“???” Li Si was dumbfounded.
How did she get so much recognition all of a sudden?
Had her identity been exposed?
She hadn’t tried to hide it—being recognized was only a matter of time—but this recognition came way too suddenly.
Was it all because she’d claimed a Dungeon as her own?
Li Si felt a little speechless.
She’d treated them so well before, and the most Recognition she’d ever gotten was +1%.
But after clearing a Dungeon, she got +5%.
And that was for separate parties.
If she’d been on the same team as them…
“Tsk tsk.” She sighed.
Maybe the correct way to unlock the main heroines was after their transformation, too.
Lost in thought, Li Si’s eyes suddenly flew wide open.
She stared at the Strict Father interface in disbelief.
Right now, the screen displayed He Zi’s development panel.
The basic stats on the panel were all normal, pretty much the same as Lili Ya’s when it had just been unlocked.
But there was one statistic that stood out—in fact, it was downright scary.
[Development Target: He Zi]
[Development Effect: None]
[Recognition: 100%]
[Affection Level Lv3 (Heart’s Desire): 0/300%]
[Relationship: Dangerous Relationship (When Affection exceeds Recognition first, the relationship will head in an unspeakable direction.)]
“???”
Li Si’s mind was full of question marks.
When did He Zi’s Affection get this high?
She’d only been with her for a month, and everything had been normal during that time.
‘No…’
Li Si’s silver eyebrows twitched uneasily.
Thinking back, He Zi had always been close to her.
That kind of closeness was rare for an Assassin.
Earlier, she’d just thought it was because she’d taken good care of her, making He Zi feel drawn to her.
But now that she thought about it, He Zi’s kindness toward her was… a little off.
“No wonder… she was so insistent on calling me for baths…”
Li Si finally understood.
She even gained some insight into He Zi’s strange behavior lately.
If “Heart’s Desire” meant romantic feelings, then He Zi’s weirdness made perfect sense.
“Waaah! Master! I’m your most loyal servant!”
A sobbing sound swarmed in from behind.
Li Si was a bit annoyed.
She turned and kicked her away.
Yadana tumbled through the air several times before turning into a stream of water and scurrying back, still repeating the same line.
Li Si kicked her a few more times, but eventually lost the mood to deal with this pest and just left her alone.
Now that the Miasma had dissipated, the Magic Beasts around Beginner Village would soon return to normal.
Lili Ya had also gained a big harvest and leveled up to 6, so she could change her equipment.
Even though she’d just bought her beginner gear recently, the early stage was like that—equipment was changed frequently.
Lili Ya hugged her staff.
When she heard they were getting new equipment, she didn’t hesitate for a second.
She’d been stuck at Level 1 for too long.
Now, she didn’t want to miss even the slightest chance to grow stronger.
But before heading back to town to change gear, Li Si wanted to confirm something.
She led Lili Ya to an empty valley and gave a somewhat confusing order.
“Lili Ya, try casting without your staff.”
“Without my staff?”
Lili Ya looked at the crystal staff in her hand with confusion.
A staff was the only medium for a priest to cast spells.
Without it, she had no idea how to cast.
“You can’t cast at all, huh…”
Li Si thought for a moment, walked over to Lili Ya, and motioned for her to close her eyes.
Then she took the staff from her hand, handed it back, and said, “Now use Healing.”
Lili Ya paused, feeling a little strange, but obediently did as she was told.
A ring of warm energy gathered in her palm, then slowly spread out.
A soft, healing radiance swept across the area in front of her.
Lili Ya didn’t open her eyes, but she knew she’d succeeded.
Yet Li Si’s voice never came.
“Li Si?” Lili Ya asked, confused.
“Huff—”
A long breath sounded beside her ear.
Li Si seemed to be steadying her breathing.
She didn’t speak for a long time.
Just as Lili Ya couldn’t help wanting to open her eyes, Li Si handed her a crystal staff with a grave and puzzled expression.
“Lili Ya… where are you from…”
“I’m from the Northern Continent,” Lili Ya answered, taking the staff strangely.
She’d already explained her background on the night the party was formed.
Li Si silently shut her mouth.
It was hard to believe, but what she’d just seen was too bizarre.
A moment ago, Lili Ya hadn’t been holding a staff at all—just a random branch Li Si had shoved into her hand.
A priest who could cast without a staff?
Not even the most experienced veteran had heard of such a thing.
There had to be something special about Lili Ya.
Li Si pinched her chin.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of Yadana, who was still kneeling and banging her head on the ground, and a sharp glint flashed in them.
The curse of charm had originally targeted Lili Ya in the camp.
Yadana’s first act of claiming a master had also been directed at Lili Ya.
Maybe there was some connection.
Li Si didn’t rush to expose Yadana.
That creature was the strongest fence-sitter in Minos.
Used well, she’d be the best intelligence agent in the Anti-Demon World; used poorly, she’d be the greatest shame of the intelligent races.
Better to leave her alone for now and grind down her stubbornness.
Li Si decided to head back to town first and exchange the spoils she was carrying.
After all, Yadana’s tentacles were seafood—they’d stink quickly if not sold soon.
Back in town, she sold the tentacles first, then disposed of various other loot.
Finally, Li Si went to the blacksmith and used the most important material—Yadana’s spike—to order a Level 15 Half-hand Longsword.
When the blacksmith saw the spike, which sparkled like a sapphire gem, he couldn’t help letting out exclamations of awe.
But before those exclamations could even leave his mouth, they were drowned out by a deafening wail.
Li Si stepped out of the blacksmith’s shop and looked at Yadana, who had been crying the whole way.
She just couldn’t take it anymore.
She pressed down on Yadana and directly called her out on her nature.
“I know you’re a spy from the Demon Realm. You want to claim a powerful adventurer as your master. If the adventurer’s strong, you’ll suck up to them; if they’re weak, you’ll find a chance to run back to the Demon Realm. You can’t lose either way, right?”
Yadana just kept crying, then suddenly shouted in grievance, “Mama! Mama! Don’t abandon me! Waaah!”
Li Si was so angry she laughed.
Seeing a crowd starting to gather around, her voice turned icy, “Keep playing dumb, and I’ll kill you. Shut up now and follow me.”
Yadana immediately shut up.
Li Si turned and led the way toward the wooden house to the north.
Of course, on the way, she didn’t forget to casually farm a bit of Affection from Lili Ya.
But as Affection leveled up, small intimacies like buying snacks didn’t seem to yield any more points.
Li Si and Lili Ya each held an ice cream cone, while a purple-haired little girl followed behind them, sucking her fingers and drooling.
When they reached the entrance of North Street, Li Si suddenly stopped, feeling uneasy as she looked at her front door.
A tall figure was leaning against the door.
When she saw Li Si return, the cat ears on top of her head twitched wildly.
Beneath them, her face was cold and lonely.
Her amber eyes stared quietly, and then her bright red lips moved slowly.
“The road to Soronwell is open. I’m going to Soronwell.”
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