Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

The next day, Mira asked the Guardian to find Alicia's location. He tried teasing her, but she just ignored it and waited for him to tell her. She knew that if she tried searching for Alicia alone, she'd probably spend the rest of the week looking for her in this city.

However, Mira had no plans of actually going to see Alicia, at least not yet. Her current appearance is just too eye-catching, and she didn't want to attract any trouble in this city. She can feel many strong auras all over the city and had no intention of getting involved with any of them for no reason.

Of course, the only reason Mira wanted to avoid any trouble right now is that she's afraid she might not be able to hold back if someone bothers her too much. She might just snap and start going on a killing spree…

In a place like Quake City, Mira would gladly welcome trouble and would be able to attack without caring about the consequences, but here things won't be the same. She can't just kill someone because they pissed her off, not unless she wants to be captured or, worse, executed.

She might be a little paranoid right now, which felt quite weird for her, but Mira decided to send Maria to tell Alicia and the others to be on standby.

Just like that, Maria left the 'Royal Maiden Inn' following the directions of the Guardian.

'So, uh, you're called the Guardian, huh? Why is that? What are you guarding Mira from?' Maria inwardly said in hopes that the Guardian was listening to her. From what she knew from Mira, he could read minds, and since she didn't want to seem like a crazy person, she asked inside her mind.

"Threats that Mira is currently too weak to handle. Oh, turn left here." The ancient voice of the Guardian was heard inside Maria's head, surprising her.

'Wow! You sound like an old man! Are you sure you aren't just bored and using the excuse of protecting Mira as an excuse? Ugh! Why did Mira have to attract a perverted old man like you?! Look, I know she's pretty, but she's mine! She's too young, and her skin is too smooth for someone like you! If you want to find a wife, I know someone! She's not exactly alive, but that shouldn't matter to you, right?'

The Guardian almost fell out of his chair when he heard what Maria had just said.

"What the hell?! When did I say I wanted Mira to be my wife?! I'm her Guardian! GUARDIAN!! And I'll have you know that I'm a healthy young man! I don't need that wrinkly old woman! What was her name…? Ah! That's right. She went by something like Sage Aila. I don't need to settle for someone like that! With my looks and power, I can have any woman I want within this Universe!" The Guardian declared, but Maria sneered.

'Hmph! You can't have Mira and me, you perverted old man.'

"Ugh! How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not an old man, and I'm not a pervert! Look, I don't even watch when you and Mira are having sex! Would a pervert do that?"

'You… You even know when we have sex?!?! I knew you were a shifty old man! To think that you're shameless enough to call yourself Mira's guardian! You're no better than a third-rate street thug!'

"Dammit, woman! Just listen! I'm really over here protecting Mira! Do you know that guy that Mira briefly told you about? The one who Mira wants revenge on? Yeah, I put that guy in a little timeout so Mira won't have to worry about his antics for a while. She's already got enough on her plate as is and doesn't have time to deal with his nonsense."

Maria went silent after that as she wasn't sure what to say. She knew who the Guardian was talking about, but she hardly knew anything about what he did or why Mira hates him so much.

Nonetheless, if he really did that, then it seems like he's not totally useless.

'I'm sure Mira wouldn't say it, so I'll say it in her stead. Thank you for doing that. BUT! I still don't completely trust you. Who knows what sort of nefarious thoughts are going on inside that perverted old man brain of yours?'

Veins began popping on the Guardian's head, "Look, child. Even if you don't trust me, what can you do? All you have to know is that I would never do anything that isn't for Mira's benefit. Like I told you before, I'm her guardian. I'm technically her subordinate, though she doesn't have quite enough strength or authority to boss me around. That'll change once she gets enough power."

Maria was surprised to hear such sincerity coming out of the Guardian's mouth and decided to stop arguing with him.

***

A few hours later, Maria appeared in front of an inn and immediately saw a few familiar faces. Likewise, they recognized her as well and immediately ran up to greet her.

"Hello, Miss Maria! Are you here to see Leader Alicia?" One of the girls asked.

Maria nodded, "Yes. I'm here to tell you guys some important information on Mira's behalf. Can you please lead me to her?"

The girl nodded and immediately led Maria towards where Alicia was staying. They walked inside the inn, which was clearly rather low-class, and made their way towards Alicia's room. The receptionist glanced at Maria, but because Maria was being led by someone who had been staying in the inn for a while, she didn't bother saying anything.

A minute later, they appeared in front of Alicia's room. The girl knocked on the door and said, "Leader Alicia. Miss Maria is here to see you."

Right after she said that, the door was opened, and there stood an above-average-looking woman. She has shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes with an authoritative aura.

"Greeting, Miss Maria. Please come in." Alicia said gracefully with a slight bow. Maria nodded with a smile and entered the room. Alicia thanked the girl that brought Maria and closed the door behind them.

The two sat at a nearby table, and Alicia immediately started the conversation.

"I'm glad to see you made it to Snow Maiden City safely, Miss Maria. However, I doubt you came looking for me just to say hello."

Maria sighed but nodded, "Yes, I'm here on Mira's behalf as we just learned some useful information."

Alicia's eyes lit up when she heard that, "Oh? Mistress Mira is here? Will she come to visit us soon?"

Maria nodded slightly, "Mhmm. She would've come today, but her appearance right now is a bit… eye-catching. I came here to tell you that the Battle Maiden Sect's Main Branch allows Outer Court Disciples to select servants, otherwise called Trial Disciples, and are allowed to bring them up the mountain and stay at the Outer Court."

Alicia's eyes narrowed slightly as she instantly realized what this news meant, and she said with a hint of excitement in her voice, "I see. So we really will be reuniting with Mira soon. We even get to join the Battle Maiden Sect without being in the Core Formation Realm. Please send my regards to Mistress Mira for giving us this opportunity."

Alicia stood up and bowed toward Maria.

Maria waved her hand, "It's fine, it's fine. Mira was never going to abandon you all in the first place. You guys will be her hands and feet in the future, so this is the least she can do. I'm actually surprised that you girls are so committed to getting stronger. You even made it all the way here so quickly!"

Alicia sat back down and looked at Maria with a serious expression, "Of course, we're committed. We want to live a life of our own free will instead of being at the mercy of someone else. Getting stronger is the only way to do that."

Maria was a bit confused by this statement, "If you want that kind of freedom, why are you so willing to subordinate yourself under Mira?"

Alicia didn't answer her immediately and instead gave Maria a deep look.

After around 30 seconds of silence, Alicia finally spoke, "I think you should know this better than us, but I don't particularly want to betray Mira's trust. I'm sure you know what sort of hell we'll be put through should that happen. However, let's forget about that for a second. Mira was the one who put us on the path of strength. She's the one who helped create our foundation for a brighter future. She's the one who saved our pathetic lives. Yet, what have we done to repay her? Nothing! Even now, Mira is handing us an opportunity that we would never have gotten. We aren't shameless enough to take everything Mira has given us without giving anything back."

"However, that's not the only reason. After we spent some years by ourselves, training, and building our strength, we realized something. The weak don't have the right to freedom, and you know what we are? Weak! That being the case, why wouldn't we rather subordinate under a strong person like Mira, our savior? At least that way, we have a choice."

Maria was silent for a while after hearing that. She was surprised by the mentality of Alicia and the others. Just listening to her reasoning made Maria feel privileged, but it also made her realize something important.

'Aren't I in a similar situation? I'm only here, with this level of strength, because of Mira. It's my and Alicia's blessing to be related to Mira in some form…' Maria thought to herself and felt her mindset was subtly changing.

The two were quiet for a while until Maria felt it was about time to leave. She reminded Alicia to gather the other girls and be on standby, then left the inn and began making her way back to the Royal Maiden Inn.

***

[A/N: Here's one bonus chapter for making it to the Top 25 of the Golden Ticket Rankings! Thank you guys so much for the support! I'm going to try and upload 3 chapters per day until this weekend as a thank you for all the gifts and support I received last month!]