The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

"That's good... Someone! Lock him up first, I'll contact my superiors and see how they should handle it."

As the adventurers talked, Naka kept observing Inosishi's corpse. It had suffered countless attacks and multiple instances of severe bleeding. Not to mention the magic she had first struck in its head; it should have died long ago.

"Hmm? This is..."

A wound under the corpse's left armpit caught Naka's attention. It was a sword cut, still oozing blood. Compared to the other wounds that had stopped bleeding, it seemed to be freshly made. There were what appeared to be heraldic markings on either side of the wound. Although a large gash in the middle obscured its complete appearance, Naka was certain it was a mark she had never seen before.

Clang!

As the body was lifted, an object fell from Inosiri's body and landed on the ground with a bright metallic sound. The nearest adventurer picked it up.

"What is this... a nameplate? It even has a number on it. Hey, is this pig domesticated?"

"Who knows? This pig has been causing trouble in Xishan for over a month. If someone were really raising it, they would have taken it back by now."

"Nameplate?"

Naka stood on tiptoe and craned her neck to barely make out the nameplate in the adventurer's hand. It was engraved with the words "NO.001". On the back of the nameplate was the same mark as the one under the corpse's armpit.

"Fan, have you seen this before?"

"No, I don't know."

Even if you ask Fan, he has no clue. But the nameplate means that the wild boar has been tampered with in some way. The fact that it was moved here from the eastern border seems to be a deliberate act by someone for some reason. Naka suddenly felt that the hidden story behind this matter was far more complex and profound than she had imagined.

"Naka, let's go! What's so interesting about this..."

"Wait a minute, Jasmine, I still need to..."

"This wild boar is my prey!"

Naka was deep in thought, Jasmine was tugging at Naka's sleeve, and the other adventurers were cleaning up the scene when a slightly childish voice rang out from the crowd. The owner of the voice pushed through the crowd and ran towards the guild leader. Upon seeing him, Naka's eyes widened in surprise. At the same time, the boy also glanced at Naka in the crowd.

""ah!""

The two pointed at each other with their fingers. They exclaimed.

On the verge of exploding

He could never forget her, and she could never forget him. But the two, who thought they would never meet again, unexpectedly reunited. Naka and the boy reacted in exactly the same way, as if they were mirror images of each other.

"Wow! Isn't that the cursed saintess?!"

Naka was already short, and blending into the crowd, no one noticed her at first. It wasn't until someone shouted after her scream that the others realized this now-feared, terrifying girl was there. Except for Jasmine, the onlookers instantly took three steps back, creating distance between themselves and Naka. There was no longer any barrier between Naka and the boy. They stared intently at each other, speechless, as if engaged in a fierce battle with lightning bolts of light from their eyes.

"Um... Naka, do you know him?"

"Huh? No... I don't know him."

If Naka said she knew the person, Jasmine would definitely press her for details about who they were, where they met, and when. But Naka didn't want what happened that day to be revealed in public, so she had no choice but to deny it outright.

"How could I not recognize you! Sister, didn't you try to steal my prey?"

But because of that one sentence from the boy, Naka's concerns vanished instantly. It was too late to deny it. The surrounding adventurers and Jasmine had all heard it clearly. Gossip is human nature, and Naka immediately became the talk of the town.

"Are all saintesses this fierce these days? Snatching their prey from the hands of heroes."

"She truly is a cursed saintess; ordinary people cannot comprehend her..."

"Hey! What nonsense are you talking about! That's very rude, you know!"

Jasmine was furious at the gossip about Naka from those who didn't know the truth. She loudly shut them up. But then she leaned close to Naka's ear and whispered...

"So that's what you were doing the other day... I know you're short on money, but you can't just rob other people. Putting aside whether it's appropriate or not, it's very dangerous."

"How can you even say something like that..."

"Isn't that right? Then what exactly happened?"

"This...this..."

Naka desperately wanted to clear her name, but she couldn't. Explaining the whole story would only backfire and make things worse. In the end, Naka stammered and couldn't give a coherent explanation. The voices of the crowd, which Jasmine had managed to suppress, gradually began to echo in her ears again. Naka was sweating profusely, not knowing what to do.

"it hurts..."

At this moment, the guild leader came out and gently tapped the boy's head with his fist.

"Takia, you're clinging to someone else again, aren't you?"

"No, I didn't..."

"Still denying it? Over the past year, numerous adventurers have reported to me that you claim every prey you've seen as yours, preventing others from getting it. Do you know how much trouble you've caused everyone?"

Judging from the person in charge, this boy named Taqia seemed to be a repeat offender who staged accidents for insurance fraud. Naka recalled his behavior on the mountain that day; the boy certainly seemed very experienced in asserting ownership of his prey. Before Naka could even react, he had already pounced on Inosishi's corpse.

"No, I really didn't lie this time... If you don't believe me, look at its armpit, that's where I made the cut."

The person in charge went to check and discovered the wound that Naka was also concerned about.

"That's true. But this monster is covered in wounds now. It wouldn't be surprising if there were wounds elsewhere. How can you prove that you made those wounds, and that it was this very blow that killed it?"

"this..."

"It's okay if you can't tell me. Uncle, did Tatia help you with the hunt for that wild boar these past few days?"

No, I've never seen him.

"Just now, Tatia said that this saintess tried to take the wild boar from him. Did you see this saintess on the mountain that day?"

The adventurer, referred to as "uncle," shook his head.

"The result is clear. Tatia, you're lying again. You're even framing an innocent saintess."

"No! I'm telling the truth! Please believe me..."

"I know you've worked hard to earn money for your father's medical treatment. But even if you earn that kind of money through dishonest means and your father gets better, will he be happy? We've been lenient with you because of your family's situation. But if you do this again, we'll have to consider revoking your adventurer status."

That day, Naka had witnessed the longsword Tatsia used. It was heavily rusted and corroded. Forget about wounding an opponent; it would be a miracle if it didn't break after a single cut. Naka guessed that the wound under Inosishi's armpit was probably the fatal one. But it couldn't possibly have been inflicted by this boy named Tatsia. Therefore, Naka was convinced he was lying.

Upon hearing the person in charge's words, the topic of discussion shifted from Naka to Tatiya. People accused him of being a liar, reaping the benefits without sowing, and attempting to gain something for nothing.

"Because I was terrified, I hid in the bushes for days, waiting for my chance to come out. But then it suddenly charged at me. I quickly slashed at it with my knife, but it knocked me into the bushes, which is why the uncles didn't see me... I swear! I'm not lying this time!"

"Alright, alright. Look at you, you're filthy and smelly from head to toe. Go home and take a shower."

"Please wait a moment..."

"Let's go back, let's go back."

Tatia tried to explain, but the guild leader and the adventurers no longer believed him. They continued with their cleanup work. No matter how hard Tatia tried to defend herself, no one took her words seriously anymore. Finally, Tatia helplessly lowered her hands and said no more.

Although his back looked pitiful, and judging from what the person in charge said, his family situation seemed complicated, Naka was still furious when she thought about what happened that day. She spoke to Jasmine in a rather sarcastic tone.

"Jasmine, this is what they call reaping what you sow."

"You scared me to death! I thought you really went and robbed the hero. But you can't do that kind of thing again!"

"Who wants to do it?"

The boy could tolerate what others said. But hearing Naka join in, he instantly flew into a rage. He yelled at Naka in a voice loud enough for the whole street to hear.

"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, sister, none of this would have happened! It's all your fault! You were on the mountain that day; others may not know, but I'll never forget it, even if I die!"

If it weren't for Naka, he would have had enough time to confirm whether the boar was truly dead. Even if it wasn't, he could have easily and swiftly delivered the final blow before it recovered. At least, that's what Tatya thought. Naturally, she was furious with Naka for wasting time, causing her to miss the optimal opportunity and allowing her prey to escape.

"...What did you say?"

Naka hadn't expected Tatya to suddenly turn on her. Already furious and on the verge of exploding, she couldn't afford to ignore her. She deliberately lowered her voice, leaning close to Tatya and quietly warning her.

"You brat. If you dare say another word of nonsense, believe me, I'll kill you!"

Naka lowered her voice, partly because she was angry, and partly because she didn't want others to hear. But upon hearing the other party's harsh words, Tatsia raised her voice even louder.

"Come on, try and kill me if you dare! Didn't you plan to kill me on the mountain that day?"

Naka's last wish for anyone to know was being shouted endlessly in the city center, as if he wanted everyone to know. This behavior completely enraged Naka. Until just now, Naka had wanted to let things slide. But after those words, the fighting spirit within Naka was completely uncontrollable.

"You said it yourself, don't regret it..."

"What?! Are we going to fight?!"

The crowd that had been watching the commotion hadn't gone far. Upon hearing Tatsia's words, most of them turned back and formed a circle again. Someone who had been nearby and witnessed the whole thing recounted what had happened, further fueling the crowd's enthusiasm.

"Alright! Let's fight! Let's fight!"

Humans are creatures who love a good spectacle. The news spread like wildfire, and within minutes, the place was packed with people—even more than when we visited Inosizium.

Seeing that things had escalated, Jasmine quickly tugged at Naka's sleeve.

"Forget it, Naka. Let's not argue with him. Let's go back."

"No way. If we don't teach this kid a lesson, who knows where he'll run off to and say something to others?"

"Let him say what he wants. We don't need to get involved."

"You're not really going to fight the hero, are you? We're saintesses, and beginners at that. We don't have any offensive magic, and we don't even have a decent weapon. How are we supposed to fight him? Let's go, let's go..."

No matter how much Jasmine tried to persuade or pull her, Naka remained unmoved. Meanwhile, those around her even started to fan the flames.

"Come on! Place your bets! The Cursed Saintess vs. Tatia, the Boy Who Cried Wolf! Who will win? Place your bets now!"

"I bet Tatia!"

"I'm betting on Tatia too!"

It didn't seem like a joke; several people actually pulled out money and threw it at the person who was clamoring to start a betting game. More and more people joined in. However, Tatia was, after all, the hero. The vast majority of people supported her to win.

"A level 4 saintess fighting a level 5 hero? Is there even a gamble involved?"

Someone took out a detection device, checked the two people's levels, and then said, "The device displays their ability values ​​as follows:"

娜卡

Power: 7

Defense: 8

Sensitivity: 4

Mana: 11

Taqia

Power: 15

Defense: 19

Sensitivity: 9

Mana: 4

Although Tatia's magic power was slightly lower, her other abilities far surpassed Naka's. As a saintess, Naka currently lacked offensive magic, making it difficult for her to utilize her higher magic power advantage. Consequently, Naka's already limited supporters all placed their bets on Tatia.

"Hey! Young man, you're a guy, you have no class at all. I don't know what happened between you and Naka, but if you really want to fight, you should at least go easy on her!"

"Are you going to use the Demon King's power here? Absolutely not! There are too many spies around. What if someone checks your stats during the battle..."

Jasmine's concerns were understandable. Even Fain thought Naka was planning to drop her disguise and use the Demon King's power.

While in "Disguise," Naka's stats truly become the disguised values. This is because "Disguise" is a skill that completely alters the Demon Lord's physical structure, not a trick using false numbers. The Demon Lord Kalena's stats are infinite, but Naka, as a human, has only lived for two years, and all her stats start from zero. In "Disguise," Naka is simply a saintess with slightly stronger healing and support magic; even weaker heroes and monsters could easily kill her. Understanding the nature of "Disguise," Fan didn't believe Saintess Naka had any chance of winning. This was also why he strongly opposed Naka disguising herself as a saintess.

However, Naka didn't think so.

"Jasmine, what are the odds like now?"

"Huh?...Do you even need to ask? A ton of people bet on you to lose!"

"That's good. Jasmine, take out all the money you have and bet it on me to win."

"What?"

"Hey, is this saintess really cursed? Has she gone mad?"

Not only did Jasmine doubt her ears, but everyone else thought Naka was talking nonsense. Jasmine, seemingly understanding, took out her money pouch. She didn't know what Naka was up to. But she also knew that Naka wasn't the type to speak carelessly or be arrogant. However, Jasmine was still full of doubts about whether Naka could defeat the hero.

"Miss, have you thought this through? Once you've placed your bet, it's non-refundable. That saintess is probably just angry with Tatsia, that's why she's making you bet on her. Don't take it seriously. For your own good, I advise you not to bet."

The dealer, seeing through Jasmine's hesitation, kindly offered her a reminder. But Naka immediately dismissed this suggestion.

"Don't worry about it, Uncle. I've been racking my brains these past few days trying to figure out how to make enough money, but I'm at my wit's end. But now, a golden opportunity has presented itself. Jasmine, you must seize it!"

"Ah, okay..."

To be honest, Jasmine wasn't sure whether she should trust Naka. But she felt an inexplicable sense of reliability in Naka's words. So, in a daze, she handed the money to the dealer. The dealer, resigned to his ingratitude, stopped trying to dissuade her and silently accepted the money.

Now Fan was even more convinced that Naka wanted to unleash the Demon King's power in front of everyone. He desperately pleaded with her.

"Demon King...no, Kalena! Do you intend to abandon our plan?!"