The mission completed, the Giant Whale Knight Order didn’t rush back to report but returned to Melon Town first for rest and recovery.
This mission had brought them face-to-face with an unprecedented enemy — even their commander, Knight King Shaya, was injured.
More importantly, the Giant Whale Knights had brought back the entire skeletal remains of the Corrupt Bone Dragon as well as the corpse of the half-dragon humanoid. These were not only valuable war trophies but also extremely rare research specimens.
The Melon Church was suddenly transformed into a makeshift research lab for abyssal creatures.
“…When will I get my payment?”
Samimi wasn’t in the mood to mess around lately. In addition to a dislocation, she’d discovered a minor fracture in her right arm. It was now bandaged up like a dumpling, strapped to a wooden splint, and hung around her neck — she couldn’t move it for now.
She also realized how much pain interfered with spellcasting. Right now, due to her broken arm, she could only use about 20% of her usual magical capability.
Turns out, her last plan hadn’t been as flawless as she’d thought. If she hadn’t one-shot the half-dragon demon, she would’ve died then and there.
Healing herself was progressing painfully slowly.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t be healed — just that the process was slow.
Was this another case of “healers can’t heal themselves”?
To Samimi, it felt more like a world will limitation.
The slowness seemed intentional — slow enough that a healer couldn’t sustain themselves mid-battle.
Otherwise, if someone could just constantly self-heal during combat, they’d basically be a walking hot spring. Who could possibly beat that? That kind of overpowered nonsense would definitely be banned — and the world will had made sure of it.
And this world will, without a doubt, was the author who created this world.
As Samimi drifted into idle speculation…
“Samimi, time to eat.”
Fabiana entered with a meal tray, her voice calm and gentle — no longer the combative tone from before.
The dignified Pure White Knight herself… bringing food to a supposed villainess?
Was she dreaming?
Samimi had no energy to mock the surreal situation. She slowly picked up the spoon with her left hand, now used to eating porridge every day.
Fabiana just stood nearby, watching her eat with gentle eyes — practically itching to feed her by hand. The whole thing was just… bizarre.
“…Why are you staring at me like that? Did you poison the food and want to see if I eat it?” Samimi asked with narrowed eyes.
“I know we’ve had our differences,” Fabiana replied in a wistful tone, “but I wouldn’t stoop so low. I’m still a knight.”
“…Where’s Niubao?” Samimi asked, ignoring her and changing the subject.
“She’s outside training with the sword,” Fabiana replied with a smile. “We have twenty elite Giant Whale Knights giving her intensive training every day. She’s making great progress.”
“Train her hard — just don’t literally kill her.” Samimi answered coldly.
For Niubao, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be taught by the Deermud Knight family.
Samimi knew Fabiana’s family wielded enormous influence — so much so that many noble families tried and failed to get their children admitted as students.
The performance of those two Giant Whale Knights against the half-dragon demon had made it clear how well-trained they were.
They represented the pinnacle of mortal knightly combat.
Samimi also suspected that Niubao might have some unusual bloodline.
After all, she’d risked her life to kill a newborn demon and only received 10 points of Kindness Value. But saving Niubao had instantly given her more than ten points.
That newborn demon had only just gained flight after dozens of combat rounds.
If left alone, it could have matured into a “Demon King” capable of commanding entire monster armies.
“Where exactly did you learn your swordsmanship?” Fabiana suddenly asked, turning serious. “Did you already know it? Or did you learn it recently?”
“I just copied the Hero’s ‘Stormblade’ technique,” Samimi said wearily. “I’m not that skilled. I’m just a priest, and my arm’s broken. But to save everyone, I had no choice. It was either the monster or me.”
“…It’s my fault you got hurt,” Fabiana said, visibly stricken with guilt.
Her feelings had shifted — from admiration to something deeper. Was this what remorse felt like?
But what Fabiana didn’t know was…
When a knight’s heart softens — that’s the day reckoning begins.
“Samimi, listen to me.”
Fabiana suddenly seemed to have made a decision. She was ready to confess her real intentions.
“Knock knock~”
Just then, Knight King Shaya knocked twice on the door.
Wrapped in bandages and slightly hunched, he hobbled inside and sat on a small stool. Clearly, the explosion had left him worse for wear.
“Anna, step outside for a bit. I’d like to talk to the Sister in private,” he said.
“Yes, Grandfather.” Fabiana obeyed without protest, though she hadn’t yet finished what she wanted to say. She figured it could wait.
Once she had left, Samimi and Knight King Shaya were alone, staring silently at each other for a moment.
“Thank you for the healing. If not for you, I’d be a dead man,” Shaya said.
“What are you talking about? I’m charging you. If you die, who’s going to pay me?” Samimi shot back.
“In that battle, you told my granddaughter to watch out for the dragon’s brain,” he said, suddenly shifting topics. “Did you already know about that half-dragon creature?”
Samimi’s hand froze mid-spoonful. Fortunately, she had already prepared a cover story.
She calmly answered, “I wouldn’t say I knew ahead of time. But I’m familiar with what demon-hunting nuns call them — Majin, or Demonfolk. These are humanoid, intelligent monsters born from legendary beasts. We demon-hunting nuns have fragmentary records on them. I didn’t know much — this was my first time seeing one. I just guessed something was wrong based on the brain’s activity.”
Perfect. Absolutely flawless. Even Samimi was impressed by her own acting.
“Majin…” Knight King Shaya muttered, clearly convinced. He never once suspected she’d simply wanted to steal the kill.
“I may be the last demon-hunting nun of this era. No one else has access to this kind of classified knowledge — not even the Church. After all, no one who’s seen a Majin has ever come back alive… except us,” Samimi explained.
“Little Sister,” Shaya said, “this Majin corpse is even more valuable than the dragon bones. I’ve already sent word to the royal capital. The Third Prince wants the dragon skeleton, and the Church wants the Majin’s remains.
“These aren’t spoils we can keep all to ourselves, so I’d like to discuss the matter of distribution with you.”
“That’s fine,” Samimi replied. “They’re useless to me anyway. And since I’m a member of the Church, it’s only right to hand over research materials to them.”
She was more than happy to unload those hot potatoes.
Lately, the entire dragon skeleton had been lying out in her church’s courtyard, drawing crowds of travelers who gathered at the walls to gawk.
If she didn’t get rid of them soon, they’d start attracting the wrong kind of attention.