Vellandelle was just being kind—”
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
Veronie shot Karansa a cold look.
That gaze made Karansa, a member of the Frost and Snow Clan, shiver involuntarily and swallow her words.
Vellandelle looked at Veronie’s jealous appearance.
Even though Veronie herself might not realize it, Vellandelle felt both helpless and… oddly amused?
She quickly suppressed the inappropriate emotion, reached out, and gently tugged Veronie’s sleeve, softening her voice.
“Veronie, don’t be mad. Miss Karansa and I really just met and teamed up against a monster. I’ve been worried about all of you. Seeing you safe and sound makes me really happy.”
Veronie’s tense expression seemed to soften a little, but her eyes remained sharp.
“Worried about us?
You seemed pretty happy with her.”
“That’s because Miss Karansa is a reliable companion.”
Vellandelle continued to explain softly, subtly signaling Karansa not to speak.
“Now that we’ve regrouped, it’s even better. The more people, the more strength. Right, Veronie?”
Veronie snorted coldly, turning away, but at least she didn’t release any more icy aura.
For someone who didn’t even know what love felt like, this anger felt inexplicably strange.
Yet the moment she saw Vellandelle being close with that unfamiliar girl, an indescribable irritation and discontent overwhelmed her reason.
She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and looked at Vellandelle again.
Her tone returned to its usual coldness, but if you listened carefully, you could still catch a trace of awkwardness.
“…As long as you’re fine. This place isn’t safe. We need to find the teacher and others quickly.”
“Yes, yes!”
Seeing the crisis seemed to have passed, Vellandelle nodded hurriedly and took the opportunity to link arms with Veronie.
“We’ll act together.
Veronie, you’re the most reliable!”
Veronie’s body stiffened slightly, but she didn’t shake her off—her pointed ears just twitched.
She glanced at the bewildered Karansa nearby and spoke lightly.
“You follow too.
Stay alert.”
Karansa nodded quickly and carefully trailed behind the two, watching Vellandelle and Veronie walking arm in arm ahead, Veronie’s face stiff but not rejecting her.
Silently, Karansa clicked her tongue.
This Elf classmate’s attitude toward Miss Vellandelle… seems unusual.
“Did you encounter danger earlier?”
As they walked, Veronie began to ask.
“Yes, it was a Giant.
Sister Karansa said it might have been a Dungeon Guard.
Veronie, do you think, if it was a Guard, could it really have survived for so long?”
“It’s possible. This place is bizarre, after all. Maybe it was affected by Divine Corruption. As a walking corpse, it could survive in the Dungeon by instinct alone. But it could also be one of those Long-lived Kin, surviving for a thousand years isn’t impossible.”
“Long-lived…”
Vellandelle sighed.
From what she knew, the Elves of this world weren’t like those in other western fantasy worlds.
Though long-lived, the average maximum lifespan was about three hundred years, with most normal Elves living for two hundred.
Compared to humans, that was already quite long-lived.
Moreover, no matter how old, an Elf’s body remained in peak condition.
Their death wasn’t so much an end as a return to nature.
“If you could live a thousand years, what would you do?”
“Repeat the Harmony of Elf Clans, and let Elves live happily and without worry.”
“And then?”
“Then?”
A hint of confusion appeared on Veronie’s face.
In the game, Veronie was always like this—forever obsessed with restoring the Life Canon and bringing the Elven Clans back to harmony, never truly considering herself.
“You’d have to do something for your own happiness, right?”
Veronie was speechless.
She had really never thought much about herself.
But her gaze subconsciously drifted to Vellandelle.
Why, when imagining her ideal realized, did this person come to mind?
She was just an ordinary classmate!
From their first meeting, except for her mother, she’d never had such complex feelings for anyone.
Vellandelle seemed to possess a certain magic, always irresistibly drawing those around her in.
As they walked, the surroundings grew silent again.
In the darkness, after a long time, a “shaaa…shaaa…” sound echoed.
That white monster shaped like Pan crawled over like a spider, its body now bulkier than before—perhaps from consuming the Giant Warden, it was no longer a mere skeleton, but a thicker, more imposing presence.
At last, Vellandelle and the others left the cell block, stepping onto a wooden floor.
But the discomfort remained.
Everywhere on the wood, dried bloodstains could be seen.
A faint, rotten odor hung in the air.
Among several doors, a single, undamaged wooden door stood out conspicuously.
The group exchanged glances and decided to open it.
Karansa, being the oldest and strongest, stepped forward to do so.
“Creak…”
The sound echoed, and a stifling stench rushed out.
Karansa immediately retreated several steps.