Seeing that Sylvia remained silent for a long time, Mei squeezed her palm and asked with a hint of worry, "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking that the Stellaron Hunters' goal might just be to get you to Penacony smoothly. As a Galaxy Ranger."
"How so?"
Mei's curiosity was piqued. She knew Sylvia shared a fairly decent relationship with the Stellaron Hunters, and Sylvia clearly understood a great deal about them.
As the two walked along the ruins of the Jepella Palace, Sylvia briefly shared her speculation with Mei. Afterward, Sylvia suddenly asked, "Come to think of it, what made you run off to Jepella anyway? It's completely out of the way of Penacony."
Jepella was indeed nowhere near Mei's original route. Although Mei's usual style did involve veering off course from time to time, she had strayed remarkably far this time.
Mei thought about it for a moment and said, "It's actually not that complicated. While I was hitching a ride on a ship, I ran into a clone of Ifrit. It looked just like a ball of fire, and at the time, I thought I had run into another Heliobus."
"Huh?"
Sylvia blanked for a moment upon hearing this. What did that mean? The very clone Duke Inferno had prepared to send to the Herta Space Station to steal things had been intercepted by Mei?
"The spaceship just happened to cross paths with that ball of fire. Ifrit probably wanted to burn the ship down, so I gave him a slash."
"And then you realized it wasn't a Heliobus?"
"Yeah. I had a brief chat with Ifrit and learned that the Ever-Flame Mansion received an invitation to Penacony."
Mei spoke calmly, but Sylvia was anything but calm listening to it.
You literally slashed your way into someone's home turf to steal something; that doesn't sound like the kind of result you get from a 'brief chat.' Ifrit must have provoked you, didn't he?
Sylvia looked at Mei with a peculiar expression, but Mei merely blinked, offering no further explanation.
For instance, Mei had learned back then that Ifrit's target was the Herta Space Station, and that some unknown entity had leaked part of Sylvia's information to him—such as the fact that the fire of a Lord Ravager was sealed inside her body, giving her destructive flames capable of scorching the starry sea.
To Ifrit, who was born from fire, Sylvia was clearly a target worth noticing, plundering, or even devouring.
Mei didn't know who had leaked Sylvia's information to Ifrit. However, she just happened to know that Sylvia had been at the Herta Space Station recently.
If Ifrit really ran off to the space station, Sylvia would be targeted, which might bring her trouble. That was what sparked Mei's idea to go trouble the Ever-Flame Mansion.
As for the invitation, it was just a little something she wanted to pick up along the way.
Of course, after being provoked by Sylvia later on, Mei had abandoned her plan to single-handedly crusade against the Ever-Flame Mansion. But she wouldn't mention any of this to Sylvia.
Otherwise, coming out of her own mouth, it would make her sound like some sort of high-maintenance, troublesome woman.
Sylvia stared for a good while, and seeing that Mei had no intention of continuing, she dropped her desire to investigate further. Compared to this, it was better to consider how they were going to fight Duke Inferno in a moment.
Hidden away in the shadows, people coldly eyed the two women who had abruptly appeared. There was disdain and malice, but no one intended to make a move against them just yet.
"Two outsiders, and their target is the Ever-Flame Mansion?"
"Enemies? Or accomplices?"
The forces of the Ever-Flame Mansion were attempting to rule all of Jepella, making this a rather delicate time.
These two women had appeared out of nowhere, and their destination pointed explicitly toward the headquarters of the Ever-Flame Mansion. They certainly didn't look like lost, helpless young ladies.
Perhaps something earth-shattering for Jepella was about to happen. This was the thought crossing many minds present. Of course, it was also possible that these two women would go and never return, reduced to charcoal by the flames.
More and more gazes began to gather from the surroundings. Mei had originally intended to enjoy her stroll with Sylvia a bit longer, but with the crowds swelling in all directions, she had no desire to turn the two of them into a public spectacle.
On the other hand, Sylvia wasn't feeling much of a stroll atmosphere herself. She truly couldn't replicate the bizarre sense of relaxation that Mei displayed.
While Sylvia was still observing the environment of Jepella, Mei suddenly let go of her hand, wrapped an arm around Sylvia's waist, and pulled her tightly into her embrace.
Before Sylvia could say a word, Mei tilted her head and whispered in her ear, "Alright, time to speed up. Let's go over and get this resolved quickly."
With that, Mei tightened her grip on Sylvia's waist.
With a flash of her figure, she vanished instantly at the end of the street at a speed imperceptible to ordinary eyes, hurtling toward the region where the flames surged.
"..."
Suddenly swept away by Mei, Sylvia felt the howling gale rushing against her face and desperately wanted to pinch Mei's cheeks hard.
Why didn't you mention going faster when you were strolling so leisurely earlier? Now that we're halfway there, you suddenly say we need to hurry up.
You've had your fill of holding hands and walking, so now you just up and leave? What an unpredictable woman.
Thinking this way, Sylvia quickly put her thoughts into action. She withdrew her greatsword, raised her hand, and pinched Mei's soft cheek, giving it a couple of firm tugs.
"Mm...?"
Having her face suddenly pinched didn't make Mei stop her pace. She merely turned her head to look at Sylvia in confusion.
Her bangs, tossed back by the wind, left her entire face completely exposed to Sylvia, her eyes filled with utter bewilderment. She clearly had no idea why she was suddenly being pinched.
But soon enough, Mei brought Sylvia to a halt right in front of the towering wall of fire. The fierce wind whipped up by the two of them nearly suppressed the wall before them, sending waves of heat rolling outward.
Seeing this, Sylvia spared herself the explanation. Stepping out of Mei's embrace, she unleashed a shroud of fire to encircle them both, and then walked straight into the massive sheets of flame.
--+--
Meanwhile, inside a magnificent and luxurious mansion, Duke Inferno, who was seated upon a high-end, fireproof sofa, paused mid-motion. His cane struck the thick carpet, letting out a dull thud.
"Someone has intruded upon my domain?"
At this moment, although Jepella had not been completely conquered, no one should have the courage to quietly sneak into a place like this.
"Constance."
"Father."
A tall woman dressed in white, bearing demonic horns and a tail, appeared silently behind Acheron's father figure, Ifrit. A ghostly blue flame flickered and died out at the tip of her tail.
Thud.
The cane struck the floor with a dull ring once more.
Ifrit's voice echoed through the room, "Someone has invaded our territory, and they likely come with ill intent. My daughter, go and discover what they are truly made of."
Hearing this, Constance bared a chilling smile. Leaving behind a brief "Understood," she vanished silently from the mansion once again.
Only after she left did Ifrit rise from the sofa. Adjusting his straight, impeccable formal suit, he walked outside.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL