The Reincarnations of Veldanava

Chloe's Misconducts 2

Before Chloe and Hinata could embark on a long voyage to the East, there was a place they had to visit first.

Chloe had done this time traveling stuff a thousand times, and she understood that her, who was just a nobody, couldn't meet with that man, Emperor Rudra, directly.

Bureaucracy was complicated. Without the help from the inside, it would be impossible for anyone from the West to have an audience with him. Thankfully, Chloe knew someone that had enough saying in the East to arrange such a meeting.

However, she also knew that he would not do it for free, which was why Chloe needed to bribe him.

Chloe wasn't in a hurry. She and Hinata had begun their adventure in a random part of the forest, and several days had passed already. She travelled during the day, and set up a camp at night to rest.

At night, the forest could be quite scary, but the presence of a companion improved the atmosphere a lot. Since either of them required sleep, the two always ended up talking through the night, sharing tales of their past adventures and getting to know each other more.

Chloe might have a strange side to her, but she was fundamentally a good person. She was someone who had gone through a lot, and Hinata could sympathize with that.

«I have been noticing. Although our first destination is supposed to be the Empire, we've been moving west, haven't we?»

'Yeah, that's true, it is a huge detour, but a necessary one nonetheless.'

The main continent was a vast place on its own, the Great Jura Forest alone could take a whole month to travel. Chloe explained to her that they would spend at least 200 years in this time period.

«Eh, that's longer than the life I've lived. Why do we have to stay for that amount?»

'The past is a good teacher, Hinata.'

This extended voyage was planned with Hinata's development in mind.

She was left with only a soul, yet it was far from being a problem.

Hinata had reached the level of a Saint, so all of her experiences and Skills were stored within her soul. When she experienced growth in the past, it would also affect the present.

This journey, other than to prepare the stage for Rimuru, was meant to be a learning experience for Hinata as well. For a Human to continue evolving, they required two things in particular: a power acquired via cultivation and a powerful sense of self.

Granbell had rightfully pointed out that Hinata hadn't forgiven herself yet. Chloe could not help her with that, but at least she could do something about the cultivation of powers and experiences.

'On the bright side, we will have more time to get to know each other!'

«How unfortunate.»

Anyone else could have misinterpreted Hinata's reply, but not Chloe.

'I know that Hinata likes to hang out with me. She just won't admit it. She is a tsundere deep down to the core, and that's so cute!'

Being called 'cute' almost made Hinata choke. That sounded wrong, so wrong. No one had described her with that word before.

«You must be blinded. There is no way someone will see me in that light...»

'But I do, and I'm sure that Rimuru-san has the same idea as well.'

«That can't be...»

'In fact, I have a core memory of you and Rimuru-san making out too. Hinata is surprisingly more vanilla than I thought.'