Edwin had already prepared himself for the worst, but he never imagined that the one standing before him now would be none other than the Holy Maiden herself, simply with a different hair and eye color.
The reason he could recognize her instantly was that the Holy Maiden’s appearance had long since been seared into his memory.
After all, she was someone who could end his life at any moment!
So right now, Edwin was sweating buckets, unable to utter a single word for a long while.
Truth, on the other hand, was quite pleased.
So this guy had attended her meeting before—no wonder he recognized her at a glance.
That would save her a lot of unnecessary talking:
“You were looking for me?”
Unlike when she was facing the hostess downstairs, Truth had absolutely no qualms about killing someone like Edwin.
After all, not a single one of the power players at that meeting back then was clean, and if one died, someone else would immediately rush to take their place.
She wasn’t some great villain, after all; random slaughter of innocents wasn’t her style—at most, she just bullied people a little.
Edwin’s response was swift. His expression instantly shifted from terror to flattery:
“So it’s the Holy Maiden herself gracing our Association—this is truly an honor beyond words! May I ask what brings you here today? As long as it’s within my abilities, I will do my utmost!”
“I need some experience. I want to take on a Second Rank Quest, and you must not reveal my identity.”
Truth stated her request simply and directly, which immediately made things clear for Edwin.
So she was here for secret training, hence the disguise and hidden identity.
But why wasn’t her bodyguard in sight?
Usually, when important figures go out for training, they bring powerful bodyguards and the best equipment to ensure their safety.
But the Ninth Holy Maiden… no, surely she wasn’t that careless—there was probably a secret guard lurking in the shadows right now.
Even so, Edwin dared not slack off.
Even if the resources he could muster weren’t good enough for the Holy Maiden, whether he was willing to give them was another matter entirely.
He immediately assured Truth that he would never reveal her identity as the Holy Maiden and would offer her the very best treatment the Association could provide:
“No problem! I will strictly obey any instructions from the Holy Maiden. By the way, it seems you haven’t formed a party yet. How about this: I’ll have the strongest adventurer in our Association accompany you for your training, and you can use any of the Association’s resources as you please!”
Oh? He’s even arranging teammates for me?
Truth was rather satisfied.
She’d originally planned to use her money at the recruitment board, but now she could save herself a lot of hassle…
……
“Big trouble’s coming!”
Ten minutes later, in a rest lounge specially set up for adventurers at the Adventurer’s Association, a healthy, black-haired woman clad in standard light armor shouted to her friends while clutching a mug of ale.
“What’s wrong, Karen? Is the President making you attend another one of those boring meetings for show?” someone asked, curious.
“This time it’s even worse than boring meetings! That damned Edwin is getting more outrageous just because he’s the President. He just sent someone to tell me he wants me to accompany some Young Miss from a noble family on her training!”
“He wants me to be a glorified babysitter! He’s treating me like some tool to curry favor with those bigwigs. Do I look like some easy pushover to him?”
Karen took a hearty gulp of wheat ale.
As the current ace of the Deya Adventurers’ Association, her Level 28 strength and influence allowed her to walk around here with head held high—she didn’t need to care about what those so-called nobles thought.
But now Edwin wanted her to be some Young Miss’s training companion!
“A Young Miss? Which family’s Young Miss is that impressive?” The people around her were all curious now.
“He only said her name was Ariel. That girl took a Second Rank Quest, and Edwin told me to quickly find two teammates and form a four-person party, saying we had to treat her especially well. He had a whole list of requirements, and even mentioned the payment!”
“It’s always a pain to deal with bigshots, but if she dares take a Second Rank Quest, her strength can’t be much weaker than yours. Plus, if you please her, there might be plenty of benefits, right?”
“I don’t care for the filthy money of the nobles. Only rewards earned from adventuring are truly worthwhile!”
Karen only wanted to be a free adventurer. She had no interest in getting tangled up with the nobles.
Her plan was to reach Third Rank like her predecessors and then leave Deya City to continue adventuring elsewhere.
She was only helping Edwin because he was willing to tilt some of the Association’s resources in her favor.
“Alright, I’m off. I want to see what kind of person this Ariel really is!” Karen wiped the foam from her mouth. Just as she was about to stand up and leave, a finger suddenly poked her cheek.
Karen instinctively turned her head and found herself staring into Truth’s ethereal white eyes. She was instantly dumbstruck:
“Eh?”
Such special eyes, such a delicate face, beautiful hair color—like a doll… but why did she feel like this person gave off an air of utter indifference?
“Are you Karen? Edwin told me to find you for the party,” Truth asked softly, leaving Karen stunned for quite a while. This was Ariel?
Completely different from what she’d imagined…
“Miss Ariel… is that right?”
After seeing Truth, Karen was afraid of scaring this little girl, so she dropped her usual boisterous tone and began to speak gently, which made her friends all get goosebumps:
“Wow, who would’ve thought you could speak like that? Where’s your usual bravado?”
Karen shot them a glare as if to say, Get lost! If any of you were even half as cute as this little girl, I wouldn’t yell at you every day!
Once the introductions were over, Karen started asking Truth some necessary questions. But she was completely taken aback by the answers:
“You’re only First Rank? And a Priest at that?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Then how do you dare take a Second Rank Quest?!”
Karen was shocked. Not only did this Priest have no combat ability, but she even dared to take on a quest above her level.
No wonder Edwin specifically had her come as a companion—if it were anyone else, this girl probably wouldn’t survive at all!
If she wasn’t careful, a Second Rank monster could smack her into pieces with a single swipe…
“That’s what you’re here for.”
Truth replied expressionlessly. Though her aura was still icy, her petite appearance made it impossible not to feel protective, causing Karen’s face to flush red.
What, am I… being relied on? And that last sentence almost sounded a bit… ambiguous…
“Even so, that’s just reckless! No Priest goes around taking on higher-level quests. Let’s switch to an easier task, alright?”
“No.”
“But you won’t feel involved at all if we do that…”
“Do you dislike me?”
“Ah? No, I’m just concerned for your safety. It’s just that, well…”
Karen started to ramble, at a loss for what to say because Truth suddenly showed a pitiful expression, leaving her completely flustered.
As a Magic Knight, Karen was no stranger to being relied on.
But being depended on by a cute little Priest like this was a first!
So embarrassing…
Truth tilted her head slightly. Her face remained impassive, but inside, she was already gleefully planning how to use Karen.
Tsk tsk, so this one is this easy to handle?
That’s right, Truth did need Karen.
After all, if Karen didn’t get hurt, who was Truth supposed to heal? And how else was she supposed to gain experience?
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