A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 201

"Oh my, I didn't expect it to be an acquaintance. The little girl I almost ate before, did you feel that being disturbed last time wasn't enough, so you offered yourself up, wanting me to eat you up?"

The familiar voice, the familiar scene. Even before seeing the figure that had appeared behind her in the darkness, Violet knew who it was.

It's only been a little over a day, but Violet will never forget how desperate she was back then. And the monster girl who instilled that despair in her.

Violet knew she should sever the fear in her heart with her sword. But she was trembling so badly that she could barely hold the sword, let alone do so.

"What's wrong? Little human, aren't you going to say hello to your old acquaintance? And why are your hands and feet trembling? Am I really that scary? This is really sad. I think I'm pretty good-looking even among you humans. How could you hate me like this?"

A pink slime girl emerged from the darkness and snuggled up to Violet from behind.

Her delicate body felt strangely soft, like being deeply immersed in gel, yet from the point of contact, one could tell it was mimicking the location of a human cleavage.

"呲呲."

The slime girl's body is highly corrosive to human silk fabrics; almost immediately after it touched Violet's body, her clothes began to dissolve.

The other person's hand wrapped around Vera's waist from behind, and her dangerous intuition screamed a warning, but Vera remained motionless like a wooden statue.

"Woo..."

When Phoebe saw that Wil was in this state, and that the initiative had completely fallen into the hands of the slime girl, she was so anxious that her eyes almost popped out.

She tried to speak anxiously, but couldn't. Instead, the slime girl's clone penetrated even deeper, blocking her breathing and causing her to faint.

She sobbed anxiously, unable to make any changes.

In fact, even if Phoebe didn't say anything, Violet understood what she probably wanted to say.

That's it? That's it? You call this what you're doing and you want to become a hero? You're so scared of even a weak slime girl? You should just wash up and go back to your mother's arms in the countryside to cry and be a big kid again, drinking milk!

Phoebe was furious. She thought Violet would do something, even if she didn't kill the monster girl, she should at least get rid of these dirty, sticky slime clones on her body.

But Violet just stood there trembling, doing nothing.

The Hero's Sword is a magic sword; even a simple swing can produce the effect of an enchanted sword or a magic swordsman's attack, even if the user doesn't know magic.

"I……"

Violet could feel her back growing colder and colder.

The wind blowing in from outside made the large areas of her back that were no longer covered by silk fabric feel cool.

She knew that things were different now; she was no longer that pitiful girl who had been tricked out of the hero's sword and had her hands bound.

What's more, the culprit is in an even worse situation than her now.

"I am a hero..."

"Stop messing with me! You damn slime!"

Violet gripped her sword, her eyes hardening, and she stopped trembling. Instead, she grabbed the slime girl's hand at her waist and cast a spell.

"combustion!"

She didn't know the petrification magic that Saint Karina used; she had only learned some practical magic from her mother, not such a wide variety of spells.

Fire magic is indeed very useful against slimes, which are covered in sticky and liquid monsters.

"呲呲."

This time, the smell of burning came from the slime girl's body.

It wasn't just Violet's clothes that were harmed; another hateful monster was also victimized!

"Who cares if you're a monster or not! I want to be a hero like my mom!"

"Divine Sword Technique - Unparalleled Holy Flame!"

Violet's other hand ignited into the shape of a flaming sword, which crossed with the Hero's Sword—the starting stance for the Dual Swords style.

That was the swordsmanship of a hero, taught to her by Violet's mother. It was a divine skill imparted to her in a dream by a god.

For those who haven't yet received divine blessings, wielding it is somewhat strenuous. Violet's arm clearly showed cracks, from which magic and blood gushed. Anyone who overuses a divine sword technique will inevitably suffer a backlash.

"What do I care if you're good-looking or not! I'm a hero! I'll never even look at an evil monster like you! Die! You wanton slime!"

Having been locked onto by the divine sword technique, the slime girl tried to dodge, but was horrified to discover that she could no longer control her own body.

At this distance, in an environment similar to a confined space, it undoubtedly gave Vera the greatest room to maneuver.

Her twin swords slid across the slime girl's body like lava, easily shattering her original pink body tissue, and then she was executed!

Without pity, without tenderness, this was her resolve as a hero.

Moreover, judging from how smoothly the slime girl treated her and Phoebe, this old lady must have harmed many human girls. She is doing this to rid the world of a scourge, which is a completely righteous act!

After destroying the main body of the mutated slime, all the pink clones on Phoebe's body, as well as the one in her mouth, turned into pink, jelly-like things that slumped softly and wet the ground. Phoebe then spat out the part that was in her mouth.

"Ptooey! It tastes awful, like eating rubber."

With her body finally freed from constraints, Phoebe regained control of her own body.

"This is terrible, I never want to eat jelly again in my life, meow!"

Phoebe still felt that lingering sensation all over her body, which made the cat very uncomfortable.

Cats are said to have originated from desert animals, so they naturally dislike the feeling of their fur getting wet.

"Thank you, Violet."

Phoebe didn't blame Vera for her earlier timidity; as long as the outcome was good, that was enough. She didn't want to ask why the other person had turned out this way.

She thanked him verbally, then used restoration magic to repair her clothes, restoring them to their original condition.

"Ah."

Violet simply hummed in agreement, without offering any further explanation.

She seemed to understand the good intentions behind why Saint Karina didn't get up.

The resentment towards Phoebe had also subtly dissipated. Although it hadn't completely vanished, seeing the same thing happen to Phoebe didn't make Violet feel particularly relieved; instead, it brought a sense of sadness.

The weak have no right to choose their own way of life. Phoebe chose theft and fraud, and she tried to survive on this land by committing crimes.

Many people have been deceived, but even more have been harmed by demons. That's why she wants to become a hero and destroy the Demon King.

If the world were at peace and there were no monsters that didn't care about people's feelings, everyone's lives would definitely be much better.

Vera's mother told her that this was the simple idea behind her becoming a hero. Now is the time for the inheritance and transformation of will.

“Let’s go back, Phoebe.”

"Good meow~"

Phoebe had no objections.

She couldn't wait to go back, even though she'd been stripped naked by the slime girl and had enjoyed it. But whether that experience was pleasurable or humiliating was hard to say.

Phoebe felt she had lost something, yet it also seemed like she hadn't lost anything. They hadn't made it to the final step, or rather, because of Violet's timely rescue, they had only taken the very first step.

When Saint Karina saw Phoebe and Violet come out, she didn't ask them anything. She already knew everything that had happened inside through her magical eye.

She simply asked the two whether they wanted to set up camp on the spot and explore tomorrow, or use teleportation magic to return to the city today, take a bath, and relax.

Saint Karina can teach Violet about camping, or she can adapt to it later with her companions in her hero's party. Violet isn't spoiled, and Saint Karina isn't worried that she won't get used to it; with a little patience, she'll quickly adapt.

Defeating the Demon King doesn't mean spending your entire life in town inns or village homes. While sleeping outdoors isn't always necessary, it will happen quite often.

Violet grew up in the countryside and wasn't pampered like a princess or noblewoman; she was very capable of supporting herself.

Before meeting Santa Karina, before encountering the con artist Phoebe, and before being scammed, the fact that she had traveled alone for so long proves that she wasn't arrogant. She was just a bit too naive; she didn't encounter any con artists in the countryside, and the villagers were all very honest and kind, which is why she easily trusted others and fell for their tricks.

"Um, I'd like to move back to the city."

"Let's go back, meow~"

The two said in unison.

Violet was facing her fears head-on, feeling utterly exhausted, and wanted to go back to the city to take a bath and sleep in a soft, warm blanket. Phoebe, on the other hand, was feeling very uncomfortable because of the slime girl. It was difficult to find a water source to bathe in the wild, and she had just soaked in the hot springs today, not counting the previous ones, so she didn't plan to go again and wanted to take a shower to get some hot water.

Soaking in hot springs too much can easily damage your brain.

"Row."

Santa Karina didn't insist on staying in the wild, so she went with the two of them.

So the teleportation spell was activated again, and they were back in the room.

Santa Karina paid for a week's worth of hotel room fees in one go, as she found it troublesome and didn't want to pay repeatedly.

Moreover, even if there are any issues with the room and she has to check out early, the hotel will refund the cost of the remaining days.

Speaking of which, there were over twenty medicinal herbs in that slime girl's cave. It seems she picked them early during the herb season for her own healing, intending to use them when she was injured. Now, they've all benefited the trio.

For Phoebe, twenty-odd gold coins were a mere pittance. Unless she encountered a fool like Violet, she could barely accumulate a few gold coins even after months of swindling. Commoners mostly used copper and silver coins; only nobles used gold coins.

Deceiving nobles comes at a high price; Phoebe must immediately use the money she swindled to travel to the next city. She doesn't have Saint Karina's convenient teleportation magic, which allows her to move around at will.

Typically, after deceiving a nobleman, she would receive an arrest warrant. Occasionally, she would be released, but out of caution and to avoid imprisonment, Phoebe would immediately relocate, quickly leaving the previous city. Moreover, she would usually move to a city farther away from any neighboring city, which meant Phoebe was always short of money; after eating and using up her food, she had almost nothing left.

She had no elderly parents to care for, no younger siblings to support, and lived a completely solitary life. She grew up among orphans in the slums. The saying "If one person is full, the whole family isn't hungry" perfectly describes someone like Violet.

However, she doesn't envy people with warm and loving families; she only thinks about making more money so that she can have a better life in the future.

When she had money, Phoebe slept in hotels, under warm, sun-dried blankets, and ate hot breakfasts with broth and bread. When she was short of money, she slept in forest caves, in stables she had sneaked into, in sewers and under bridges, and sometimes she didn't dare close her eyes at night.

Because she had no companions, she dared not sleep in the wild or in very dangerous situations. She had to travel for several days and nights without closing her eyes before she dared to sleep in a relatively safe place.

Phoebe was satisfied with the small, but adequately equipped, hotel room that Santa Karina had found. It was clean and tidy, though not luxurious.

Even though Santa Karina used to have only two people, now there's one more, making it three people, and the room only has two beds, Phoebe didn't say much.

"I'm fine. You guys can sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor. The floor doesn't look dirty to me, I can sleep on it."

Phoebe wasn't dissatisfied at all; she just said it casually.

320. A fig leaf

"Are you sure you can do it? There aren't even any blankets or bedding. You're just going to lie on the floor all night like this?"

Violet kindly reminded her.

She's a kind-hearted, naive girl, always has been. Even when faced with Phoebe, who had lied to her several times, she wasn't that harsh.

“This floor is hard. Even though it’s made of wood, it’s still uncomfortable to sleep on all night. Your fur… well, I mean, your hair and tail, get very dirty on the floor where there’s a lot of dust.”

"But there isn't a third bed here, is there? I'm your prisoner, and I shouldn't be treated any better than sleeping on the floor. Are you taking pity on me and want to sleep on the floor yourself while I sleep in the bed?"

Phoebe disliked Wil's hypocrisy. She hated this kind of behavior—those guys who couldn't help her out of her predicament but pretended to be kind and gave her money. Phoebe thought they were utterly despicable and deserved to be fooled.

Her tone was somewhat playful, because she knew the answer.

When their own interests are threatened, those people, unless they have been deceived, will normally choose to stand up for themselves.

Kindness has its limits, and cheap sympathy deserves to be taken advantage of. This is Phoebe's philosophy of life. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to survive alone until now.

She felt no gratitude towards those "kind-hearted people." She only felt they were hypocritical and incredibly foolish.

If there were more fools like that, she would have an easier time surviving. That was Phoebe's thought.

"Sleeping on the floor...this..."

Vera looked at the floor. Although it was clean and swept and mopped every day, some of the wood had cracked and splintered. Those splinters were uncomfortable to prick on the skin.

Furthermore, some wooden planks, especially those in the frequently walked passageways, were warped at very strange angles.

"See? You don't want to sleep on the floor, do you?"

“I know I don’t want to. But we have other options, like we can rent another room.”

Violet quickly came up with a solution.

“We received our commission today, and Lina said she'll go to the union tomorrow to collect it. We can also get an advance…”

These words made Violet sound a little unsure of herself.

All her expenses so far have been covered by Saint Karina, but she probably won't hold it against her for the money.

She thought Saint Karina was a good person and wouldn't hesitate to add another room.

At least, Violet felt that sleeping on this cold wooden plank without anything underneath was more uncomfortable than sleeping in the open, on the dirt and grass.

"Okay. Adding another room is no problem for me."

Just as Violet expected, Saint Karina was easy to talk to.