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Although Sylvia, the heroine, clearly didn't like going along with Danielle's plan, she had no way to refute the blonde girl's idea without feeling shameless. After all, if she backed out of a direct fight, wasn't that the same as admitting that she was just being hypocritical?
Emilia looked like an honest and innocent girl at first glance, but Sylvia didn't believe that anyone involved with Danielle could be in any way related to the word 'pure'.
"Fine then, let's do it!" She huffed.
The crimson-haired girl helplessly followed after the heroine and the villainess as they led her to the 'game room', where most of their full-dive pods were, not minding the sharp glare from the short-haired brunette by Sylvia's side.
"Sylvia… you don't need to get so angry for my sake. I'm already used to being treated like this."
"Shut up! You just sit back and watch me win back your spot!"
Cynthia couldn't help but roll her eyes. "She must know the heroine's temperament after being her friend for so long, how could she not have realized that saying that was just going to make her more indignant?"
Emilia chuckled. 'Of course she did… and that's exactly why she did it.'
"Ah… I see." Cynthia nodded in realization. "It's the… uh, what was it that you called them again?"
'A white lotus?' Emilia wondered.
The raven-haired girl hummed thoughtfully before shaking her head in denial. "No no, I remember it was a little bit more satisfying. Uh, some kind of colored bitch, wasn't it?"
'Oh, yeah, 'Green Tea Bitch' also fits her perfectly, I guess.' Emilia nodded.
Cynthia giggled. "Right. That one! To be honest, if you were the one doing it, I would actually find it more funny than annoying."
The crimson-haired girl grinned. 'Is it because I'm so adorable, or because you love me so much?'
Her partner rolled her eyes in exasperation. Even if there was a hint of truth in Emilia's words, she wouldn't be Cynthia if she admitted it so easily. "It's because the way you would do it would usually be so ridiculous that it's impossible to take things seriously, yet so many of these mortals get swept away by your charm that it's kind of funny."
Emilia snorted. 'Are you saying that the only thing separating me from that girl is our level of charm?'
Cynthia humphed. "Don't be ridiculous. How could a mortal be compared to one of us?"
The crimson-haired girl paused for a moment, making the heroine's friend look at her in derision. "If you were so scared of being humiliated by us, you shouldn't have cheated to steal my spot in the first place."
Sylvia didn't refute her friend's statement, and just gave Emilia a cold glare.
The crimson-haired girl sighed. "Saying that before you've won… aren't you just setting both yourself and your friend up for humiliation?"
"Y-You—!"
Sylvia stopped her indignant friend from lunging at the younger crimson-haired girl. "Control yourself. She might be a brat, but beating up a younger girl will only make our reputation worse, regardless of what she did before."
Emilia smiled. "What you 'assumed' what I did before, you mean. Without any proof, too, by the way."
The heroine's friend looked about ready to cough up a liter of blood on the spot, and even the villainess paused and turned around, her gaze turning somewhat appreciative. But Emilia only motioned them to continue moving.
"Let's get this over with quickly, please. I really don't like when people who know nothing about me keep judging me. It makes me want to teach them a lesson."
"…"
"…"
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The full-dive equipment of the Crimson Witches was definitely of a higher level than the one Emilia had used before, but thankfully, there was no need for her to adapt. After all, this kind of immersive tech didn't need anyone to master controls or the like, and relied more on their 'actual' skill.
As for the game itself… it was supposedly a typical multiplayer online battle arena with two teams of five, each fighting to defend its own base while destroying their opponent's. Each player usually took on a different role, be it warrior, mage, ranger, tank, or support, depending on the team's requirements.
Emilia wasn't too familiar with the concept, but thanks to her enhanced physique and mental capacity, it was harder for her to fail at this type of thing than it was to succeed.
With some practice, she was easily able to reach a level that left the heroine's friend in the dust, despite the fact that she had been playing the game for more than two years, from the moment it was released.
Of course, it helped that the role that the Crimson Witches needed her to fill this time was that of a warrior, which was relatively easy, and relied mostly on mastering reflexes and improving one's response time.
Had it been a more complex one like a mage or a support, then perhaps Emilia would have had a little more trouble.
But being confident that she was better than the heroine's friend and going against the heroine herself were two very different things.
After all, Sylvia wasn't called 'Shadow Reaper' without reason.
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Emilia didn't pay any further attention to the heroine or her friend as she entered the full-dive pod, intent on teaching them a lesson.
After all, the heroine might have been manipulated by her friend, but that didn't change the fact that she picked on her on the first day they met.
Emilia had a very strong sense of self-respect, especially when it came to people she might be helping in the future.
Cynthia didn't dare to express her thoughts clearly, but internally she couldn't help but cheer. 'That stupid bitch really hit herself in the foot by making a poor first impression, ehehe… my villainess can really hold her grudges!'
Unaware of her partner's thoughts, Emilia had already connected to the full-dive interface and entered the virtual world after forcing her mind to enter a defenseless state.
Even though this wasn't the first time she was experiencing it, Emilia couldn't help but sigh. 'This hero is really a genius… being able to develop something like this.'
Cynthia wanted to correct her partner, but realized that it didn't actually make a difference.
Whether it was the hero or the world will that came up with it all, her villainess would have to make sure neither of them lived to see the day it all came to bear fruit.
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Sylvia's friend and Danielle both watched the match on the screen in the tense and awkwardly silent room. But 'luckily', the rest of the Crimson Witches arrived right on time to make the atmosphere more cheerful.
"Someone told me that our two new rookies are having a demo fight here?"
"Dear oh dear, how exciting!"
The two who barged in 'uninvited' were both girls of different statures, with the shorter one being five foot five, and the taller being almost six foot three.
"Oh my… isn't this the young lady who tried to steal from her previous team but got caught and blacklisted? Can our team afford this kind of 'great god'?"
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