The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 152

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 152

“Anyway, Lillieta, your opinion takes priority above all. Will you accept His Highness the Crown Prince’s proposal to become his Coronator?”

Her mother’s fuss made the justification of expressing support for Raskail blur in her mind. As she had told Leonhardt, she focused only on her heart and thought.

Even so, her contemplation wasn’t long.

It wasn’t a matter of accepting or refusing.

The fact that it was practically equivalent to an engagement didn’t feel very real to her. What struck her was a different matter.

She didn’t want to give up the position beside Gideon to anyone. Just as it had been until now, she wanted it to continue forever.

Rita faced her newly realized greed directly. She didn’t deny it.

“Yes, I want to do it, that role.”

She didn’t want to give him up. So she would have him. Everything, including what he was hiding, completely and entirely.

* * *

June 8th, 1770.

The day to begin Tritoma Mage Gunner special training.

For the first time in a while, Lillieta wore comfortable riding clothes instead of a dress.

Her Tritoma uniform was being custom-made separately. It was too early to wear it now since she would put it on when officially joining after the Special Military Order’s formal announcement.

Rita arrived at Beacon Garden with Lindsey and immediately headed toward the lighthouse tower, crossing the vast glass greenhouse.

Teaching juniors was already familiar to her, so she wasn’t particularly nervous, but it did concern her that among them were ‘Pascals’ who hadn’t returned. The existence of Max Pascal, no, Maxwell Roan, who had been devoured by a Mimic, also bothered her.

‘But what concerns me most is, after all…’

It was Gid, whom she had arranged to meet at Beacon Garden after today’s training ended.

Lillieta swallowed her complicated feelings and entered the lighthouse tower a little earlier than the appointed time. Olivia, who had been waiting in the first-floor lobby, spotted her and jumped up to approach.

“Welcome, Rita.”

“Hi, Oli. Were you waiting to introduce me to the juniors?”

“That’s just a bonus, the main point is this.”

She grinned and opened the box she had been holding. Rita’s eyes widened when she saw what was inside.

“Grace!”

“The modification is finally complete.”

Looking closely, Olivia’s eyes were dark with circles underneath. Rita was about to excitedly take the revolver but stopped to examine her friend’s complexion.

“Oli, you didn’t overdo it, did you?”

“I ate three proper meals a day and slept regularly.”

“Then what are those dark circles under your eyes?”

“That’s unavoidable. It’s like a symbol of a competent mage.”

Olivia snorted and quickly explained the functions added to Silver Grace, which had been modified into a mage gun.

“I included mode switching, magazine storage, blind spot vision, night vision, automatic rapid fire, and range measurement, but I omitted output control and aim correction functions. You’d be much better at handling those yourself.”

“Perfect.”

“Of course, I also upgraded the anti-recklessness function.”

Rita flinched at Oli’s ominous addition, then gave an awkward smile.

“Oli, I don’t do that anymore, really.”

“Oh, sure. I’m sure you don’t.”

Olivia brushed off her protest and poked the butterfly pattern engraved on the silver revolver as she explained.

“I added emergency treatment and emergency mode functions to Grace. The former helps with healing in butterfly form, and emergency mode… you’ll find out if it activates, right? I hope there’s never a need to activate it, my friend.”

“Mm-hmm…”

Oli’s eyes were blazing so intensely that Rita couldn’t make a peep and obediently accepted Grace.

‘It definitely feels familiar. It fits perfectly in my hand.’

When she tested it, a familiar voice echoed in her mind.

[Welcome: It’s been 17 days, 19 hours, and 38 minutes, User.]

[Notice: Great New Grace greets you.]

“Great… what?”

[Correction: ‘Great New Grace.’ A great and new artificial spirit reborn from the Creator’s hands to more perfectly assist the User’s combat and more reliably dissuade the User’s impulsive actions.]

[Suggestion: You may cutely call me G-New-G for short.]

Rita stared blankly down at the sparkling butterfly pattern, then lowered her voice to ask Oli.

“Oli, the artificial spirit’s personality seems to have changed a bit.”

“I didn’t change the personality during modification. It’s customized for you, so it must be your influence.”

“Because of me? This?”

“Why? Is it strange?”

“A little…”

[Notice: User, this artificial spirit received information about what happened to you during modification from the Creator.]

[Assessment: After reviewing the User’s tendencies I’ve experienced and the events that occurred, I determined that a more intense personality was needed for this artificial spirit to effectively appeal to the User.]

[Opinion: The User is weak to personalities like the Creator’s, especially when the other party is identified as the User’s ally, someone to protect, or a young and weak being.]

[Analysis: This artificial spirit was born not long ago, so is actually a child, no, a baby, and is a fragile being with no power whatsoever.]

[Conclusion: Therefore, this artificial spirit decided to become a fragile but smart, confident, and adorable baby to more reliably assist the User.]

[Aegyo: Please find baby G-New-G cute, User.]

“…”

Rita looked down at Silver Grace with a dizzy expression and promptly turned it off.

“What’s wrong?”

“You really didn’t change the personality, right?”

“I told you I didn’t. I was busy enough modifying it into a mage gun, when would I have had time to mess with the personality?”

Olivia frowned and scratched her chin as she peered at Silver Grace.

“Why? Did it get really strange? Should I check it?”

“…No, I think I just need some time to adjust.”

She’d need quite a lot of adjustment time, but it wasn’t enough to further trouble her friend whose eyes were already sunken.

Rita decided to have a serious talk with the artificial spirit later and carefully stored Silver Grace in her bracelet holster.

Olivia retrieved the blackened standard mage gun she had been borrowing and gasped while checking it.

“Hey! What happened to this! The internal components are melted!”

Was it because of the dragon’s breath? No, even before that, it had overheated quite a bit from panic firing… Rita slyly avoided Oli’s gaze and moved toward a corner of the lobby.

“This is the staircase to the underground training ground, right? The mage gunners must be waiting, so I’ll go down.”

“Hey, you crazy matan! You downplayed what happened that day, didn’t you? If the mage gun is in this condition, then what on earth—”

“See you later, Oli!”

Lillieta quickly fled down the stairs. Lindsey, who had been quietly following her as she hurried down, suddenly scooped her up.

“Lindsey?”

“Your leg hasn’t received a complete recovery verdict yet, my lady.”

Lindsey Dyce replied matter-of-factly, then added in a grumbling tone.

“My impression of you keeps changing the more I get to know you, my lady.”

“My impression changes?”

“At first, I thought you were just a mentally and physically weak kidnapping victim. After getting to know you a little, I judged you to be more cool-headed and capable than expected. After knowing you more, I thought you were unexpectedly kind and considerate. But now, well…”

Lindsey trailed off as she finished descending the stairs and set her down. When Rita looked up questioningly, she sighed openly and continued.

“Honestly, I think you’re more troublesome because you’re capable. In the sense that it’s worrying to take my eyes off you, you’re somewhat like a troublemaker…”

“A troublemaker? Isn’t that too harsh an assessment of your master?”

“Hmm, reconsidering that you are my lady, let me rephrase: your quick judgment and actions, combined with your abilities, seem to make the scale and scope of the trouble you cause quite extraordinary. I sometimes think it would have been less stressful for those around you if you were a bit more incompetent.”

“Wait, were the things that happened really trouble? Most of the results were excellent. And I’ve resolved to stop causing worry…”

Rita grumbled but couldn’t speak too forcefully as her past misdeeds came to mind. At the same time, she thought to herself.

Gid notices and appreciates every effort I make. I guess only Gid sees this side of me.

Underground at Beacon Garden, several training facilities had been built with various magical enhancements to prevent noise and damage. This was where Beacon had secretly trained the Tritoma Special Military Order for several years.

“It was the Third Training Facility, right?”

It was equipped with the facilities and equipment Lillieta had requested, so the special training would take place there. As she confirmed the location and walked down the corridor, she heard boisterous voices.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it. There’s no exaggeration in what you’re saying, right? It’s an unexaggerated fact that the matan shot in a long-range sniper attack fell like the setting sun?”

“Like the sun, the sun. It wasn’t even magic, just a matan, wow, this is crazy.”

“How can you all be so naive, really.”

Giggling laughter continued to echo. It was the sound flowing out from the Third Training Facility.

Rita paused in front of the door for a moment, listening to the commotion. Lindsey explained in a low voice.

“They’re the few Special Agents who didn’t send letters to Master. Mostly the existing top-ranked Mage Gunners, but since they’ve never seen a real Mage Gunner, they think they’re the best and dismiss Master’s achievements as exaggerations… Ahem, shall I deal with them?”

“Why bother dealing with them.”

Rita chuckled and immediately threw open the door as she continued speaking.

“Once training starts, they’ll all shut up soon enough.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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