Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 190

[Vol. 5] Chapter 190: Not My Concern!

“Not a bad thing… what does that mean?”

Ayla’s natural curiosity and desire for knowledge prompted her to ask the question almost instinctively.

At this point, she had realized that this mysterious Miss Dawn was completely fearless, seemingly unafraid of anything. The fact that she had just offered an amount of wealth far exceeding Ayla’s research funding was most likely just a test of her character.

Moreover, this person obviously knew some secrets, which could potentially fill the gaps in her current research!

However, Miss White Fox did not straightforwardly answer Ayla’s question. Instead, she tilted her head and lightly tapped her smooth, pale finger against the lips of her little fox mask, revealing a teasing smile.

“I could certainly tell you, but that would have to wait until we establish a true collaborative relationship. So, how about it? Give me a clear answer now. I’m not the kind of person who likes to force deals.”

Since the conversation had reached this point, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

Ayla could feel that she and Miss Dawn were likely of the same kind—people who were willing to endure hardships and pay any price just to explore the unknown and the mysterious.

Such individuals usually had pure intentions. The satisfaction derived from discovering the truth was the best reward and prize.

It was likely that the appearance of someone with a kindred spirit would become a crucial turning point in her research career!

With this thought in mind, Ayla no longer hesitated.

“I agree. As long as you help me complete my research, I am willing to share all the results with you. Let this contract be the proof!”

“Good, straightforward! Our collaboration begins now, though a contract isn’t really necessary. I have a pretty good sense of people, and I’m not worried you’ll go back on your word… Hmm, as a sign of good faith in our partnership, let me show you another gift from my side.”

*Snap.*

Miss White Fox snapped her fingers. Although it was just a soft sound in the confined space of the research room, it triggered an unexpected change for Ayla.

A cool-looking girl with long golden hair pushed open the door and casually tossed a figure she had been holding by the collar onto the ground. She then closed the door without saying a word and stood behind Miss White Fox.

“?”

Ayla glanced at the curled-up shadowy figure on the ground and couldn’t help but direct a “What does this mean?” look at the two girls in front of her.

The beautiful golden-haired girl, who had entered without Ayla noticing, remained silent, but it was clear that Miss Dawn, the one in charge, had no intention of keeping her in suspense.

“Weren’t you planning to go after him earlier? In truth, this guy is a bait and a trap. If you had followed his trail, he would’ve likely used some trickery to provoke you into attacking him. At that moment, the arbiters lurking around will have an excuse to swarm in and capture you.”

“Fighting openly in the Holy Academy, combined with some behind-the-scenes manipulation, would leave you in a very difficult situation. I’m sure I don’t need to explain further what would happen after that, right?”

“What? They dared to…!”

“Heh, even a rabbit will bite when it’s cornered, let alone certain powerful figures who control a lot of influence.”

As if finding it troublesome to converse in the dark room, Miss White Fox raised her hand and threw out a ball of golden flame from her sleeve. The bright, luminous fire floated up into the air, instantly illuminating the small research room.

With the lighting issue resolved, the girl waved her hand, and the corrosive acid that had spread across the corners and walls of the room seemed to be drawn by some invisible force. It spontaneously gathered into a mass and flew out through the window, which had just opened automatically, landing with a soft “puff.”

“All right, now it’s a bit cleaner. I’m not sure if you still have use for those broken parts, so you can handle them yourself later. Hmm… Speaking of which, a lot of documents here have been destroyed. About your next research…”

“Ah, it’s fine, just some trivial records. I’ve already memorized all the valuable content. As long as the funding is sufficient, I can always restart the experiments.”

“I see, that’s good. Now let’s get back to the main topic.”

Miss White Fox gestured with her eyes toward the figure lying on the ground, seemingly knocked out by violence.

“Do you know this guy?”

Although Ayla understood that the other party was demonstrating her power to give her confidence in their upcoming collaboration, she was still emotionally taken aback by the series of incredible methods Miss White Fox had displayed, which made her feel much more at ease.

Thus, following Miss White Fox’s intent, Ayla shifted her gaze to the curled-up young man under the illumination of the golden flames and quickly frowned.

“Hubert? Why is this guy…?”

Well, it seemed that Ayla indeed recognized him.

In fact, Violet was not seeing this young man named Hubert for the first time either. Earlier that day, when they had just entered the ?Hall of Theology?, he was the half-beastman scholar who had publicly promoted the idea of developing geothermal energy in the ?General Assembly? Hall but was met with widespread disdain from the audience, forcing him to leave in embarrassment.

That said, the order of speeches in the ?General Assembly? Hall was likely arranged according to the room numbers of each research group.

Hubert’s research room was located just a few dozen meters away from here, right next to Ayla’s. Miss White Fox and Miss Dragon had clearly seen the entire sequence of events where he had broken open the door lock and wreaked havoc in here before hurriedly fleeing back to his hideout.

So…

“Why did he do this? Although it’s not hard to guess the answer, let’s hear what the person involved has to say.”

With that, the white fox girl waved her sleeve, and an invisible force suddenly struck Hubert’s face, jolting him awake.

“Ugh! A-a monster!”

As soon as he regained consciousness, the scholar let out a shrill scream as if he had been subjected to a tremendous shock, especially upon seeing the blonde girl behind Miss White Fox.

Instinctively, he wanted to crawl and roll away towards the exit, but when he collided with the door, it was as if he was rebounded by an invisible force, causing him to fall back and sink into even greater terror.

“Ahhhhhh!!!!”

Seemingly overwhelmed by the mental pressure, Hubert could not comprehend any form of dialogue. He only shivered and scrambled desperately into a corner of the room, curling up like a hedgehog and repeatedly mumbling, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” appearing clearly unwell.

“…?”

The white fox girl, with a strange look in her eyes, turned to glance at her beloved dragon girl, who merely averted her gaze slightly, appearing somewhat guilty and adopting an “I have nothing to do with this” attitude.

Violet pondered the situation with a hint of confusion.

Did she go too far…? That couldn’t be possible. If her dragon had really used some pressure-type skill that could affect the mind, this essentially powerless ordinary creature would almost certainly be scared to death, not just reduced to this level of madness, right?

“Ahem…”

In response to Ayla’s confused gaze, the white fox girl awkwardly cleared her throat and took out a bell, gently shaking it in the air.

“Ding-ling~”

As if his soul had been captured by some force, Hubert, the scholar who had been frightened out of his wits by the dragon girl, suddenly stiffened, stopped trembling, and blankly lifted his head, his gaze staring vacantly ahead.

“Uh, what’s wrong with him?”

After observing for a while, Miss Ayla finally managed to blurt out that question.

“He is… ahem… It’s just a method to facilitate questioning. You saw how he was before… Don’t worry, this isn’t some evil ability. After a good night’s sleep, he should be fine by tomorrow morning and won’t remember anything that happened here tonight.”

“Miss Ayla, if you have any questions, you can ask now. After all, I’m sure you’ve been curious about who is targeting you for quite some time now~”