The Baho Adventure Team's base is located in a small building in the western part of Hope City.
At this moment, the "Queen" of the Baho Adventurer's Guild is sitting at the head of the long table, drinking alone, quite leisurely, which is contrary to her usual behavior.
Ilya closed her eyes slightly, slowly savoring the aroma of the wine, nodding slightly from time to time, and occasionally even showing a satisfied smile.
Anyone with eyes can see that she is in a very good mood at this moment.
And that's precisely what makes it all the more frightening.
Hiding behind the pillar, Joshua looked at Ilya's upturned lips, which seemed to suddenly transform into a gaping maw, ready to devour her alive.
Upon seeing this, Joshua couldn't help but shudder, trying to shake off all the goosebumps on his body.
Too frightened to bear it any longer, Joshua turned around and leaned against a pillar, hoping to hide Ilya's smile.
Joshua squatted down, sat cross-legged on the ground, and couldn't help but count on his fingers.
This is the twenty-first day since Carl and Lady left, and the sixth day since they promised to return—a full six days late, of course.
I wonder if Carl and Lady will be able to come back today.
Joshua finished counting on his fingers, rested his chin on his right hand, and sighed silently.
He couldn't help but pray in his heart that Carl and Lady would return soon, preferably today!
Today's Ilya, no, these past two days' Ilya has been acting so strangely!
You should know that on the day Karl and Illya made their promise, Illya, who had been waiting for a long time without seeing anyone, immediately changed her expression, her face so gloomy it could drip water.
Of course, Joshua and the others who remained with the Baho Adventurer Group at this time did not take it seriously at all; on the contrary, they felt that they had expected it.
After all, this is Ilya's normal state.
If a member fails to complete a task on time, she could lose money at any time.
So even if the members complete the task in the end, they can forget about getting a kind word from her.
From the day the promise was made, when Karl and Lady didn't return, Ilya's face never lit up.
And as Karl and the other man failed to return for an extended period, Ilya was on the verge of exploding every day.
Anyone who walks in front of her will be verbally abused.
Joshua suffered the most among them.
Because he was the youngest and not yet certified as an explorer, he could only do odd jobs in the Baho Adventure Team for the time being.
Therefore, Ilya frequently spotted him, which drew several angry shouts in response.
Joshua didn't think much of any of this.
Who doesn't know that Ilya is obsessed with money?
Anyone who dares to obstruct her career should just wash their neck and wait for Ilya to come and hide!
Moreover, Ilya's irritability only lasts for a few days; she will return to normal once the culprit returns.
Of course, that only restores normalcy to those who are not involved; the real culprits will have to face the storm!
However, for some reason, Ilya has been irritable for the past few days.
Then!
Two days ago, Ilya's expression suddenly changed. Her face was no longer filled with uncontrollable anger, but instead, she had a gentle smile on her face.
When Joshua was suddenly confronted with Ilya's smiling face that day, he took several steps back in fear.
Even when he finally stopped, he still couldn't stop trembling.
Seeing this, Ilya didn't care much at all, and even comforted him before leaving.
Ilya's attempts to comfort Joshua only made him more uneasy.
He screamed for help in his mind, frantically trying to figure out if he had done anything to upset Ilya recently.
However, no matter what he thought, he couldn't figure out where he had done something wrong!
He spent that day in fear and trepidation, and even after falling asleep that night, he was still uneasy.
Joshua only breathed a sigh of relief the next day when he discovered that he wasn't the only one experiencing this.
However, after discussion, they all agreed that Ilya must have been driven crazy by Karl and Lady this time, which is why she was behaving abnormally!
The conclusion was that everyone should behave themselves and not provoke Ilya again.
Joshua thought what he said made a lot of sense, but why were his friends so heartless, leaving him all alone to suffer like this?!
Thinking of this, Joshua hid behind a pillar and frantically ruffled his hair.
Joshua didn't realize that his movements were too exaggerated and that Ilya had already noticed his presence.
"Little Joshua, what are you doing?"
A gentle female voice rang out, like a spring breeze caressing one's face, instantly evoking a sense of goodwill.
If Joshua hadn't known this woman's true nature beforehand, he would surely have done the same.
However, it was precisely because he knew her too well that Joshua couldn't help but shudder when he heard Ilya's voice.
Without a second thought, he immediately stepped out from behind the pillar.
"Yes! Sister Ilya!"
Joshua didn't hear what Ilya said at all. At that moment, he instinctively stood up straight where Ilya could see him.
Seeing the little guy in front of her with messy hair, a serious expression, and standing tall with his head held high, Ilya couldn't help but chuckle.
What are you doing?
She asked again while gently swirling the wine glass beside her.
Everything seemed so casual.
She took a small sip, her eyes glancing casually as she waited for Joshua's reply.
“I, I,” Joshua said, feeling a little hot, then closed his eyes and said what he had just been doing, “I was calculating when Brother Carl and Brother Lady would be back.”
After saying that, he lowered his eyes slightly and began to apologize in his heart to Carl and Lady, who were not present.
Excuse me, Carl and Lady, please save his life this time!
He couldn't let Ilya know that he was secretly criticizing her!
Sure enough, even though Ilya had been smiling and seemed indifferent for the past two days, her expression suddenly darkened for a moment when the two people were mentioned.
Although Ilya quickly regained her smile, Joshua inadvertently looked up and saw her sudden change of expression clearly.
Ilya paused briefly in her swirling of the wine glass before resuming, her smile growing even wider than before.
"Don't worry, your brothers Carl and Lady will be back soon!"
If it weren't for the gritted teeth sound coming from Ilya when she said those words, Joshua would have actually believed her nonsense.
However, a wise person would never expose such an obvious deception, so Joshua smiled and agreed, "That's great!"
He clapped his hands, looking excited, as if he completely believed Ilya's lies.
Ilya looked at him like that, just smiled, and didn't say anything more.
For a moment, the only sound in the empty hall was Joshua's clapping.
The scene became somewhat awkward, and just as Joshua was about to give up, footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.
The footsteps were very noisy and irregular, clearly indicating that more than one person was coming.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com