Chapter 2. "First Meeting"

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"So, host," as Jiang Cheng walked down the street, the System's voice sounded in her ear.

"Look at your surroundings. Is this really appropriate? You're the Saintess, you know!"

Jiang Cheng casually lifted her gaze and swept her eyes around. Only then did she understand what the System meant.

She saw that on the busy street, the crowd around her melted away like snow encountering a blazing fire.

Everyone, faced with this highly recognizable and notoriously infamous Saintess, chose to keep their distance; they didn't even dare to walk near her.

From afar, in the ebb and flow of people, there was a conspicuous open space around Jiang Cheng, as if she alone had parted the tide.

"Oh, you mean this,"

Jiang Cheng shrugged, "what about it?"

"You're the Saintess! Your infamy has reached this level, shouldn't you at least reflect on the reasons why?" the System complained.

"Tch."

Jiang Cheng chuckled lightly.

"Ignorant and foolish opinions."

"?"

The System was momentarily stunned by her dismissive words.

"Then tell me, what do you mean by that?"

"Don't you think an 'evil' Saintess is quite interesting?"

"An identity is only fascinating when there's a certain sense of contrast—only then is it memorable enough to leave a deep impression on Lyle."

"For example, do you remember the last identity?"

Sensing the System's confusion, Jiang Cheng sighed softly and explained impatiently.

"You mean the Mentor identity?"

"That's right."

The corners of Jiang Cheng's lips curled up.

"The emotionless beautiful girl Mentor—isn't that identity fun?"

"Besides, when Lyle had just lost his family and was immersed in grief, such a character made it easier to approach him."

"So, you picked the Elf—the prideful race—but set her as a patient person, all to teach him well for that reason?"

"Of course."

Jiang Cheng smiled lightly.

"But," the System suddenly said, "for the Saintess, you're using your real appearance, race, and personality. There really are feelings for Lyle involved, aren't there?"

Jiang Cheng's expression stiffened, and she fell silent.

Suddenly, something stirred in her heart. She looked up into the distance.

...... A few minutes ago

"So, if I tell you news about the Saintess, will you really give me money?"

By the street, a filthy little boy looked skeptically at the handsome blond youth in front of him and muttered.

"Of course."

The young man nodded and took out a gold coin.

He spoke seriously, "I always keep my word."

"This..."

The boy was dubious, suspecting the man wouldn't actually give him the coin.

But then again, what if he did? A single gold coin could support him for years!

With that hopeful thought, the boy finally spoke up cautiously.

"This Saintess... her reputation isn't good at all. That's why I was scared to talk about her at first."

"I see. The details?"

Lyle frowned. Her bad reputation made him reluctant to complete his trial with such a Saintess.

"I heard this Saintess really likes killing people. The nobles all call her, in private, the 'most wicked Saintess in history.'"

Lyle frowned in disgust. Even if these were just rumors, such a title couldn't come out of nowhere.

After all, no one dared to challenge the authority of the Temple of the Gods.

If such rumors had spread, then the Temple must have tacitly approved.

No matter what the truth was, one thing was certain—he would never willingly travel with someone evil.

"All right, I'm done. Give me the money," the boy seemed to only half-know these rumors.

After racking his brain, he only managed to say that much and turned to Lyle.

Lyle didn't say anything else and casually handed the gold coin to the boy.

"Ah!"

The boy took the coin, then suddenly looked behind Lyle in surprise, gasped, and immediately turned to run away.

Lyle frowned and turned around to look.

In the distance, the crowd was parting naturally, creating a large empty path heading this way.

As the crowd drew nearer, they split to the sides, finally revealing the person at the center of the empty space.

This is...

Ahead, a Saintess dressed in a nun's habit walked calmly down the street. A few playful gray-white strands of hair peeked out from under her hat.

Bathed in sunlight, the Saintess curled her lips into a slight smile and stopped walking.

The next second, the girl looked in their direction.

Saintess? Having just heard Jiang Cheng's description, Lyle immediately recognized her.

But... Lyle closed his eyes and activated his special Hero ability to observe Jiang Cheng.

Despite the air of menace surrounding this infamous Saintess, her level of evil was surprisingly low.

It was still higher than the average person's, but only on par with someone who enjoyed tricking others and pulling pranks—not remotely close to that of a killer.

Could the rumors be false? This was already the umpteenth time today that the kindhearted Hero found himself frowning in doubt.

Still, Jiang Cheng's first words to him dispelled his uncertainty completely.

"Aren't you the Hero?"

Jiang Cheng lifted her head, golden eyes glinting slyly in the sunlight.

"Come with me to kill someone, okay—my, dear, he-ro?"

Lyle decided to take back his earlier doubts.

Even if Jiang Cheng wasn't actually very evil, he absolutely wouldn't lower his guard—and if he had to travel with her, it would only be out of necessity.

One thing was certain now: he wouldn't change his mind about Jiang Cheng.

This woman was definitely not a good person—and extremely dangerous!

Seeing the heaviness in Lyle's gaze, Jiang Cheng let out a light laugh.

"Ha, just teasing. If you want to complete your trial in Adventure City, come with me, my dear Hero?"

"All right."

Lyle was silent for a moment before replying.

She might seem dangerous, but he was unwilling to give up any leads that could help him with his trial.

That prophecy had told him that, during the process of perfectly completing his trial and searching for clues,

Lyle would also find leads to those people he had always desperately sought.

Having already verified part of the prophecy, Lyle firmly believed in it.

So, what if? At the very least, he had to find clues about them.

At the very least, he wanted to ask them in person—why did they all fake their deaths and leave him?

If only Lyle knew the real reason behind everything originated from Jiang Cheng's twisted sense of fun—how would he feel?

Following Jiang Cheng, Lyle entered her house in Adventure City.

"So, what exactly do you want to say?"

Lyle frowned, looking at her.

"What's the rush? Does the noble Hero want to finish the trial early so he can go defeat the Demon King?"

Jiang Cheng let out a light laugh and asked. In the original story, Lyle was exactly like this—serious and devoted to his trials,

completely oblivious to the gods' lies, which was why, with only a half-complete blessing, he was defeated by the Demon King.

"No,"

Lyle shook his head lightly and, for some reason, voiced his true feelings.

"I just wanted to try following the prophecy."

"Try what?"

Jiang Cheng's smile froze for a second, then she quickly masked it.

"To see if I can't find the people I've been searching for,"

Lyle replied seriously.

"At the very least, I want to ask them face-to-face—why they chose to leave me."

"Ha..."

Jiang Cheng let out a dry laugh.

"Well, good luck, then. I hope you succeed."

Lyle frowned.

"That's a lie."

Damn it, Jiang Cheng's heart tensed. How could she have forgotten? The Hero's talent could detect lies.

Luckily, Lyle didn't seem to suspect that Jiang Cheng was linked to the people he was searching for.

He simply thought the girl in front of him was truly wicked—completely unwilling to bless someone so they could achieve their wish.

"All right,"

Jiang Cheng changed the topic and flashed a slight smile.

"Let's talk about how to complete this mission."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=It seems Jiang Chen developed feefees..【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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