Chapter 12: Not at all

The fact that Anlis was the Hero gave Fula quite a shock.

There was no jealousy, however. Once she regained her senses, she immediately started clamoring to join Anlis’s Hero party.

But…

Anlis did not agree.

She thought about the person currently in her party who was watching her like a hawk.

If Vylian, the Demon King, let her acting slip and her best friend noticed something, wouldn’t they be completely finished?

In Anlis’s eyes, that Corrupt Monarch would definitely kill to keep her secrets for the sake of her own goals.

However, a direct rejection would hurt their feelings too much. With no other choice, Anlis could only say vaguely, “We’ll see about it later.”

Fula was in no hurry. She was Anlis’s childhood friend, and she had just awakened the rare [Mage] Class.

There was no way Anlis would refuse her in the end.

After spending some time, the two entered the city and arrived at Norman Street District shortly after.

This was an old district that Anlis had visited a few times with her father.

As soon as she stepped into the district, Anlis spotted her father from a distance.

He was standing not far away, whispering to a few people.

Everything was going so smoothly it felt unreal.

But then again, those coordinates were provided by the Demon King herself. If he wasn’t there, why would she have been so precise?

At this moment, several fine bloodshot lines traced the corners of her father’s eyes.

His brow carried the exhaustion and haggardness of someone who had stayed up all night searching for a missing person.

Suddenly hearing his daughter’s familiar call from nearby, he jerked his head around.

At first, he thought it was a hallucination. It wasn’t until he saw clearly that Anlis was indeed standing there that the shock on his face began to fade.

There was no anger or blame—only that heart, which had been tense for so long, finally relaxing completely.

“Hey brother, look, is that Anlis over there?”

A man who looked as thin as a monkey pointed in Anlis’s direction and asked.

“It really is. I’m glad she’s okay. Thank you for helping me last night.”

“Aw, we’re buddies, it’s what I should do. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first.”

The man smiled, having no intention of staying. He said his goodbyes and turned to leave with the people around him.

“Father.”

Anlis hurried forward and lowered her head in embarrassment.

It was her fault for making her father worry so much.

But on second thought, it wasn’t entirely her fault. It was all that wicked Demon King Vylian’s fault!

“Where were you last night?”

“There was a bit of an accident.”

Anlis offered a brief explanation using her prepared story. Her father accepted it quickly and didn’t ask too many questions.

It wasn’t until he learned that Anlis was the Hero that his expression changed visibly.

That was the Hero!

Even he had dreamed of becoming the Hero when he was a child.

But just as he was about to say something, a dark figure suddenly lunged from the shadows of a street corner with incredible speed.

It was a man wielding a long blade.

The sharp edge gleamed with a cold light. With a clear target, the man shot toward Anlis’s father.

It was too fast. Even though her father noticed it immediately, he was too exhausted from his search to react in time.

A layer of green light shimmered on the tip of the blade, clearly indicating it was poisoned. If this strike hit, it would certainly be a killing blow.

He had no way to dodge!

In that split second, Anlis reacted. She struck the man’s wrist with her concealed staff.

The man let out a cry of pain as his strength failed him, causing his aim to veer off as he stumbled back.

Anlis kept Vylian’s warning in mind and had not let her guard down for a single moment.

She was already Level 25. Even if she hadn’t trained much, the speed and strength gained simply from her level were enough to display startling power.

Hiding her strength from the Demon King was important, but she couldn’t stand by and watch her family be placed in danger.

How to deal with Vylian was a matter for later.

Amidst her tension, she caught a nauseating scent.

It was the aura of [Corrosion].

But this scent was completely different from the rose-like fragrance on the Corrupt Monarch.

It smelled like salted fish that had been rotting for days; the stench was vomit-inducing.

She tightened her grip on her staff, treating it as a sword while she calculated her next move.

Her father’s face darkened. He immediately drew the longsword at his waist and stepped forward to shield the two girls, taking a defensive stance.

In her panic, Fula conjured a weak flame, her hands trembling slightly.

None of the three noticed that from a hidden corner high above, someone was silently observing their every move.

The man wore a crisp tuxedo, his movements carrying the peculiar elegance of a butler.

An odd mask covered his face, hiding his perplexed expression.

“Hmm… The Hero? How could she appear here so soon? Logically, she shouldn’t have. This really messes up my plans.”

“But it doesn’t matter. It won’t change anything.”

He decided not to intervene personally yet. Instead, he planned to observe the Hero’s combat power a bit longer.

One always had to act with caution when dealing with a Hero.

He would send an endless stream of cannon fodder to test her strength. Once he was certain he could win, he would strike personally.

Only then could he remain undefeated.

“I wonder what kind of face this Hero will make when she realizes what happens next?”

He looked toward the horizon. His gaze fell toward Kachi Village as a faint smile touched his lips.

“If I can completely destroy the Hero’s sanity, the newly born Demon King will surely praise me for such a great feat.”

“At that time, becoming a direct servant of Her Majesty won’t be an unreachable dream.”

“Heh heh heh…”

Elsewhere, in Kachi Village.

“Eh? Where did Anlis go again?”

Anlis’s mother, Lisna, frowned with worry. She held two large cloth bags filled with ingredients.

Little Anli gripped the corner of her mother’s clothes, following obediently while chewing on a piece of malt candy.

“The Hero said she was worried about her father, so she went to the city to find him. Please rest easy.”

Vylian spoke with a smile. Looking at her gentle face, Lisna’s frown relaxed, and her worry eased.

“Is that so? That’s good then. Sister, I just bought a lot of ingredients. Do you have any dietary restrictions?”

“Restrictions? I simply dislike soft, mushy things and internal organs.”

“It’s a good thing I didn’t buy those. Oh dear, I should have asked earlier.”

Lisna smiled and patted her forehead, apologizing for her carelessness before hurrying into the kitchen with the food.

Vylian followed. She could see a chicken, several pieces of white bread, a handful of green vegetables, a fish, and a large slab of meat in the bags.

For an average family that usually survived on black bread, these ingredients were incredibly lavish.

“Um… Lisna, just curious, how do you plan to use these ingredients?”

Hearing herself addressed so warmly, Lisna was overjoyed. She felt as if she had suddenly become much younger.

After all, she was only 37 years old this year.

“That’s easy! Rub some spices on the chicken and roast it. Throw the fish, meat, and vegetables into a pot to boil. Then, we’ll dip the white bread into the broth. It’ll be delicious!”

Just listening to the description made Vylian feel like she was losing her strength.

She wasn’t usually picky about food, but in this world, she had to be.

If she didn’t take over the cooking, she would probably go insane.

Being able to eat a normal meal was currently her greatest wish.

“How… How about let me do the cooking?”

“That won’t do! You are a guest. There’s no reason to let a guest work in the kitchen.”

Lisna rejected the offer immediately.

“Please, you must let me do it.”

Vylian took a step forward, directly blocking the path to the ingredients.