My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 93 Encountering the Succubus Again

"Tsk—they all seem like ordinary guys."

Watching the adventurers coming and going from the blacksmith shop, Lucius kicked at the pebbles at his feet with boredom, then got up and decided to go in and investigate.

Having settled things at the cemetery in the past two days and temporarily finished his patrol duties, he simply changed out of his armor, dismissed his subordinates, and came to this blacksmith shop to keep watch alone.

The reason was simple: Lucius had come specifically to investigate Hero.

When Lucius first met the ranger at the Adventurers' Guild, he didn't take him seriously. He just thought that since Milan, that arrogant and troublesome woman, had taken a liking to him, he must have some skills.

However, Lucius couldn't help but have doubts about the other party's subsequent behavior in accepting his commission.

He casually mentioned seeking out Rhodes's commission, intending only to try his luck and not holding out much hope.

Milan even specifically reminded Hiro not to get involved, but the guy still agreed and accepted the commission.

Moreover, his behavior at the time was also very strange.

Lucius pondered this matter carefully and felt that something was amiss.

He pondered several possibilities: Did Hiro value his status as a knight of the Holy Light Church and want to use the search for people to curry favor with the Church and seek protection or resources?

Or was it because I acted generously at the time that the other party was greedy for the generous reward and agreed to the commission?

Or perhaps—this person has ulterior motives, and their approach to me carries another hidden purpose?

Regardless of the reason, a stranger with a vague background, considerable strength, connections to mages of the Arcane Society, and unclear motives who takes the initiative to approach him is an uncontrollable factor that Lucius cannot ignore.

Unfortunately, despite his numerous attempts to probe indirectly, his previous attempts were either subtly thwarted or directly countered by Milan, leaving him without extracting any useful information.

Hero knew absolutely nothing about his origins, where he stayed, or his past experiences.

After several rounds of questioning, the only real clue they managed to get was that the exquisitely crafted elven longbow in the other party's possession was purchased from a shop called Fire and Steel.

"Phew—I hope it won't disappoint me."

Lucius straightened his casual clothes, fastened a valuable gem medal in front of him, tossed his hair with his hand, and revealed a frivolous and extravagant nobleman's smile.

The best way to deal with people in these small places is to open up information channels: money.

With that thought in mind, Lucius pushed open the heavy door and walked in with a confident expression.

In the shadows along the alley, Rod pressed himself against the cold stone wall, barely daring to breathe.

In the space of consciousness, Alina, infected by his tension, couldn't help but lower her voice and say, "This is troublesome. What is he doing here?"

Rod replied with a blank look, "I don't know. Normally, he should be—uh—"

In Rhodes's memory, every time he saw Lucius, he was either playing chess with Garen, fishing by the river, or engaging in some other recreational activity, perfectly embodying the characteristics of a nobleman's second son who was uneducated and idle.

In short, it's difficult to explain why the other party would appear here from any perspective.

"Hmm—I remember now," Alina thought for a moment, quickly sorting out her thoughts, before sighing, "Do you remember when you were chatting in the guild before we set off on this mission?"

"He asked you where your elven longbow came from. You seemed to have said that you bought it from the fire and steelsmith, right?"

""

Rhodes nodded.

"There's a high chance he remembered that sentence and followed that lead to where he is."

Upon hearing this, Rod breathed a slight sigh of relief, his previously tense shoulders slumping a little: "So that's all it was about."

He thought something else had been exposed.

"How dare you say that?" Alina couldn't help but complain, her tone full of helplessness. "He casually asked about the source of the weapon, and you were so honest. Now look what happened, you almost got caught by him."

"Hmm—" Faced with Alina's words, Rhodes was speechless. "I promised the boss at the time, and I didn't think too much before I said it."

After all, the blacksmith shop owner had given him a significant discount, with only one condition:

If anyone asks about the origin of the Elven Longbow, be sure to mention the name of the Fire and Steelsmith Shop, and promote the blacksmith shop and the owner's craftsmanship.

In retrospect, the publicity was indeed effective.

Alina was speechless for a moment and could only helplessly rub her forehead.

However, she hadn't thought of that at the time, so how could she blame Rod?

I can only blame myself for not being careful enough.

"Luckily, he didn't spot us. I just wonder what his purpose was in coming here?"

Thinking of this, even though Lucius was Rhodes' friend, Alina couldn't help but become more wary.

Lucius, a knight of the Holy Light Church, uses standardized weapons and normally has no need to buy new ones.

If he was there to repair weapons, why was he dressed in civilian clothes and not carrying any weapons at this hour?

"What do we do now?" Seeing Rhodes's hesitant expression, Alina couldn't help but ask.

Then she heard Rod's decisive voice: "Run."

When he lacked the mental capacity and the force was ineffective, Rhodes believed that the best course of action was to escape. After all, Lucius hadn't noticed him, so it was best to pretend he hadn't come at all.

Just as Rhodes lightly lifted his foot, intending to slip out of the alley quietly along the shadows of the wall, he was suddenly startled by a gentle tap on his shoulder, which startled both Rhodes and Alina in his consciousness space.

"!"

The cool, silky touch brushed against the back of my neck, and a sweet, alluring fragrance wafted up to my nose first.

A sweet, cloying voice whispered in his ear, its warm breath brushing against his earlobe. The voice, deliberately drawn out and full of mischievous intent, asked, "Why are you sneaking around here? Who are you afraid of?"

Rhodes froze, startled, and nearly grabbed the dagger at his waist, turning back half a step.

The girl stood before him, her large black hood hanging loosely on her head, a few strands of snow-white hair slipping out and falling to her shoulders.

"Hmph~ Why have you become so timid after just one trip out?"

Seeing Rhodes's frightened expression, she slightly raised her head, her crimson eyes, like molten fire, curving into a faint smile as she looked at the man before her.

The long, black tail with a heart-shaped tip swayed restlessly from side to side under the cloak, creating a slight rustling sound, as if teasing the person in front of it.

It was Aphrodite.

They had only been apart for a day or two, but the journey had been filled with constant turmoil. Seeing that iconic white hair and red eyes again now made one feel somewhat dazed.

The soft, dark mist surrounding her had faded considerably, and her face was still pale, probably because she had been quietly recuperating from the previous battle these past two days. However, the playful and teasing look in her eyes hadn't diminished at all.

"Those annoying demons—" Alina uttered a complaint in her consciousness space before quickly falling silent.

"So it was you." Rod breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it wasn't Lucius.

"What? Surprised to see me?" Aphrodite smiled at him, then her crimson pupils narrowed slightly. "Or are you waiting for someone else?"

Rhodes shook his head. "I'm waiting for you."

"Hehe, that's truly an honor." Aphrodite covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

A heart-shaped tail wrapped around her calf once. Aphrodite leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of flirtatious probing: "Didn't you accept the guild's commission to go into the mountains? I thought you were going to be out there for several days. Why are you back so early?"

Faced with her barrage of questions, Rhodes subconsciously glanced at the blacksmith's shop door, then turned back to the succubus who was deliberately standing close to him, and lowered his voice, saying, "Someone I know from the Holy Light Church just went in."

"Oh?"

Aphrodite followed his gaze toward the blacksmith's shop. The playfulness in her crimson eyes faded, replaced by a hint of impatience and coldness. Her heart-shaped tail lashed out at the ground in frustration.

"These guys are really persistent, but—don't worry about them." She sneered, her tone rather nonchalant.

Aphrodite bowed slightly to Rhodes, raising one hand in an elegant gesture of invitation, her red eyes holding a teasing smile that seemed both genuine and feigned: "The time that follows should belong to the two of us; why waste our time on insignificant Papal knights?"

The heart-shaped tail tip brushed lightly against Rod's calf, making his heart itch. She tilted her head and teased, "Are you planning to stand in a musty alleyway chatting with a beautiful woman?"

Seeing that Rhodes didn't respond, Aphrodite couldn't help but sigh inwardly, then changed her tone and said bluntly, "You're really too clueless. This isn't the place to talk. How about we go to my place and chat?"

Just as Rhodes was about to follow her, Alina in his consciousness immediately tensed up and warned, "Be careful. This girl's intentions are unpredictable. Who can guarantee she's not deliberately leading you into a trap?"

Rhodes paused for a moment, a hint of hesitation creeping into his heart. Just then, "Boom—Boom!"

A loud bang suddenly rang out, and the heavy door of the blacksmith's shop was kicked open from the inside, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

Immediately following was the blacksmith's rough, loud cursing, clear and piercing across the entire alley: "Get out of here with your filthy money!"

"My shop doesn't serve spoiled brats like you who have no taste and only know how to throw money around. Even if it's junk, I won't sell you a single piece!"

"Hehe, don't get excited, don't get excited—" Lucius, who had been looking confident, walked out of the door looking disheveled.

His understated yet sophisticated casual clothes were now covered in iron filings, and the composed smile on his face, that of a noble young master, almost crumbled.

"I came here with sincerity—if you don't want to sell, then you don't have to."

Seeing the giant iron hammer flying towards him, he smirked and dodged it in a disheveled manner, not daring to linger any longer.

Seeing this, Aphrodite chuckled softly, her crimson eyes filled with schadenfreude and amusement, while her heart-shaped tail swayed lightly behind her: "Look, even that Papal Knight has his day of setbacks? How laughable."

Rhodes glanced at Lucius, who was in a sorry state, at the entrance of the blacksmith's shop. He paused, wondering whether he should go over and help him out.

Seeing that the dispute between the two had ended, he stopped and did nothing more.

Rhodes looked worriedly at Lucius at the entrance of the blacksmith shop, examining him closely. The man only had some iron filings on him and no wounds or injuries. He was currently rubbing a small piece of forging scrap that he had secretly taken from the shop, his mind completely focused on the object in his hand, and he didn't notice the corner of the alley at all.

A perfect opportunity to escape.

Rhodes made up his mind to take advantage of Lucius's distraction and quickly follow Aphrodite away from the alley, lest they run into each other again.

"Let's go now," he whispered to the white-haired girl beside him.

Aphrodite nodded slightly, her heart-shaped tail swaying gently behind her. Just as she was about to turn around and lead the way, a suppressed groan of pain suddenly caught in her throat.

Nourishes—

A faint burning sound suddenly rang out, and Aphrodite shuddered violently. Her entire arm convulsed uncontrollably, and a piercing and burning pain swept through her body along her meridians. Her legs instantly lost their strength, and she knelt straight down on the ground.

Rod reacted quickly, immediately reaching out to firmly support her waist, barely managing to keep her swaying body upright.

"Damn it—" Aphrodite bit her lower lip hard, a layer of cold sweat instantly beading on her forehead, her crimson pupils under the hood covered with a layer of painful mist, and all traces of her teasing and playful demeanor from before were gone.

"Why is this thing in his hands?"

Rod's heart tightened, and he quickly reached out to lift her wide sleeves.

A pale, slender arm was exposed in the twilight, a piercing golden holy light brand deeply embedded in the flesh. The light pulsated slightly, each flash bringing excruciating pain that burned the soul. It was a punitive holy seal specifically for demons, continuously releasing holy radiance to restrain evil power, burning the life within Aphrodite's body.

"Why did this trigger again?"

Rhodes frowned, his fingertips hovering near the Holy Light Seal, not daring to touch it, for even getting close could feel a sharp and terrifying power.

Aphrodite was panting heavily, her body trembling slightly. Her heart-shaped tail drooped limply to the ground, no longer displaying its previous lively and alluring charm. "Hurry, take me away, away from here, away from him—otherwise, he'll sense it—"

She hugged Rod, her whole body going limp. "Please."

In the consciousness space, Alina's expression was solemn as she whispered a reminder to Rhodes: "This is troublesome. It's the Holy See's tracking seal. The mark will erupt and burn. If we delay any longer, her magic power will be completely depleted, and we will be tracked down as well."

Lucius, still engrossed in what he was doing at the alley entrance, was completely unaware of the sudden change that had occurred in the alley behind him. Rhodes picked up the limp Aphrodite.

We must get her away from this area as soon as possible, or they're all doomed!

"Oh?" Lucius suddenly laughed.

"There was an unexpected bonus?"