Chapter 28: Let’s clear both of them

In the dressing room, Zijiang threw the last makeup cotton pad into the trash can, stepped back, and looked up and down at Orlando’s face, which had finally returned to its original state.

“Looks like my skills aren’t bad.”

“Mm.”

“You were really cute, honest. If you hadn’t taken the makeup off so early, I’d have wanted you to appear on stream again next time.”

“…What?”

“Think about it.”

Zijiang clasped her hands together, her pink ponytail swaying behind her head.

“A cute girl in a maid outfit, but actually a guy—the audience would go crazy, right? The comments would flood until the server crashes.”

“You really know how to do business.”

“Of course I do. I’m a famous streamer.”

“Popularity doesn’t cost you anything to leech off of.”

“It does.”

“What does it cost?”

“My dignity.”

Zijiang covered her mouth and laughed.

“Still pretty young, aren’t you, buddy. You say no, but your body sure cooperated all day long.”

“I was tied to a chair and forced to wear it.”

“How did it feel once you had it on?”

Orlando was silent for a moment.

“The fake boobs were heavy.”

“The skirt was too short.”

“Anything else?”

Zijiang snapped the lock on her makeup case shut.

“But seriously, you look good in a maid outfit. Next time if you need—”

“The makeup was good.”

Orlando cut her off.

“Don’t do it again.”

Zijiang tilted her head.

“That cold?”

“Yes.”

“Then let me ask you one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“Your beard’s gone. Who’s going to fill that in for you?”

“…You’ve got some nerve asking.”

“I asked who would fill it in, not that I would.”

Zijiang blinked her pale purple eyes, looking innocent.

“But honestly, you look pretty handsome like this. Beards grow back in two days.”

“Two days?”

“About that.”

“What am I supposed to do for these two days in front of people?”

“Just say you shaved.”

“A grown man suddenly shaving his beard clean—what do you think people will think?”

“They’ll think you got handsome?”

“…Fine.”

Zijiang picked up her makeup case, walked to the door, then suddenly turned back.

“Oh, buddy, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“What.”

“You used to be a Dragon Hunter, right?”

Orlando’s shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly.

“…The Captain tell you that?”

“No. Sister Wei did.”

“How did she know?”

“She knows everything.”

Zijiang shrugged.

“But don’t worry, I don’t have any prejudice against Dragon Hunters. Just curious—when you hunted dragons before, did you wear women’s clothes too?”

“Get lost.”

Zijiang laughed and pulled the door shut.

The dressing room quieted down.

Orlando sat in the chair, looking down at his hands, the hair shaved clean.

‘Those Wintry Night Church people. Beard, crew cut, tall and skinny. Three Urske men.’

‘Rantesti City is a small border town in the south. It’s a whole Eldron Empire away from Urske. From the northern tundra to the southern hills, it takes a month on horseback. The Wintry Night Church people crossed the entire continent to come here—it can’t be just for coffee.’

‘The relic?’

‘Hui said yesterday that the source of the Angelic Clan’s Sky Barrier was once on the outer continent, then was moved to Holy Radiance City. The old source is the relic. The clue Victoria gave was “North of the Sky.” The Wintry Night Church people also mentioned the relic.’

‘The pieces fit.’

‘But the question is—why are the Urske people looking for the relic? They follow the Wintry Night Church, which is sworn enemies with the Angelic Clan. What do they have to do with an Angelic relic?’

‘Unless the thing inside the relic isn’t just about the Angelic Clan.’

‘The Demon Evil. Hui mentioned that word. An existence entrenched in the north that can’t even be called a species. The Wintry Night Church has worshiped it for centuries. If the Wintry Night Church is looking for the relic, and it’s connected to the Demon Evil—’

Orlando rubbed his temples.

‘Not enough clues. Don’t think about it for now.’

He stood up, folded the maid outfit neatly on the chair.

Lace headband, black-and-white uniform, white apron, wig.

Folded neatly.

Then he put on his own linen shirt and dark pants, and hung the wooden sword back at his waist.

Pushed open the door.

Wei was leaning against the hallway wall.

Her trench coat was off and draped over her arm, her beret tilted crookedly on her head.

She was chewing a fruit candy, rolling the red wrapper into a small ball between her fingers.

When she saw Orlando come out, her red pupils slid over.

“Yo, rookie.”

“What.”

“I just want to ask one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“Weren’t you a Dragon Hunter before?”

“…So what if I was?”

“Dragon Hunter.”

Wei enunciated the three words clearly.

“The kind who’s faced dragons face-to-face. Dragons. Way bigger than some northern thug.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“How come you got scared shitless when you saw a northern thug? Hiding under the table, legs shaking.”

Orlando remained expressionless.

“I was just playing the part better.”

Wei stared at him for a moment.

“Pfft.”

She turned her head away, her white short hair covering half her face, shoulders trembling a few times.

“Alright, stop bluffing.”

She turned back, the corner of her mouth lifted.

“Next time I’ll have you stand in front of more bombs, then you won’t be scared. When the explosives go off, northern thugs, southern thugs—everyone’s equal.”

“You damn—”

“If an accident happens—”

“Stop. I know what you’re going to say.”

“Then the survivor benefits will go to everyone for baked potatoes.”

Wei flicked the candy wrapper ball into the trash can at the end of the hallway.

A perfect shot.

“Good. Then everyone can eat baked potatoes while remembering you.”

“…Can’t you say something auspicious?”

Orlando looked at her.

White short hair, red pupils, that curve of her mouth that made it impossible to tell if it was kind or malicious.

He took a deep breath.

“Forget it, I’m not going to argue with you.”

He took a step and walked past Wei.

“Good luck.”

Her voice came from behind him.

He stopped, turned his head.

Wei was still leaning against the wall, not looking at him, her red pupils staring down the hallway.

“…Thanks.”

He kept walking.

The hallway was long, stretching from the west wing to the east wing.

As he passed the stairwell, he heard the electronic sound effects of Prunier playing games from downstairs.

As he passed the cafeteria, the smell of stew drifted out through the crack in the door.

As he passed the Captain’s office, the door was closed, and it was eerily quiet inside—Prunier had probably moved her gaming setup today.

When he reached his own room, his hand just touched the door handle.

Then he saw her.

In the corner at the end of the hallway, a small figure was crouching.

White hair, red eyes, black cloak.

Xiao Ami.

She was clutching something in her hand, her fingers clenched tight.

Orlando pulled his hand back from the door handle.

“What are you doing here?”

Xiao Ami stood up.

The movement was slow, the hem of her cloak dragging on the floor.

She walked up to Orlando, raised her head, and her red pupils looked at his face.

Then she held out her hand and opened it.

A candy.

Amber-colored, the cellophane wrapper wrinkled.

“This.”

Her voice was very small.

“For you.”

Orlando looked down at the candy.

“Thank you.”

Her voice was even smaller, red pupils fixed on her own toes.

“For saving me.”

Orlando reached out and took the candy.

The cellophane rustled, carrying a little warmth.

“Okay.”

He stuffed the candy into his pocket.

“The debt from when you bit me last time is settled.”

Xiao Ami looked up, her red pupils widening slightly for a moment.

Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something.

Then she turned around, the hem of her cloak dragging a faint trail on the floor, and disappeared into the shadows of the stairwell.

Orlando pushed the door open and entered his room.

He unbuckled the wooden sword and leaned it against the bedside table, threw his coat over the back of a chair.

The candy slipped out of his pocket and fell onto the bed.

Amber-colored, wrapper wrinkled.

He placed the candy on the bedside table.

Next to the wooden sword.

Then he fell onto the bed.

The events of the day ran through his mind.

Maid outfit.

Café.

Three northerners.

Wei took less than five breaths to take down three Urske men twice his size.

He suddenly thought of something.

‘The Wintry Night Church people said “the Duke ordered us.” That means looking for the relic isn’t just a personal thing for a few northern barbarians. It’s the will of Urske’s upper echelons.’

‘Urske. The Wintry Night Church. The Demon Evil. The relic. North of the Sky.’

‘Clues like a handful of nails. I still don’t have a hammer.’

‘Forget it.

‘I’ll think about it tomorrow.’