The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

Evelyn's intuition of this day being the one that the schemer's plot came to play proved to be right, as before Amber and her could head back after the day's classes were over, an older boy approached them with a smile.     

"Please wait!"     

Amber looked started, because the boy seemed to be almost twice their age, meaning he should almost be about to graduate, and there should be no reason for such a person to approach them.     

"Don't be afraid, I don't mean any harm. I just heard about an outstanding student from one of my cousins just as I was lamenting about not having enough people to take with me along a great opportunity, so I thought, might as well give it to you!"     

The boy had short golden hair, green eyes, and a dashing smile. Amber had already let down her guard from his first sentence, and looked excitedly towards Evelyn. "E-Evelyn, y-you ask him, what kind of opportunity?!"     

Of course, she thought that the boy must be making the offer for her friend. After all, Amber thought that Evelyn had to be the smartest in their batch. Who else could this boy consider outstanding?     

Evelyn sighed. She couldn't blame the girl for being bamboozled so easily. After all, she was just eight years old. She gave the boy an unamused glare. "What kind of 'opportunity' are you talking about?"     

The boy blinked at her in surprise, as if not expecting her lukewarm attitude. "A-Ah, forgive me, I was offering it to Amber here, but if you're interested, you can of course come along. A friend of such an outstanding girl must be outstanding as well!"     

Amber's face immediately turned red as she rubbed her head against Evelyn's shoulder. "U-Uuh, I-I'm not special at all!"     

While they were talking, the pink-haired girl had already probed the boy's status.     

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[Checking status…]      

- Riley Reynolds [14]: Level 32 [ Exp: 1,650 / 6,000 ]      

-Spirit Physique     

—Physique: 143     

—Spirit Power: 137      

—Soul Value: 112      

—Vitality: 187      

[ Enhancement (available): Stinker ]      

— Stinker: Using ten spirit power, release an extremely foul odor from all pores, causing intense nausea and disorientation, and disabling those with sensitive olfactory senses. Using one spirit power, release a mild odor that is able to confuse beasts with lower wisdom.     

[ Affection: -12% ]      

—Cultivation Technique: Forester's Penace     

-Skills: Stink, Sneak, ???, ???     

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'Reynolds huh, why does that surname seem a little familiar…?'     

After thinking about it, Evelyn finally recalled that the 'Reynolds' was also an ancient family from the Lavinian Empire, one that Cecilia didn't particularly like. Of course, given the fact that her cousin Tristan had become buddies with the heir of the Reynolds family, it was unlikely for him to be any good either.     

'But I didn't think this scheme would have anything to do with Tristan… though it's possible my guess is wrong, still, quite shocking…'     

And although this boy was two years older than Eula, he was considerably weaker than her in terms of stats. Of course, given the difference in their physiques, it wasn't too much of a surprise.     

For the current her, he was no longer worthy of being considered a threat. She hoped that there were bigger fish waiting to take the bait, otherwise having Aurora on standby would have been just wasted effort.     

As for the both of them being from the same empire or whatever? Even if she hadn't already known he approached them with bad intentions, the negative affection value made it more than clear. Of course, she was sure that his identity was the reason he had been sent to 'pull her in' towards the trap.     

The boy grinned towards Amber, as if Evelyn was just an afterthought. "Actually, I know you might find it hard to believe I'm showing you so much favor, since I'm from the Lavinian Empire, and you're from Aquavahn, but—"     

Amber waved her hands hurriedly. "N-No no, I don't find Lavinians distrustful at all! Evelyn, you believe me!"     

The pink-haired girl patted her friend's back. "Don't worry."     

The boy gave them a 'surprised' look. "Ah, I didn't know you were also from the same empire, little girl? Good, that makes it easier for me to justify bringing you along as well!"     

Evelyn gave the boy a glare. "You still haven't mentioned what kind of 'opportunity' you're talking about? Why would we go along with you?"     

Of course, regardless of whatever half-assed reasons he gave, Evelyn had already intended to play along.      

But she couldn't make it too obvious, either.     

After all, this was a great opportunity for her to lure out and snipe a real big snake while it still thought she was a small bunny it could easily eat.     

"Oh, sorry, sorry. Actually, we managed to organize a medium-sized expedition party to the forest, but some of our members canceled at the last minute. We don't want their spots to go to waste, you know, so I was looking for replacements."     

Evelyn almost scoffed. 'What 'wasted spots'? Is an expedition to the wonderland of doom an amusement park ride, in which you can take people along because you have empty seats? He really thinks we're totally oblivious to how it all works!'     

Of course, given their age, it wouldn't be unexpected if they really got fooled due to a lack of knowledge.      

The boy gave them what he assumed to be his most charming grin. "How about it? Wouldn't it be great to have some practical experience? Of course, we'll protect you well. There's plenty of strong people in our team, even some official rangers!"     

Evelyn had no idea how many of his statements were actually true, but in the end, she pretended to be reluctantly convinced by his arguments as well as Amber's enthusiasm.     

"Alright, we will go with you, then."     

Amber jumped in glee. "Eh? Really?!"     

Evelyn smiled as she ruffled the girl's auburn hair. "Yeah."     

Of course, she knew that the reason Amber was so happy was because she believed that she got the two of them a really good deal because of her.      

The little girl really believed that boy's words, and thought that they could both benefit greatly from this expedition, though she wasn't sure how.     

Riley grinned as he stretched out a hand to ruffle Amber's hair as well, but it was slapped away by the pink-haired girl. 'Yikes! That fucking hurts! She's at least level 20, isn't she? No wonder they call her a genius. No matter, she'll be crushed like a bug, anyway.'     

He tried to appear unperturbed by the pain in his hand as he took out a sheet of paper from his bag. "Great! Then, you can go and submit this form to the hall of merits, and then…"     

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With how excited Amber was, of course she insisted that they go to the hall of merits right away to submit the form, and Evelyn seemed to go along helplessly with her whims.     

Of course, once he was sure that the girls were 'in', the boy pretended to be busy and left, to make sure his actions didn't look suspicious. At least, that's what Evelyn believed.     

With him gone, she didn't immediately clarify the truth to Amber, and instead followed her along to submit the form detailing that they would be leaving with Riley's group for an expedition tomorrow.     

Amber never realized, but this was pretty much an 'exemption request' from Riley, in which they agreed that he wouldn't be responsible for their deaths, and they were following him of their own free will despite him making clear all the dangers of doing so.     

Evelyn had thought that the receptionist would at least clarify the matter upon receiving the application, but he just frowned as he took it, shook his head, and accepted it.     

'Does he really not care, or did he get prior instructions from someone higher up not to interfere?'     

Of course, this was something for Aurora to look into later, not her.     

Evelyn squeezed her friend's hand. "You know, Amber, I've been to your home already, but you haven't been to mine, right?"     

"E-Eh? I-I've seen it, w-when I followed you…"     

The pink-haired girl smiled. "Well, yeah, but you haven't seen what it looks like from the inside, right?"     

When she thought about it, Amber realized that she really hadn't gone in there yet. But… it seemed too daunting to go inside that place. "N-No?"     

Evelyn of course had no intention of letting her refuse. "Come on then. I'll show you. Oh, and you can also meet my friends. We'll have lots of fun!"     

Amber immediately perked up, and unsuspectingly followed her to the White Lily Palace. She was very curious to meet Evelyn's other friends, and wondered what kind of games they would be playing.     

The poor girl never realized she was being 'kidnapped'.     

After all, even if Evelyn could enter the trap and come out unscathed, she couldn't risk Amber's life without being able to make sure she could protect the girl. It was better to keep her in the White Lily Palace.     

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~ To be continued ~     

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