Staying the Night

(Finally saved up thirteen hearts. Today, I'm pulling the Master Sword!)

Bai Ye held a glass of juice while Nearl held an iced sparkling water, sitting by the bar's window.

The bar was located on Rhodes Island's upper deck. The window seats had excellent lighting, with sunlight streaming in during the day and a view of the stars outside at night, making them especially popular.

There were not many people in the bar during the day. Looking around, Bai Ye and Nearl seemed to be the only ones there.

After all, today was not a rest day for Rhodes Island. Most Operators had assignments during the day—those who worked worked, those who trained trained, and those who studied studied...

After taking a sip of her drink, Nearl felt the coolness spread through her and could not help narrowing her eyes.

Bai Ye casually cast a soundproof barrier, then explained the entire sequence of events and what he wanted to ask.

Sure enough, when Bai Ye mentioned a series of terms such as "Kazimierz," "the Infected," and "knight competitions," the smile on Nearl's face gradually faded.

Clearly, those things still affected her.

But Nearl soon returned to normal.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke slowly.

"I am indeed very familiar with those things... Though I despised them deeply at the time, for the sake of certain things, I ultimately chose to participate in knight competitions..."

"It wasn't to prove anything... It was just..."

Nearl found it difficult to put her actions into words. She clearly hated those things, yet she had still chosen to take part.

"In the end, you became the champion..." Bai Ye said softly.

"Yes. A champion who did not meet their requirements, who had no commercial value whatsoever. In the end, they chose to use underhanded means