If it were someone else—like Vina, Zero, or even Celes—just moving steadily, slowly, and carefully without making a sound, they could have made it upstairs.
But the Saintess Miss, who carries the fate of the world on her shoulders, did not possess the ability to climb the stairs silently.
Yet outside, it was clearly Leah’s voice…
“Ayla~, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and open the door; let’s continue what we didn’t finish last time~”
“Didn’t we finish last time? It’s already been purified; what else is there to do?”
Ayla cautiously changed her wording.
“Don’t joke around. I’m not talking about purification, it’s that.”
“That ‘that’? What are you talking about, Miss Leah? I don’t understand.”
The voice outside fell silent.
It was strange—suddenly, everything went quiet.
No voices, no footsteps.
Ayla sat patiently on the bed, counting the minutes passing by, until more than ten minutes had slipped away.
She then tiptoed off the bed, leaned against the doorframe to listen for a while, and gently cracked the door open just a sliver.
Creak—
The hallway was empty and silent. Nothing.
***
Celes entered the palace smoothly.
Along the way, the guards she encountered wore complicated expressions.
Clearly, the psychological scars from two months ago had not yet healed.
Fortunately, it wasn’t that beautiful pink-haired thunder girl.
Celes had expected to enter the Council Hall as before, to report in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ dozen or so high-ranking officials.
Instead, this time only a handful were present: Maken and several ministers.
As always, their square-jawed faces sat like unmovable rocks.
“Thank you for your hard work. I’ve heard something major happened in Harbor City. I want to know the details.”
“Of course, Mr. Maken.”
Celes handed over a document.
“This is my operational report.”
She had spent the past few days writing it in the carriage, detailing the completely different cultural landscape of Harbor City, focusing on the Sea Demons’ strange behavior, then the inadvertent slip-up by Governor Kelu exposing their family’s long-standing collusion with the Sea Demons.
Finally, when the Sea Demons realized their plot was exposed, they angrily emerged from the sea to attack the city.
The girls carried out decapitation operations, killing the priests, causing the headless Sea Demons to retreat.
Of course, this was not the true story, but it was sufficient for reporting.
As for the Evil God, the Independent Demon Army, the Primordial Silent Sanctuary, and the rest—it was best not to mention any of that here.
Still, one minister raised questions about the report: “You say you exposed their conspiracy that lasted for years? Who exposed it?”
Such a secret plot, seen through at a glance—how did you manage that?
Who was so capable?
“We discovered it together.”
Celes answered expressionlessly.
She knew that if these people realized it was Ayla’s doing again, they would be even more wary.
Although Liraleah’s origins were unknown, her identity a mystery, and she carried a little secret, she was a gentle, kind, and obedient girl.
Celes wanted to protect her.
Maken carefully read the report twice before asking, “You solved the Sea Demon priests through decapitation operations, and all the Sea Demons retreated?”
“Yes.”
The girl replied calmly.
“According to the locals, a hundred years ago during the alliance’s collapse, the Kingdom fought the Sea Demons at the border, also using decapitation to deal with the priests. The remaining Sea Demons then surrendered without a fight.”
This was a perfectly sound historical analogy.
Maken thought for a moment and then asked, “In your report, dealing with the Sea Demon priests seemed effortless? There’s almost no detailed process.”
“That’s because it’s what we do best.”
Celes placed her hands flat on her thighs, staring ahead with flawless posture and expression.
“The first time we carried out a similar operation, the target was the Demon King.”
If they could defeat the Demon King, what were Sea Demon priests?
Maken found no flaws and had to set the document aside.
At that moment, a minister sitting behind spoke up: “So, the mission to re-establish relations with the Sea Demons has completely failed.”
“They never intended to coexist with humans from the start.”
Celes lifted her icy blue eyes to meet his gaze.
“The Sea Demons were preparing to massacre the city. You can ask the locals yourselves.”
Her gaze pressured the minister into mumbling, “I’m not blaming you,” before sitting back down.
Another minister sighed.
“But if that’s the case, our Sea Route Development Plan will be…”
“We’ll discuss that later.”
Maken interrupted, turning to Celes.
“Thank you for your hard work. Please go rest now.”
But the girl didn’t move and instead asked, “May I inquire about our reward?”
This was something Ayla had reminded her before leaving Harbor City.
No matter what they said, they had to bring it up; they couldn’t work for nothing.
The ministers visibly froze for a moment.
“Although the set mission was not completed, it wasn’t due to our own fault, and we stopped an alien invasion. Otherwise, Harbor City and the Southern Plains would have fallen to the outsiders.”
Celes said seriously, “I believe this is a merit that cannot be ignored.”
In theory, that was correct.
Normally, such achievements would bring great prestige, which would then be used to gain promotions within the government.
The previous hero squad had gained some fame for defeating the Demon King, though not killing him.
Later, after killing Feng Lie and gaining real achievements, the next day, something happened.
After a moment’s thought, Maken said, “Once the situation in Harbor City is confirmed, I will submit a petition to award you Kingdom Medals and bestow the title of Hero, with the royal family presiding over the ceremony in the Great Hall.”
This would cover all their previous merits at once.
Celes nodded in satisfaction.
“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Maken. Protecting the people of the Kingdom is our duty.”
With that, she stood and left, eager to share the good news with Ayla.
After the girl left, the ministers in the Council Hall exchanged glances.
“Mr. Maken, this will only increase their influence. In the future, perhaps…”
“Enough.” Maken looked back at them.
“This matter is decided. Instead of wasting time discussing meaningless things, think about alternative plans since the Sea Route project has failed.”
***
Ayla sat alone on the bed for quite a while.
As an excellent Necromancer, she understood not to jump to haunted conclusions.
What had just happened was more likely that someone had impersonated Leah—arriving silently at the door, perfectly mimicking the Saintess Miss’s voice, then disappearing without a trace.
Who could it be?
It was hard to guess, right?
Perhaps the same assassin girl who killed Tai Dingjue two months ago and mimicked the deceased’s voice to command her subordinates.
“Gulp…”
Ayla felt a chill down her spine.
That was close—she almost let herself be tricked into speaking.