The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

"Mommy...Mommy..."

In the darkness, Tatsia was trapped in a quagmire from which she could not escape. Beside her, a large group of vengeful spirits who looked exactly like her mother reached out and clawed at her, beating her relentlessly. Finally, one of the mothers grabbed Tatsia by the neck.

"Mother!"

Sensing the threat of death, Tatsia immediately opened her eyes and sat up.

"Ha, ha, ha... Where am I?"

Only then did she realize that she wasn't in any mud. There weren't any vengeful ghosts around her seeking her life. She was lying on the grass at the edge of the woods, the sun shining brightly overhead. A gentle breeze blew by, bringing a very comfortable feeling.

"Oh, you're awake?"

A familiar voice rang out, and Tatsia immediately turned her head to look. There she saw Naka sitting on a rock next to a large tree, waving at her.

"Na, Sister Naka?"

"Don't look so gloomy. The fact that you recognize me means you're not completely insane."

She made some slightly sarcastic remarks about Tatsia. But Naka immediately stepped forward, squatted down, and kindly inquired about Tatsia's situation.

"How are you? Is there anything bothering you?"

"No, no..."

It was impossible for her to be alright. Taqia felt unbearable aches and pains all over her body. Hunger and thirst tormented her. But thinking about what happened before she fainted, she no longer cared to recount those events. Now, she only cared about one thing.

"Sister Naka, where's my...my mom..."

"I buried her."

Naka gave a thumbs-up, pointing to a small stone stuck in front of a mound of earth under the largest tree next to her.

"Your mother was an elf after all. If we left her in that mansion, the guild would definitely find her. So we buried her here. Don't worry, it's practically impossible for any humans to come here."

Tatiana stood up and found herself on a small cliff. From there, she could see the mansion she would never forget, nestled far, far away in the woods. The once magnificent mansion now looked only as small as an egg.

"Sister Naka, you...ran this far?"

"Yes. Carrying you and your severed body is much harder than you can imagine. Putting aside how heavy you are, the most important thing is that we have to avoid being seen. But what else can I do?"

Although Naka didn't show any signs of exhaustion, Tatsia knew that carrying her and her mother's bodies to such a distant place must have been incredibly arduous. Looking at her mother's grave, though simple and unpretentious, it was remarkably well-made. The mound wasn't very high, indicating that Naka had dug a sufficiently deep place before placing her mother inside, all to avoid drawing attention. The evidence was Naka's attempt to conceal her hands, which were covered in mud under her fingernails. Tatsia witnessed this as well.

"Mother..."

Tatiana walked dazedly to the earthen mound and knelt down with a thud. Tears streamed down her face. She pounded her forehead against the ground and repeatedly kowtowed to her mother's grave.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... My father was right, I'm a damned daughter who deserves to die at the hands of the Demon King's army..."

Naka walked to Taqia's side, closed her eyes, put her hands together, and recited scriptures that Vilia did not believe in.

May the gods protect your soul, may your spirit live on...

After reciting the lengthy scriptures, Tatiana continued to kowtow. Even though blood was seeping from her forehead, she kowtowed with increasing force.

"Takia, don't do this. Your mother wouldn't want to see you do this."

This sorrowful Tatya stirred up that strange feeling within Naka once more. She supported Tatya's shoulders, stopping her from further torturing herself. The more Tatya hurt herself, the more Naka felt she was also enduring even more intense pain—a pain from the inside out that she had never felt even when the wolf demon was tearing her apart.

"Sister Naka..."

After kowtowing to her mother, Tatya remained kneeling, facing Naka. She then slammed her head against the ground again.

"Thank you, Sister Naka, thank you, Sister Naka..."

To date, Tatsia herself has lost count of how many times Naka has helped and saved her. Now, she owes Naka an even greater debt: the debt of burying her mother. Tatsia, truly unsure how to express her feelings, can only offer this.

But the suffocating pain intensified with Tatsia's gratitude, even making her dizzy.

"Don't thank me! You should hate me to the core... because I ruined your life and turned you into this demon!"... Naka really wanted to shout these words at her right now. But if Tatia didn't know this, it would be fine. Once she knew Naka's true identity, Naka could no longer use any excuse as a shield. She really only had the option of killing her to silence her.

She forced herself to keep the words inside and accepted the pain with equanimity.

"If you really want to thank me, then stop doing this."

Naka pulled Tatya up and chanted a healing spell to treat the wound on her forehead. Tatya seemed to calm down as well. She was no longer so agitated and stood obediently before Naka.

After the treatment, Naka, fearing she might do something irrational again, pressed down on her shoulders and said earnestly...

"Listen to me, this isn't your fault. You didn't know, and neither did I, that green wolf was your mother. Like with the other villagers who were transformed, we did it just to survive. Remember that, and don't think about anything else. Don't think you deserve to die. Understand?"

"Um....."

"That's a good girl. Oh, and you can have this."

As she spoke, Naka pulled a necklace from her bosom. The silver ornaments hanging from the necklace had the same pattern as the magic circle on the modified monster.

"This is?"

"I found it on your mother. She didn't seem to be carrying anything else of value, except for this necklace, which was quite unusual and remained intact after your attack. I don't know what it's for, but it's best for a mother's things to be kept by her daughter."

Tatia had never seen this item while her mother was still alive. It seemed to have been worn by her mother after her disappearance. The silver pendant also had an ominous feel to it.

Tatsia held it in her hand, as if she could feel her mother's warmth emanating from it. However, the gleaming silver seemed somewhat mismatched with Tatsia's simple attire. Finally, Tatsia shook her head and handed it back to Naka.

"Naka-nee... it's really not suitable for me to possess this, having killed my own mother... until I become a hero who can stand on my own and make my mother proud, please keep this for me, Naka-nee."

"...Oh well"

Since Tatia said so, Naka had no choice but to accept the necklace.

"Alright, let's go back and turn in the mission. I won't mention your mother or the green monster; I'll just say we've taken care of all the wolf-type monsters."

"Um..."

Thus, this unpleasant incident finally came to an end. If she could, Tatia never wanted to see that mansion filled with terrible memories again. She looked at her mother's grave. Though somewhat reluctant, she still took her steps and left with Naka.

If my father knew about this, he would be very sad. How should I tell him...?

"......ah!"

Just then, Tatsia suddenly remembered something very important that she had forgotten. She quickly asked Naka about it.

"Sister Naka, what day is it today?"

"Today?...I haven't calculated the exact date, but you've been unconscious for three days."

"Three...three days!?"

Tatia felt a sense of unease when she realized she was so far from the mansion. Now she understood that Naka must have spent a considerable amount of time moving her here. But she hadn't expected to be unconscious for so long.

For the past three days, Tatsia has been lying here. This means her father, back at the base, has been alone for the past three days. Whatever has happened during this time, Tatsia, away from home, will remain unaware.

Upon thinking of this, Tatia immediately started running at full speed.

Naka realized she'd let something slip as soon as she finished speaking, but it was too late; Tatya had vanished without a trace.

Naka could no longer keep up with Tatsia's speed after her physical abilities were enhanced. She had no choice but to abandon her attempt to catch up and head directly to the cave where Tatsia lived. She knew what Tatsia was worried about, and she also knew what she would see when she arrived at the cave.

"Daddy...Daddy!"

Taqia couldn't imagine how her father had survived those three days without her care. She also constantly blamed herself for remaining unconscious for three whole days. She moved her legs as fast as she could. Even if it was just a second faster, she wanted to get back to her father's side as quickly as possible.

Perhaps it was because she woke up relatively close to the cave, and she was running at full speed. The distance that would normally take more than half a day to cover, Tatia covered in about an hour this time.

The familiar path appeared before her. First, she passed through a grove of trees, then came to a dark, rocky path, and beyond that, the small cave came into view.

But when she arrived, someone had already reached the cave entrance. And that person was Naka, who should have been behind her. She had somehow overtaken Tatsia, who was moving at full speed. Tatsia was already panting, but she maintained her usual calm expression. Judging from their abilities, this was impossible. Tatsia asked in surprise...

"Sister Naka? What happened to you...?"

"I took a shortcut here."

"So there was a shortcut... Sister Naka, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I was going to say something, but you ran off before I could even hear you."

"..."

The shortcut was just a lie Naka made up. She was able to arrive before Tatia thanks to the Demon King's power. However, Tatia now only felt that she had once again wasted precious time due to impulsiveness. She felt extremely ashamed. But now was not the time to dwell on that.

"Sister Naka, my dad..."

Tatsia's current worry is her father's condition, which she has been dealing with alone for three days. Naka, who arrived here earlier than her, must know about her father's condition.

But Naka didn't answer her question. She just lowered her head and remained silent. She didn't even go into the cave, because she knew what Tatya would see even without going in. If it weren't for Vilia's situation, it wouldn't have been so bad. But for Tatya, who had just lost her mother, it was incredibly unfortunate.

Instead of revealing the truth, Naka attempted to cover it up. Tatya opened her trembling lips, letting out a trembling voice.

"Could it be...?"

"Tia"

Stopping her is pointless. As a daughter, Tatya has the right and the obligation to know about her father. To avoid the worst-case scenario, Naka can only minimize her psychological burden before she enters the cave.

"Whatever you see later, it's not your fault."

"....dad!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Tatsia rushed into the cave. Naka wasn't sure if Tatsia had even heard her. She sighed helplessly and waited at the cave entrance.

But a long time passed, and Tatya didn't come out. There was no sound coming from inside the cave. Worried about Tatya, Naka followed her into the cave.

"Tia"

Naka softly called Tatsia's name, but there was no response; only her own echo returned.

"Hey, Tatia!"

A terrifying thought flashed through her mind: Tatsia might very well do that now. Naka disregarded all formalities and immediately rushed deeper into the cave. She hadn't run two steps before she saw where they lived.

Ossid was lying on the bed. His expression was very peaceful, and there seemed to be a slight smile on his lips. But his bloodless face and his body, which no longer moved rhythmically, were the best proof that he had already stopped breathing.

Tatsia knelt on the floor beside the bed. She held a dagger she'd found somewhere, pointed it at her throat. Naka's disbelief had come true.

"You!"

Just as she was about to end her life, Naka rushed over and kicked the dagger in her hand.

Tatsia's hands seemed to have almost no grip strength left; the dagger easily flew from her grasp, spun a few times in the air, and finally stuck into the ground with a "crack."

Naka grabbed Tatsia by the collar, pulled her up, and slapped her hard across the face.

"You silly girl! Why would you do something so foolish!"

Her slap lingered on Tatsia's face for only a moment, but it was already soaked with tears. Tatsia didn't cry out, because she had already cried until she lost her voice.

"It's all because of me... I killed both my father and mother..."

He hadn't yet emerged from the shadow of killing his mother with his own hands, and then, due to his own negligence, his father died at home. Both his parents, who had been alive and well, passed away overnight.

If it were just her father's death, it wouldn't have caused Tatsia such unbearable grief. That was Naka's original plan. But Vilia's situation exceeded Naka's expectations, and Osider's passing was undoubtedly adding insult to injury. These two extremely unfortunate events, occurring together, caused Tatsia far more damage than that. What should have been a single straw breaking the camel's back turned into two massive stones.

Fan was also watching all of this. It was one thing for Naka to hesitate to kill Tatsia, but since Tatsia had chosen to die, he didn't know what reason Naka had to stop her. Logically speaking, even if Naka coldly observed everything, she hadn't done anything wrong.

However, Naka did something that surprised both Fan and Tatia.

"Tasia!"

Naka suddenly pulled the desperate girl into her arms and held her tightly.

"This isn't your fault. Your father died the day we left. Even if you hadn't fainted, it would have been too late. If anyone is at fault, it's entirely my fault for sending you to that kind of place on that mission. If I hadn't accepted that mission, you wouldn't have killed your mother, and you could have returned that same day to see your father one last time. If it weren't for me... if you have to blame someone, blame me."

It was because Osid died at Naka's hands that she accurately determined the time of his death and confirmed that it wasn't due to Tatsia's unconsciousness and failure to care for him in time. She felt all the blame fell on her, which was the honest truth. But Tatsia naturally didn't see it that way.

"No, it's not Naka's fault... Naka did it for my own good, to make me stronger..."

"Then don't blame yourself. You were fighting to become stronger, for your parents. As I said before, you did nothing wrong."

"But, however..."

Even though Naka says her father's death wasn't her fault, her mother was still killed by her own hand. Now, Tatya is left to live a lonely and miserable life.

Her mother was only missing, but as long as she was alive, there would always be a day when they would meet again. No matter how hard life got, there would always be a happy ending with the family reunion. This small but still existing possibility was the pillar that had kept Tatya going until now. But that pillar has now completely collapsed.

She was still very young, and she wanted to live a long and peaceful life with her parents. The thought of never seeing her loved ones again in this life ultimately robbed the young girl of her hope for survival. In that case, she would rather follow in her parents' footsteps and join them in another world.

"wrong!"

Although Tatya didn't say it, Naka understood her thoughts. If Tatya couldn't find meaning in living, then Naka decided to give her meaning.

"Have you forgotten why you became a hero in the first place, and why you teamed up with me?"

"I did it... to earn money for my father's medical treatment..."

"Anything else?"

"Found Mom..."