Chapter 190
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 190: Tattling
/Skill successfully activated.
With the notification of success, the enormous black ant in the bedroom vanished.
In its place stood a girl appearing roughly the same age as Lin Yu, though slightly taller—perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old.
She possessed sleek, straight black hair and dark obsidian eyes, her drowsy expression lending her an air of pure innocence. Upon closer inspection, one could discern a faint resemblance to the white-haired girl.
So this is Little Tear’s human race form?
It differed somewhat from expectations—Lin Yu had imagined something akin to Red Pupil, perhaps even a younger child.
"Did it work? Mom, it worked!"
The girl examined her humanoid form with fascination, experimentally prodding and pinching various parts of herself.
Eventually, her hands wandered to her chest, where she gave an approving squeeze. Though modest, the development there could reasonably be classified as Class A.
"Ah! It’s bigger than Sister’s!"
Precisely as these words were uttered, Red Pupil reentered the bedroom. The door’s opening coincided perfectly with this declaration.
She froze, staring at the unfamiliar girl before shifting her bewildered gaze to Lin Yu.
"Mom?"
"Mhm. This is Little Tear—I granted her the ‘Shapeshift’ skill."
"Sister!"
Upon spotting Red Pupil, Little Tear waved enthusiastically.
"Look! Mine’s bigger than yours now!"
The instant the boast left her lips, the younger girl vanished—only to materialize directly before Little Tear.
*Thunk!*
A swift knuckle rapped sharply against Little Tear’s skull without preamble.
"Ow! Wuwu… Sister…"
"No gloating."
"Gloating about what?"
*Thunk!*
A second reddening bump bloomed on her forehead.
"OW! Wuwu… WAAAAAHHH!!"
The black-haired girl immediately erupted into loud sobs, tearfully scrambling toward Lin Yu.
The white-haired girl reflexively caught her.
"Waaah… Mommy! Sister’s being mean! I… *sniff*… I didn’t even do anything and she hit me!"
Her tearful complaint dripped with exaggerated injustice.
Though the display evoked pity…
Feeling Little Tear’s softness pressed against her, Lin Yu instinctively glanced at the young girl’s modest chest.
"Honestly, it feels more like you’re the one bullying Red Pupil here."
After soothing Little Tear with gentle head pats, Lin Yu selected an outfit from Army Lady’s clothing purchases for the girl to wear.
Yet among all the ants, Little Tear appeared particularly averse to clothing, constantly attempting to remove whatever garments were put on her. Any attempts to stop her would result in pitiful whimpers and teary eyes that threatened to overflow. With no outsiders present in the castle, Lin Yu had no choice but to reluctantly indulge the girl’s whims.
Still… watching Little Tear frolic naked through the castle halls sent nervous tremors through Lin Yu’s heart. Thankfully, after some activity, the girl seemed to grow hungry. With a quick wave to Red Pupil and Lin Yu, she scampered off toward the underground food storage.
"Mother, I don’t think we can bring Little Tear into town."
"Hmm…"
In this world, fourteen marked adulthood – the minimum age for joining the Adventurer’s Guild. Had their transformed daughter appeared sufficiently mature, they might have enrolled her. But Little Tear’s simple-minded nature made town visits… problematic in multiple regards.
However, their next candidate for human transformation proved far more dependable!
Stealth One!
Among all their daughters, Stealth One stood out as exceptionally reliable. Her hunting record remained flawless, her preparations thorough, and she often reminded Lin Yu of forgotten tasks. Indeed, Stealth One’s initial adjustment to town life had been challenging.
She’d even memorized Lin Yu’s daily routines. Before Army Lady’s town excursions, Stealth One’s voice always delivered the first "Good morning" each day.
And she’d somehow committed Lin Yu’s… measurements to memory! Really now! When exactly had she recorded those?
…
Returning to the present, Lin Yu’s consciousness linked with Army Lady in town.
"Mother, you’ve finally connected."
The instant their connection established, Army Lady spoke urgently.
"What’s happened?"
"Just as you anticipated – those two humans came to the guild to file complaints."
Complaints?
Ah, the remaining members of Wings of Freedom, then?
"What exactly did they do?"
Thus Lin Yu learned the full story.
Approximately three days after Sylvestre and Martina’s disappearance, the mage Halls and archer Lean arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild with accusations. Their claims?
The pair solemnly declared their leader and Martina had only approached Army Lady to apologize for the earlier disturbance at the town gates. Yet after departing, both had mysteriously vanished. Now, after several days missing, they pointed fingers at Army Lady.
The apology story rang utterly false, their suspicions completely baseless. Given their team’s reputation, few adventurers lent credence to their tale. Miss Elena, the duty officer, remained similarly skeptical. Yet the disappearance of two C-class adventurers – among only twenty-some in the entire guild – represented no small matter.
With hunting commissions already overflowing and personnel shortages straining resources, this incident gave Elena particular headaches. Her questioning of Army Lady remained perfunctory, met with expected denials.
The guild subsequently issued a B-class commission – sponsored by the Adventurer’s Guild itself – to locate Sylvestre and Martina.
Later, Halls and Lean confronted Army Lady privately about their missing comrades, receiving the same denials. Town boundaries prevented violent retaliation, leaving them to slink away frustrated.
Then came today – the fourth day.
Whispers began circulating among Army Lady’s detractors, layering increasingly malicious speculation upon her. As a guild newcomer lacking established connections, Army Lady immediately noticed the shifted atmosphere when visiting that afternoon.
Though Wings of Freedom enjoyed poor standing, Army Lady possessed no reputation whatsoever. As rumors spread, neutral parties wavered while the few vocal skeptics found themselves mocked into silence. Even Miss Elena began harboring doubts.
"That’s the situation, Mother. How should we proceed?"
"Ignore them. Focus on accepting hunting commissions."
Those two weren’t upstanding individuals anyway. Maintained denials would likely make the matter fade with time.
As for hunting commissions? Beyond boosting Miss Elena’s favorability rating, they offered swifter Adventurer Level progression. Compared to Collection Commissions, successful hunts contributed far more toward level advancement.
