***Gulp—As soon as he saw the person who stepped in through the door, Darulma Dune gulped audibly.Following his gaze, Yeomyeong also had to swallow a wry smile.“Uh… Were you in the middle of a serious discussion?”It was the Saintess.Unlike before, she was not wearing her Invisibility Cloak. She now looked just like a true ‘Saintess.’Not only did the thick blindfold fail to hide her noble appearance, but her entire body was also ticulously covered in a pure white priestly robe, complete with a white shoulder cape embroidered with golden thread draped over her shoulders.If it weren’t for the revolver at her waist or the automatic rifle peeking out from behind her back… she would have naturally evoked a sense of piety.Of course, this was only from an Earthian perspective.Unlike the rcenaries outside the base camp, who were simply admiring her, the dwarf paid no heed to the automatic rifle.“Oh, Saintess…”Darulma Dune stood up, got on one knee, and bowed toward the Saintess. Then, he clasped his hands together reverently and covered his mouth.The etiquette of worshiping the five gods beyond the Dinsional Portal.His posture was so perfect that it could be included in a textbook, but the Saintess didn’t even spare the dwarf a glance.She strode into the base camp, grabbed Yeomyeong’s hand and then spoke to Captain Kwon.“Are you the Captain of the Sonjuk rcenary Group?”“…Yes, Saintess. I am the Captain, Kwon Mongjoo.”“I wish to hire this person. Regardless of the cost.”A brief silence ensued following that abrupt announcent.While Captain Kwon and Darulma Dune were struck speechless, Yeomyeong shook her off and asked.“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”“I’ll give you an explanation later; for now, let’s just go. We don’t have the ti.”“…”“Seriously, if you stay here, you might get your head blown off!”The Saintess tried pulling on Yeomyeong’s hand several tis, but Yeomyeong wouldn’t budge.After a brief and aningless struggle, the Saintess was the first to give up.She sighed deeply before speaking.“...My mother will be coming to kill you soon.”“What?”What kind of nonsense was she spouting all of a sudden? Mother? Coming to kill him?“...Is this so sort of code or analogy?”“No, what I’m trying to say is my mother literally is targeting you.”What kind of person was her mother? Was the Saintess’ mother the leader of the Holy Knights or sothing?Yeomyeong suppressed his rising incredulity and questions forming in his mind, compressing them into a single word.“...Why?”The Saintess was unable to give him an imdiate answer.She hesitated for a mont, then stood on her toes to whisper in Yeomyeong’s ear.“I, uh… might have made a slight slip of the tongue. So my mother has so, uh, misunderstandings about us.”A slip of the tongue.Upon hearing that, Yeomyeong imdiately inferred that the person the dwarf had been talking to was the Saintess’ mother.If that were the case, could it be that the misunderstanding the dwarf spoke about—‘sothing inappropriate’—be referring to…Oh my god.Previously thinking the misunderstanding was nothing more than a crash of lips, Yeomyeong shut his eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and asked the Saintess.“…What sort of slip of the tongue did you have that led to such a misunderstanding?”“Well, um… it sort of just happened? I didn’t expect her to beco that angry just because I said I wanted to hire you with money.”“…”“Although I did tell her about giving you a relic and that we slept in the sa recovery room…”“You were in the sa recovery room as ? Is that even sothing you should be saying…?”“I an, is it really that big a deal? It’s not like I could get a hotel room while using my Invisibility Cloak, right? Besides, I was worried about you…”Seeing the Saintess avoid his gaze, Yeomyeong felt more bewildered than angry.Regardless of Yeomyeong's bewildernt, the rcenaries outside the base camp were observing the two with keen interest.- What are they talking about? The Newcor’s expression seems really serious.- Is it… what’s it called… is it, like, eloping for love?- Is our rcenary group going to be on the 9 o’clock news1 tomorrow?- Damn it, I can’t hear them clearly. Everyone shut up!Unable to bear the intense attention focused on him, Yeomyeong massaged his forehead.He would have normally gotten angry about sothing like this, but his mind was unable to keep up when confronted with sothing far beyond his expectations.He had been single for far too long to be able to handle a situation like this calmly.
***While Yeomyeong was montarily tongue-tied, the dwarf standing behind him approached the Saintess cautiously.
“Um, Saintess…?”“Yes?”"I am Darulma Dune, the one overseeing the traditional restoration projects at Dungan Heavy Industries. If you could spare so ti, can we discuss so business matters for a while...?”He pulled out a business card made of antique paper and presented it to the Saintess.“I’m sorry, but I really don’t have the ti right now. We can talk about that after we manage to escape…”The Saintess tried to refuse the card politely, as she was accustod to doing. Or rather, she tried to.Bang!The next mont, a bullet lodged itself into the business card Darulma was holding. The perforated card fell to the ground as the dwarf’s eyes opened wide in shock.“Mother!”With the Saintess’ scream as a signal, Yeomyeong and Captain Kwon jumped into action.Captain Kwon grabbed the dwarf, and Yeomyeong embraced the Saintess, knocking over a table and using it as cover.“Kyaaak!”A bullet lodged itself in the spot Yeomyeong had taken cover. It was a silent bullet with no forewarning or sense of presence.Yeomyeong instinctively drew on his mana but was unable to locate the opponent.On realizing that it was a sensation he had experienced several tis before, Yeomyeong asked the Saintess while drawing his sword.“Did your mother take your Invisibility Cloak?”“...The Invisibility Cloak originally belonged to my mother.”Splat! As soon as the Saintess replied, sawdust spewed from the table. The dwarf was horrified as the bullet passed right before his eyes.“Oh, my god. O Mordak!”And before his shock could disappear, Captain Kwon picked up the dwarf.“C-Captain Kwon! What are you doing…!”Without a word of explanation, Captain Kwon tossed the dwarf out the back door.Aaah! After confirming that the dwarf had disappeared beyond the door with that scream, Captain Kwon drew his pistol.“Saintess, you’ll have to compensate us properly for this incident.”Even though he said that, Captain Kwon had no idea how to subdue the opponent.An invisible sniper with their mana and presence concealed—how on earth was one supposed to deal with that?Even if they called in the rcenaries stationed outside the base camp, in a situation like this, everyone would be nothing more than a human target...As the Captain was thinking this, Yeomyeong suddenly stood up from behind the table.However, no bullets ca flying. The reason was because Yeomyeong was holding the sword against the Saintess’ throat.“Oh… Taking hostages, huh? That’s a good idea.”With those words from the Saintess, a heavy silence descended upon the base camp.Captain Kwon looked at Yeomyeong with an expression that seed to say, ‘What kind of crazy bastard is this?’ and even the opponent seed to be at a loss for words.After a brief pause, a voice without any inflection ca from the empty air in the base camp.“…You’re an even bigger scumbag than I imagined.”“Even worse than the person who fires a gun without saying a word?“Yeomyeong pressed the sword against the Saintess’ neck to make a point. The Saintess flinched and shivered.“Well, it would be better to die from a single bullet than to be drawn and quartered by the devotees.”“...What grave sin did I commit to deserve death?”“Your sin… was to leave footprints on a pristine white snowfield.”A pristine white snowfield, she said. Yeomyeong suppressed the throbbing pain at the back of his head.“I swear I’m not involved with the Saintess in that manner.”“...And now you're lying on top of that? If you don't want to go to hell, don't add to your sins.”Yeomyeong squeezed his mana to the extre, but he still felt nothing around him. Not yet.He needed to buy so more ti and force a mistake from his opponent. Yeomyeong slowly backed away and spoke again.“...You’re sure I’m lying. What makes you think like that?”“...”There was no answer. Yeomyeong raised his free hand and grabbed the Saintess by the neck.“Hey, wait a minute...!”As the Saintess held her breath, Yeomyeong adjusted his grip and spoke to the air.“I’ll ask you one last ti. What makes you so sure that I’m lying?”“...”“Answer .”Only after the Saintess pretended to struggle for breath with so over-the-top acting did the opponent finally speak.“...Because you changed the fate of that child.”“Fate?”Was this another analogy? Perhaps due to their religious background, both the Saintess and her mother had a knack for using cryptic terms.“I can't explain any further… Now, you must pay the price for manipulating my daughter.”At that mont, the opening he had been waiting for appeared. Yeomyeong’s senses managed to locate the hidden muzzle.A small muzzle appeared mid-air. Although it was only a tiny opening, it was enough for Yeomyeong.“Hey! What are you touching again now...!”Without any hesitation, he threw the Saintess toward the muzzle. It was sothing he could do only because the opponent was the Saintess’ mother.Having not expected him to throw the Saintess, the opponent could neither fire the gun nor ignore her falling daughter.Her reaction was the sa as any mother’s: she dropped the gun and caught her daughter.The next mont, Yeomyeong’s sword stopped right in front of her.As the opponent was wearing the Invisibility Cloak, it was unclear whether his sword was aid at her head or neck. However, it was in a position where even the slightest force could lead to a fatal injury.The opponent silently admitted defeat.“...You are truly a ruthless person.”With the Saintess’ brief comntary, Yeomyeong was finally able to exhale in relief.“First, let clear up the misunderstanding.”He spun his hand to retract his sword, then drew a rod from his left hip and handed it to the Saintess.“Hold this.”“...What is this?”The answer to the question ca from beyond the Invisibility Cloak.“The Handle of Uragan? How did you...?”For the first ti, her voice showed a hint of inflection. And judging by the slight rise in pitch, she seed to be pretty surprised.“What’s going on? What is this thing?”Regardless of the Saintess’ confusion, Yeomyeong quickly handed the rod to her.It definitely wasn’t because he heard the voice in his head saying, ‘O Virgin!’Well, maybe....Anyway, the Handle of Uragan did not reject the Saintess. Instead, it emitted a subtle light and blessed her.“Hey, wait a minute... What? Is that what you ant by snowfield...?”The Saintess’ mouth twisted into an odd shape as she held the rod, seemingly trying to understand what the unicorn was saying. However, Yeomyeong paid it no mind.He turned his head so that soone beyond the Invisibility Cloak could witness it for herself.“Did you see?”“...”“I have never intruded your daughter’s snowfield. And I have no intention of doing so, now or ever.”The opponent beyond the Invisibility Cloak was unable to muster a reply. Instead, upon realizing what they ant by snowfield, the Saintess shrieked loudly.“Arghh, seriously! Stop with the damned snowfield talk already!”1. The "9 o'clock news" often refers to pri ti for news broadcasting in many countries. It is when a major news bulletin is broadcast, typically because the largest number of viewers are available to watch it.
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