The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

Even in hell, I will offer you endless gratitude.

His gratitude for the blood feud against his clan, done for his daughter's sake, wasn't because he valued her more than his entire clan. As a warrior of the Elven race, Osid had already fought, the battle was over, and he had no regrets. Now, he was simply a father.

"...I'm going back now. Don't forget our promise."

Naka turned her back to Osider halfway through her sentence. She didn't want him to see her expression. After he finished speaking, Naka casually tossed out a couple of words and walked away.

Watching Naka's departing figure, and then glancing at his daughter still fast asleep in the cave, Osider felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Although he was no match for the Demon King in strength, he had seen through the Demon King's wavering heart. He had only gained a verbal advantage, and he was already quite content.

The man looked up at the starry sky. The sky, pierced by Naka's magic through the clouds, appeared so beautiful. To see this magnificent sight at the end of his life, Osider marveled at his incredible fortune.

Now, he could face death calmly. For his daughter, he could leave this world... But such a thing was impossible. He didn't want to die. He still had so many things he wanted to do.

He wanted to stay by his daughter's side forever, watching her grow up. He wanted to find his missing wife and give Tatya a complete family. He hoped Naka could fulfill these regrets for him, but as a father, didn't he also want to make his family whole himself?

As a soldier, he had nothing left to hold him back. But as a husband and a father, Osid could not, until the very end, satisfy himself or put Tasia at ease. A tear rolled down his cheek—his final thought for his daughter and wife, a testament to his fate as the one destined to leave first.

"Vilya, I long to see you again..."

永别

Tadiya was confused. Her father, who had always been tormented by illness and whose temper would flare up when he was sick, had been unusually gentle with her these past two days. He would gently wake her in the morning and say good morning. During training, he would come out to encourage her. Before Tadiya went on a mission, he would wish her a safe journey, and upon her return, he would say thank you for her hard work. At mealtimes, he would remind her to eat more and chew slowly. Before going to sleep, he would whisper goodnight in her ear.

For years, she had only seen her father like this in her dreams. Tatsia had a strange feeling, as if she had returned to the time before the elven kingdom was destroyed. A father's kindness to his daughter was a matter of course, but Tatsia hadn't experienced it in a long time. This feeling of both nostalgia and unfamiliarity was truly peculiar. Yet, she was still very happy. For her, nothing was more joyful than a father full of energy and vitality.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Now, it is the third day since Naka confessed everything to Osider.

There was no training that day. Naka said they wanted to have some real combat. Tatya got up early in the morning. While waiting for Naka, she did warm-up exercises at the cave entrance.

"Tia"

Osid wanted to wake his daughter, but he had gotten up later than Tatiana. When he emerged from the cave, Tatiana was already covered in a light layer of sweat. He didn't want to disturb his daughter who was working so hard. But some things could only be said now. He softly called her name.

"dad!"

Hearing her father's voice, Tatsia sheathed her sword and ran to him. Her father seemed to be in good spirits today; he could stand steadily without needing to lean against the wall. Tatsia threw herself into his arms. She was truly happy; her father had been looking so radiant for the past three days. It was the medicine she had bought for him that had gradually helped him recover. Just that alone made all her previous efforts and sacrifices worthwhile.

"Dad, you look great today! Your cough has lessened a lot these past few days, I think you'll recover soon!"

"Yes, that's right..."

His daughter spoke to him innocently, words brimming with hope. The smile of his daughter, which he hadn't seen in so long, was Euclid's last solace. Euclid gazed at his daughter's face and couldn't help but chuckle softly. Tatiana was a spitting image of her mother, Vilia.

He gently stroked Tatiana's hair and closed his eyes. Memories of his meeting his wife, their love, their marriage... the image of Tatiana at birth, the way she was held in his arms as an infant, the stories of her first steps and words... all the memories of his wife and daughter flashed through his mind. When he opened his eyes again, his daughter, sleeping soundly in his arms, was tightly clutching him. She was stronger than Osider had imagined, and the way she wielded her sword reminded him of his own youthful exuberance. Unbeknownst to him, his daughter had grown so much.

"Takia, are you on a mission again today?"

"Yeah! Sister Naka said she took on a pretty challenging task yesterday, which will be a great test and a good opportunity for me to improve. I also want to challenge my limits!"

"Really...that's wonderful!"

He gently patted Tatsia's head with a sigh of relief. But he felt an unusual sensation on his daughter's scalp. He carefully parted her hair and saw the prominent scars on her head. These were from the wounds he had inflicted.

His daughter was so wonderful, yet he had acted rashly in a moment of anger, almost making a fatal mistake. Eustide felt deeply ashamed. For the first time, he bowed his head and apologized to his daughter.

"I'm so sorry, Tatia. You've suffered so much these past three years... Your injuries must be very painful. I'm so sorry."

Tatsia was somewhat surprised that her father suddenly brought it up. However, from the beginning, Tatsia had never harbored any resentment towards her father. She shook her head vigorously.

"No, it's okay! Dad must be in a lot of pain when his illness flares up. But as long as I think about how these scars allow Dad to vent his pain and frustration, I don't feel any pain at all."

Tatiana said she wasn't in pain, but her daughter's understanding and strength broke Osider's heart as a father. But what pained him most was that his time with Tatiana was nearing its end...

"Tia"

Just then, a voice rang out. It wasn't Osider, but Naka, who had just arrived. The tone she used when calling for Tatsia was exactly the same as the tone Osider used when calling for his daughter.

"Sister Naka! You're here!"

Tatiana released her grip on her father's arms and ran to Naka. If he could, Osid really wanted to hug his daughter one more time, just a little longer. But he had already lost the chance to touch his daughter forever. Now, he could only watch Tatiana smiling and talking with Naka, not even daring to blink. Every second he saw his daughter brought him one second closer to their eternal farewell. Therefore, every second was a precious, priceless treasure to him.

"Dad! I'm going out!"

Finally, the moment of parting arrived. Unaware of anything, Tatia smiled and waved goodbye to her father. Ossid slowly raised his hand in return. Just as he had done two days earlier when he saw her off on her mission, he spoke in a calm tone...

"be safe"

"Um!"

Taqia smiled, turned, and ran away. Two days ago, Osider would have simply watched her leave. But today, he added one more sentence.

"Daughter! Remember, I will always love you!"

"?"

This abrupt remark left Tatya somewhat bewildered. But she quickly scratched her head sheepishly. She didn't know why her father had said that today. But since he had, as his daughter, she felt she should respond. She turned to her father and said...

"Dad! I love you too!"

The expression on Tatiana's face as she uttered those words was the last time Ossid saw his daughter. It was also the most beautiful sight he had ever witnessed. The last words Tatiana uttered to Ossid were far beyond his imagination; they were the most beautiful sound in the world.

After speaking, Tatsia jogged away, leaving only Naka and Osider behind. They stared at each other. Osider was the first to speak.

To see the Demon King as the last person you ever meet is hardly a good thing. Besides, Naka is a mortal enemy with a blood feud with the elves. But right now, he only wants to express his deepest gratitude to Naka for giving him the three most wonderful days of his life.

"Thank you, Miss Naka. Goodbye."

"...Goodbye, Mr. Osider."

Two simple sentences, yet they contained a thousand words. Having said that, Naka followed Tatsia's footsteps and left. Osid turned and walked back into the cave.

His daughter's voice still seemed to echo in his ears, and the feeling of her hugging him was still vivid in his memory. He didn't want to die. He wanted to see his daughter return home triumphantly tonight. He wanted to ask her what had happened that day, to tell her about the strange and wonderful things she had seen and heard. He wanted to embark on the journey with her to find his wife... but those were now impossible dreams.

But he still has a breath left. As long as he has that breath, he has endless things to say to his daughter. As long as he has that breath, he is still a father.

Ossid picked up a piece of white paper from the ground. It was leftover from starting the fire, so the paper wasn't very large. But with trembling hands, he picked up a pen and wrote his final words to the two of them on the paper. Until his consciousness gradually faded away.

...

"Sister Naka... Dad was acting really strange today, he suddenly said those kinds of things to me."

On the way to the mission location, Tatia casually remarked to Naka, "My dad never says things like that normally."

"So what if he told you? Do you think he's lying to you?"

Naka answered coldly. Tatya, of course, vehemently denied it.

"Impossible! My dad loves me! I just don't understand why he would say something so obvious..."

"Because it's something that's taken for granted, we don't usually say it out loud. But there's always a day when we have to say it... and it's not just him."

This topic was originally brought up by Tatsia in a half-joking manner to pass the time on the journey. Naka, however, spoke to her with a serious expression.

Don't forget, I'm still here for you.

"Huh?...Really, even you, Naka-nee, are saying such weird things."

In Tatya's eyes, both her father and Naka were behaving strangely today. And the ways they acted were remarkably similar.

set off

The destination of this mission was quite a distance from Isad Town and Tatsia's base. To pass the time during the tedious journey, Tatsia tried to amuse herself by talking to Naka. But no matter what she said, Naka would end the conversation in just a few sentences, quickly killing the topic. Soon, Tatsia ran out of things to say.

Naka seemed a bit down today, not in the mood to chat. Tatsia had no choice but to keep quiet and follow behind her.

But in the end, Tatsia couldn't help but speak to Naka. However, that was about ten hours after they set off.

"Na, Naka-nee... how much longer until we get there..."

Having not found a means of transportation, Tatsia was mentally prepared for a long trek. But even so, ten hours was still incredibly far. They crossed several bridges, passed through several small villages, and even trekked across a large river with no bridge and an exceptionally swift current. By the time they arrived, Naka said they had only covered half the distance. It was dawn when they set out, but now it was dusk.

"I don't know either"

"Huh? You don't know?"

"Look."

Naka handed the quest sheet to Tatsia. Naka had accepted the quest from the guild herself; Tatsia hadn't seen it before. This was the unspoken rule between them. This was the first time she'd seen the quest sheet for this particular mission. It read as follows:

"Mission Objective: Drive away the wolf-like monsters roaming around Naku Village. Mission Time: Unlimited. Mission Location: Around Naku Village. Mission Difficulty: 15. Mission Reward: 1000 Gold Coins"

If it were a specific location, that would be easier to explain. But the location listed above is "surrounding area," meaning it's not the village called Naku.

"I'm currently looking for a good vantage point to observe that village. We need to determine the area outside the village where those monsters are active, something we can't see from inside the village."

"Yes, I see..."

Since Naka said so, Tatsia could only admire her foresight.

As she walked, Tatia glanced at the other quest details. The difficulty level was 15, meaning it was recommended for adventurer parties with an average level of around 15. Currently, her party only consisted of Tatia, a level 9 hero, and Naka, a level 4 saintess—far below the recommended level. Just as Naka had said, this was an extremely challenging quest. But with Naka by her side, Tatia felt confident there wouldn't be any major problems. The 1000 gold coin reward was also quite tempting. Without giving it much thought, Tatia put the quest sheet away.

To get a clear view of everything around her, she needed to find a high vantage point. Naka found a small hill and climbed up it.

"Look, that's Naku Village."

Naka pointed to a village in the distance. It was a village nestled in a forest. It wasn't very large; the buildings were generally low and far fewer in number than those in Isad Town. But one could still vaguely see people coming and going on the main street. It was a fairly well-run-out, medium-sized village.

Soldiers were stationed and guarded at various points around the village, and numerous chimneys lined the walls, used to send out signal fires to warn of approaching enemies. Judging from this constant state of vigilance, the village had indeed been plagued by monster attacks for a long time. Tatya couldn't help but feel a little tense.

"Look, it seems there's more than one monster... With so many soldiers, we're still being so cautious. Naka, are the two of us really okay?"

"Don't worry. These low-intelligence monsters are basically all commanded by a leader. Once you take down the leader, the rest will scatter like birds and beasts and will no longer pose any threat. I'm currently looking for places where leader-level monsters might live."

Monsters with a certain degree of organization and discipline will not live scattered, but will gather in one place, awaiting the leader's command, and then split into several groups to attack humans. When they gather together, they will be very conspicuous. This is the experience that Naka has summarized.

"Hmm? That's... "

Soon, Naka found a strange place. It was a building-like structure, some distance from the village. Moreover, it seemed to be a secluded hut, with no roads or other buildings nearby. If someone lived in that hut, both daily life and getting around would be extremely difficult.

Conversely, buildings provide shelter from wind and rain, and protection from heat and cold. Wolf-type monsters are an extremely cunning race. If no one lives there now, it would undoubtedly be the most suitable place in the entire forest for hiding, breeding, and storing food. In fact, it's quite normal for the monsters to kill the people living there for this purpose.

Having made the above judgment, Naka turned and walked down the hillside.

"Sister Naka?"

"Follow me, and also, grab your sword and be ready for battle at any time."

"....Um!"

Although he didn't know what Naka had discovered, judging from her words, she had probably found some crucial clues. Following her instructions, Tatya drew her longsword and gripped it tightly, following Naka's steps towards the building.

"This is it."

After some time, they arrived in front of the building.

Upon closer inspection, its unique architectural style becomes apparent; it's not the type of building one would typically find in Isad Town or Naku Village. Naka had heard of this type of architecture somewhere before; it seemed to be called a "Western-style mansion."

The mansion was surrounded by walls, with only one entrance: an iron gate at the front. The gate wasn't locked, and with a gentle push from Naka, it creaked open.

Passing through the iron gate, I entered the courtyard. It was a desolate and empty area. Weeds grew rampantly on the ground, as if no one had cleaned it for a long time. There were some decorations in the courtyard, as well as a small fountain, but it was covered with moss and rust spots.

Looking again at the mansion, the three-story, dozens-of-meters-wide building was completely dark. The windows and curtains were tattered and torn. The entire place exuded no life; it only seemed extremely eerie.

The more this was the case, the more cautious Tatsia became. She moved forward slowly, one step at a time. Naka, behind her, observed the situation on both sides and kept an eye on Tatsia's back.

Upon reaching the main entrance of the building, Naka noticed something.

"Scratches..."

Five deep trenches had been dug into the ground, and there were messy scratches on the pillars on either side of the door. These were marks left by wolf claws. In other words, Naka was right.

This means that they have arrived at the enemy's headquarters.

Just as Naka and Tatsia confirmed this, a sudden, sharp gust of wind howled past nearby. Naka shouted...

"Takia! Watch your right!"

"....!"

Before she could reply, Tatsia's body reacted first. She immediately raised her longsword and held it in front of her. A loud "clang!" and a tremendous force came from the sword. Suddenly, a wolf-like monster, as large as a human, appeared out of nowhere and attacked Tatsia. Tatsia successfully blocked the wolf's claws. However, her reaction was only a hair's breadth. If she had been even half a second slower, Tatsia's body would have been pierced through by the claws. Realizing how dangerous the situation she had just experienced, Tatsia broke out in a cold sweat.

"ha!"

Tatia swung her longsword with sudden force, forcing the wolf back three or four steps. Only then did Tatia get a clear look at the attacking monster.

Although it is a wolf, it walks on two legs. The claws on its two front paws are long as clubs and as sharp as swords. Bright red liquid drips constantly from its teeth. Both claws and teeth are deadly weapons capable of taking a life in one strike.

Over the past few days, Tatsia had fought several powerful monsters, none of which posed a significant threat to her life. But this wolf demon before her was different. The attack it had launched, in terms of power, speed, and precision in targeting her weak points, was unlike anything she had encountered before. Naka had told her this mission was difficult, but she hadn't expected it to be this challenging. A single misstep could mean her demise.

"Wow, what an amazing guy..."

Tatsia assumed a fighting stance, observing the wolf demon. The wolf demon didn't immediately attack again, but instead slowly circled around Tatsia, observing her as well. This made Tatsia realize even more that this monster was not only strong and fast, but also, just as Naka had said, extremely cunning.

"Takia, don't be careless, and don't forget what I taught you."

Naka raised her hand and cast a physical enhancement spell on Tatsia. Tatsia's physical abilities were greatly enhanced. However, she did not attack rashly.