Her face was deathly pale, fine beads of sweat dotting her forehead.
Her lips were pressed into a tight line, and her eyes were filled with pure terror.
Abel knew exactly why she was afraid.
They had crossed paths several times now, and each encounter ended the same way—this girl always acted before she could think.
The moment a monster appeared, she would charge forward without a second thought.
Was she just clueless? Or was it pure, hot-blooded righteousness?
Right now, standing face-to-face with the divine apostle’s oppressive aura, Salia looked like she was about to cry.
She was already regretting why she had rushed out like that!
She had been a registered adventurer for over half a year and had somehow shot straight up to steel rank.
Only she knew the truth about her actual strength.
She was still just bronze at best.
All those glorious battle records of defeating divine apostles?
Yeah… Salia herself had no idea how any of that had happened! Every single time, she would just happen to be near a defeated “divine apostle,” and then other adventurers or townspeople would show up and start praising her to the skies.
“Miss Salia, you’re incredible!”
“You defeated the apostle without a single scratch!”
“Miss Salia, please accept this small token of our gratitude!”
At first, when she saw the massive bounty the guild handed over, her eyes had sparkled.
Even though she hadn’t actually defeated the monsters herself, the rewards were just too tempting. She couldn’t resist.
One time turned into another, her reputation grew bigger and bigger, and by the time she realized what was happening, she was already standing at the steel-rank adventurer tier—
It was far too late to explain the truth.
‘Miss Salia, our guardian goddess, you’re too modest! Without you protecting us, what would we eat?’
“Yeah… what would we eat?”
She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
That was the perfect description for Salia right now.
And every time a divine apostle attacked, her brain would overheat and she would be the first one to charge in…
Only to end up exactly like this.
The soldiers were all bursting with confidence in her, and not a single one looked ready to step forward and help.
This time she was really, really done for.
Monsters dying for no reason couldn’t possibly happen every single day. Miracles weren’t infinite!
Relying on miracles to fight would get her killed sooner or later!
The divine knight apostle looked down at her from its superior height.
A sharp glint flashed through its silver eyes.
“Salia, a human steel-rank adventurer. Not bad, not bad at all. Meeting you makes this trip worthwhile! However…”
Its voice rumbled deeply. “Why do you wear such a disdainful expression? Do you think I am unworthy of being your opponent?”
In its eyes, Salia’s face was completely blank, the corners of her mouth even slightly curled in what looked like utter contempt, as if she were looking down on it!
Was this a provocation?
Salia desperately wanted to explain: That’s not what you think at all!
My face is just frozen from fear!
Seeing her remain silent, the divine knight apostle’s rage instantly ignited.
“Very well.” Its voice boomed like thunder. “As expected of a steel-rank adventurer—you have real courage!”
Salia tried to draw her sword, but her hand froze halfway.
Because of the stiffness, she ended up raising her middle finger in an extremely rude gesture.
That “provocation” pulled maximum aggro. Salia watched as—
The divine apostle’s entire body erupted with blinding red light.
Its muscles swelled, steam gushing from the gaps in its shell. Its rage meter was clearly maxed out.
“Excellent, excellent! Then allow me to test your skill—!”
The massive spear came crashing down with world-shattering force.
The gale scattered her water-blue hair!
Salia squeezed her eyes shut.
It was over.
She was going to die.
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but only one remained in the end:
I never should have gotten greedy… waaaaah.
The spear howled downward.
Then—
Pff.
A soft sound.
Salia felt something warm and sticky splash across her face.
She opened her eyes and wiped the milky-white liquid from her cheek—it was the divine knight apostle’s blood.
The apostle’s head was already flying through the air.
Its headless body remained frozen in the middle of its spear swing before slowly toppling over.
Blood sprayed everywhere, coating her in sticky fluid.
Salia stood there in a daze, watching the head roll across the ground, tumble twice, and stop right at her feet.
The silver eyes on the severed head were wide open, filled with utter disbelief.
The divine apostle had never even seen Salia move. All it saw was a flash of silver light, and then…
Such a fast sword…
This woman… is terrifying…
She looked down on me? Yes! She has every right to! This is absolute strength!
Sorry I couldn’t make you enjoy the fight.
That was its final thought.
Salia stared at her sword—still only pulled out an inch—then at the apostle’s corpse. She couldn’t help pressing a hand to her forehead and letting out a long sigh. She wanted to cry but held it back.
What the heck?!
The miracle had happened again!
The monster had died for no reason—again!
Lucky? No, no, no—Salia had stopped believing it was luck a long time ago.
Could luck really make monsters drop dead over and over?
Even a three-year-old wouldn’t buy that story! There was only one possible explanation!!
She whipped her head around, scanning everywhere.
The view was wide open. Salia desperately wanted to know who kept saving her right on time every single time!
All the townspeople had already fled far away.
The guards were still busy evacuating the crowd and hadn’t noticed what had happened here at all.
Wait…?!
From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a figure moving away.
Salia’s eyes lit up.
Everyone else had run off. Only this one person had been nearby.
And…
She thought back to every “accident” over the past six months.
Every single time she thought she was about to die, the monster would inexplicably drop dead.
Every time, she had told herself it was luck, just a coincidence.
But what if… what if it wasn’t a coincidence?
What if someone had been secretly protecting her every single time?
Her heart began pounding wildly!
This person who’s been silently guarding me must like me! That’s why they protect me from the shadows!
This had to be true love, right?! It absolutely had to be true love!!
“Wait—!”
She sprinted toward that direction.
But when she reached the entrance of the alley, it was completely empty. Not a single shadow remained.
Only the wind blew past, swirling a few fallen leaves.
Salia stood there, looking around frantically, but the figure had vanished.
“Miss Salia!”
The town guards caught up, faces full of worship.
“You were amazing! You took down that monster in one move!”
“As expected of a steel-rank adventurer!”
“We all saw it just now—you didn’t even move, and the monster just died on its own! Was that the legendary pressure crush?!”
Salia’s face turned as red as a boiled shrimp.
“N-No… it wasn’t me…”
“You’re too modest!”
“Yeah, we all saw it—only you were fighting!”
“Miss Salia, you really are the guardian goddess of the border!”
Salia opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word.
She could only stare at the empty alley and whisper silently in her heart:
Who are you?
Why do you keep protecting me?
Do we… know each other?
“…Um, Captain, could you give me the list of everyone who entered town today, along with where they went afterward…”
Even though it had only been a fleeting glance, Salia had seen it clearly—the figure wearing a traveler’s cloak!
He had to be an adventurer too!
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.