MTLNOVEL Chapter 481: Trust
Vellia shrugged:
"Have you been following that guy Leoz for too long, thinking every problem can be solved by defeating the enemy?"
"No, Mr. Leoz didn't teach that."
Dai Yawen pinched her collar and shrugged:
"Speaking of which, Teacher Vellia, I've been with you for thirteen years, three times longer than I've been with Leoz. If we talk about closeness, shouldn't I be closer to you?"
Vellia laughed:
"That's true, you ought to forget that kid by now, right?"
"Not really."
Dai Yawen said plainly:
"I've just come to understand some things. I'm no longer Yawen who lives for a man, but Dai Yawen who seeks answers for herself—I specifically changed my surname to remind myself."
"That's good." Vellia propped her chin: "From the beginning, I felt you two weren't suitable."
"Master?"
"No matter how you say it, Leoz is a dragon among men, an elite among elites. Although not very smart, to be honest, when facing a 'Society' as an enemy, the smarter one is, the more easily they give up resistance. Such a person is too excellent to belong solely to one person—you following him would only end up wearing a green hat or being pushed to the sidelines; he's not suitable for you, Yawen."
Vellia stroked her chin:
"But saying that, I might be rather suitable to pair with Leoz. After all, in terms of experience or beauty, I'm outstanding—uhh, just thinking about it makes me a bit nauseous."
She thought of the scene, shuddered all over, and goosebumps rose on her skin.
"So disgusting..."
"Master, don't you only like women..."
Dai Yawen was both amused and exasperated.
Even though she saw through her feelings for Leoz, Vellia's wanton remarks still caught her attention.
It's probably like... a favorite cake being casually cut with a knife by someone.
It wasn't taken away, but it still felt strange.
"Strictly speaking, I like beautiful things, mainly the beauty of the soul. Even if the gender is Dorakia, that's fine."
"Dorakia... what is that?"
"One of the 27,861 genders among Cosmic Beings, specifically manifesting as a mechanical body physiologically, but self-identifying as a female adult Tree Person with a sexual orientation for acidic soil, a non-binary metallic queer tomboy species fluid."
Vellia said lightly:
"But rest assured. I've lived for thousands of years; the yearning for youthful love has long since burned out. Don't be fooled by my grandmotherly beauty; if not for changing my blood centuries ago, as a Secret Citizen, I'd have long kicked the bucket."
Dai Yawen was momentarily stunned, then understood what the other meant.
"Longevity debate, huh..."
"A person like Leoz is destined to achieve great success on the Pathway, possessing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands? Millions of years? Perhaps a lifespan comparable to the Star System, Cosmic."
Vellia kindly reminded:
"But as a Secret Citizen, leaving Gaia's interior, you wouldn't even last a thousand years outside—not even Speakers can manage that. As I understand, Redd Gold keeps reincarnating, and Anpolo has to periodically crawl into a coffin to hibernate, while [Scholar] has no way to extend life, relying only on spiritual sustenance passed to the next successor."
She shook her head:
"I'm not against you pursuing free love, but some issues are destined to have no resolution."
"...You're overthinking it."
Dai Yawen smiled:
"I'm already 34, almost at a midlife crisis by mortal standards, so I'm not expecting to get married or fall in love. Besides, I haven't seen Mr. Leoz for so long; even if you had a cat years ago, after more than a decade, the feelings should have faded."
"Hmm... I hope you're not deceiving yourself."
Vellia paced with her hands behind her back amidst the ruins of the Void:
"My advice to you might not be right, and to be blunt—after so much time has passed, Leoz hasn't reached Border Abyss yet, so you should prepare for the worst."
"I know."
Dai Yawen nodded:
"It might be due to silent communication failure... which delayed the progress."
"Or maybe Leoz has already died in that silent communication accident."
Vellia said indifferently:
"There's a reason I have you do things, Yawen."
Dai Yawen was stunned.
She quickly realized that Vellia had her perceiving Ether Blood not just to train her abilities but also to confirm the victims of the accident.
"...Master, don't you have confidence in Leoz?"
"If I always trusted others, I should have died when I was twelve."
Vellia replied casually:
"Child, there are too many geniuses in this world, and the Cosmos is too vast. Billions die each year, and maybe someone is a rising star extinguished by a helium flash, or a once-in-a-millennium heroic figure poisoned by eating mushrooms by the roadside—these things happen every day. If you lived as long as I have, you'd give up hope in 'genius' and 'elite' expectations too."
"...Maybe."
Dai Yawen recalled various past events, shaking her head:
"But no matter what, I've decided to believe in Mr. Leoz."
"See, you still talk about 'seeing through it', but you're still quite concerned about that handsome young beauty, huh."
"It's not out of admiration, Teacher."
Dai Yawen glanced around at the surroundings and said:
"In the memory of Ether Blood, I can feel a Void Overlord called 'Xides'."
"Clearly defeated by [Society], yet he roared 'Leoz! It's all your fault!'..."
Yawen paused, then smiled:
"Though the name Leoz is too common, but I think, the one that can be hated so much, loved so deeply, there's probably only that one Leoz."
"Whatever you say."
Vellia pursed her lips:
"I'm pessimistic about everything anyway. Leoz hasn't come down for so long, and we're about to head to Zhou Yuan while severe silent communication loss happened here... to be honest, I doubt a normal person could avoid making connections."
—Implying that Leoz has probably already died in the silent communication accident.
"That's hard to say."
Dai Yawen smiled:
"After so many years, I'm speaking not as an admirer but as a former fellow traveler. I believe he's just temporarily busy with other matters, and soon, he'll arrive at Border Abyss."