Fate of Mirithia [LitRPG, Isekai]

Given the speed she was flying at, it didn't take her long to reach the edge of the Rawaki jungle, even with the passenger she was carrying. She could smell the fresh air, even from up here. She slowed her flight and breathed in deep. The girl she had kidnapped from the capital was trained in how to deal with high-stress situations, because she hadn't screamed once, in their entire trip.

It wasn't like Meera had done anything scary, like threaten to drop her or actually drop her. She had flown as fast as she could to the jungle. The sun was shining brightly in the eastern sky, so she figured it hadn't even taken her a few hours to get here.

Meera planned to leave Miss Spy in the jungle and let her find her way out, but not before she answered some of Meera's questions. There was still time before that. She needed to find the ideal spot to make it extra scary.

It took her about half an hour to find what she was looking for. A big hole in the ground that looked like it had been made recently. A Kyldar was roaming about the place. It wasn't as if it were trying to look for prey, but rather it appeared to be standing guard over the hole.

She smiled. Finally found it.

This was the place she had first entered the Rawaki jungle with the prince when she had visited last. She was more than sure that the big hole in the ground contained the door that led from the palace to this place. The door that the Basilisk had buried deep into the ground. As it turned out, Dara wasn't satisfied with merely burying that door; he wanted to ensure that no one would pull it out and use it again.

Meera shrugged. If she were him, she would want to ensure that the door stayed buried so no one could hurt her animals again.

But seeing the Kyldar stirred the girl Meera was carrying, into action. She was practically squirming and gripped Meera's arm tightly. In case Meera's hand slipped and she ended up in the T. rex's tummy.

"I think this is a good spot as any to talk," Meera said.

The girl was too focused on the Kyldar to respond, who had noticed them. It had stopped its marching and was staring directly at them.

Meera shook the girl. "For your sake, you should be looking at me and not at it."

The girl looked at Meera, and fear was evident in her eyes. Her eyes were wide, and she was gripping onto Meera's arm with both hands so tightly, in fear that she would let go of her at any moment. Meera decided to use that fear.

"Here's the thing, miss…What is your name?" Meera asked. "Oh, and I want the truth. Every time you lie to me, I will go lower and lower. At this height, three lies, and you will be the breakfast for the Kyldar down there. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded as she tried not to fidget too much.

"I need to hear you say it," Meera said. "Also, the more you fidget, the weaker my grip gets."

She stopped moving immediately.

"Good. That's good. What is your name?"

"Dirba."

Meera had no reason not to believe her, but she had seen enough spy movies, so she figured it would be a lie. If it weren't, then Dirba would learn that Meera meant what she said.

She lowered them by a few feet, making the girl blanch.

"What did I say about lying to me?"

"Kynia," she screamed. "I swear. It's the truth."

Again, Meera had no way of knowing if it was the truth or not, but she figured to go with it.

"That's good, Kynia. Now, my next question, who do you work for?"

She looked down at the Kyldar before answering. She was no doubt trying to discern how close she would get to the Kyldar if she lied. Meera was ready to take her close enough that the druvis would be raking her feet with its fangs.

Finally, Kynia looked up and sighed. "I work for…please, they will kill me if I say anything."

"And you think I won't." She started lowering herself very slowly.

"Okay, okay. I work for the prince."

That made Meera stop and frown. "Which one?"

"Prince M-Manazhar," Kynia quickly dribbled out the name. "I swear, it's the truth. I swear it on my parents. Please don't lower me." She desperately clung to Meera's arm.

Meera was too focused on that revelation to worry about the girl's desperation.

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Why would Manazhar, of all the princes, have a spy in the University?

It was so unlike the prince to have a spy, after all. Rehia had spies, so why couldn't her siblings? From her interactions with the prince, he didn't seem like the type to keep a network of personal spies. But then neither had Rehia. All these people seemed so nice until they showed their true backstabbing natures.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're lying to me?" Meera shook her gently. "My hand is getting tired, you know."

"No, no! Please, I'm telling the truth," Kynia practically shrieked. "The prince asked me to watch the professor and report anything suspicious to him."

Meera shook her violently. "Why?"

She shrieked and held on for dear life. "I don't know! I'm being honest. He just paid me handsomely, and I didn't ask any questions."

Meera pondered over her answers, and a question arose in her mind. Why would the honor-loving, sweet-talking prince gain by watching the professor? The professor was an intellectual, for sure, and he was a high-ranking noble. In fact, he was the prince's uncle, but again, why would he need to watch his uncle…

Then the answer struck her like a lightning bolt. It was because of her. Manazhar must've realized that she was going to the professor. She hadn't hidden that fact from anyone. She had even announced it and asked for help from two of the siblings. Manazhar must've wanted to know what she and the professor were talking about. He was a contender for the throne, so any news regarding the great prophecy was his business, given that this world was closest to Aetheron's body.

Oh, you played your part so well. All this time, I thought you were the least like your siblings, but you're just like them—a royal snake.

Meera wondered if that act of loving Leenai, his healer, was also an act. It probably was. Even running into Meera by accident in the castle was a well-planned move. He brought her here to gain her trust. Well, one good thing came out of it: if she hadn't come here for the so-called training session, then she would've never met Dara, and she would still be stuck in the frozen south, banging their head against the wall.

"Please let me go," Kynia practically whimpered.

Her acting was so good that she would've believed the scared little girl act, were it not for the Mana swirling inside her, and then there was her class.

[Spellcaster Apprentice – Level 198]

"Okay, I'll let you go." Meera let go of her collar. The girl dipped a little, but she had a vice grip on Meera's arm, so she didn't fall all that much.

"No, no, don't let go of me, you mad—" She cut herself off, and then the mask was on again. "Please, I told you everything you wanted to know."

Meera raised an eyebrow, but didn't grip her collar again. "You know that maybe true, but how much of it was the truth, I do not know, so, I'll—"

Meera never got to finish her sentence, as an old acquaintance, or so she would describe it, slithered into view at rapid speed.

The Basilisk moved so fast that it looked like it was about to swallow Meera and her dangling friend. Kynia gave one look at the Basilisk and lost all pretense of her sanity. She tried all she could to climb up Meera's arm and hide behind her. Her screams must've been heard in all corners of the jungle.

"Run. Please don't throw me to it," she screamed, and other variations of that.

Meera had just about had enough of her. She gripped her collar and brought her to face Meera.

"Calm down," she said. "He's a friend, or I think so. Well, we nearly killed each other, so I don't know how long before he attacks."

By the time Meera finished talking, the spy had gone pale. She was sweating and trembling as she looked at Meera and then back at the Basilisk.

"Don't look into his eyes," Meera warned. "Not unless you want to turn to stone."

Her eyes snapped back to Meera.

"Now, if you don't want me to feed him to you, I need a final confirmation that whatever you've told me is the truth and nothing but the truth."

She nodded immediately. "Yes. I didn't lie. Please save me from him."

"Okay. I'm going to toss you, and let's hope for your sake that you land outside the jungle, and then you can find your own way back to the capital. Oh, and I hope this goes without saying that if you tell anyone about me and my whereabouts, I'll find you, no matter what world you are hiding in, and I'll bring you back here and feed you to my friend, who is always hungry for spies."

"N-No, I won't speak a word of this to anyone. I promise."

Meera rose a little higher. The Basilisk watched with genuine curiosity as to what Meera was doing. Then she tightened her grip on the spy's clothing, spun around, and with everything she had, hurled the spy towards the capital.

Kynia screamed as she was launched through the air. She cleared most of the jungle, but she ended up falling into the trees that ringed the edge of the jungle.

Meera shrugged. If she moves in the right direction, she should eventually be able to make it out.

Then she lowered herself to look the Basilisk in the eye. They had parted ways amicably, which meant they had said nothing to each other as they finished their tasks of reassembling the animals. She hoped that indifference would carry weight now as well. She didn't want to start another death match with him. She didn't have the time for that.

"Listen, I'm not here to fight," Meera said. There was a good sign that the Basilisk wasn't here to fight, because Meera wasn't turning to stone. "Nor am I here to kill anyone. I just want to talk to Dara. That's it."

The Basilisk stared at her intently. She didn't pull out her chakrams or prepare to attack, but she was ready, in case the Basilisk decided to attack. Thankfully, it didn't come to that.

He just stared at her for a long moment that seemed to stretch on for eternity. Then finally, the Basilisk turned and slithered off through the trees.

"Does that mean I follow you?" Meera asked.

All she heard was a hiss. She took that as confirmation.

She stayed high up in the air, above the treeline, as she didn't want to be jumped by some druvis and have the Basilisk take that the wrong way. They didn't have to travel long until they arrived at the lone tree in a clearing that houses a massive treehouse. Just like last time, there were many animals—druvis and others, roaming about the clearing.

Their walk was disturbed by the arrival of the Basilisk, but they didn't cry out in terror as Meera had expected them to. Instead, they moved back to make room for the massive snake.

Meera landed on the treehouse's balcony. Before she even knocked on the door, it opened.

Dara gave her a quizzical look. "If I walk out there and you've killed all my friends again, I will personally see to it that you can never set foot in another forest or jungle or woodland, ever again."

Meera chuckled. "It's good to see you, too, Dara."