Chapter 5: King Does Not Meet King

In the early morning of Fengxiang Town, Ye Chi woke up bright and early.

Though essentially similar to a slime and not needing sleep, she still remarkably kept some habits from her human days.

The inn room here lacked the soundproof wards that the Capital’s inns had, so the noise from the bustling street and chirping birds echoed clearly in her ears.

Ye Chi glanced at the catgirl sprawled on her bed, sleeping soundly in a starfish pose, and immediately felt annoyed.

Last night, ever since the cat drank her wine, it lost its innate caution, pestering her with endless questions and rambling nonsense.

Talking about taking her back to its palace to play, or bringing her to Demon King City to try their unique Smoked Scorpion Salmon Wine…

After chattering on and on, the cat just took over the only bed in the room.

Ye Chi, who had been drinking alone all night, reached out to nudge the catgirl.

“Meow~”

Herkate softly meowed back and nuzzled into the soft pillow. Avoiding the morning sunlight, a tail slipped out from beneath her skirt and draped over her pale, exposed navel.

Whether fearless or foolish, she was carefree enough to sleep like a baby.

Ye Chi opened the window to air out the smell of wine, glanced once more at the catgirl still fast asleep, then slung her small backpack over her shoulders, pulled up the white hood of her cloak, and headed downstairs.

No one noticed that the moment the door shut behind her, the catgirl on the bed opened her eyes.

Compared to the Capital, this human border city was small, but it gathered countless Adventurers and various organizations and teams dedicated to hunting Magic Beasts.

One could say this city was a Makino Line specifically built by humans to combat Magic Beasts.

“Too bad it only keeps out the brainless low-level monsters,” Ye Chi muttered inwardly, unaware that before she reached level 60 and advanced to the Brave rank, she dared not stride boldly into the city but only snuck around the less guarded outer villages.

But can her own affairs be called brainless?

She didn’t think so.

Near the breakfast stalls, Adventurers were still talking about the siege beast from yesterday evening. They seemed unusually curious about the flying Dragon-type Magical Beast.

But as a Magic Beast herself, Ye Chi was more curious about the Brave who appeared last night, a curiosity she never had during her time as a Brave.

As the world’s top Ye Chi, she only gave the Second and Third Brave a passing glance; the rest?

What kind of small fry are they? She didn’t know and didn’t care.

Lost in thought, Ye Chi arrived at St. Catarina Monastery.

This monastery had a long history on these lands, but the building before her was merely a branch.

The main monastery sat in Rodel, the golden Capital.

Ye Chi hadn’t come here to repent or seek forgiveness.

Renting a private wing of the monastery was necessary for her to reintegrate into human society under her new identity as Vyea.

She dared not show up in her current form to meet old friends, teachers… or her Trainee.

Sigh. She wondered how that child was doing now.

Ye Chi sighed deeply in melancholy.

“Hello there, little one. Don’t sigh so easily. If life ever gives you troubles, you can always come to sister for help~”

A sweet, coaxing female voice came from ahead, followed by the sensation of someone rubbing her head.

Ye Chi: #!

She looked up to see a woman in a black nun’s habit smiling warmly at her, holding a candy of unknown origin.

“Little one, if you’re lost, I can help you find your parents.”

“I’m an adult!” Ye Chi took a deep breath and said firmly.

“Eh?”

The nun examined the grown-up loli carefully, furrowing her brow, her tone turning playful as if scolding a naughty child:

“A cute little girl like you telling lies will turn into a big green frog, you know.”

Enough!

Stop using those words to describe me!

Ye Chi glanced around and saw other nuns slowly gathering, all wearing expressions like they were looking at a rare and adorable creature. She felt an aching frustration.

If only she’d brought that dead cat along.

All it ever does is sleep all day long. Sleep? What nonsense!

Ye Chi regretted it deeply.

Humans in this world had strict land management inside the city — only rentals, no purchases.

All paperwork had to be verified and signed at the monastery.

Even when she was First Brave, she only had full usage rights to a villa in the Capital.

Maybe after she died, that villa would be taken away.

Sigh.

She hoped her Trainee still had a place to live and wouldn’t end up homeless.

“Here, little cutie, have some cheesecake. My daughter just loves this…”

While Ye Chi was lost in thought, another nun approached and, while feeding her, pinched her cheek.

Ye Chi: #!!

If not for her slime body’s precise control, she might have turned bright red with anger.

Enough already. This humiliating farce needs to end!

Swallowing the overly sweet cake stuffed into her mouth by an unknown hand, Ye Chi pulled out the Black Document she’d entrusted to the innkeeper earlier and held it high, shouting:

“I’m here to rent a house!”

At once, the room fell silent.

Even if the nuns doubted the little girl had stolen her parents’ documents, they had to follow procedure.

After a moment of quiet, the same nun who had earlier wanted to take Ye Chi to her parents spoke again:

“Um… young miss, please come inside with us first. For rentals like this, we need approval from the Vice-Abbess.”

“So troublesome?” Ye Chi blinked in surprise.

“It’s mainly because your Black Document is special, and the rental is close to the Core District…”

“Yes. Little girl, you should have come with your guardian.”

Ye Chi shook her head and followed the lead nun’s steps.

“Miss, our Vice-Abbess is holding Liturgy in the chapel. We’ll wait in the side chapel’s lounge. There are fruits and tea there.”

“Okay, thank you.”

…

The lounge was sparsely furnished but clean and bright, with neatly arranged tables and chairs—clearly well maintained.

Bored while waiting, Ye Chi couldn’t help but reminisce about how convenient everything was when she was a Brave, with others handling everything for her.

Sigh. It felt like she had sighed more today than in a whole year before.

What was going on?

Life is tough; a loli sighs.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of hard-soled shoes echoed from the hallway outside the lounge.

Someone was coming.

Ye Chi snapped to attention, shifting from reclining to sitting upright.

“Apologies for the wait, Miss Vyea. We spent some time treating the Purple Brave’s injuries.”

Before the person arrived, their voice was heard first.

Ye Chi wiped off the cake crumbs at the corner of her mouth and glanced toward the door.

Alongside the expected Vice-Abbess, a purple figure was present.

The light atmosphere immediately turned heavy.