On the rain-soaked street, chaos reigned.
The rain fell like needles, making it hard for Bali Saihe to tell where Asuna had run off to. At times like this, he had to rely on Luo Yi’s eyes.
Those gray eyes quickly spotted Asuna’s small feet at a street corner. Even encased in calfskin shoes, their delicacy and cuteness were unmistakable. However, those feet weren’t moving on their own—they were being dragged.
“Not good!”
Luo Yi quickened his pace.
Hearing this, Bali Sahe became anxious.
The master and apprentice rushed over—and saw an old acquaintance from the bakery, Xi Fu. But besides Xi Fu, there were many others… They were dressed similarly to Xi Fu, all in black robes. In their hands, they held short daggers. The leader was a slender man with a goatee, reeking of mutton.
“Behave yourself, girl.”
The thief leader was busy trying to subdue the struggling golden-haired girl, Asuna, in his arms. Asuna didn’t give the stinking man any leeway; her pearly teeth bit firmly into his arm. Unfortunately, it was useless. Under the thieves’ black robes was sturdy leather armor.
The Shadow Thieves didn’t survive in Grino by brute force alone—the goateed man took the chance to restrain Asuna and smear a drug on her face… Trickery and deceit were the thieves’ specialty.
“Let her go!”
Luo Yi swung the heavy sword off his back, aiming the broad blade straight at the skinny man.
The other man, while handing the unconscious Asuna to a subordinate, said leisurely.
“I am doing a good deed—I, Ke Lun, have come for a poor soul in the royal capital who misses his daughter too much…”
“Don’t mention that name to me!”
Bali Sahe rarely lost his temper, but now he was like an old lion at the end of its rope, forced to roar.
“Old boss, I think you should give your son-in-law a chance to turn over a new leaf…”
Ke Lun said unhurriedly.
“It’s been many years…”
“Bullshit! To this day, I don’t even know how my daughter died…”
Bali Sahe’s body trembled, as if he would pick up a staff and fight the man any second.
“Ke Lun, I shouldn’t have let you off with just a dishonorable discharge back then… I should have had you executed under military law!”
The city of Grino was originally built as a hub for the war between humans and the Demon Race. It had once been the proud posting of the Kingdom’s General, Bali Sahe, for a period of time. Back then, a logistics officer had indeed been up to shady dealings, embezzling supplies and funds.
Ke Lun. Who would have thought that Bali Sahe’s leniency back then would eventually result in this man degenerating into the leader of a band of thieves, wreaking havoc everywhere…
“After all, your son-in-law saved my life back then. I’m just repaying the favor.”
Ke Lun smiled.
“I’d better invite you back to the royal capital, Varna… Your son-in-law also wants to…”
“Shut up!”
Bali Sahe finally couldn’t hold back, lifting his staff toward Ke Lun…
Sensing danger, Ke Lun called for his men… Underlings were there to take the beating. He still had to escape with the hostage! The royal capital had offered a hefty bounty of a thousand gold coins…
And that man had a bright future… He might even have a chance to get his past crimes wiped clean and turn over a new leaf. Ke Lun desperately wanted to wash his hands of this life.
***
Xue La was working in the monastery kitchen. Besides her newly changed novice nun’s habit, she had tied an apron around her waist. The pot was bubbling, filled with wild edibles the nuns had gathered from the forest or mountains. Morels, porcini, chanterelles, and some herbs…
Added to the monastery’s potatoes, cheese, and day-old bread, they could simmer into a fine soup. It even earned praise from the two head nuns!
In fact, Xue La had done it several times already—thus she had earned control of the kitchen. For Xue La, it was like this: the Brave only had to fight monsters and gain experience until max level to deal with the Demon King, but Xue La had many more things to consider—how was the heat on the pot?
How much seasoning, and when to add it? How to arrange the table settings…
‘Earning experience points myself is not as simple as the Brave leveling up. The Brave can level up by cutting down monsters with one sword stroke, risking death to survive! Unlike me, who has to circle around pots all day. Every time I finish a dish, I can only miserably watch my panel move with [+100 EXP] and [+50 EXP]… Filling the experience bar to level up is still too hard! Moreover, for some reason, in my skill panel, Divine Magic just won’t unlock! I’m not the Brave, so I’m not even given a chance to unlock skills? Ah, the Hero’s Aura thing… is just so much better than my cannon fodder NPC status!’
Xue La complained inwardly. The Brave in the game was a fearless tough guy—and Luo Yi certainly lived up to that. But to be fair, the things Luo Yi had gone through were truly heartbreaking.
Take the first heroine of the Brave in the original game timeline, for example. Asuna was truly a poor little thing. That failed battle not only destroyed the alliance of four kingdoms but also ruined Asuna’s family completely. When Bali Sahe returned to his country in disgrace, he suddenly found that the court was full of shameless people attacking him.
The blame for the failed front-line war was all pinned on this old man, with accusations like “cowardice,” “poor command,” “collusion with the Demon Race,” and various other strange charges. And the appearance of these charges was largely thanks to those who had conspired together.
The second prince, Rustan, had lived in the shadow of the crown prince for years. Now that wise heir had died on the battlefield, becoming a pile of bones that Bali Sahe had fought to protect and bring back. So it was time for a counterattack to purge the political arena.
Even heaven was on his side (or perhaps the game designer’s hand was never light)—it was said that when the old king of Norsenia saw his proud son turned to ashes, he was terrified, fell from his throne, and, overcome by anxiety, fell ill and never recovered… Rustan did almost nothing and directly gained the power to serve as regent.
And Bali Sahe, the general who had once fought side by side with the crown prince, was naturally seen as a partisan of the former prince. If he didn’t cooperate, he would die. Even more tragic, one person chose to switch sides, betray Bali Sahe, and fabricate various “evidence of treason.”
That person was the son-in-law whom Bali Sahe had treated as his own son, Asuna’s father. He rose quickly, even gaining promotion and wealth while his wife died—no one knew how Asuna’s mother, Bali Sahe’s daughter, had gone missing and disappeared.
Asuna became an orphan, a poor girl abandoned by her father, relying on her grandfather Bali Sahe.
‘In my previous life, when I was just an ordinary Earthling who only knew how to play games, I already sympathized with this unfortunate girl. Because in my previous life, I was also a child from an orphanage. When I grew up, I didn’t choose to pursue any advanced academics. I just worked down-to-earth, apprenticed in a Western restaurant… to give something practical back to myself and the welfare home that had raised me. And in this life, when I look at Asuna, I can’t help but see myself.’
‘This innocent child, yet her bloodline is bound to that damned political storm… I’m not by Asuna’s side; all I can do is pray. Pray that Luo Yi will take on the responsibility of the Brave, save Asuna, and become a Brave who can stand on his own! As for myself… take it slow. I still have to try to become an excellent nun proficient in Divine Magic. It’s not that I’ve changed my mind about opening a restaurant in this other world, but because if I master the knowledge of Divine Magic and win the favor of the monastery’s mother superior…’
‘Through their mediation, I might be able to escape my mother, Lady Catalina of the Lyoncourt family’s arrangements… Of becoming a maid in the royal capital, a cannon fodder traitor maid in the princess’s conspiracy… And then get my whole family killed by the Brave? I don’t want that ending. Because even if I max out Luo Yi’s affection points—my own mother, Lady Catalina, is so merciless… Hiding in the monastery to lie low, never contacting Luo Yi for life… I might still be saved.’
Xue La took a deep breath, then put on her kitchen gloves. The soup was ready. It was time to carry it out and distribute it to all the members of the monastery and the poor in need. That was what a novice nun should do.