You're Gloria Cottonfluff, right? (4)

Chapter 37: You're Gloria Cottonfluff, right? (4)

Beelzebub glanced at his minimap and confirmed the capital's outline.

With a few detours and shortcuts, David lost the attention of the crowd. It was too easy since they were at the mountain's feet, where the maze was the densest. There were so many buildings and bridges that one could unknowingly wander in circles!

Surprisingly, Gloria no longer knew where she was exactly.

And it wasn't because of the complexity of her race's architecture but her lack of experience. As someone born on Fantasia's spire, Gloria never had a need to venture to the lowest parts of her capital.

She wasn't welcomed here, either.

The party of unusual three soon moved past by a tall wall. It was much higher than fences protecting the houses, meaning it possibly protected a state-sponsored facility, or at least someone wealthier lived on another side.

"Is this an academy?" Gloria noticed the closed gates and a protruding sign from their frame.

Now she was sure that they were close to one of the academies of the slums. Her hometown had a lot of schools for the foxes and even a royal academy that she unfortunately didn't have the pleasure of studying in.

Looking out for mana resonances, Beelzebub belatedly replied. "Yes… give me a second…"

At last, David stopped and turned to his teammate. He told her to wait for him to finish his business here and to not do anything reckless.

Candice was used to Beelzebub telling her that order, so she obliged without much pretense.

Of course, her cheeks bulged with a pout, and she threw more chips into her mouth. "Ok."

Beelzebub then swept the air with his sleeve. From below his and Gloria's feet, two trees sprouted and rose above the towering wall, carrying the duo upward and allowing them to catch the vista of many students studying in front of their teachers.

Girls of various ages were immersed in their enchantment studies. Meanwhile, boys had their hands clenching short and medium weapons, repeating the same moves.

Their teachers weren't of the best birth, and some even seemed to be forcefully put in their position. They only paid attention to the promising students, ignoring the rest.

And as the disciples didn't have to worry about their teachers' attention, they formed their own groups and practiced their stuff together, trying to delve into mysteries of their magic and arts on their own.

That translated to a few students being stranded. Worse, some of them were bullied by those groups and became subjects to test various enchantments and martial skills.

Casting those bullies and their victims aside, Beelzebub guided Gloria's attention to a lone girl perched beneath a tree's green blanket, hiding in its shadow. She had a short sword in front of her kneeling self, and her hands extended forward, trying to enchant it with various effects.

Alas, all her tries failed.

Her struggling self didn't give up, persistently attempting to achieve her goals.

And as Gloria hovered her red eyes on that girl, her expression changed. She couldn't say that she saw herself in her, but there was something similar about them.

Beelzebub dispelled all her doubts. "She can't enchant at all, can she? But because all fox girls are meant to be enchanters, she's trying her best to be like everyone else. Perhaps, even her family is disappointed in her."

Those last words hammered Gloria's heart, her eyes shaking.

Beelzebub continued pouring the truth at her. "There's a chance a talent for something else dwells within her. A talent that is held back by this world's standards. And she will never catch a glimpse of that talent, all because her environment forces her to perform the enchantment magic. Once she becomes of age and fails to cast enchantment skills, her status will become that of an ordinary citizen. Even ordinary citizens can use some of the enchantment skills or wield weapons for self-protection. But this girl is doomed to be… utterly worthless."

The more he spoke about this particular girl, the more Gloria saw herself in her.

Their circumstances were vastly different, and it was Beelzebub's luck to find a girl struggling with magic — of course, if he hadn't had a good sense of magic, he wouldn't have found her so easily. But once everything boiled down to the core of their predicament, there was no difference between her and the white-haired fox woman.

"You have had means to develop yourself into a powerful tank, Gloria Cottonfluff. You have even more potential than you and I can imagine… on the other hand, I reckon this girl hails from a poor house and has absolutely no options to explore anything else. I feel bad for her, but such is a life…" Beelzebub shifted his dark abyss eyes to the gorgeous fox woman and asked her for the second time. "Does your house, a wooden and lone house far away from the capital and the other wonders of this world, hold the answer to your troubles?"

It was Gloria's turn to have a race of thoughts in her little head.

She stood wordlessly, with her eyes pinned on the struggling fox girl.

They were the same, for their world blindly followed what had been working for years. The founder of Fantasia was the most beautiful and powerful enchanter, and her female descendants were the same. Now, that bloodline has thinned, and times changed.

If it weren't for a male descendant grasping a weapon, perhaps even male foxes would have been stuck with enchantment magic, always being a step behind women.

That male descendant, Gloria's great-grandpa, had changed his race. He left a heavy influence.

And now Gloria understood that she was left with two choices.

The more she studied her choices, the more of her shackles broke within her heart, guiding her toward a certain option.

At that time, a fox guard of the academy found out about them.

"Who are you? You've trespassed the boundaries of the academy— Wait… you are…" The guard's eyes shivered upon discovering the fox woman with white hair and red eyes.

The founder had exactly those features, and everyone respected her… even sometimes dreaming of her ethereal beauty. For a moment, he was stupefied, but then he caught sight of Gloria's muscles and well-refined body, which in his eyes went against the softness that the founder had been described by.

His eyes flashed maliciously. "You're of royal birth, but even royalties must adhere to the law! And you are that freak banished by the Cottonfluffs! If you don't want any severe consequences, let me chain you and see you off to officials!"

The idea of catching this freak woman and getting a reward from the royal family aroused the man so much that he went a few steps forward toward Gloria and beckoned her with his right hand.

Gloria stood silently, then slowly turned her head toward him.

At that moment, the man nearly pissed himself.

What he saw… was not a fox woman but a demon. Her twisted expression said that she had enough of others looking down on her and her strength.

And those red eyes maliciously shone with a thirst for blood, taunting the man.

"Monster!" The fox guard reached for the hilt of his weapon, unsheathing his short sword.

Then, as though his inner demon whispered to him, the fox man pounced at Gloria. Before he noticed, his weapon was already above her head, ready to go down to scar her face.

Gloria, however, raised her bare hand and effortlessly caught the descending sword.

The man's eyes widened in shock as he lost control over his weapon and body.

An immense pressure fell onto him.

Gloria wrenched the weapon from the man, unknowingly tearing off his entire forearm.

"Ahhhh!" The man cried, his screams alarming the students and teachers.

He took a few steps forward and cradled his arms, only to see that his right arm had been spurting too much blood, gnawing him worse than a lethal poison. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his lips bobbed from fear.

What was his future now that he lost his right hand?

The prospect of being jobless hurt him more than the lost flesh.

He madly screamed at Gloria! "What have you done?! You monster! Monster! No wonder you have been banished by Lord Hunter! Serves you right, bitch!"

"Am I supposed to win the respect of people like you?" Gloria muttered in a low and acute tone, silencing the fox guard. "Spineless shits that can't resist the provocation of a powerful and robust fox woman such as me?"

Her words were related to two options left for her. One of those options was to be like her great grandpa and usher a new prospect of brave and mighty fox women fighting on the front line alongside male foxes, wielding weapons and other types of magic.

Her grandpa went through a lot to become a respected figure.

Gloria had the chance to achieve the same respect… she wasn't like the struggling girl of a poor origin.

However, the second choice seemed more thrilling and suitable for her.

Ignoring the wailing and frightened man, Gloria turned to Beelzebub, finding him calmly looking at her without any prejudice.

"Nice taunt." Beelzebub commented, drawing a wide smile from the white fox.

Gloria's lively voice replied to his words. "Thanks. He's so weak I didn't even need to use any mana, just a glance, and he lost head over heels for me. I guess I take a lot from the founder… in a wrong way."

Her smile turned wider and crazier, which was so threatening that the watching students lost consciousness.

On the other hand, Beelzebub remained composed, and some excitement found a way to his heart. "You've found the answer."

Gloria's smile didn't disappear. "I have… I have always been returning back home, expecting others to accept me. Even after they kicked me away, I returned to this land so they could easily reach out to me. But my family is not ready for a change. In entire history, only one fox changed our race, and he's now dead. If I were to follow his steps, Fantasia would be flooded by rivers of red. That's why I must find a place for myself somewhere else."

"I know a few people that could take you in… but for now, I want you to follow me instead." Beelzebub faintly smiled and looked straight into her eyes.

Gloria then surprised the demonic alchemist as she skipped toward him and drew his body into a tight embrace. "You've opened my eyes and heart, so you'll have me until you get that achievement! Whatever it is, I'll help you get your hands on it! No one will go past me to get you!"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

"My spine!" Beelzebub's bones broke like thins branches as Gloria didn't hold back with her feelings, her nest popping off his eyes and drawing out painful grunts.

She was too happy… and it showed.

Her shackles had fallen off, and she could be herself. Moreover, the man in her embrace could face her true self, which was so exciting that she couldn't wait to bring out her armor and weapons to deal with some monsters by his side! There was also Candice, whom she didn't know much about, except that she was a glutton and titan.

"If I die!" Beelzebub still couldn't leave Gloria's prison, his face in a soft heaven while the rest of the body was under the car crusher!

It was quite a devastating and mind-blowing combo… wait, will she turn his bones into powder?!

"You'll respawn, right?" Gloria chuckled and let the alchemist go. "I never had any friends, so I don't know how to act around others… but I saw friends hugging each other. Isn't it the same? If it hurts this much, I'll practice."

"Go and hug Candice then… the current Candice." David couldn't lift his upper body at all; his spine was aching so much that his pain sensor perhaps ceased to exist…

He didn't know that it was possible!

Gloria was intrigued by his words, though. "The current Candice?" And as Beelzebub didn't want to talk about it yet, she shifted the topic to something else. "I am a tank, and you're a mage, right? Which leaves Candice… as?"

"Healer." Beelzebub flatly replied.

"Huh?"

The big and fat titan woman wearing a cute dress with donuts was… a healer?

Healer?

-

[Present.]

Beelzebub approached the ice tomb.

His experienced eyes told him that Gloria's mana veins had been under the demon's schemes for a long time.

Time was the concept that no one could go against. Even Beelzebub.

Which meant that he couldn't properly solve her plight.

But as long as she became free, the new journey would bring them new boons.

Beelzebub's hand touched the ice tomb… and the golden sparks erupted upon a contact, connecting him to the ice prison and the sleeping fox woman, giving him whole access to them.

And that was another miracle, but this time, shaped by the fate connecting these two.

Thus, Beelzebub began his work.