The Inevitable Tragedy (4)

At Midnight, the sound of the door opening brought long-awaited light into the silent, dark space.

"Plop"

After throwing the unconscious lady to the ground, the Veiled Person turned and left the room.

"Splash!"

The moment the Veiled Person stepped out of the room, the door slammed shut, and the next second, everything except the area covered by the courtyard was plunged into darkness.

"Slap slap"

"Slap slap"

She stood up, brushed the dust off her clothes, and then, regaining her composure, muttered to herself, "What should I do next?"

After the lady finished speaking, all around was quiet and there was no sound, but she seemed to have heard something and kept nodding.

"I see!"

After answering the question to the air, the lady slowly walked to the courtyard and began to meditate with her eyes closed.

As time went on, the Magic Particles in the air gradually became restless. When this restlessness reached its peak, the lady suddenly opened her eyes.

Ah~~

"Bang!"

"Splash!"

Startled by the lady's scream, everything in the room instantly shattered, even the manhole cover in the courtyard above was not spared.

After all the manhole cover fragments fell, the lady, who had moved herself from her original spot using the Ice-White Skiff, returned to the area directly below the courtyard.

"Hmph!"

Looking at the empty courtyard, the lady slightly lifted the left corner of her mouth, making it maintain a certain angle and height difference with the right corner of her mouth.

"Old Suo ' calculation skills are really amazing!"

After praising Suo, the lady rose up and disappeared into the vast night sky.

Not long after the lady left the room, a piercing police siren sounded from the building where the courtyard was located.

"Waaah!"

"Waaah!"

"Attention all members!"

"Attention all members!"

"Experiment Subject 3373 has escaped from the laboratory. Please pursue and capture him as soon as possible!"

"Repeated: Experiment Subject 3373 has escaped from the laboratory. Please apprehend him as soon as possible!"

"Click"

As the door was pushed open, the alarm blared from outside and carried in on the wind, causing the White-Haired Man, who was gazing into the distance, to turn around and look.

Remember to knock before you come in next time!

Upon hearing the White-Haired Man's words, the Veiled Person had come to deliver the message paused for a few seconds before saying, "Sir, number 3373..."

"It's okay, let her go. Anyway... she'll come back!"

The Veiled Person had just returned to normal, was instantly bewildered again upon hearing these words. However, since the highest-ranking officer had already spoken, he had no choice but to accept it.

"Understood!"

"If there's nothing else, you can go now!"

"Yes!"

After speaking, the Veiled Person bowed to the White-Haired Man, then turned and left the room.

After enjoying several seconds of silence, the white-haired man muttered to himself, "Just a little bit more... just a little bit more!"

"Crunch"

"Crunch"

Hearing the sound coming from beneath her feet, the lady complained softly, "Hmph! They could have just carried me away, but instead they made me run in the snow. How annoying!"

Although she kept complaining, her little feet never stopped moving. Therefore, it didn't take her long to arrive at the agreed location.

"Old Suo, where have you been hiding? Come out now!"

"Whoosh!"

The moment the lady finished speaking, a figure suddenly appeared behind her, completely obscuring the light above her head.

"Little girl, talking behind people's backs is not a good habit!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the lady's tense nerves instantly relaxed.

"Wow! I was speaking so softly, and I was so far away, how could you hear me?"

"Hehe! Sorry, I don't have many other skills, but my hearing is pretty good." (Kelsu and the other undead: Dude, aren't you afraid we'll come out and criticize you for saying that?)

Seeing the forced smiles on the backstage, the young lady put on a cute smile and said pitifully, "Uncle Sordil, you wouldn't hold a grudge against a child, would you?"

"Well done!" (PS: At this moment, in Old Suo's inner world, he was already bleeding from all seven orifices.)

After finishing his internal monologue, His Majesty the Emperor said arrogantly, "Hmph! If we don't set off soon, you might not have time to witness Ulu's blissful life!"

Upon hearing these firm words of submission, the lady grabbed the His Majesty the Emperor's arm and clung to him.

"Then let's set off right away!"

"Snort!"

The moment the cold snort fell, a circle of Silver-White Light appeared beneath their feet, and then their figures disappeared into the empty snowfield.

To avoid attracting the attention of Ulu and the others, Old Suo didn't teleport the two of them directly to the vicinity of the cabin. Instead, he stopped far outside the mountain and then walked towards the cabin. Well... actually, only Old Suo was walking; the lady was perched on his back, admiring the surrounding scenery.

Hehe! Don't get me wrong, Old Suo isn't that considerate. This service was obtained by the lady using the information she possessed. As for what kind of information she used... hehe! It's already been hinted at in the previous text, so I won't explain it here. If you have any questions, please read the previous text carefully. (Old Suo: Author, don't be so mean! How am I not considerate? I was just afraid of causing misunderstandings and attracting censorship to you!)

Regardless, after a long trek, the two finally arrived near the Ice Beauty's cottage. (As for whether it was the hillside the lady chose in the anime, Great Owl can't be sure, but that's not important; what matters is that the plot was successfully completed.)

"Hey, pretty girl, wake up! We've arrived!"

"Bang!"

After giving her mount a flick on the forehead, the lady said angrily, "Uncle, if you touch anything else, our deal is off!"

"Sister, how would I know you were awake if I didn't shake you? Besides, it's good that you're awake, why did you hit me? Hitting me is one thing, but why be so ambiguous? People who don't know better would think I did something lewd!"

After she finished her tearful lament in her heart, the emperor smiled obsequiously and said, "Little lady, is this place alright?"

After looking around, the lady nodded and replied, "Not bad!"

"Then... what do you think?"

"Put me down!"

With the lady's consent, His Majesty the Emperor slowly knelt down and placed the young lady on his back onto the ground.

"Oh! The ground is so cold! Old Suo, think of something quick!"

Upon hearing the lady's command, Old Suo racked his brains for a long time but couldn't come up with a good solution. In the end, he had no choice but to take off his cotton robe and use it to wrap the lady up and down.

"Little lady, do you think this is alright?"

"Hmm, it's quite warm, but the processing speed is a bit slow!"

The His Majesty the Emperor, devastated by the attack, clutched his chest, took a few deep breaths, and then said humbly, "Don't worry, I will definitely correct my mistake and it will never happen again." (The Great Owl: Hmph! You'd better back down and stop with your philandering, or I'll strip you of your protagonist aura and make you lose the most important thing a man can have.)

After Sordil finished speaking, the lady nodded in satisfaction and then quietly watched the commotion below.

As the sun set, the day, both short and long, came to an end. The lady slowly withdrew her gaze and said to the person behind her, "Old Suo, let's go back!"

Hearing the voice in front of him, Suo, whose eyelids were drooping, instantly woke up.

"Not staying any longer?" (Old Suo)

After His Majesty the Emperor finished speaking, the young lady turned her head and stared at him for a long time before saying, "Didn't you say you would protect my daughter and me so that we could meet openly one day?"

Upon hearing this, Sordil's expression immediately tightened.

"Certainly!"

Looking at the extremely serious-looking Old Suo, the lady smiled brightly and said, "In that case, let's save the time for that time!"

"Good!"

After answering, Old Suo picked up the little girl and turned to walk out of the mountain.

"Um?"

The moment Old Suo and his companion left, the telepathic phenomenon unique to the Fairy Tail world suddenly appeared in Ice Beauty's mind, causing her to frown and glance in surprise in the direction where Old Suo and his companion had been.

Noticing his master's unusual behavior, the silver-haired boy asked in confusion, "Ulu, what's wrong?"

"Oh! It's nothing!"

After speaking, the Ice Beauty regained her composure and continued to focus on instructing her two apprentices.

As the moon reached its zenith and the stars gradually disappeared, the silvery moonlight spilled onto the icy white snow, making the vast snowfield as bright as day. At that moment, a series of hurried footsteps sounded.

"Crunch"

"Crunch"

Sensing the commotion ahead, one person stepped out from the veiled formation.

Using the surrounding light, he carefully examined the situation ahead, and then quickly walked forward.

"Ultear, welcome back!"

She glared coldly at him, then the lady, with bloodshot eyes, bruised feet, and pale fists, walked past him without a word and headed straight for the New Moon building ahead.

"Tch! What's with the arrogance!"

After mentally criticizing the girl in front of him, the Veiled Person immediately set off to follow her.

A moment later, the array of veils reassembled and then slowly flowed into the incomplete New Moon.

"Hmph! I'll let you be arrogant for a while. I'll settle accounts with you after I've dealt with Deliora!"

After giving a cold snort to the veiled formation and the New Moon, a pair of eyes hidden beneath the snow vanished without a trace, leaving only a few lingering Silver-White Light shimmering in the snow cave. Unfortunately, this was the scene across the entire snowfield at that moment, so the person in the New Moon did not notice this anomaly, nor did they realize that they had gone from hunter to prey.

After leaving the Magic Development Bureau, Old Suo, with the reward Josephine had given him, returned to the vicinity of the Ice Beauty's hut and resumed his seclusion there.

The reason I gave up the comfortable environment at the lady's place and came here to brave the wind and cold was twofold: first, to ensure that I would not be in seclusion for too long and miss the best opportunity for rescue; and second, to temper my fighting spirit and avoid working half-heartedly.

And so, in this silent companionship, the days gradually passed, until that historic moment arrived. (Great Owl: Whew! I'm exhausted, finally made it to the word count!)