The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses - Chapter 313

Chapter 313: Gathering in Novis Town

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“Finally… I’m back. Novis Town.”

Leah stepped off the carriage, dusting off her robes with a sigh.

“Too bad the dungeon here’s already cleared. Otherwise, there’d be express routes.”

She adjusted her oversized witch’s hat—warm, at least, in winter—and clutched her metal staff tightly, as if it were a lifeline.

During her time away, she’d learned how witches “traveled” between dungeons.

Thanks to their unique ability to create “inter-dimensional pockets” within dungeons, witches acted as a messenger network, albeit one only accessible to their kind.

Leah hadn’t delved deeper—Lize had offered to teach her more, if she stayed.

But that wasn’t an option.

“Not until I get him back—”

Novis Town was quieter now.

Once a bustling hub for rookie adventurers, with guild queues stretching out the door, now even the bar—rumored to be owned by the former guildmaster—stood near-empty in the afternoon.

“…I will find him.”

She snatched a newspaper from a nearby stand.

Being with the witches had warped her sense of time—she needed to know how long she’d been gone.

Her hands shook slightly as she unfolded it.

The last time she’d truly lived by human time was during those three years at Entark Academy.

Before that? Time blurred.

What if… years had passed?

“No.”

She steeled herself.

“Will said it himself—I can’t run away. Face it. Take what’s mine.”

The date on the paper?

Three months.

Only three months since she’d last seen him.

The headline?

“Empress Treya Cancels Wedding Amid Northern Conflict.”

“Hmph. So even she failed.”

(Treya would’ve dragged him to the altar even mid-war.)

But beyond that—no mention of Will.

Not as Hysterm’s heir.

Not at all.

“…Where is he?”

Her feet moved on their own, leading her to the cottage.

The one rented under Starting Star’s name.

Back then, she’d imagined—

Him watching proudly as his brilliant, powerful teacher crushed every monster in their path.

“Tch. Doesn’t matter. I’ll make it happen—”

She still had the key he’d given her, complete with the witch-hat keychain.

Inside, his belongings remained—proof he’d return.

He had to.

She knelt, unlatched her suitcase—

And froze.

Footsteps.

Tap. Tap.

Light boots on grass.

Treya.

That irritating sound—

(She’d heard it nightly through the floorboards when Treya trained outside.)

Leah snapped the case shut, leaving only one item behind—

A vial of Bloodmint Essence.

(Enough to bind him again—just as he’d taught her.)

The footsteps stopped.

A figure in black, face half-hidden by a mask.

The Empress herself—standing before the cottage door.

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