CHAPTER 19
While walking with a hungry stomach, Meira stopped when she saw the conspicuous building and was amazed at the colorful paint of the building. What grabbed her attention were Cruella's ethereal beauty and her silky silver-red hair that looked so soft to the touch.
"Are you kidding me, Meira Latona? Do you know who I am?! I still can't forget what you did to me ten thousand years ago!" Sera blurted out in disbelief.
"Huh? Ten thousand years ago...?!" Meira really can't recall her memories. She's like a blank slate at the moment. "I can't remember..."
Sera furrowed her brows and yanked away her hands from Meira's hold with a puzzled expression. She looks at Meira and finds that the latter seems to be speaking the truth.
'What happened?' Sera squinted her eyes and stared intently at Meira which the latter beamed in return.
Sera facepalmed and then yelled at Meira. "I'm Sera Von Khaos, the Great Destroyer you killed ten thousand years ago! Don't you remember?"
Meira was baffled at Sera's outburst. She scratched her head and said, "I can't remember anything..."
Hearing Meira couldn't remember anything, Sera burst out laughing as she gloated. "Ha-ha! This is karma! Great! I hope you don't recover your memory! Hmph!"
Meira blinked her yellowish-green eyes and beamed when she saw Sera laughing because of her.
On the other hand, Cruella and Lucy just watched the duo with a baffled look.
What happened just now is so sudden and now they witness Sera's gloating expression.
The duo can't imagine that the crybaby Sera was gloating at the misfortune of her nemesis.
They looked at each other and stifled a laugh.
Well, it's just that they couldn't erase the image of Sera's crying face.
"Alright. Sera and... Meira? Let's—" Cruella trailed off when a grumbling of a stomach echoed. A pin-drop silence ensued.
"Oops! I'm sorry... he-he!" Meira smiled sheepishly as though she was caught in the act. She pouted and rubbed her stomach. With a pitiful, crying face, she murmured, "Hu-hu! I'm famished!"
Meira at that moment looks so adorable in the eyes of the trio like they saw a docile, lost puppy. Cruella's heart skipped a beat and an idea popped up in her head.
"Here!" Cruella handed an apple to Meira with a smile. The latter beamed and quickly ate the apple in a matter of seconds. "Hm, yummy!" Meira was delighted and asked for another one and Cruella gave her another apple. The apples they bought earlier came in handy.
"Thank you...?" Meira looks at Cruella in anticipation.
"I'm Cruella," Cruella said and couldn't help but pat Meira's head. 'He-he, she's like a puppy!'
"Yay! Thank you, Cruella!" Meira held Cruella's arms with a happy expression.
Sera and Lucy, on the other hand, were dazzled seeing the stunning duo with their imagination run wild. In their eyes, Cruella and Meira look so intimate and have an ambiguous relationship.
Sera imagines Meira being Cruella's slave and doing her bidding. Then because of her close relationship with Cruella, Meira couldn't be able to kill her with the holy light and she lived happily ever after!
Sera was grinning at her imagination.
Meanwhile, Lucy's imagination was different. Cruella and Meira laughed with each other happily as they ate a bunch of sweets and delicacies in the world! Then she was ousted and became a discarded apple.
Lucy pouted at her imagination.
However, their imagination was cut short when Cruella flicked their foreheads. "What were you both thinking? Hm?"
The duo rubbed their foreheads and smiled sheepishly. But they pouted when Meira was still clinging in Cruella's arms. Sera glared at Meira while puffing her cheeks in jealousy which the latter found so adorable that she ended up pinching Sera's cheeks.
Sera was startled and exploded like an angry kitten, baring her claws. She slapped Meira's hand away and yelled, "Don't touch me, stranger!"
Meira pouted and apologized. "Sorry... It's just that you look so cute just now."
Unexpectedly, Sera's face flushed in embarrassment at the compliment.
Cruella laughed at their interaction. The duo is like a dog and a cat.
Seeing Sera acting like that means Sera was changing for the better and getting further away from the dark past she came from.
Cruella was glad they met Meira. She hoped Meira's light and happy personality could warm Sera's aching heart.
"Alright. That's enough. Let's go inside." Cruella intervened and ushered them to enter the building.
The moment the group entered the building, they caught everyone's attention with their dazzling beauty. Everyone thought they saw fairies descending from heaven.
Murmurs filled the hall as they marveled at the trio's otherworldly beauty. However, they all shrink back in fear when they receive a deadly glare from Sera that sends shivers down their spine. They felt like they were being stared at by a ferocious beast.
Seeing the people cower, Sera felt satisfied.
Cruella didn't notice it and just walked straight to the reception.
The lady with pink hair and a voluptuous figure smiled at the newcomers even though she was also shocked seeing Sera's deadly glare that made everyone shut up and said professionally, "Hi, my name is Lottie. How may I help you?"
Cruella handed her S+ Rank adventurers card and said, "Hi, Lottie. My name is Cruella and I came from Crowest Town Adventurers Guild. Can my card be used here?"
Lottie took the card and gasped in awe. Her eyes lit up and smiled brightly at Cruella, "Of course! The card works everywhere! Your presence is highly appreciated in this guild and the city. Miss Cruella, you are very welcome!"
Cruella nodded. "Thank you. Well, I want to take a request today. Do you have available in any difficulty level?"
"Sure. Wait for a moment." Lottie immediately sprinted in her heels and entered a room.
In a flash, Lottie came back holding three papers and laid them on the counter for all to see. "These requests remained untaken for a while as no one took them. These requests were quite difficult."
"It's fine." Cruella took a look and checked the contents. A request caught her interest and read it.
Lottie immediately explained. "Ah, that request is a recent one. A few months ago, a dungeon suddenly appeared in the forest a hundred kilometers away and some troubling matters kept happening there and some adventurers went missing and didn't come out after entering the dungeon for how many days."
"I'll take this."
"Okay." Lottie stamped the paper and sighed in relief. She hopes that Cruella could solve this matter soon.
After leaving the guild, Cruella led the trio into the restaurant and Meira's eyes twinkle in excitement.
The group ate to their heart before going on an adventure. In the middle of their meal, they heard other people talking about the dungeon.
"Luke's party still didn't come out of the dungeon. It's been two weeks already. Do you think they're dead?"
"Hope not. Luke is an A-Rank adventurer. He's strong so let's be optimistic!"
"I heard that another party entered two days ago and they didn't come out as well."
"Are they a buffoon? Why do they take such risk?"
"I'm glad I didn't join the party when they offered me some benefits."
"Do you think there is a powerful monster hidden in the dungeon?"
"I think so."
"Hey, guys, do you remember the dungeon near the capital?"
"Yeah. I think the same thing happened!"
"It's really strange."
Cruella's interest was piqued when she heard there was another dungeon and in the capital at that.
She plans to go to the capital next after completing this request.
If these guys were right about a powerful monster hidden in the dungeon, it would be an advantage for Cruella.
She's thinking of making it her new subject.
After leaving the restaurant, they immediately left Sun City toward the dungeon as they followed the map Lottie gave them.
Halfway through the journey, Meira felt tired and suddenly fell asleep.
No matter how they shook her, Meira wouldn't wake up.
Cruella has no choice but to carry the sleeping Meira on her back and it took them two hours to find the entrance of the dungeon.
As Cruella and her companions arrived at the entrance of the dungeon, they noticed something peculiar in the surroundings.
The scenery suddenly changed; violet flowers similar to dandelion flowers bloomed everywhere and their scented petals fell one by one as the wind blew, making the petals spiral in the air while their unique scents burst like pulps and envelope Cruella and her companion.
However, just before everyone fell into hallucinations, the sleeping Meira suddenly awakened and her bright yellowish-green eyes expelled the hallucinations as easily as cutting wood.
"Where are we?" Meira asked groggily while resting her cheeks against Cruella's back and sniffing Cruella's heavenly fragrance that seemed to clear her mind and wipe off her sleepiness.
"Obviously, we have arrived at our destination, Goddess of Sleeping Beauty," Sera remarks sarcastically while carrying the sleeping Lucy in her arms. She was still bitter that Meira had leisure time sleeping comfortably in Cruella's back.
"Oh, the dungeon!" Meira looks around and notices something. "Oh, I think we step on a trap just now..."