The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

"Calm down, Fan."

Naka, on the other hand, remained calm and confident.

"The Saintess's power is enough to deal with this guy."

Saintess VS Hero

The Lv4 Saintess and the Lv5 Hero began their battle in the bustling city center. The spectators initially just wanted to watch the excitement—after all, everyone needs some entertainment to pass the time and relieve the stress of work. However, they genuinely didn't expect the fight to escalate. Even those who had initially been fanning the flames couldn't help but feel a little worried for Naka.

The two were about three meters apart, with Naka's arms hanging naturally at her sides. Tatya, on the other hand, crossed her arms, looking confident and poised.

"How can we determine the winner?"

"Whatever. I don't mind if it ends with one side dying."

"No, no, no, let's forget about that."

Whatever happened between them, it shouldn't have resulted in death. The bookmaker, acting as a neutral party, offered his perspective.

"How about this: whoever falls to the ground three times first loses. Okay?"

"As long as this lady says it's okay, that's fine."

"I have no objection."

"Okay, it's decided then."

The dealer retreated back into the crowd. Taqia rotated her ankles and wrists, beginning her pre-match warm-up. Naka, however, remained motionless.

"Sister, your friend told me to go easy on her, so I guess I won't use magic..."

"Use it."

"what?"

"Not only magic, you can even use that longsword behind you. I can handle it with my bare hands."

Naka's astonishing proposal left the audience in disbelief. Even if the saintess and the hero were both unarmed, the hero would undoubtedly be stronger. Not to mention, asking the hero to draw his sword was tantamount to suicide.

"Hey, maybe we should just forget about it. I think this 'saintess' is probably trying to scam you."

After all, this was in front of the Adventurers' Guild. A passerby, not wanting to escalate the situation, tried to mediate. However, neither Naka nor Tatsia took his words seriously. Naka remained unmoved, while Tatsia drew her longsword and assumed a fighting stance.

"Sister, I'll do whatever you say."

"Go ahead."

The tension between the two grew increasingly palpable. The bustling audience gradually quieted down, anticipating how things would unfold. Jasmine nervously gripped the hem of her skirt. If anything were to happen to Naka, she planned to rush forward immediately and cast a healing spell.

Finally, in the instant before anyone uttered a sound, Tatia made her move.

"Drink it!"

He brandished his longsword and slashed straight at Naka. Of course, he didn't want to actually kill her, so he used the side of the sword.

But just as he approached Naka, Naka subtly sidestepped the attack, simultaneously extending her left leg and tripping Tatsia's right leg. Losing her balance, Tatsia stumbled and fell to the ground.

The audience, who had expected the battle to be decided in one fell utter silence. Unexpectedly, the brave warrior suffered a loss in the very first round.

"Strange, that's odd...?"

Taqia was also incredulous. It was as if she hadn't seen Naka move at all, as if she had vanished from her sight in an instant. When she came to her senses, her face was already making intimate contact with the ground, and blood was gushing from her nose.

"What's wrong? Continue?"

Seeing Tatia lying on the ground with an incredulous expression, Naka continued to provoke her.

Tatia rolled to her feet and unleashed another horizontal slash at Naka's head. This time, Naka retreated about a step and a half, narrowly dodging the attack again. Naka's weight was actually still forward. In the instant she dodged, Naka leaned forward again, and before Tatia could retract her attack, Naka had already entered Tatia's defensive zone. She then delivered a punch aimed at Tatia's left eye.

A wince of pain shot through Tatya, who clutched his left eye and stumbled back three steps. But as he retreated, Naka ambushed him from the left. Before he could regain his footing, Naka delivered another sweeping blow to his left Achilles tendon. This time, Tatya fell flat on his back. In just a few seconds of the fight, he had already been knocked down twice by Naka.

It seemed she had hit the back of her head; Tatsia couldn't even scream. She dropped her longsword, clutched her head, and rolled several times on the ground, unable to get up again.

"What an idiot. He's backing away with his eyes closed, exposing his blind spots and center of gravity to his opponent. If he doesn't get hit, who will?"

Naka did not continue the pursuit. After taking two steps back to create some distance, she began to nitpick at Tatia.

"No way... who is this saintess?"

"I heard she's just a saintess, and a jinx at that, she hasn't succeeded in any missions in the past month or so, and she's even brought death to a lot of her teammates..."

"Hey, check her stats."

Someone took out a detection device and tested Naka. The result was still a Level 4 Saintess. The status bar only showed that she had used a physical enhancement spell on herself, increasing all her stats by about 2 to 3 points. However, this was still lower than Tatia's, and within the normal range for a Saintess. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Now all the spectators were dumbfounded. Some people had already begun to regret betting on the wrong person.

The most shocked of all was Jasmine, who had lived with Naka for two years.

"Really?! Naka, who's never even killed a fly and is supposed to be respectful to elders and children, is actually such a fighter... When did she learn to fight like that?! Come to think of it, I really don't know who she is."

Jasmine asked Naka where she used to live, and Naka named a place Jasmine had never heard of before. When asked what she had experienced, Naka simply smiled and didn't answer. Although it's easy to forget someone after spending time with them, her best friend was indeed a mysterious figure shrouded in mystery. Perhaps there were even more unbelievable things about her.

Fan, who had initially been worried about Naka, breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps it was because so much time had passed. After all, Naka had been the Demon King for twenty years, and going back even further, he had known her for hundreds of years. He had almost forgotten what kind of demon Naka had been in the past.

Naka is not a descendant of the former Demon King, nor did she become Demon King through bloodline inheritance. She challenged and killed the former Demon King alone as an ordinary monster, thus seizing the throne and becoming the new Demon King.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I misspoke just now."

Although interrupting during a battle wasn't appropriate, Fan couldn't help but apologize. Even though Naka was currently just an immature saintess due to her "disguise" ability, and her stats were far lower than her opponent's, her greatest weapon wasn't any stat increase. Even without using any magic, even unarmed, the difference in combat experience and skill between Naka and this inexperienced young hero was something Tatia's slight numerical advantage couldn't overcome. No weapons, no offensive magic—it didn't matter. Fan was certain that Naka would win this battle without a doubt.

"Don't push yourself. Use the blade. You're one step away from losing. But if you can land a single blow on me, you win."

Naka had noticed that Tatya had hesitated to use her sword during the previous battle. From an outsider's perspective, it was a reasonable concession. But Naka saw it as meaningless self-imposed restriction. Even if he lost, he might refuse to admit it. So she simply told him not to hold back. But this suggestion was considered extremely alarming by those around them.

"Cursed Saintess! Don't get too arrogant just because you're two moves ahead!"

"Stop. If someone dies, that boy's lower body will be ruined. He has family to take care of; there's no need to be so ruthless."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Can't you see how big the gap is between them? Even if Tatia had used blades instead of her attacks, she still wouldn't have been able to beat her."

Some spectators continued to hype up the atmosphere, others offered rational advice to calm things down, and still others analyzed the battle that had just taken place. But Naka paid no attention to any of this. Her eyes were only on Tatya, who had slowly gotten up.

"But you said it yourself, sister..."

"Now, no matter who wins, no one will have any complaints, right?"

"yes"

He twisted his wrist, and the blade of the sword became a line.

Although his sword was tattered and worn, it was only somewhat ineffective against monsters. It was more than enough to kill humans. The audience held their breath. Perhaps in the next few seconds, the scene before them would turn into a murder scene.

Taqia roared and swung her longsword, aiming a horizontal slash at Naka's waist. Naka ducked to avoid it. As Taqia swung down again, Naka dodged to the right.

As her attacks repeatedly failed, Tatya's impatience grew. Her swordplay became increasingly erratic. But Naka always managed to dodge her attacks with minimal movement, just a paper's width away. However, unlike her previous two attacks where she immediately counterattacked after dodging, this time Naka merely dodged, hesitating to make a move.

"Damn it! How dare she make a fool of me..."

Naka wasn't incapable of retaliating. She deliberately chose not to. She wanted to embarrass herself in front of everyone by desperately trying to hit her opponent but failing. Realizing this, Tatia suddenly stopped attacking. He changed his stance, holding his sword horizontally. His left hand gripped the hilt, and his right palm rested on the base of the hilt. The tip of the sword was aimed directly at Naka's abdomen.

"Oh, so you can't hit me with slashes, so you switched to thorns?"

Naka was perfectly aware of his intentions. However, in Naka's eyes, this move was not a brilliant strategy, but rather a foolish one. But for Tatya, it was the only move she hadn't tried yet.

"ha!"

With a large stride forward, Tatya simultaneously thrust her right hand forward. As she charged, she also pushed her sword forward. The double acceleration propelled the sword towards Naka with tremendous force.

However, Naka merely shifted her body slightly and raised her arm, thus avoiding the trajectory of the thrust. This allowed Tatya, along with his sword, to slip under her armpit.

"Hey! He's coming towards us!"

Behind Naka stood a crowd of onlookers. As Naka dodged, Tatsia's sword hurtled towards the spectators. The crowd behind Naka was thrown into chaos. Tatsia, seeing this, also panicked. He hadn't expected Naka to dodge the attack, and his body leaned forward, unable to regain his footing. It was too late to stop. His sword failed to halt as he had hoped, thrusting straight towards a woman...

"Okay, that's enough."

Just then, Naka suddenly grabbed Tatya's collar and pulled her backward, causing Tatya, who was still moving forward, to fall to the ground. His sword also clattered to the ground just before it hit the audience.

The woman who narrowly escaped death, the other spectators, Jasmine, and Tatsia, one of the parties involved, were all completely silent. Tatsia sat on the ground, staring blankly at what had just happened, seemingly unaware of what had transpired.

"You think you can hit me with linear attacks? You're dreaming, kid."

Naka picked up the longsword, turned it around, and handed the hilt end to the still-dazed Tatya.

"You've fallen three times; you've already lost. So, are you convinced now?"

Tatya stared blankly at Naka, who was squatting in front of her and smiling at her. She was speechless.

"She won! She won this time! Bookmaker! Give me the money, give me the money!"

"Gurgle..."

The first person in the audience to react was naturally Jasmine, who had just won against Naka. She excitedly ran up to the bookmaker and held out her hand.

"Damn, I never expected Tatia to be so shameless. I even said that hitting a woman was bullying. But it turns out he got bullied by a woman instead."

Some spectators who bet on Taqia to win couldn't help but voice their dissatisfaction. But the bookmaker and other spectators who hadn't placed bets were watching, and their resentment was directed at Taqia, who had lost and whose money had gone down the drain. Gradually, accusations against Taqia resurfaced. Not only did some say he was weak, but some even dug up his history of cheating.

"No, you've gone too far..."

The accusations against Tatsia included some extremely harsh words. Even Jasmine, who supported Naka, found them particularly jarring. But her cries for help were instantly drowned out by the crowd. Naka remained silent, continuing to kneel before Tatsia, waiting for him to take the sword from her hand.

"Useless!" "Big liar!" "Maybe his father's serious illness is fake too!" "Give me my money back!" "Stop playing the hero! Pack your things and go home to farm!"

Amidst the cacophony of insults, Tatsia kept sniffling. Finally, she reached her limit of patience.

".......Wa ...

People fell silent. Even Naka seemed somewhat surprised. The young Tatya sat on the ground and began to sob. A young hero was sitting in the street, wailing uncontrollably. This truly stunned everyone present.

"No, no... Why are you crying? Aren't you a man? Is this little thing worth it..."

Perhaps it was because of her interactions with human children over the past two years that things had changed somewhat. Naka found herself somewhat helpless against the boy's tears. She quickly threw her sword to the ground and patted Tatya's shoulder.

"Hey! Stop crying! Because of you, I've had so many bad things happen to me. If anyone should be crying, it should be me! ...Please! Stop crying! Come on, smile!"

In her desperation, Naka even made a funny face at Tatsia, the kind she used to make the children laugh in the village. But Tatsia just sat there crying, showing no sign of stopping. Tears and snot quickly covered her already dirty face, making her look extremely pitiful. Some of the people who had just been criticizing Tatsia gradually shifted their attention to Naka.

"That saintess is something else. Doesn't she know how to show some consideration for others when she strikes?"

"Yes, what a wicked woman."

"Everyone says she's a cursed saintess, and it seems they're right..."

"What's wrong with you guys! How come you're telling both sides' stories? Naka! Let's go! We've got the money, no need to stay here any longer."

They attacked Tatsia for their own benefit, and then turned around and attacked Naka because Tatsia cried. These opportunistic, fickle people, who attacked others for mere verbal sparring, were beyond Jasmine's tolerance. She pushed through the crowd, walked up to Naka, and grabbed her.

"No, this..."

"Stop talking, go back. Everyone get out of the way! Don't block the way!"

Naka seemed a little guilty and wanted to say something. Jasmine quickly pulled Naka aside and squeezed her out. As Naka left, she looked back at Tatia, who was still crying, and slightly opened her mouth as if to say something. But she quickly closed her mouth again and left with Jasmine.

The boy's invitation

"I feel like I'm being treated like the bad guy."

Naka lay on the bed, burying her head in the pillow. Muffled sounds came through the pillow.

Ever since defeating the young hero Tatya yesterday, Naka had been somewhat sullen. Because of him, Naka had suffered a lot, and in the end, he was the one who felt most wronged. That arrogant boy was someone Naka wanted to kill, but seeing him cry and beg for mercy after being taught a lesson, she inexplicably felt a pang of pity for him. Moreover, the fight had started because Tatya was angry and took it out on her, but in the end, everyone said Naka was the one in the wrong. To be honest, Naka's feelings were very complicated right now.

"You're really something. You explode over a couple of words from someone. And you're so ruthless. I really didn't know Naka had such a bad temper. But it's not just bad things, is it?"

As she spoke, Jasmine finished counting the gold coins she had won from the gambling. Since almost no one bet on Naka to win, Jasmine exchanged a small amount of gold coins for a heavy money bag. It was several times more than what they had on their first day in the city. This meant they wouldn't have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter for at least a few months. Through this incident, the problem that had been troubling Naka for several days finally took a turn for the better, a blessing in disguise.

"Seriously, Naka, who are you anyway? I'm a country bumpkin, so I got into plenty of fights with boys my age when I was little, but I've never seen a fighting style like yours before. Why don't you quit being a saintess and switch to boxing? Maybe you'll make money faster that way."

"That kid is just too weak. Although his stats are decent, he's clearly never fought a human before. He doesn't know that humans are different from those mindless monsters; they fight with their brains."

"I'm just kidding. You have to teach me your playing style next time, you never know when I might need it."

"What for? To prevent your future boyfriend from cheating on you?"

How did you know?

"...Maybe next time."

"Huh? Stingy!"

The two saintesses engaged in a meaningless chat, exchanging words back and forth. However, towards the end, Jasmine adopted a serious tone.

"Although we're probably financially secure now... I don't think this is a long-term solution. We should find an adventurer teammate. After all, we're saintesses. Our profession exists to help more people. There must be people in this world who need us. It's too worldly to only do what we can when we're rich. That would bring shame to the profession of saintess."

"Isn't it worldly to use the guise of forming a group to find a boyfriend?"

"That's two different things! Two different things!"

"However... what you said makes sense."