Volume 9, Chapter 6 – The Two-Faced Savior

“Not here either…”

Muttering to herself, Lin raised her head and surveyed the dark, damp alley. Although she was the Hero of the Divine Religion and should, by all rights, be intimately familiar with its surroundings, this was actually the first time she had set foot here.

The ground was covered in soft mud, and the air was thick with the stench of decay. Compared to the clean and tidy noble district outside, this alley was utterly filthy. If the surrounding walls were a bit more mottled, and the alley was piled with a few more broken pots and half-rotten carrying poles, no one would argue if you said it was a scene from the slums. Beneath her mask, Lin frowned.

“Troublesome.”

Although she had lived in such an environment ever since she gained consciousness, even now, she still found the foul smell in the air nauseating.

Where did he go?

Holding her breath, Lin began to listen for any possible rustling sounds around her. The blood of a monster flowed in her veins, making her hearing much sharper than that of an ordinary human. Even the faintest breath, if she chose to focus on it, could be located from over ten meters away.

“Over there.”

Her gaze locked onto the wall beside her, and Lin took a silent step forward—the person she was after was on the other side of this building. Only an abandoned house stood between them.

At someone’s request, Lin was pursuing a boy who had stolen a money pouch. As for why she, the Hero, would go to such lengths, it could only be explained as “that’s just her personality.” While people would be filled with fear at the mere sight of her when her mask was off, when they couldn’t see the scales on her face—that is, when Lin was wearing her mask—they would let down their guard and treat her as an eccentric who often helped the residents.

Few people, even within the Divine Religion, knew that even without her identity as the Hero, Lin was still quite famous in the Ducal Capital of Chloe—mainly among the weak. It was rumored that if you were in trouble and asked the ghost-like, black-haired girl in the fox mask for help, she would solve any problem for you. She had become something of an urban legend.

Chasing a thief now was just one of many trivial matters.

Using her superhuman physical strength, Lin vaulted over the building and climbed onto the roof, watching as the boy passed right under her nose.

The boy’s steps were erratic; he kept looking back as he fled. His clothes and hair were stained with wet mud—likely the result of a recent fall in the alley. She had seen such things countless times.

“Still haven’t given up.”

Leaping down from the roof, Lin appeared in front of the boy. Not paying attention to what was in front of him, the boy crashed headlong into Lin and then fell back with a plop into the mud.

“Eek!?”

“Give me the money pouch.”

Lin extended her hand toward the boy.

“M-Money pouch?”

Panic and terror flashed in the boy’s eyes, but he quickly regained his composure, his face turning into a mask of bewilderment. However, his hand instinctively reached into his robes, betraying his thoughts.

—Hidden there, besides the money pouch, was a weapon.

It could be a knife or a shard of pottery. Most of the starving children in the Duchy of Chloe were like this. To avoid being beaten half to death in a fight and left to die in the cold wind, they had to carry a weapon capable of a fatal blow. As long as it was well-hidden, even a fingernail could become a murder weapon.

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Just like I used to be.

A sense of unease, as thick as a dense fog, welled up in her heart. Lin took a step forward, pressing him.

“Give it to me. You should know that since I’m here, you have no chance of escape. Lying is useless.”

A waver crossed the boy’s face. He stopped looking at Lin, cowering as he shuffled backward.

“Wh-What are you talking about…”

If I don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll only get worse in the future.

Without further hesitation, Lin strode forward and grabbed the boy by the collar. Before he could react, she violently slammed him to the ground. The boy’s back hit the ground with a dull thud, and the money pouch and a short dagger rolled out beside him.

“Ugh!”

He probably won’t be able to sleep on his back for a few days. Lin made a preliminary assessment of the boy’s injuries but felt no sympathy for him. As much as she disliked hurting a child, wrongdoing deserved punishment. Otherwise, would he not end up like her former self, walking further and further down an irreversible path? Or to put it another way, if the owner of the money pouch had caught the boy, the best-case scenario would have been broken limbs. This was the reality in the Duchy of Chloe, and indeed across the entire continent. People never showed kindness to criminals.

However, just as Lin crouched down to pick up the money pouch, the boy who had just been thrown to the ground moved first. His hand shot out and covered the dagger. Judging from the practiced way he gripped it, this was not the first time he had wielded a knife.

He deserves worse.

She kicked the boy in the face.

The unrestrained force made the boy clutch his nose in pain and roll to the side. Blood flowed from his nostrils into his palm, then dripped from his fingertips onto the ground. The intense pain caused him to lose his grip on the dagger, and it fell to the ground.

Lin silently picked up the money pouch.

Ordinary people easily let their guard down around children, and because of this, the boy had tasted success before.

If the boy hadn’t killed anyone, she might have given him a chance to turn over a new leaf and return to a normal life. But now, she no longer had such thoughts. In a few years, perhaps he would live in regret, but it was more likely he wouldn’t even live long enough to feel regret. Once someone has engaged in robbery and murder, and gotten used to the fast money, it is very difficult to return to a normal life. One day, he would meet someone stronger than him.

Now, to return this to its owner.

Glancing at the boy still writhing on the ground, Lin headed back the way she came.

◇

“Thank you so much, thank you!”

His face beaming with the joy of recovery, the man who got his money pouch back bowed repeatedly to Lin in thanks. Beneath her mask, Lin nodded.

“Be careful not to get it stolen again.”

“Yes! I’ll be sure to tell everyone back home the story of how you helped me!”

Watching the jubilant man depart, Lin crossed her arms and turned, her gaze fixed on the corner of the alley. She sighed.

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“You’ve been peeking long enough. You can come out now.”

“Haaah…”

The peeper was, of course, Yisi.

After seeing Lin’s light dot speeding through the noble district on the [Omniscient Map] and recalling the man’s words about asking a “black-haired girl” for help, Yisi had naturally connected the two events and rushed to the boy’s hiding place. As a result, she arrived just in time to see Lin kick the boy squarely in the face. At first, Yisi thought Lin might do something extremely cruel, like Augustin, and was ready to intervene at any moment. But Lin’s actions were measured, so Yisi felt it was inappropriate to reveal herself. While the boy was indeed pitiable, that was only because the person he ran into happened to be Lin. If Lin hadn’t reacted so quickly, the boy, having picked up the dagger, would have stabbed her in return. Having his nose broken by Lin’s kick was simply what he deserved. Of course, considering he was a minor, Lin could have handled it more tactfully, but that was another matter entirely.

In any case, Yisi now found herself in an awkward situation. She had been discovered while tailing someone, and that someone was Lin, who already had a cold and unapproachable impression. Adding to that Lin’s strong and openly displayed rejection of her in front of the Pope earlier, Yisi felt like she had run headfirst into a cactus.

But to Yisi’s surprise, Lin uncharacteristically walked slowly toward her.

“I don’t know why you followed me all this way, but business is business. I hope you won’t tell anyone about what I do. I don’t want people to know that the person in the mask is the Hero of the Divine Religion.”

“Eh? Ah, yes, I promise.”

It was a relief she didn’t press me on why I followed her. I couldn’t very well honestly answer, ‘I was curious what you would do to a thief.’

“So, why did you follow me? If you were after the same boy, you could have come out much earlier instead of hiding like a thief.”

“Ah…”

So she did ask after all.

Yisi cleared her throat twice and, feigning ease, walked to Lin’s side to change the subject.

“I thought you would ridicule me for following you…”

“Why? Did you do something to make me dislike you?”

It was Lin, more so than Yisi, whose tone was filled with confusion, as if she had no idea why she would dislike Yisi.

Yisi looked at her as if she were a strange creature.

“You’re asking why? Just a little while ago in front of Pope Atwood, didn’t you make a huge fuss because of my arrival? Normally, seeing me at a time like this, you should be showing resistance and dislike, right? Saying something like, ‘Tsk, you again.'”

The current atmosphere was like that between two acquaintances.

“I see, so that’s what you were thinking…” Lin lowered her head in thought. Because of the mask, Yisi couldn’t see her expression change. “Indeed, most people would think that. It was my oversight. In that case, I must correct this here. I have never disliked you. The reason I was angry in front of Atwood was because he didn’t act according to the Gospel’s plan. What I dislike is Atwood’s arbitrary decision-making. I meant no offense to you or your companions.”

“Even though I ruined your plans? And also…”

And also stepped on you with my foot.

Worried about making the atmosphere awkward, Yisi swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue, her gaze guiltily drifting elsewhere.

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“The plan’s failure was due to our lack of execution. If we had arranged everything earlier and acted a day sooner, the plan would not have failed.”

How arrogant…

As if reading Yisi’s thoughts, Lin tilted her head. The gesture made Yisi think that if Lin were to take off her mask, her expression would surely be very cute.

“Do you think I’m conceited?”

“A little. Normally, people would attribute the mistake to someone interfering with the plan. To arbitrarily decide that the failure was due to your own lack of ability… honestly, this is the first time I’ve met someone with that kind of thinking.”

“If complaining could change the outcome, I would be happy to do it. But failure is failure. Making excuses is pointless. We can only hope to do better next time. By the way, do you have a Gospel on you?”

“No, I don’t. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have accepted the invitation to come to the Duchy of Chloe.”

“I see.”

Her easy acceptance clearly showed she didn’t believe me.

But it couldn’t be helped. If someone always managed to be one step ahead of me and ruin my plans, I too would wonder if they had some kind of mind-reading ability. In Lin’s case, that would be suspecting the existence of a third Gospel.

“Well, in any case, you just need to know that our earlier argument wasn’t directed at you. Also, a word of advice: if it’s not for anything special, it’s best not to get too close to me. Otherwise, you’ll get into trouble.”

“Do I look like the kind of person who minds trouble?”

The words had just left her mouth when Yisi realized something was wrong. It seemed she was, in fact, that kind of person.

She chuckled dryly and changed her tune.

“Trouble, you say?”

Lin sighed deeply.

“Haaah, you wouldn’t want to know.”

This girl’s personality doesn’t seem as cold as it appears.

With no intention of walking with Yisi, Lin started to walk away on her own.

“Hey, where are you going? It’s about to rain.”

Yisi pointed to the sky. Just a moment ago, it had been clear and sunny, but now it was already covered with dark clouds. The low, heavy clouds and the wind howling overhead all heralded an imminent downpour.

Stopping in her tracks, Lin’s voice was laced with a hint of resignation.

“Anywhere is fine, as long as no one sees the two of us standing together.”

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“We can talk about that later.” Although Yisi knew Lin meant that being with her would bring trouble, she still made a joke. “It’s not like I have a bad reputation. Being seen with me won’t affect your fame. I don’t think I’m that ugly.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Plop.

Less than two seconds after she spoke, a cold drop of liquid landed on the back of Lin’s neck. Immediately after, as if someone were tipping a wooden basin from the sky, a torrent of violent raindrops poured down from the dark clouds, the intensity nearly suffocating.

To keep the rain out of her eyes, Yisi had to shield her forehead with her hand.

“Hey, we should head back!”

“Tsk, troublesome. Hold on tight, don’t fall.”

Faster than Yisi could react, as if she couldn’t just leave her behind, Lin turned back, grabbed Yisi’s hand, and forcefully pulled her into a run.

One second she’s saying being with her is troublesome, and the next she’s taking me to find shelter from the rain?

Although Lin was running fast, it was nothing for Yisi. If there was anything to be concerned about, it was that I had never run through the rain holding a beautiful girl’s hand like this before. A normal person would be thinking about finding shelter under some eaves as quickly as possible, but my mind was filled with completely different things—extreme embarrassment and an indescribable shyness. To have my hand held by a girl who was practically a stranger, and a very beautiful one at that, I couldn’t help but wonder whether I should grip her hand tighter to create the illusion that she was really helping me, and also whether gripping it tighter would cause her to dislike it.

That being said, Lin’s hand was overly smooth, not at all like a warrior’s palm should be. The temperature of her palm was also much lower than a normal person’s, so much so that even I, a vampire with a naturally low body temperature, felt humbled in comparison.

No, wait.

Snapping out of my reverie, I suddenly realized something important.

Shouldn’t I be the one taking the lead at a time like this? No matter how I think about it, as the gentleman, I should be the one leading Lin to shelter from the rain. But now I’m being dragged along by her. It’s just too strange in every sense.

Noticing Yisi’s pace slowing, Lin, running ahead, gradually slowed down. Although they had only been exposed to the rain for less than two minutes, they were both soaked from head to toe.

“Can’t run anymore?”

“No, I can. Shouldn’t we find a place to take shelter first?”

We clearly passed many eaves that could have provided shelter along the way.

“I don’t want to be seen by others. We’re almost at the hideout. Just hold on a little longer.”

“I can, but… hey, I’m not done talking!”

Isn’t it closer to just go back to my temporary residence?

Although I said that, I had nothing to do back at the mansion anyway, so I might as well follow her into this Divine Religion hideout to kill some time.

With that thought, Yisi was pulled by Lin into an ordinary person’s home.