Because the calmer this woman is, the scarier she gets.
Now it’s the time of the evening breeze—just wait, Samimi is definitely plotting something intense against me.
Min Lusi kept silent, but she couldn’t stop wondering why Bai hadn’t recreated the glory of the Hero Party for that woman.
She could barely hold it in—any moment now, she might just stab herself.
Samimi was already able to get out of bed and walk a few steps, leaning on her Runic Staff, taking a stroll around the Guodu Medical Hut to speed up her recovery.
“How did you know I saw the Hero Party wiped out in the illusion?” Klos asked while helping with rehabilitation training, casually tossing out the question.
“Because I’m the one who watched over the Hero Party every morning,” Samimi replied.
According to the usual progression, the moment she uttered this line, cheesy to the extreme, she was guaranteed to capture the hearts of all the female characters—just like in every anime.
If it were the Paperwhite Knightess Fabianji or the White-Haired Witch Bemore, they’d have long been captivated by her charm, their hearts racing.
“Oh, so you remember the Hero Party? You recall it that clearly? When are you going to pay me back, then?”
But such nonsense, when it reached Klos’ ears, only earned a cold snort in return.
“If you want money, I don’t have it—but if you want my life, I’ve got one for you.”
Whenever it came to money, Samimi’s purse would clench tighter than a chrysanthemum, letting nothing out—she’d rather die than pay back a debt.
She was already the president of a wealthy merchant guild, but the richer she got, the stingier she became.
She used to find it strange why, in all the dramas, the rich are always the most frugal.
Now that she had become one herself, she understood.
After finishing the rehabilitation training, Klos brought Samimi to soak in a medicinal bath to speed up her healing.
Normally, Samimi loved soaking the most, but being forced into the bath like a plucked chicken didn’t feel comfortable at all. Yet, there was nothing she could do.
“Ow, ow, ow! That hurts! Be gentle, be gentle!”
Because Min Lusi was giving Samimi her first pain treatment—a kind of scraping therapy on her back, not the harmful kind of scraping—every time, Samimi would squawk like a hen from the pain.
Afterwards, Klos would help with full-body stretching, percussion, and massage. No one knew where this Western elf had learned such authentic Eastern techniques.
At first, Samimi thought Klos was trying to take revenge, but after a few sessions, her body really did start to recover.
She had to seize the opportunity to get the Pig Demon Nun Judgment Conference organized before the Sage Knight Order’s army arrived.
After a few treatments, Samimi had already recovered about seventy percent of her strength.
It’s all Ophika’s fault, that and her overwhelming darkness. She forced me to overexert myself, running my power at full capacity. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have needed to rest for so long.
“Samimi, let’s talk about official business.”
Speak of the devil—Second Company Commander Ophika arrived, dragging Samimi to the conference room to discuss matters.
Unsurprisingly, Klos followed behind like a curious puppy.
Ophika stopped and glanced back, signaling her to come along.
“Second Company Commander, it’s fine. Moden Yubi arranged for her to be our physician—she’s one of us,” said Chen Mumu sarcastically.
“Fine, fine. She insisted on coming, so if anything happens, it’s on her,” Ophika conceded, allowing Klos to tag along.
Everyone gathered in the secret conference room of the Sage Knight Order Second Company.
This was Ophika’s little base, filled with design documents, all meticulously detailing their plans.
The most curious of the group was Klos, poking around, picking up any information she could find without a care, determined to figure out what Samimi was really up to.
“You all look quite diligent,” Ophika said, noticing Klos’ eagerness to learn, even feeling a little moved since these were materials she’d compiled over several days.
“Klos will quickly analyze what Samimi’s group is really plotting.”
They were actually planning a public event called [Pig Demon Nun Judgment Conference], a parade to decide the fate of a criminal.
The process was a bit hard to understand, but what was the point of this conference? Why judge yourself? And these people actually wanted to put you on trial—why were they all smiling like that?
Klos found Samimi more and more inscrutable—just how many secrets did this parasite hold?
But Min Lusi could at least be sure of one thing: Samimi’s relationship with their Hero Party was strictly a partnership. They were just an adventurer team, never involved in politics.
All that political mess was up to the government to handle. The Hero Party’s duty was only to face the threat to the world.
The flow of this Judgment Conference was already arranged, with the main event being the most shocking part: the public execution of the Pig Demon Nun to set an example, so that no one would ever disrespect the Holy Court again.
Klos grew increasingly uneasy the more she listened.
Wait, wait! What kind of plan is this? Is Samimi planning to die? And she’s planning to die in front of everyone? Weren’t you all supposed to be friends?
She glanced at Ophika and Samimi—they were discussing the details seriously, and the atmosphere looked anything but friendly. It was like the team leader was scolding a stubborn child—neither would yield, but both deeply resented the other.
This reminded Min Lusi of her former comrade, Nancy. Nancy had always seemed gentle and dependable, but all her feelings for Min Lusi had been fake—just a means to complete a mission.
The more intense the camaraderie, the more fake it became. Only the clingiest relationships ever proved to be genuine treasures.
No, no, no, now isn’t the time to get emotional.
Klos’ mind was filled with nothing but the prospect of Samimi backstabbing her at any moment.
Why did she get such a good senior, while her own always tried to outsmart her?
If only she could just ignore her own thoughts, maybe she’d be able to stop worrying.
That was the strength of Klos’ mental resilience.
Even if she was trapped by the Female Vampire Queen’s illusion, everyone said her willpower was as strong as steel—it took almost all the Female Vampire Queen’s Sanity just to finally exhaust her.
As for Niubao, that one was an exception altogether, not even worth comparing.
None of them could be sure if Niubao even had [Sanity] to begin with. That being is on the same level as those ritual monsters.
“Why do you have to die in front of everyone? How are you so comfortable with the idea of death?” Min Lusi asked.
“Well…” Ophika was about to answer.
“Let me explain,” Samimi interrupted, raising a finger to Ophika’s lips before turning to Klos. “Did you notice anything different about the royal city when you arrived?”
“The entire city is under strict surveillance,” Klos replied.
“Second Company Commander, could I speak with her privately?” Samimi requested.
“Alright,” Ophika agreed, though clearly suspicious, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
“You are also a member of the team. When we were accused of being part of the Blood clan, did you even get angry for a second?” Samimi asked.
“…” Min Lusi furrowed her brow. She honestly hadn’t felt the least bit angry—because she didn’t care, and couldn’t even be bothered with such things.
“Oh, that’s just how elves are—pure-hearted, free of desires, never even bothered enough to frown. So you’d rather believe the Blood Queen’s illusion and try to kill me, but you never once considered putting an arrow through those two old aristocrats on the stage who were spewing nonsense?” Samimi took the chance to prod her about her racial indifference, clapping her hands and questioning.
“No,” Klos shook her head, replying.
“I still can’t understand what grudge I have with you. Why would you shoot me in front of everyone? I’ve thought about it for a long, long time. Is it just because I owe you money?” Samimi pressed on.
Klos said nothing.
“And clearly, if it weren’t for my help, would you have gotten out of the Crimson Court alive? Why did you want to kill me? Why did you want to kill me!” Samimi demanded, half howling.
She’d thought about it for so long and still couldn’t figure it out.
She’d always treated Klos kindly, never said a harsh word, and never done anything to harm her. She’d always been courteous.
If she didn’t get an answer today, she couldn’t let it go.
She swore she wouldn’t leave this secret conference room without an answer.
“What does you seeing the Hero Party being wiped out in the illusion have to do with me? You were the ones who drove me out—what happened to your Hero Party after that has nothing to do with me! Do you want an apology? It’s enough that I’m not seeking revenge—why are you so determined to kill me?” Samimi pressed again, slapping the table harder with each question, the more she asked, the less sense it made.
“I tried to kill you because, in the illusion, the one who slaughtered the Hero Party was you.” Klos’ face remained blank—anyone else would have felt guilty, but not her.
Still, Samimi felt like the elf was finally revealing her real motive—she’d been hiding this critical information the whole time.
“You…” Hearing this, Samimi was at a loss, rubbing her forehead in frustration.
It sounded reasonable, but the more she thought about it, the more illogical it became—it was just barely an excuse, just barely a motive.
This had become an unsolvable tangle.
“You… You’re just…” Samimi was so angry she laughed.
She hadn’t been that angry before—even being shot didn’t bother her that much—but now, hearing the actual reason she wanted to kill her, she really couldn’t accept it.
She was still smiling, but her forehead was twitching. She suddenly felt the whole idea of revenge was meaningless—she very nearly wanted to slap Klos right then.
But that wouldn’t be wise. Better not to make an enemy of Klos—a neurotic elf like that would be nothing but trouble, and she had almost been killed for some absurd, baseless reason.
“What are you laughing at?” Klos was totally unaware of Samimi’s brewing hostility, just sitting there with her eyes closed.
“I can put up with a thousand betrayals from the likes of Fesansu the Not-So-Spirit, but I can’t stand this one dumb long-eared fool!” Samimi finally lost it, and without warning slapped Klos across the face.
“Ow!”
Even Klos, with her reflexes maxed out by nature, couldn’t dodge the blow. That showed just how fast Samimi was.
Klos’ disguise magic broke, revealing her true form, her pale, snow-white face now flushed bright red.
She clutched her face and sat on the floor, completely stunned.