First Move, Checkmate: How Will You Respond?

Duke Rivierre glared at Victor, departing without uttering a single word.

As for Victor,

From start to finish, he had no intention of explaining anything.

Helping Duke Rivierre was merely a convenience, although he did need the Duke’s power for certain things, but those words, there was no necessity to share with Duke Rivierre.

Victor had a better candidate.

He waited outside the city gate for a while, soon greeted by Gwen, who hurriedly ran over.

Gwen seemed hurried as if she were chasing someone. Only when she saw Victor did she stop.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

He spoke to Gwen who had just arrived, like he knew she would come looking for him.

But Gwen had no pleasant expression to offer Victor.

“Don’t you have anything you want to explain to me?”

Victor noticed many Mages still lingering around, casting their glances in their direction.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

Victor hinted to Gwen that they were currently in a crowded, noisy place, and it would be better to share certain things privately.

Gwen took his hint and nodded.

“Get in my carriage.”

“Okay.”

Gwen didn’t give it much thought and agreed.

They walked together to the carriage, and Victor extended a hand to Gwen.

Gwen didn’t understand what he meant and paused for a moment.

Seeing her reaction, Victor shook his head and explained, “It’s basic etiquette when inviting a lady.”

“What a troublesome etiquette.”

Gwen complained, oblivious to the strange looks from the crowd, as she placed her hand on Victor’s.

Under Victor’s guidance, they both got into the carriage. The door closed, and the carriage quickly drove away.

Looking out the window, Victor was satisfied with the complex expressions on people’s faces.

He then drew the curtain.

No doubt, after this encounter, the public opinion would take a new turn tomorrow.

He turned his head to look at Gwen again.

Gwen was the first to take out a bag from her waist.

“Here’s what you wanted.”

She handed the bag to Victor, who was a bit puzzled, but still accepted it.

Upon opening the bag, he found a variety of differently shaped red crystals.

He suddenly remembered the reason he had given Gwen before.

Victor was surprised; he didn’t expect Gwen to remember these things.

He indeed needed these things to create some special magical items, but these were incidental.

When he left the volcano, he regretted not collecting some, but it didn’t matter now.

To his surprise, Gwen had collected some for him.

A warmth rose in Victor’s heart, but he was never one for sentimentality, so he put the bag into the Player’s Backpack.

“Thank you.”

Gwen looked at Victor with a bit of amusement, her tone mocking.

“Didn’t expect you to say thank you.”

“Now, it’s time for your explanation.”

Victor nodded in agreement, saying,

“I’ve said everything in front of the Emperor.”

“You were there, you should know if what I said was true.”

Gwen suddenly spoke coldly to him,

“You should know that’s not what I’m asking.”

She had grown up with Victor since childhood. If Victor was kind-hearted enough to want to stop a volcanic eruption to save everyone,

Gwen would absolutely not believe it.

Victor had shown his cold-blooded side since he was a child.

If necessary sacrifices had to be made, even if it meant sacrificing a town’s people, he would choose his own interests.

“What was your purpose in causing the volcanic eruption?”

“Your purpose…”

Victor pondered. Why had he prepared to follow Gwen to the volcano as soon as he heard about her trip?

He could have easily gone alone later.

Without the Knight Corps following him, Victor might have been able to handle all of this even more covertly.

By the time the Royal Capital found out, everything would already be over.

There wouldn’t have been such a large commotion, even drawing the attention of every third-tier Mage in the capital.

But…

“Maybe it’s because of you.”

“Because of me?”

Gwen was taken aback, even her Righteous Heart trembled slightly.

Under the scrutiny of her Righteous Heart, Gwen could tell that Victor was not lying.

That is to say, he did harbor such thoughts.

‘Wait, if he means because of me…’

He went to the volcano alone, just to challenge the Furnace Beasts inside.

And all this was for her?

Gwen was somewhat confused. Did Victor think she would encounter danger?

‘That Victor, he would think that…?’

Gwen placed a hand on her chest, clearly feeling her heart rate accelerating.

Even if she was usually oblivious to emotions, she now had some guesses.

Could it be that Victor liked her?

Otherwise, how could all this be explained!

Hearing that she was going to such a dangerous place as the volcano, he rushed over in the middle of the night just to accompany her.

They lived in the same room and he satisfied many of her unreasonable demands.

To prevent danger on the volcano, he went ahead alone to subdue the Furnace Beasts below.

“This, this…”

Gwen’s reason told her that she should not think this way, Victor could not possibly like her.

He was such a selfish person…

But her Righteous Heart never made mistakes.

‘If he really likes me, what should I do?’

Gwen’s mind was somewhat chaotic.

As for Victor, he was still pondering.

‘Um… it is because of her.’

On the one hand, Victor did want to fight the Furnace Beasts to test his current self and see how long it would take to defeat them.

On the other hand, Gwen was leaving the Royal Capital for a long time on a mission.

This was very risky for him.

If Gwen was still within the Royal Capital, he could learn about her movements through Lia.

But if Gwen went to the volcano.

Who could imagine what kind of opportunities she would encounter?

Victor daringly speculated. Perhaps Gwen would suddenly fall off a cliff, awaken the sleeping Furnace Beast, fight with it, and gain some of its power.

This was not impossible.

Since Gwen in the game survived until the end, then this mission she was on without his influence would absolutely not go wrong.

To avoid his own death, he tried as much as possible to suppress Gwen.

At least he would be at ease if Gwen always acted under his watch.

So, it was because of Gwen that Victor had chosen to go to the volcano with her, defeating Guldon in advance. This was not just empty talk.

Both had different thoughts. Victor didn’t know what Gwen was thinking, but his explanation should convince her.

After all, he truly thought this way.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“No… wait, where have you been these days?”

Gwen suddenly asked.

This was the question she wanted to know most.

These days, due to Victor’s disappearance, almost everyone thought Victor had fled for fear of crime. Worse yet, rumors had circulated that he had died in the volcano.

During his absence, the Clayvin family was also in a very bad situation.

They were being attacked by business competitors, and their mansion was besieged by numerous people who threw all sorts of things into the courtyard every day.

It was easy to see how much resentment Victor had incurred that even after his ‘death’, a bunch of people came to take revenge on him.

It was tough for Lia to hold on for so long.

“I was injured and found a place to heal,” Victor explained.

Strictly speaking, this statement was not a lie, his three-day and three-night battle with Guldon indeed left him battered.

Although the injuries were not severe, it was a reasonable excuse for healing.

Moreover, after the battle was over, he really was unconscious for three days and three nights.

As long as it was the truth, Gwen’s Righteous Heart would not judge it as a lie.

“Was that magical beast… that strong?”

Gwen could not believe that with Victor’s power, he had suffered such a severe injury.

The need for so many days of recovery clearly indicated that the beast was terrifyingly powerful.

At this time, she suddenly remembered the words of the old woman in Sanchel Town:

Inside the volcano, a Volcano God is sealed.

Such a legendary story may not necessarily serve as evidence, but if such a thing could be referred to as a god, its power should not be underestimated.

Victor closed his eyes, using magic to create a sense of imagery for Gwen.

Red magical energy began to coil around Gwen.

Gwen felt the surrounding scene changing rapidly, and the sky suddenly darkened.

“It, is very powerful.”

He synchronized his feelings to Gwen’s body.

The temperature inside the carriage rose sharply, and at this moment, Gwen seemed to be in the midst of it all, witnessing the magical beast.

Flames were soaring, as if a demon god had descended.

Victor dispelled the magic, and Gwen was a bit dazed.

Victor, he had defeated such a thing for her…

“…I have no more questions.”

Gwen was speechless.

“So, I’ll take you home.”

Victor initiated a spell, the First Order Magic in his hand was as simple as sprinkling water.

A green magical energy flew from his fingertips and twined around the carriage wheel.

The carriage turned in a direction and headed towards Gwen’s house.

Such is the benefit of being a mage.

Sitting in the carriage, there was no need for a coachman.

The two remained silent afterwards.

They soon arrived at Gwen’s mansion, and Victor watched Gwen get off the carriage.

“By the way.”

Before leaving, Victor stopped Gwen.

“Thank you for covering for me in front of His Majesty.”

Gwen turned around, just about to say something.

But the carriage had already turned around and left.

She stood at the door, watching Victor leave in a daze, her feelings were complicated.

The maids saw Gwen getting off the Clayvin carriage, they were somewhat surprised and started whispering:

“Didn’t the miss hate Victor the most?”

“This time she came back in Victor’s carriage?”

“Could it be…”

They were more and more excited about the conversation, and when they got to the crucial point, their cheeks turned red.

They did not notice the footsteps coming from behind.

‘What are you talking about? If there’s something good, why not chat with me about it?”

The maids turned around to see a smiling woman coming out of the house, and they quickly lowered their heads.

“We’re sorry, miss.”

The woman came out with the same smile on her face and said:

“Right, don’t slack off during work hours.”

“Alright, I’m going to greet my long-lost sister.”

…