Edge of Mist, a rarely visited place. High Priestess Tia was digging a pit here with a shovel, just big enough to fit an adult male.
“Hoo… Turns out killing someone is easy, but disposing of the body is hard.”
Tia pulled a corpse wrapped in black cloth from the Carriage behind her and dumped it into the pit, then covered it up.
As a priestess who often saves the dying and heals the wounded, it was only reasonable for her to also know how to discreetly handle a body. The whole process was smooth and practiced.
If only she hadn’t been discovered— then Tia’s burial would have been absolutely perfect.
From within the Mist, a petite figure slowly emerged, making Tia instantly grip the Crossbow at her waist, staring nervously at the unexpected visitor.
Why would someone come out from that direction?
The newcomer wore a holy priest’s robe, but it was drenched in a large patch of blood, giving Tia a sense of blasphemous unease.
Even though she was covered in blood, the newcomer’s face still wore a delighted smile.
“Truth?”
Tia stared wide-eyed at Truth, frozen in place. Was she attacked by a monster or… no, that blood wasn’t hers— it belonged to others!
With a faint green light shining in her pupils, Tia immediately used her priestess skill “Emotion Perception” to check Truth.
She found that Truth was filled with the terror and despair of others, but Truth herself was… delighted.
What did she just do in the Mist, save people? Or kill them?
Truth, who had just stepped out of the Mist, was also a bit at a loss. Why did she run into someone she knew the moment she left the Mist? She had deliberately chosen a hidden spot to leave!
Wait, what was Tia doing here, dressed in plain clothes, driving a Carriage, and digging a pit…
Truth glanced at the still-bloody thing in the pit that hadn’t been fully buried yet. So she was secretly disposing of a corpse?
Sorry for stumbling upon such a private matter— Truth felt a bit embarrassed, so she spoke up first:
“Need any help?”
“Ah? This…”
Tia hadn’t expected Truth to answer like that. It was completely different from all her imagined scenarios:
“I— I can finish this myself. By the way, you look a bit, um… tired? If you want, I can give you a ride back?”
“Then thank you, Sister Tia.”
Neither questioned the other. Truth flashed a bright smile and walked toward the Carriage.
Unfortunately, with blood still smeared on her face, that smile looked quite unnerving— even Tia felt her scalp tingle.
At that moment, as Truth passed by Tia, the ancient-looking ring on Tia’s wrist responded to her, making Tia’s face fill with panic.
Why was her Treasure-Seeking Ring pointing at Truth?!
The Treasure-Seeking Ring always pointed toward what the wearer most desired in their heart.
It was a divine magical artifact bestowed by the Goddess of Life.
For Tia, what she desired most was to become a follower of the Mist Lord, so the ring had always pointed toward the Mist. But today, it was pointing at Truth…
I admit little Truth is cute, but she’s not enough to replace the Mist Lord in my heart! There can only be two possibilities. First, the Treasure-Seeking Ring is broken. Second…
The Mist Lord is right on Truth!
Without hesitation, Tia turned and called out to Truth, forcing herself to smile calmly:
“Little Truth, why are you all covered in blood? Did you run into something bad in the Mist?”
Why did I suddenly ask that! I thought we had an unspoken agreement not to question each other… Truth, who had just climbed into the Carriage, could only nod:
“Yeah, but it’s all taken care of. I actually saved a lot of people.”
“Then you must have met the Mist Lord, right?”
Tia went straight for the point, still smiling, but inside she was barely suppressing her jealousy.
Damn, damn, damn! Did little Truth get chosen as a follower by the newly awakened Mist Lord while saving people in the Mist?
How could this be…
I worked so hard to become the Mist Lord’s very first follower— becoming a priestess ahead of time, quietly waiting in Deya City.
After all that, now that the Mist Lord has finally awakened, someone else snatched the spot!
So unfair! Tia’s face was full of jealousy— she was clearly here first!
Truth was a little taken aback. This Mist Lord… she’s probably talking about me, right? Or is she referring to someone else?
I thought you’d warn me not to tell anyone about your corpse-burying business. To figure out what Tia was thinking, Truth asked in return:
“Mist Lord? Who’s that?”
Ha! You hesitated just now, and you thought for so long— there’s definitely something up!
What do I do? If Truth really became the Mist Lord’s follower, how am I supposed to face her? She took my ‘first time’!
And I can’t even take revenge, or the Mist Lord would hate me. What am I supposed to do?!
After absentmindedly finishing up the burial, Tia sat coldly next to Truth and drove the Carriage back.
She didn’t say a single word the entire way, making Truth feel a bit awkward. Should she just come clean?
“Tia?”
Truth poked Tia’s sensitive side, trying to break the awkward atmosphere.
“Truth, let me ask you something.” Tia resisted the tickle at her waist and asked without turning her head:
“If one day I took something important from you, like, um… your first time or something, would you be mad?”
“First time?!”
Truth’s mind went wild, her face reddening. What?! How did you twist the conversation this way? Do you even know what you’re saying?
Am I actually a succubus or something? Why does everyone want to push me down?
If it were anyone else saying this, Truth would have stomped them flat already. But this was Tia, after all.
Truth couldn’t lie to herself— she was actually a little excited. A gentle big sister, hehe…
But I’m not ready! I haven’t even gotten used to my own gender yet:
“If it’s Tia… I don’t mind. Just, could you let me get ready first before… before we do anything?”
If it’s me, you don’t mind? After hearing Truth’s answer, Tia fell silent for a while.
Yeah, why should I mind this with Truth? First follower or second follower, it’s all the same—they all serve the Mist Lord.
Besides, the one I’ll be working with in the future is the adorable little Truth.
With Truth’s personality, she probably wouldn’t use the title “Mist Lord’s First Awakened Follower” to compete for favor.
Tia thought of those people she used to work with at the Church of the Goddess of Life— lazy, stupid, petty, always making Tia do everything, and then pretending they helped at the end. So disgusting!
So letting Truth be the first isn’t so bad.
Suddenly, Tia pulled the completely off-guard Truth into her arms, grabbed her soft little waist, and started tickling her.
“Ah! Hahaha, what are you doing! Stop, hahaha!”
Why are we suddenly playing around? Is this flirting?!
Truth struggled desperately, but unfortunately, as a priestess, she had never put any points into strength, so any resistance only made it more fun for Tia.
And if she used her full power, she’d be afraid of accidentally smashing Tia with a single punch…
“You tickled me earlier, didn’t call me sister, huh?”
A disrespectful junior must learn the senior’s authority!
Hearing Truth’s bell-like laughter, Tia felt much better.
But what did she mean by saying she wasn’t ready yet? Something feels a little off.
“Stop it, hahaha, I’m really going to… hahaha… get mad!”
After a while, Tia finally let Truth go. Once Truth recovered, she glared fiercely at Tia— Stupid brat, do you know who you just tickled? I’m the great Mist you’re always talking about!
Then the great Mist got kissed on the cheek by Tia again:
“You smell awful, all that blood. Come take a bath with me later.”
“Eh? Absolutely not!”
I can reveal my identity, but I’m not ready to reveal my body!
“Tch, shy little thing.”…
When the Carriage neared the main gate of Deya City, for some reason, a massive army blocked their way, sealing off the entire road from the gate to the main entrance of the Mist.
“Aren’t those the troops stationed on the Dea Plateau? What are they doing here?”
Tia wondered aloud.
After asking the people nearby, a plainly dressed young man replied:
“Priestess, I heard a royal member from the Northern Beastman Empire ran into danger while exploring the Mist, so they revealed their identity and got protection from our country.”
Truth was currently in a country called the Sylvia Kingdom, which bordered the Northern Beastman Empire— devotees of the Beast God —across a vast frontier.
As a result, trade was frequent, but racial tensions were also intense.
But the ruling classes of both nations got along well. So if a northern royal encountered danger in Sylvia, they could just reveal their identity and get the best local protection.
Now, Truth witnessed such a scene. Surrounded by soldiers and Deya City’s upper echelons, a slightly disheveled Catfolk girl with long pale-purple hair climbed into an iron-armored Carriage that even heavy artillery couldn’t breach.
The little Catfolk was about the same size as Truth. Her ears drooped, and her dirty face bore two clear tear tracks, making Truth’s eyes widen in shock.
Wilona?!
“Wow, Truth, look— a Catfolk! I can’t believe a beastman came all the way to Deya City. Won’t she be discriminated against? But I definitely won’t discriminate. In fact, I’ve always wanted to touch a Catfolk’s ears.”
Tia looked at Wilona with excitement. She’d only seen beastmen a few times before:
“I heard Catfolk’s ears are really important. Only people they like can touch them. If you touch them by force, you could be charged with harassment. In serious cases, you might even be executed!”
Uh… is that so? Truth instantly felt a bit guilty.
The army soon withdrew, and at the same time, news about the Mist Gang spread throughout Deya City, brought by Adventurers who had escaped the Mist.
Because it involved a northern royal, the Law Enforcement Bureau immediately sent people to investigate the Mist.
But the investigation team vanished in the Mist…
Several more teams were sent in succession, but none returned with results. In the end, the Law Enforcement Bureau’s Chief Koster, who possessed third-tier strength, decided to lead a team personally:
“I want to see just how strange this Mist is— no one’s come out yet!”
Half an hour later, Koster was missing as well.
Not long after, a military special envoy arrived at the Law Enforcement Bureau, delivering a Special Wanted Order based on the northern royal’s account…