“Knight Shilo, isn’t it? I didn’t expect to run into you. This must be the first time we’ve seen each other since the last gathering ended.”
Ifreya’s voice was neutral, clear, and concise. She spoke every word distinctly without dragging them out. Combined with her inherently heroic appearance, it was easy for people to instinctively take a liking to her.
Facing Ifreya’s greeting, Shilo performed a standard knight’s salute before responding calmly.
“Yes, Lady Paladin.”
“Seeing you fully armed like this, are you heading out to take care of something?” Ifreya asked casually, her gaze drifting intentionally or otherwise toward the young girl hiding behind Shilo.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, the girl buried her head a bit deeper.
“Just some minor matters the church entrusted to me. They aren’t worth your concern, My Lady.”
“Ah… my apologies.”
Seeing that Shilo had no intention of elaborating, Ifreya apologized quite readily. Her gaze shifted back to Lintis once more.
“Is this priestess feeling ill?”
Hearing this, Shilo suddenly realized that now was the perfect opportunity to hand over this annoying brat behind him.
However, just as he was about to speak, his back was gripped even tighter. The force was so great that it actually caused him pain through his clothes.
This made Shilo frown. ‘It seems the Saintess is not just a nuisance, but a violent maniac as well. I really should hand her over right now.’
“Lady Paladin, this is my sister. She’s just a bit shy. Please forgive her for being unable to greet you.”
Well… that was the plan.
But the trembling transmitted through her touch somehow made him change his mind, and he lied without even thinking about it.
“I see…” Ifreya studied the boy’s slightly tense face with interest for a moment before finally smiling. “Then never mind. Also, you can just call me Ifreya, Eve, or Rhea. There’s no need to keep calling me ‘Lady Paladin’ over and over.”
“Oh, right, there’s one more thing. Shilo, do you know of any places in the city that need help?”
Seeing that she didn’t press the matter, Shilo felt a sense of relief in his heart. “Lady Ifreya, why do you ask?”
“It’s like this: I originally wanted to take everyone out to see if there was anything we could do for the residents. However, the people in Isol City seem to be doing quite well. We wandered around all morning and couldn’t find a single thing to help with. It seems the Lord here is quite responsible.”
As Ifreya spoke, she observed the young knight’s expression.
When she mentioned “doing quite well” and the “responsible Lord,” a clear look of disgust flashed across the boy’s face, though he quickly masked it.
Seeing this interesting reaction, a sharp glint flickered in Ifreya’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know either,” Shilo muttered vaguely with a slight bow. “Lady Paladin, if there’s nothing else, may I take my leave?”
“Ah… sorry, sorry. I’ve taken up too much of your time.” Ifreya smiled and stepped aside to clear the path.
Seeing this, Shilo walked away quickly. As he moved, Lintis moved with him.
However, because the two were stuck so close together and Lintis kept her head buried behind Shilo’s back, it looked ridiculous. It was fine while standing still, but once they started moving, the display was comical. They even tripped over each other’s feet from time to time.
Before long, Shilo’s forehead was covered in dark lines.
Because he could feel Ifreya’s gaze constantly fixed on him, he had no choice but to continue dragging the “heavy” Saintess forward with great difficulty.
Ifreya did indeed keep her eyes on the two of them, a faint, lingering smile playing on her lips.
“Lady Eve, that was the Saintess just now, wasn’t it? I could sense that dense holy power from 10 meters away. Is it really okay if we don’t take her back?”
A knight accompanying her leaned in and spoke. Hearing this, Ifreya glanced at him and gave a light chuckle.
“No rush. Our Saintess is merely ‘running away from home.’ Let her play for a while. Staying with us all the time must have been suffocating for her.”
“Besides…” Ifreya paused and looked back at the two who were about to disappear into the distance, her gaze exceptionally soft. “Don’t we know the Saintess’s personality well enough? She will come back on her own.”
As she spoke, the knight beside her still looked somewhat worried. Ifreya patted him on the shoulder.
“Alright… we should head out too. This city is hiding quite a few things waiting for us to investigate.”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
Taking one last look in the direction Shilo and his companion had left, Ifreya led the knights away.
***
On the other side.
Once they were completely out of Ifreya’s sight, Lintis suddenly pulled her head out.
Like a drowning person regaining the right to breathe, she inhaled large gulps of fresh air. Her small face was flushed red, whether from lack of oxygen or nervousness, making her look quite adorable.
“Phew — I’m… I’m saved!”
Lintis steadied her breathing, her face radiant with a bright smile. She then slapped Shilo’s shoulder hard and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Mr. Shilo, well done! However, I’m not actually your sister, you know~ Well… although I understand you wanting a sister as cute as me, what doesn’t exist simply doesn’t exist!”
“Tsk.” Shilo rubbed his sore shoulder irritably and snapped, “Violent, annoying, and narcissistic Saintess, could you please keep quiet for a moment?”
“Eh! Why is my title getting longer and longer? And they’re all insults! That’s so mean!” Lintis was greatly shocked.
“Tsk, I really should have just handed you over.”
With that, Shilo turned and prepared to walk back. Lintis immediately threw herself down and hugged his leg. “I was wrong, I was wrong! Truly! Brother Shilo, I’ll be your sister from now on!”
Looking at this Saintess who was acting all high and mighty a second ago, only to slide into a kneel and shamelessly call him “Brother” the next, Shilo rolled his eyes in exasperation.
He noticed the looks from people around them were getting weirder and weirder, so he quickly shook the Saintess off his leg and walked away in a different direction.
Lintis sat on the ground, blinked, and then stood up as if nothing had happened. She brushed the dust off her priestess robes and hurried after Shilo.
“Brother Shilo, where are you going?”
Her voice was sickly sweet, like a feather tickling Shilo’s ear, making his entire body feel uncomfortable.
“Saintess, could you please stop using that name?” Shilo said, intentionally moving two steps away.
He was actually a bit afraid of this woman with violent tendencies now. He wondered if she would suddenly hit him.
‘But… logically speaking, I’m a warrior. How could my defense be broken by a priestess?’
“Hehe, are you blushing, Brother Shilo~?”
Intentionally drawing out her words, Lintis smiled mischievously, trying to see the face of the pure-hearted boy.
Instead, what she saw was a face looking down at her with utter disgust. His eyes looked as if they were staring at non-recyclable trash.
So, she silently turned her head, tapped it lightly with her right hand, tilted her head cutely, and stuck out her tongue while winking.
“Ehehe!”
*Smack!*
“Ow! That hurts!”