Chapter 200: Couples Fight

"What nonsense are you spouting? What does Emir have to do with any of this?" Kaelen frowned as he stared at Lucy.

She didn’t shy away from his gaze and stared right back at him for a long moment before she sighed again.

"Maybe I’m wrong. But in case you don’t know, the Herald in charge here happens to be Emir," she said calmly.

Kaelen was stunned for a moment. "W-What?"

"Do you think you can summon this much undead army within a lobby without the Herald being alerted? She probably knows you’re here and chose to let you steal our resources."

Kaelen was silent for a moment before he laughed in disbelief. "Yeah, sure. But how do you know it’s Emir? Did she tell you that herself? Because, last I remember, that got another Herald killed."

"Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s not hard to tell. Back at the introduction, I noticed that, of all the Heralds, one had been quiet the whole time and kept staring at someone in the crowd. I couldn’t tell who it was, but fast-forward to when the Herald Executioner said she’d kill you if the reason you interrupted her was wrong. You objected before looking up at one specific Herald. It had only been for a brief moment, but I caught on immediately. Guess who that Herald was?"

Kaelen was stunned by her precise recollection of events. It turned out he wasn’t the only one who had been observant the entire time, and his every move had probably been observed by someone nearby, just as he had observed the outstanding candidates in the crowd.

He didn’t realize it sooner, but Kaelen was among the calmest candidates in the crowd, with his sword already strapped to his waist. In the eyes of others, he was no different from the outstanding candidates Kaelen had been keeping an eye on.

"So what’s your point?" he asked with a raised brow.

"My point? You asked how I knew she was Emir, and I just answered that."

"That was a rhetorical question. I don’t care. Do you think Emir would really hand me some water just because I asked? I’d have better chances with the Herald Executioner because either way, I won’t get anything."

"Is this about the Suppression Pill?" A third voice came from behind them, and they both turned to see a purple Herald descending toward the lake.

Kaelen was surprised. He didn’t exactly think Lucy was lying when she said Emir was the Herald there, but he didn’t blindly believe her either, and he wasn’t expecting to see Emir there.

"You didn’t give me a chance to explain back then, but I really didn’t know much about the rules, especially the new ones, which came as a shock to everyone. As for the little I knew, I’d already signed a nondisclosure agreement, so I really couldn’t tell you anything. Are you happy now?" Emir asked in displeasure.

Kaelen was dumbstruck for a moment before he exchanged glances with Lucy, who mirrored his expression. In her case, Emir wasn’t one to speak much as a Herald and was strict.

She didn’t wait for Kaelen to reply and shifted her gaze to Lucy. "As for you, you should know by now that I’m not here to babysit you. The growth and safety of this lobby are up to you and your teammates, and if someone can sneak inside, overpower you, and steal whatever they want, don’t expect me to get involved. And in case you don’t know, this isn’t the first domain he’s raiding, and he’s already been caught and reported to the Herald Executioner. So there’s nothing I can do, even if I wanted to. That’s why he used the Herald Executioner as a reference earlier, because they probably have a thing for each other."

"W-What?" Kaelen was stunned. "Where’s all this coming from? Don’t tell me you’re mad because I wasn’t killed on the spot for that. You were probably so excited when I was fighting for my life back on the second floor that you went to grab a glass of wine to celebrate my death," he shot back.

"W-What?" It was Emir’s turn to be stunned. "Is that what you heard? It was a glass of water—"

"I don’t care. Stop talking to me and go back to wherever you came from. I only came here to borrow some water, not listen to your silly excuses."

Emir scoffed in cold disbelief. "What? Do you realize you’re stealing from my hub right now?!"

"I paid for this."

"You paid for ONE bucket. And even that was a blatant rip-off, and I’m going to make sure you pay for every last drop you stole."

"I see how it is," Kaelen said dramatically. "You’re just jealous, like every other Herald, that I solo-cleared the Second Floor, putting my lobby at the top of the list."

Emir scoffed. "Do you call that near-death experience an achievement? Lucy can do that in half the time without breaking a sweat."

"M-Me?" Lucy, who had been dumbstruck the entire time, was stunned to find herself dragged into the couple’s fight.

"I’d like to see that happen, because no matter what you do, my lobby will remain on top."

"Is that so? Very well, then. Let’s see who makes it to the tenth floor first."

"Bet. Your water tastes bad, but you know what tastes worse? Your attitude. You should prioritize fixing that before fixing the water."

Emir laughed coldly. "Is that so? Well, get out."

"I will. And don’t forget, the loser becomes the winner’s slave for the next ten floors," Kaelen spat and turned to check whether all his buckets were filled before dismissing his Shadow Summons and disappearing the next moment.

Lucy slowly shifted her attention to Emir, who immediately caught her gaze.

"What are you looking at?! Go and get your party ready, because you’re clearing the second floor today and the third tomorrow."

"W-What?"

Emir scoffed to herself in disbelief. "The loser becomes the winner’s slave? Just you wait, Kaelen. I’m going to show you how I built the strongest kingdom in the universe from scratch."