A few minutes later, the two returned to the woods.
Fortunately, low-tier invertebrate magical beasts like slimes were not only low in intelligence, but their bouncing speed was also agonizingly slow.
On top of that, the two had only been standing at the outermost edge of the pack's territory, still very far from its center.
Otherwise, they might really have unlocked some special CG.
Plop!
Lilian plopped her rear down onto a pile of grass, fanning herself without a care for her image.
With a Constitution of 3 points combined with a trash-tier body severely lacking in exercise, running just these few hundred meters had nearly taken half her life.
Damn it, I'm exhausted!
While slumping like a dead dog and gasping for breath, Lilian cursed eighteen generations of those green snot-slugs' ancestors in her heart.
Clara cautiously poked her head out from a gap in the bushes and peeked behind them a few times.
The path they had originally intended to take was now completely overrun by a dense swarm of enraged slimes that would definitely not disperse anytime soon.
The main road was blocked tight.
Clara pulled her head back, turned around silently, unfastened the canteen at her waist, and offered it to Lilian.
She just looked helplessly at the Saintess lying on the ground.
The atmosphere fell into an exceptionally eerie silence.
Though Clara hadn't uttered a single word, her complex gaze said everything:
Lady Saintess, why on earth did you have to go and hit that slime just now?
The path we could have walked through so smoothly is completely ruined now.
Lilian's hand stiffened as she took the canteen.
Oh crap.
Her villainess intuition sounded a red alarm in her mind.
The sacred persona she had worked so hard to build up in Clara's heart had been shattered to pieces by that single basic attack!
If this little nun began to think she was an unreliable deadweight, fooling her in the future would be ten times harder.
Lilian lowered her eyelashes, tears welling up in her eyes.
“I'm sorry, Clara...”
Lilian's voice was soft and gentle:
“It's all my fault. It was my first time seeing a magical beast, and I was afraid it would hurt you... I didn't think it would turn out like this...”
Clara froze.
Lady Saintess... didn't strike earlier out of recklessness?
She was just afraid that an insignificant novice nun like me would be hurt by the magical beast...
Oh goodness!
Clara, how could you think Lady Saintess was unreliable just now? You really deserve to die!
“Wah!”
Clara's tears poured down like waterfalls as she dropped to her knees beside Lilian with a plop:
“Lady Saintess! Waaah, I was wrong! It's my fault for not telling you beforehand! It's all Clara's fault!”
Lilian shook her head and patted Clara's head. “As long as you're safe, that's all that matters.”
Treated so gently by the Saintess, a special feeling Clara couldn't even describe began to sprout deep within her heart.
Nailed it.
Not only did her persona remain intact, but her loyalty meter had been maxed out.
Lilian, oh Lilian, you really are something else.
“Clara, since the old path is blocked by magical beasts, where should we head next?” Lilian asked softly, wiping away the tear trails at the corners of Clara's eyes.
Clara hurriedly pulled a yellowed, rough old map from her bundle, spreading it over her knees to carefully examine it.
“Lady Saintess, the original shortcut is blocked by slimes. If we take a detour around the outer perimeter, it will take at least another half a day. Furthermore...”
Clara looked up at the sun gradually slanting westward, her voice turning anxious:
“It's already almost evening. Night in the forest is ten times more dangerous than the day. Once the sun sets, those cruel, bloodthirsty goblins will come out in packs to hunt.”
Goblins?
Hearing that word, Lilian frowned.
In all sorts of works from her past life, those green-skinned shorties known as goblins were far more troublesome than those slow jelly-snot balls from earlier.
With her current strength, now was not the time to go head-to-head with them.
“So in your view, where should we settle down tonight?” Lilian asked gently.
Clara pointed to a dot marked near the top of the map:
“If we follow the road ahead to the northeast, it's about an hour's trek to Densewood Town. That's a town formed by free adventurers, and its security is the best among the nearby towns. Let's rest there for the night first, then resume our journey at daybreak tomorrow!”
Densewood Town?
Lilian breathed a massive sigh of relief in her heart.
Who would want to feed mosquitoes in the woods when they could sleep in a soft bed under a proper roof in town?
What's more, she had just swiped the money from the donation box, so she had deep pockets and full confidence. Booking a private room at a town tavern and ordering a piping hot dinner was only natural.
“The deity guides all living beings. In that case, let us rest in Densewood Town tonight.”
Lilian reached out and gently pulled Clara up from the ground.
“Lady Saintess is so benevolent!”
Clara sniffled in gratitude and hastily hoisted the heavy bundle onto her back.
Lilian paused, realizing that if Clara kept calling her by that title once they reached the town, it would attract unnecessary trouble.
“Clara, in front of outsiders from now on, you must not call me Saintess. Just call me by my name.”
Clara showed a flustered look and was about to speak when Lilian stopped her.
“We came out for ascetic practice, not so that others would remember our names, but simply to help those who ought to be helped.”
Hearing Lilian's words, Clara's face flushed even redder.
As expected of Lady Saintess!
Tugging at the edge of her clothes, she tentatively asked in a low voice, “Then... can I call you Sister Li in front of outsiders from now on?”
Lilian nodded, and without delaying any further, the two picked up their pace toward Densewood Town.
Now and then, stray slimes would hop out from the roadside, only for Lilian's cold spark to turn them into warm experience points.
Just two more and she would reach Level 2, but seeing the surrounding shadows of the forest grow increasingly deep and dark, she abandoned the idea of actively hunting slimes.
Enduring the ache in her legs as she rushed along, Lilian made up her mind:
Once we get inside Densewood Town, I must have a good meal first. And as soon as I level up, I'm dumping all my attribute points straight into Constitution.
The two pressed on without stopping, finally arriving at Densewood Town right before sunset.
Densewood Town was enclosed on all sides by high wooden palisades, with only a single open gate guarded by sentries.
Inside, the town was brightly lit, far more bustling and prosperous than Glimmer Town by more than a single notch.
Lilian pulled her hood down low. Clara handed four copper coins to the guard at the entrance, and the two entered Densewood Town without a hitch.
Densewood Town provided safe shelter, so collecting a small fee in coppers was entirely reasonable.
Before long, the two arrived in front of the largest adventurer tavern in town. Word had it that their “Bursting Pan-Seared Peppa Chops” were remarkably delicious.
Just as they were about to head inside, a figure was kicked flying right out the main door, hurtling straight toward Clara.
Lilian pulled Clara to the side, and the dark figure slammed heavily onto the ground, groaning in pain.
Lilian looked closely: it was a little beggar wearing a tattered cloth on their head and dressed in rags.
A burly man stepped out of the doorway and yelled angrily at the little beggar:
“Get lost, you little rat! If your granddad catches you stealing again, I'll break your arms!”
Oh, so it's a thief. No wonder.
Lilian had zero intention of getting involved in this nonsense, planning to take Clara inside to get a good rest.
But when she turned her head, the spot where Clara had been standing was empty.
(⓿_⓿)
“Stop right there! How can a grown man bully a child like this!”
Clara was already standing in front of the little beggar, using her small body to shield them.
The very reason she dared to stand up was precisely because she had been brainwashed by Lilian's "self-sacrifice" moments ago!
With her legs trembling, she thought fanatically in her heart: Lady Saintess didn't hesitate to put herself in danger just to protect me! As her attendant, I must never turn a blind eye to a suffering child!
The burly man couldn't hear the little scheme in Clara's heart and wore a bewildered look. “Huh?”
He took a step forward, cracking his knuckles loudly:
“Little girl, why don't you repeat what you just said?”
Rate on N.U.
