The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

Chapter 121: Trapping The Trapper

The auburn-haired girl followed her unsuspectingly into the White Lily Palace, staring around in wonder at the luxurious furnishings and decorations. Once they entered Evelyn's apartment, Amber was even more shocked to discover that not only the palace itself, but even her friend's room was amazing!

"Wow! We can even have a race in here!"

Evelyn chuckled. "If that's your first thought, then I'm sure you'll get along well with Vivi."

And as if she had been summoned by her name, a short girl with long, blood-red hair shot out of Evelyn's room. "Eve~ are you back yet?! Huh? Who are you?"

Once Evelyn had introduced her as a classmate, Vivian wasn't as wary, and after a while, the two of them had somehow joined forces to convince her that it was a good idea to actually try racing up and down the hall.

Evelyn thought about it and decided to indulge them for a while, but it soon turned out to be a terrible idea.

With Vivian's fierce competitive streak, it was impossible for her to not try her best to win each race, and with their physique, the speed at which they could run was already fast enough to create a resounding 'boom' when they slammed into the wall.

Of course, they used their hands and feet to brace against the impact, but the sound was still enough to make her ears ring for a while.

Thankfully, the rooms in the White Lily Palace could isolate noise quite well, or perhaps many would have come knocking at their door already to get them to quiet down.

Their fun couldn't last long, as Amara soon realized Evelyn had probably returned once her little sister didn't come back to bother Aurora along with Cecilia.

The little redhead could only give in to her big sister, and sulkily follow her back.

Evelyn led the confused Amber to her room, where the girl was shocked to see the 'mysterious teacher' was pouting while a strange, golden-haired little girl played with her hair, tying it into many uneven braids.

Even Evelyn giggled, but her face turned stiff as she saw Aurora glare at her. "A-Ahem, anyway, Amber, come here. There are a few things I have to talk to you about, okay?"

Amber had of course never expected that the 'kind' senior who had given them a lucky chance was actually scheming against them. Of course, Evelyn hadn't told her that he was actually scheming against her, and just using Amber as a pawn, as that didn't really matter much.

Obviously, with Evelyn's teacher also being there, Amber didn't think they would joke with her, but she was also a little worried. "I-If it's like that, why am I the only one staying back?"

Evelyn sighed. "Because if both of us don't go, how will we know what they're planning? Don't worry, I'm quite strong, and Aurora will also be there to protect me."

The auburn-haired girl couldn't help but pout. "I-I also want to go with you, I can help you too! D-Don't forget, I'm gorilla strong!"

Of course, Evelyn didn't think Amber's strength was bad for her age. In fact, it was quite good. However, she was awfully unprepared for something of this scale, and taking her along would definitely be a disaster. 

However, she also didn't want to make Amber feel that she was worthless, or that she looked down on her.

Evelyn chuckled. "Yes yes, I know. But wouldn't it be easier for Aurora to protect just one person? And like I said, she's more familiar with me."

She gave her teacher a look to get her to help, but the platinum blonde just looked away with a huff.

In the end, Amber had no choice but to believe them, and thankfully the girl didn't protest much to staying along with the Gilmore sisters and Cecilia.

Of course, Evelyn knew that Aurora was quite annoyed with her by now, and decided to soothe her teacher's anger before they left the next day. Using the excuse of making 'plans' she had everyone but Aurora move into the Gilmore sister's room.

It didn't take long for her to untie the braids that Bree had made in Aurora's hair, and after she looked normal again, Evelyn cleared her throat. "Um, thank you very much for taking care of them so patiently. They didn't bother you too much, did they?"

Aurora huffed. "Just tell me what you plan to do tomorrow."

The pink-haired girl knew she was angry. 'Hmm I doubt Amara would let Vivian be too willful with Aurora, so it must be Cecilia and Bree bothering her the most, right? Well, I'll have them make it up to her later, I guess.'

The next morning, Riley looked 'shocked' when he heard that Evelyn would be the only one of the two coming.

"Huh? What happened to Amber?"

Evelyn nodded, looking regretful. "One of my attendants slipped up and mentioned that the 'Thousand Eyed God' might still be lurking there, and she doesn't want to go anymore."

Riley blinked in surprise. 'Oh right The newbies this year actually saw that thing fight the two guardians, didn't they? Dang, this little brat must have balls of steel to not be scared. I guess she really does have what it takes, but too bad it's over for her soon.'

Of course, given that their target was right here, and Amber was just an excuse, Riley didn't really mind, and 'reluctantly' accepted it, pretending that he wanted to reject her without Amber, but since he was a man of his word, he would bring her along.

Evelyn of course sighed in 'relief', as if she was glad she didn't miss this opportunity, making Riley smile derisively. 'Heh, she pretended to be so reluctant to come yesterday, but when I really mentioned not bringing her along, she showed her real self?'

Though this much selfishness was to be expected from anyone who had the will to progress, Riley still thought Evelyn was quite hypocritical. 'Well, guess I can understand why so many people hate her now'

Of course, he didn't let those emotions show on his face as he led the girl to their rendevous point with a faint smile.

Evelyn rolled her eyes as she checked his status, just to see if she could see any changes from yesterday, perhaps a new artifact he brought along to surprise her, but nothing like that showed up.

What she saw, instead, was that his affection dropped from -12% to -22%.

The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes. 'Well, at least that proves that my acting is good, right?'

Evelyn hadn't been sure how much of Riley's words had been made up, but apparently, he at least had a real 'expedition' to bring them to, and the trap would presumably be somewhere in the wonderland of doom.

It was quite a risky move, considering that the pillars were still there combing through the forest. How were these brats so sure that it wouldn't mess up their plan somehow?

Granted, the chance of stumbling across one of them was abysmal, but if she had been the one making the plan, she would rather not take it.

But since she had Aurora on her side, Evelyn didn't think there was much to worry about. After all, in the worst case, these students would actually have a pillar backing them, but wouldn't her teacher still be able to protect her?

'But I have to be cautious. Aurora said she can reach me within three seconds after I break this new bead, and it can protect me from attacks of up to rank A rangers for thirty seconds'

Evelyn sighed. 'I should have asked her what rank the pillars are they're probably higher than rank A, right? I'll break the bead as soon as I sense someone really strong nearby, just in case. Better not let them attack me at all.'

Since they were heading to the Wonderland of Doom, the gathering place for the 'team' was, of course, in the 'Southern Forbidden City'.

The two of them seemed to be one of the first to arrive, and Evelyn ended up waiting quite a while in the so-called tavern that they had set to be the meeting point.

"You want some? This is quite good stuff, even spirit physiques like us can feel a buzz for about an hour, and it doesn't hurt to drink at all!"

In this world, there were no age restrictions on drinking alcohol, but Evelyn felt that Riley's offer was still out of line. After all, trying alcohol for the first time, right before heading to the Wonderland of Doom? What a joke.

If she really accepted it, she would deserve to be called the Queen of Morons.

"I would rather not. What if I make a mistake because of being drunk? Everyone else will make fun of me, then. I bet even you would laugh. Hmph."

Riley chuckled. 'As expected, this girl is quite clever. Too bad for her, that fast little mind of her is gonna be useless against our plans'

~ To be continued ~