The next morning.
After Lintis had spent a great deal of effort talking him into it the previous day, Shilo had reluctantly allowed her to stay.
Upon waking up, Lintis performed a quick morning wash, changed back into her clean priestess habit, and stepped outside the house.
She found Shilo standing in the middle of a clearing on the farm. He held a knight’s sword in one hand and an envelope in the other, reading it with intense concentration. When he saw her come out, he merely spared her a glance before returning to the letter.
After about half a minute, Shilo sheathed his sword, stuffed the envelope into his pocket, and began walking toward the house.
Seeing this, Lintis followed him curiously.
“Mr. Shilo, what was written in that envelope? I saw the wax seal with the Holy Church’s crest on it. Don’t tell me they’ve already found me and want you to drag me back?”
Shilo did not respond. He continued walking toward the house, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing that Shilo was ignoring her, Lintis grew annoyed. Pouting, she stepped directly in front of him and spread her arms to block his path.
“Mr. Shilo, please don’t ignore me, okay? It’s very rude to do that to a girl!”
At that, Shilo finally looked her in the eye. A look of impatience was clearly visible on his face.
“Lady Saintess, aren’t you being a bit too energetic? If you have this much spirit, why don’t you go feed the chickens? There are corn kernels under the straw shed over there. Thank you for your hard work.”
As he spoke, he pointed to the shed next to the livestock area. Then, he reached out and placed his hand on Lintis’s shoulder, intending to push her aside. However, despite applying pressure several times, she remained as immovable as a giant boulder.
This caused Shilo to frown. Seeing Lintis standing there with her hands on her hips, looking triumphant because he couldn’t budge her, he felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to punch her.
“Hehe, Mr. Shilo, don’t waste your energy. I told you I’m actually quite strong. You won’t be able to move me.”
“Now, quickly tell me, what did the letter say? What are you going to do?” Lintis blinked her large eyes, her curiosity practically written all over her face.
Meeting the girl’s inquisitive gaze, Shilo suddenly said with a deadpan expression, “Lady Saintess, don’t you think you should lose some weight?”
Lintis: “…”
Repressing the urge to strike him, Lintis forced a thin smile and said, “Mr. Shilo, if you make a joke like that again, I’m going to get angry!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she keenly noticed the corner of Shilo’s mouth twitch upward for a split second before it dropped back down, as if nothing had happened.
Her fist tightened.
Her blood was boiling.
Lintis was certain now—this bastard in front of her was messing with her!
She began chanting a spell in her mind, preparing to teach this jerk of a knight a lesson, when he spoke again.
“Lady Saintess, I simply need to make a trip to the Adventurer’s Association. While I’m there, I’ll buy you some spare clothes. Didn’t you mention that yesterday?”
The sudden shift to honesty left Lintis momentarily speechless. Her half-finished spell came to a grinding halt, as if she were playing some sort of extreme game of “stop and go.”
However, she caught the key phrase in his words.
The Adventurer’s Association!
That was a setting that appeared constantly in the various fantasy works of her previous life. She had always wanted to visit one, but because of her training as the Saintess, she had never been able to go!
In the retirement plan she had mapped out for herself, becoming an adventurer was one of her main goals.
Meeting companions, traveling together, defeating monsters… and once the adventure was over, everyone would chat and drink in a tavern while listening to a bard sing tales of their exploits.
The mere thought of such a life made her blood pump with excitement. Without needing to think, she raised her hand enthusiastically.
“Mr. Shilo, I want to go too!”
“No,” Shilo refused coldly.
“Eh! Why not!”
“I don’t want to bring a nuisance along with me. Are you satisfied with that reason, Lady Saintess?”
“Ugh… how mean…”
Lintis sniffled. Her small face twisted into an expression of deep sorrow, and her voice carried a faint hint of a sob. She looked at Shilo with large, pitiful eyes brimming with tears.
“Mr. Shilo… why would you say something so cruel… Am I really such a bad, bad Saintess…”
“Indeed.”
Shilo nodded in firm agreement.
His lack of hesitation and his completely sincere attitude caused the nearly-weeping Lintis to fall silent. But then, a sly smirk spread across her face.
“So… Mr. Shilo, it seems you know all of my body measurements, don’t you?”
Shilo: “…”
“I don’t think I’ve told you myself, have I? After all, those are quite private matters for a girl. So, how do you know? Hmm… let me see… Ah! It couldn’t have been while I was bathing yesterday… Mr. Shilo… how suspicious…”
Silence hung in the air for a long moment. Shilo looked at the Lady Saintess as if he were looking at a piece of garbage. Finally, he let out a helpless sigh.
“You’re right, Lady Saintess. It seems we really do need to go together.”
“Yay!”
As she watched Shilo enter the wooden house, Lintis blinked.
‘My… I really am something else. Faking pity, acting cute, and trapping boys is as easy as breathing now. Wait! No, hold on! Am I turning into a wicked woman?’
***
Ten minutes later, Shilo emerged, having changed his clothes.
He now had reddish-brown short hair and wore a long, knight-style trench coat that was primarily white with gold patterns. On his chest was a badge representing the Holy Church, worn over a black shirt.
On his lower half, he wore a pair of white trousers tucked into black boots. A black belt was fastened around his waist, which he used to hang his knight’s sword. His overall look was clean and sharp, clearly indicating his status while remaining practical for movement.
Combined with his cold expression and slightly youthful features, he was actually quite handsome. Lintis couldn’t help but blink repeatedly as she watched him.
“Lady Saintess, if there is something wrong with your eyes, you should go see a doctor.”
‘Too bad he has to open his mouth,’ Lintis muttered internally.
“Mr. Shilo, if you have nothing nice to say, you don’t have to say anything at all.”
Shilo glanced at the speechless Saintess but didn’t say another word, leading the way out of the farm.
Lintis hummed a small tune, strolling leisurely behind Shilo.
Every so often, she made cute little noises, causing the walking Shilo to constantly look back.
Unfortunately, the Lady Saintess was completely oblivious to this.
They walked in silence for the rest of the way.
About ten minutes later, the two of them passed through a forest and arrived at the gates of the city of Isol.
The guards stationed at the gate showed no intention of questioning them. As soon as they saw the pair approaching, they opened the gates with warm, welcoming smiles.
“Lady Saintess, take this,” Shilo said, handing a gold coin to Lintis.
Lintis took the coin and carefully tucked it into her pocket, her mood significantly improved.
“Lady Saintess, let’s split up here. You go buy clothes, and I’ll head to the Adventurer’s Association.”
“Eh!” Lintis’s face instantly collapsed. “No, I want to go to the Adventurer’s Association too!”
“Why?”
Shilo truly didn’t understand why the Saintess was so obsessed with the Adventurer’s Association.
To him, the association was a place so common it was mundane. For a Saintess who supposedly came from the Holy Capital, surely she had seen one before?
“Hehe~” Lintis hummed playfully, intentionally keeping him in suspense before saying matter-of-factly, “To become an adventurer, of course! Don’t you understand that, Mr. Shilo? Besides, if I become an adventurer, I can take commissions and earn money. I don’t like owing people anything.”
Shilo was stunned for a moment. He truly hadn’t expected that answer.
Adventurers sounded glamorous, but in reality, they were just a group of somewhat capable bounty hunters. They barely made a living by handling various tasks for the city. It wasn’t exactly a prestigious profession.
“Eh! Mr. Shilo, quick! Let me… let me hide behind you!”
While Shilo was lost in thought, Lintis suddenly ducked behind him, gripping the back of his coat with both hands and burying her face in his back.
This confusing behavior annoyed Shilo, but his confusion was soon cleared.
In the distance, a heroic-looking female knight was leading four other knights down the street, politely smiling and greeting the local residents.
The woman seemed to have noticed him and was walking in their direction.
He recognized her. She was one of the five knights who had arrived in the city of Isol with the Saintess behind him just a few days ago.
The leader of those knights was a woman who held the title of Holy Knight. Her name was Holy Knight Efraya.