The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

Tadiya nodded. He looked impatient, as if any delay would cause the opportunity to slip away, and pulled Naka by the hand, leading her in the direction they had come from. Although it was a bit too hasty, Naka couldn't say anything since she had already agreed. The two then headed towards the Adventurers' Guild.

"I really don't understand, what's going on with you guys? You were fighting to the death yesterday, and today you're holding hands and teaming up..."

Jasmine was completely bewildered by Naka and Tatsia. When Naka carried Tatsia away, Jasmine was worried they might start fighting again. She was relieved if no further conflict erupted, but she never imagined their relationship would suddenly become so close in just over ten minutes. When Tatsia returned with a beaming smile, pulling a blushing Naka along, Jasmine wondered if she'd mistaken her for someone else. Jasmine couldn't fathom what had happened in those ten minutes to lead to this outcome.

"Well, it's a complicated situation, too many to explain in a few words. Anyway, I've decided to give it a try teaming up with him. I don't really have a choice."

Naka's explanation, strictly speaking, wasn't even an explanation. Jasmine was still completely confused. Because she couldn't understand the situation, Jasmine couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

"Naka, you wouldn't... I felt there was something going on between you and that kid Udak back in the village. I was just joking before, but if you really like boys so much younger than you, I think you should turn back now. What if the Holy Maiden gets arrested for molesting a boy..."

"I've already said no! Neither Udak nor he is that kind of person... Never mind, I'm not going to say anything more."

The more she explained, the more it sounded like a cover-up. It only complicated a simple problem. Naka simply stopped talking. Jasmine turned to Tatsia and said...

"Young man, if that older sister does anything shady to you, be sure to report it to the guards."

"Something shameful?"

Taqia tilted her head, looking puzzled. It seemed she didn't know what the "shameful matter" referred to. This left Jasmine, who had uttered the word, extremely embarrassed. Explaining wasn't an option, nor was remaining silent. She could only pat Naka's shoulder meaningfully.

"It seems that the hearts of both of us saintesses have long been corrupted, Naka."

"That's you, don't include me."

"?"

While the saintesses were joking around, the young hero remained completely bewildered.

The Boy's Invitation (Part 2)

"Oh, Miss Naka, it's been a long time! And this is... oh? Tatia?"

The saintess and the hero officially entered the guild to begin the party formation process. The receptionist who greeted them was the same familiar face from when Naka and her companions first arrived in the city. Although Naka had seen him once before when she was disguised as another adventurer, he felt he hadn't seen Naka in a long time. However, he had vaguely heard about Naka and Tatsia's fight at the entrance the previous day. Therefore, he was particularly surprised to see Naka and Tatsia coming to complete the procedures together.

"Are you two teaming up? Really?"

"Otherwise what? Did you send me a team-up invitation?"

"No, no..."

That settles it.

Naka slammed the application form on the table. She had already filled in her information. The receptionist took the form, his face immediately showing difficulty. Noticing this change in his expression, Naka asked...

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"No, according to the regulations, there's no problem...it's just..."

"But what?"

"However, Mr. Ijima, who is in charge... he instructed us that if Tatsia applies to form a team, no matter who she partners with, we should not approve it."

"Huh?"

"why?"

Tatia exclaimed in surprise. Naka, however, calmly inquired about the reason.

"Well... Mr. Ijima wouldn't tell me the reason why someone like me is a low-level employee..."

According to Tatia, Ijima seemed to have said that if someone was willing to team up with Tatia, he wouldn't refuse her quests. But now, according to the receptionist, Ijima seems to be blocking Tatia's team-up requests. The receptionist's phrase "lower-level employee" caught Naka's attention. If it wasn't a reason for lower-level employees to know, in other words, only those of a certain rank could know—it was a secret of the Adventurers' Guild. It couldn't be a reason like worrying about Tatia's safety, a reason with no value in concealing. Naka deduced that Ijima's refusal to let Tatia team up with others seemed to have another hidden reason.

"I'm sorry, we're just following orders. You'll probably get the same answer even if you go to other counters. Ms. Naka, I'm sorry, your team formation might have to wait again."

"Why, why is Mr. Ijima targeting me..."

They had finally seen a glimmer of hope, only to have it extinguished by such an unreasonable reason. Taqia felt a pang of sorrow, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

At this moment, Naka gently patted Tatsia's back with her hand while lowering her voice by three pitches, speaking to the receptionist in a voice that no one else could hear.

"What would happen if you let him join a team?"

"Well... because this isn't within the rules, I don't know what will happen. But the person in charge is the top dog here, and if he finds out, we don't know what will happen..."

"Oh, so what would happen if he found out that you took bribes and altered your ranking?"

"Miss Naka, you..."

What Naka was referring to was the unpleasant experience she had during her first time forming a party. A wealthy young master from the city, just for fun and novelty, bribed the receptionist to falsify his level and team up with other adventurers. Since the money wasn't obtained through legitimate channels, the receptionist must have pocketed it himself and wouldn't have informed his superiors. Given his current lack of cooperation, Naka had no choice but to bring up this incident again.

"If I expose that, what will happen to the guild's reputation? Even if we want to suppress it, it will cost a lot of manpower and resources. Can you afford that? If you let that Ijima spend the money, he definitely won't let you off the hook. Don't you think so?"

"Miss Naka, are you...are you trying to threaten me?"

"How dare you! I'm just wondering, since you dare to break the rules for money, why don't you dare to follow them honestly now? You're taking bribes behind Ijima's back; I think you're not afraid of him at all."

Having said that, the receptionist understood what Naka meant. Her resolute gaze showed no sign of compromise. The receptionist could only sigh helplessly.

"Then tell me what I should do, Miss Naka?"

"Not so great. Aren't you good at altering other people's information? Change a stroke or two to this kid's name and stats. You don't need to change it beyond recognition, just make sure people can't recognize him at first glance. Since Ijima is the leader of this guild, he must have a lot of things to deal with every day. I don't think he has the time or inclination to check everyone one by one, and this isn't going to be exposed so easily. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to help us lie to him forever. I'm only teaming up with this kid for a month. You just need to help us get through this month."

"Do you want me to fabricate information again?"

"The choice is yours, sir."

Now that things had come to this, the receptionist finally understood that the seemingly young, even childlike-looking saintess was not as simple and naive as she appeared. She knew the saintess had leverage over her, and the saintess's demands left her some room to maneuver. The receptionist had no choice but to reluctantly accept her proposal.

"Well... I guess this is what I got for my own actions. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have been so greedy in the first place."

"Good that you understand. So, your reward for helping us this time is that we won't tell anyone about what you did before... Is that enough?"

"That's enough. But I'll only help you this once. If you use this to make other demands in the future, I have the right to tell everyone about what happened today, and we'll fight to the death... I'm sorry, Miss Naka, I didn't mean to be so harsh. But it's always good to be cautious, and I'm not someone who'll blindly obey others just because of this one incident. What do you think of my suggestion?"

"No problem. Just this once."

"Then, it's a pleasure to cooperate."

Naka and the receptionist shook hands discreetly, unnoticed by the others, to signify that their deal was agreed upon. The receptionist kept her promise, changing Tatsia's name to "Takya," increasing her level and stats by one point, and processing their party registration. Although some details weren't entirely accurate, at least this meant Naka and Tatsia could now accept official quests through the guild. The receptionist stored one copy of the document in the archives and gave the other to Naka.

"Is this okay?"

"Thank you so much, sir. I owe you this favor."

"Thank you, thank you."

Naka simply nodded in acknowledgment. Tatya, who benefited the most, bowed in gratitude. The receptionist waved goodbye.

"Stop talking. If you don't want this to be exposed, you'd better leave now. Mr. Ijima just returned to his office and could come out to inspect at any time. If you want to do the mission, wait until tomorrow."

"Thank you for your understanding... Ah, no! I got rejected! Nothing good ever comes from being with you. I'm going back, I'm going back."

Naka Naka grabbed Tatiya, deliberately raising her voice to complain the last part. Then she quickly led Tatiya toward the exit.

"What's wrong? Why won't you team up? Why?"

As soon as she opened the door, Jasmine was greeted by someone who had already finished her errands and was waiting at the entrance. She had also heard Naka's words. Just as she was about to ask, she noticed that Naka's expression and tone were different. Naka spoke to her quietly with a serious expression.

"We shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's leave now, and we'll explain later."

"oh oh..."

Naka's mysterious behavior suggested there was more to it than met the eye. Sensing this, Jasmine immediately shut her mouth, and the three of them quickly left the guild together.

The three remained silent throughout the journey. Tatya repeatedly tried to speak, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately kept quiet. Naka led him to the inn where she and Jasmine were currently staying. Only after all three were inside and Naka locked the door did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"There are countless adventurers on the streets, so it's safer to talk here."

"Hey, Naka. What's going on? Why are you all so nervous?"

"That's how it is..."

Naka then recounted the events that had just transpired to Jasmine. Jasmine, upon hearing the story, was also quite surprised.

"You wouldn't let this kid team up? Why? And you said you still managed to team up with him in the end. What happened with the rejection you mentioned?"

"My last sentence was only for the other staff and adventurers in the guild. We didn't hide our identities when we went in, so many people must have seen us. I said that to mislead them. As for why we didn't let him form a party..."

Naka turned to look at Tatia, who was bowing her head and remaining silent.

"Why don't you just ask him?"

"No, I don't know anything... I really don't know anything..."

Unexpectedly, the topic was thrown to her, and Tatya quickly waved her hands in denial, repeatedly emphasizing that she knew nothing about it either. Meanwhile, Naka had been observing his every move.

"Okay, okay. I know you're a victim too. We shouldn't have asked you."

Seeing that he was becoming increasingly pitiful and seemed about to cry again, Jasmine had no choice but to quickly comfort him. Only after he calmed down did Naka speak.

"Anyway, the team formation is finally settled. As long as you don't cause any more trouble, keeping it from him for a month shouldn't be a problem. Let's call it a day. Don't you have a sick father at home? Go back and take care of him. Don't go anywhere else."

"Okay, okay..."

"And do you know Don Quixote in town?"

"Do you know... what happened?"

What Naka was referring to was a nationwide chain of weapon stores operated by the human kingdom. Their main business was selling various weapons and items to adventurers.

"Your stats are decent, but your current equipment is terrible. Especially that blunt sword. We'll meet there tomorrow, and we need to get you some proper gear before we start the mission."

"But I don't have any money..."

"I'll pay you back. You don't need to pay me back. Jasmine, I need to use a little of our savings, is that alright?"

"Of course not."

"Sister Naka..."

Recalling the events of the past few days, what she had said and done to Naka, and then considering that Naka now disregarded past grievances, risking conflict with her guild members to team up with her, and even willing to offer financial assistance, Tatsia was at a loss for words. Regret, remorse, gratitude, and shame all welled up within her, and in the end, she couldn't control her tears. Tears fell onto the floor in a soft, rhythmic patter.

"Sister Naka, I really don't know how to repay you..."

"Why are you crying again?... Honestly, I've dealt with a lot of kids, but even six or seven-year-olds don't cry as much as you. You're a boy, for crying like this, always having girls comfort you, what kind of behavior is that?"

Although she said that, Naka still knelt down and gently wiped away the tears on his face. Hearing Naka's words, Tatya also bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears. However, through her teeth, she managed to utter a sentence from her heart.

"I'm not..."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"No, it's nothing... Well then, Sister Naka, I'll head back now..."

"Okay, go ahead. Meet me at Don Quixote's entrance at sunrise tomorrow morning. Don't be late!"

"Um..."

After wiping away her tears, Tatiana stood up and walked towards the door. Just before leaving, she suddenly turned back to face the two saintesses and bowed deeply to them solemnly. Then she ran away without looking back.

Looking out the window, watching Tatya's departing figure disappear into the distance on the street below, Naka finally turned back into the house and let out a long sigh.

"Sigh, once you get involved with this kid, things always get really complicated. It's exhausting."

"But you still decided to team up with him, didn't you? You really are a gentle and considerate woman, Naka. You'll definitely become a wonderful wife and mother in the future!"

"You're making fun of me again..."

"No way. Besides, this boy is actually quite cute when you look closely. When I first met him, I thought he was a troublesome guy. But he was very well-behaved just now. He was also very sweet-talking, calling you 'sister' all the time. No wonder you like him."

"...That boy, he's hiding something from us."

Jasmine had intended to joke. But Naka abruptly changed the subject and uttered something astonishing.

"Huh? What's up?"

"I don't know either. But it was the same at the guild, and it was the same when we asked him just now. He tried his best to say that he didn't know anything, but his eyes were wavering, and he kept biting his lip and muttering something under his breath. Maybe he already has a clue why the guild won't let him team up."

"Then why didn't he say so?"

"Who knows. I guess he just doesn't want to talk about it. Everyone has their own privacy. But anyway, it's none of my business. I'm only teaming up with him for a month. What happens to him after that is up to fate. It's not something you or I should worry about."

"Hmm...that's true."

Things have already progressed to this point, and further discussion is pointless. Besides, the two will soon go their separate ways. Naka truly doesn't want to have any deeper involvement with this troublesome young man. Knowing him at this stage is enough for Naka.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing... Jasmine, I have some things to take care of tonight, so I might be back a little late."

"Okay, sure."

But serving as the Demon King is Naka's unwavering top priority.

In the dead of night, with lights out and all was quiet, the streets were deserted. Even the patrolling soldiers could barely spot her when Naka quietly appeared on the street. With light and elusive steps, she bypassed all lookouts and slipped out of the city gates unnoticed. About six kilometers from the town of Isad lay a grove of trees. At a normal walking pace, that would take an average person about an hour. Yet, just a minute after leaving the city gates, Naka appeared there.

"...Is the messenger of Kromley here?"

Naka spoke softly towards the woods. The next instant, a figure entirely in black appeared out of thin air in front of Naka.