Kane was surprised but also not, that Taliya had come asking.
No matter how lecherous Taliya was, there was no way she’d use something as important as a holy relic just to flirt.
It was only a matter of time before she came looking for it.
The only thing that surprised Kane was how fast that day had arrived.
If he could, Kane would’ve loved to return that hot potato.
A man of no great ambition, Kane’s dream was simple: a loving wife, a few kids, a warm bed, and a life of farming in the countryside—raising chickens, picking fights with dogs, living out an utterly uneventful old age.
As for something like a holy relic that tied directly into the main storyline?
He didn’t even want to hear about it, let alone touch it.
But the problem was… this lady really couldn’t do anything about it.
The Angel’s Tear wasn’t just broken—it had turned into a severed hand and burrowed into his stomach.
How was he supposed to return that?
Seppuku?
Even if he wanted to, it wasn’t clear if seppuku would do the trick.
Who even knew if his gut was still connected to this simulation?
Under the mask, Kane met Taliya’s gaze, full of hope and expectation.
The two stared at each other in silence for several seconds.
“…Never seen it.”
He denied it flat-out.
If it were anyone else, such a blatantly lazy lie—one that didn’t even bother with a bad excuse—Taliya would’ve instantly called it out.
But a pretty girl, especially one she’d been thirsting over for ages? Now that was a different story.
“Oh, then I must’ve lost it somewhere else. I’ll go check around.”
Pretty girls never lie.
Taliya believed that 1000%.
So, naturally, the next moment, she got absolutely wrecked by the sword of starlight, now under Mengmeng’s control.
“Aiya—aiya—ow, ow, oww! Sorry, Miss Kun’er, I’ll be right back!”
Taliya forcefully pressed the agitated Starry Night Sword against her chest, gave an awkward laugh, and slipped behind a big tree—just out of Kane’s line of sight.
“Mengmeng, what the hell is wrong with you?! Have you lost it?!”
Taliya grabbed the sword with both hands, her mouth wide as she hissed in a furious whisper.
“I should be asking you that!”
A jade-white bare foot suddenly burst out from the sword’s hilt and kicked Taliya square in the forehead.
“Ow, my head!”
Mengmeng’s soft little foot left a faint red mark right in the center of Taliya’s forehead.
Holding her head, Taliya dropped to the ground like a pained duck and sat there stunned.
Two seconds later, she looked up with red, tear-pricked eyes at Mengmeng—who had half her body sticking out of the hilt, floating in midair alongside the entire sword—and whined:
“You could’ve just said something. Why’d you have to kick me?!”
“Kick you? I wish I could rip your head off and use it for a soccer ball!”
Mengmeng bared her teeth. Despite being only 66.6 cm tall, she was radiating the fury of a 66.6-meter-tall inferno, like a mountain of fire burning uncontrollably.
Taliya had known Mengmeng for years, and this was the first time she’d seen her this furious.
Guilt crept across Taliya’s face. She looked away, pouted, and mumbled:
“Miss Kun’er said she hadn’t seen the Angel’s Tear… what else was I supposed to do…”
“And you just believed her?! She didn’t even ask what it looked like, didn’t even ask what it was—just said ‘never seen it’ off the bat! It’s obvious she’s hiding something!”
Mengmeng shouted so fast and so hard she didn’t even stop to breathe.
Taliya, still slumped on the ground, stared blankly for two seconds—then suddenly smacked her fist into her palm in realization.
“Ohh, yeah… now that you mention it…”
“Dear gods, just stab me with the sword already.”
Mengmeng clutched her chest, face pale, her tiny body shaking violently like she couldn’t catch her breath.
Normally, Taliya’s alertness and combat sense were top-tier among generations of heroes.
No matter how sinister the plot, nothing could get past her.
But the moment a beautiful woman entered the picture—especially a gorgeous one—her brain would just vanish.
She’d turn into a drooling idiot, dumber than a pig.
No, calling her a pig would be an insult to pigs.
Seeing Mengmeng on the verge of collapse, Taliya couldn’t help feeling even more guilty.
She stood up, patted the dust off her clothes, and tried to act tough as she lifted her chin:
“Of course I thought about all that! I said that on purpose just now. Think about it—if Miss Kun’er is willing to lie just to hide something, then clearly, she’s got her reasons, right?”
“…And?”
“Then obviously I should be understanding. You know me—I’ve always been a friend to all maidens.”
“So… you’re saying… we should just let the Angel’s Tear stay out there in the wild?”
Mengmeng leaned forward, her little face twisting into a full-blown exaggerated anime expression as she mashed Taliya’s nose into a pig snout.
Like a mad beast, she growled from deep in her throat:
“Don’t tell me you forgot that the Angel’s Tear still has the Undying Demon King’s body sealed inside it. Aside from us, who knows how many people are eyeing that relic, hoping to break the seal?”
“……”
“You really forgot, didn’t you?!”
Taliya’s silence completely blew Mengmeng’s fuse.
She flew out of the sword, wrapped her legs around Taliya’s neck, and unleashed a flurry of tiny angry punches.
“I didn’t forget! I swear! I was just thinking about why Miss Kun’er would lie in the first place!”
Taliya quickly cried uncle, and Mengmeng finally stopped, hands on her tiny waist, chest puffed out as she issued a strict command:
“I don’t care what you do—go get the Angel’s Tear back right now. This is for her sake too. If the Tower of Truth psychos or the demon clans catch wind of it, she’ll be the one in danger.”
“And don’t say I didn’t warn you—if that dead-fish-eyed elf master of yours finds out you used a holy relic to pick up girls, and didn’t even try to recover it, she’ll hang you from the ceiling for three days straight.”
“?!”
At those words, a terrifying image immediately popped into Taliya’s mind: white-haired, short, sharp-eared, dead-fish-eyed, an elven old hag known across demon territory as the “Mourning Furong King.”
(Now everyone say it with me—her name is Funeral 【】!)
Taliya immediately broke out in a full-body shudder, arms wrapped around her shoulders as goosebumps erupted all over.
The mere memory of the terror once inflicted by that dead old hag of a master made her stiffen like a board.
She quickly promised:
“I’ll definitely get the Angel’s Tear back from Kun’er.”
“I hope you mean that.”
Seeing that Taliya finally seemed at least a little serious, Mengmeng let out a cold snort and dove back into the Starry Night Sword.
Still, Mengmeng remained suspicious of Kun’er’s identity.
“That woman’s always wearing a mask, even outside the black market—fine. But why is she hiding the Angel’s Tear on purpose? Could she be a demon? No, there’s no trace of demon energy on her… Then the Tower of Truth? No… if she were with those maniacs, she wouldn’t even be capable of a normal conversation.”
Mengmeng’s alertness toward Kun’er hit its peak.
She was certain this woman was hiding some dangerous secret.
Back by the campfire, Taliya returned just as the remaining half of the roast chicken finished cooking.
Kane gestured her over to join in.
The moment she remembered that her beloved woman had specially made this chicken for her, Taliya broke into a wide, dopey grin, completely forgetting all about the Angel’s Tear.
—Thwack!
A sudden blow from Mengmeng smacked her back to reality.
Taliya didn’t dare mess around anymore. She quickly spoke up:
“Miss Kun’er, about the Angel’s Tea—”
“I’m sorry, Liya. I lied to you. I do know where the Angel’s Tear is.”
Taliya: “???”
Mengmeng: “???”