“Oh, right—speaking of which, Lady Saintess, your disguise skills are honestly incredible,” Luna said as they walked. “I’m ashamed to say I can’t compare.”

“Yeah! Now that you mention it—seriously!” Fennia jumped in at once. She was still down from earlier, when she’d blurted the wrong thing and made Vanessa unhappy, and now that she saw a chance, she hurried to show off that she could talk—her mouth sweet as honey. “I’ve wanted to say this for ages! Lady Saintess is amazing—truly worthy of being Lady Saintess! To endure humiliation and play the role for all these years—acting like a villainous idiot from birth until now—and acting it so convincingly that nobody saw even the slightest flaw... it’s honestly so admirable!”

The moment those words came out, Luna and Amisha both fell silent—wearing the same strange, wordless expression.

Only Fennia looked smug, delighted with herself, convinced she’d nailed it.

Heh-heh-heh~ I’m so good at praising people. I learned it without even being taught. Don’t tell me I was born with talent for this??

Fennia was still basking in her own brilliance when a sharp ache flared in her waist.

“Ah—Lady, Lady Saintess! It hurts, it hurts!” Fennia cried, tears welling up.

“Huh?~ Sorry, Fennia,” Vanessa said, her lips still curved in that gentle, virtuous smile, her voice full of tender concern. “A really scary bug landed on your waist just now, so I scratched it away for you to chase it off. You don’t mind, right~?”

“R-really? Then... thank you, Lady Saintess...” Fennia—absolute idiot that she was—actually believed it, thanking Vanessa through tears.

“Pfft.” Up front, Luna couldn’t hold back her laughter. Amisha let out a small sigh as well.

Vanessa felt helpless.

This red-haired little dummy couldn’t even catch an obvious hint. Her obliviousness was honestly impressive.

“A bug?” Luna mused. “Speaking of bugs, there are lots of bugs in the jungle. You’re not scared, are you?”

“Bugs? Amisha’s scared,” Fennia answered before anyone else could speak. “But I’m not. When we were little, anytime Amisha saw a bug, she’d cry her eyes out and run to me. Then I’d stomp it.”

“Fennia!” Amisha averted her eyes, embarrassed.

“Then what about you, Lady Saintess?” Luna asked. “Are you scared of bugs?”

“What are you saying, Lady Luna?” Fennia cut in again before Vanessa could answer. “How could Lady Saintess be scared of bugs? Lady Saintess nearly died protecting us earlier!”

“And Lady Saintess even flicked that bug off my waist just now. How could Lady Saintess be afraid of something like that?”

“......” Amisha and Luna both went silent again.

“Oh, I see,” Luna said, turning back with a playful, teasing look. “True—Fennia’s right. Lady Saintess is so brave and fearless. How could she possibly be afraid of a tiny little bug~?” 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“......” Vanessa said nothing.

“Hm? Lady Saintess?” Luna arched a brow. “Are you okay?”

“Mm—huh? What?” Luna called to her twice before Vanessa finally answered, like she’d just woken up.

“It’s nothing. As long as you’re fine.” Luna chuckled. “You suddenly went quiet, so I thought you might be feeling unwell.”

“No. I’m fine,” Vanessa said, shaking her head. “I’m just still a little weak.”

“Oh, I see.” Luna nodded with a smile and went back to leading the way, checking their direction.

Amisha walked in the middle, hugging her staff.

And as for Fennia... Vanessa felt like she’d almost become her personal mount.

Riding on Fennia’s back, Vanessa had nothing to do, and her thoughts drifted far.

She wondered how Shicodale was doing right now.

With nobody to look after her, what was she supposed to do if she ran into something like this alone?

Vanessa couldn’t help worrying about Shicodale’s safety. Maybe it was hormones or something—Vinny had worried about it too, but back then, Vinny had felt that with Black Shicodale around, Shicodale probably wouldn’t come to harm.

But it hadn’t been anywhere near this intense.

It hadn’t been that long since Black Shicodale last appeared. What if... what if Black Shicodale’s existence had some kind of mechanism? A cooldown?

What if disaster struck at the exact moment Black Shicodale couldn’t “log in” and take over?

What would Shicodale do then?

And even if Black Shicodale did take over, could something unexpected still happen? No matter how Black Shicodale played it, Shicodale’s realm being only high-tier Sorcerer-class wouldn’t change. Even Vanessa had found that cube’s spatial pocket troublesome. If Shicodale ran into something she couldn’t handle, what then?

...Yeah.

She was worried.

Right now, Vanessa felt like a mother overflowing with anxious love—worrying whether her child, away from home, was cold or hungry, whether she’d remember to put on more clothes when it got chilly, whether she’d find shelter when it rained—her maternal instincts and concern spilling out uncontrollably.

And beyond that, she was also worried about Mirexia, her childhood friend.

Even though Mirexia was reliable and strong—she probably wouldn’t run into any real danger—Vanessa still couldn’t stop herself from worrying.

Isatia too.

And her other friends.

Yes... including that annoying Aesphyra.

Even though they were Destiny Heroines, protected by destiny and luck, meaning nothing should happen to them...

Vanessa’s worry still overflowed all the same.

“Lady Saintess... do you have something on your mind?” Amisha asked. Her perception was extremely sharp.

“I do,” Vanessa admitted without hiding it. “I’m very worried about some of my friends. Something this big happened—I don’t know if they’re all safe.”

“One of my friends... her personality is pretty timid. When she’s bullied, she doesn’t even know how to tell anyone. I’m scared she’ll run into trouble if something like this happens.”

“The friend you mean...” Luna asked, “is it your roommate—the white-haired elf student?”

“Yes. Her.” Vanessa looked at Luna. “Have you met her?”

“I’ve seen her with you before. I only learned later she was your roommate.”

“Huh?? Is it that long-haired Moon Elf boy who’s always with Lady Saintess?” Fennia asked.

“Boy?” Amisha covered her mouth, amber eyes wide. “Lady Saintess... how can you have a boy as a roommate??”

“Well, that’s hard to explain.” Fennia immediately jumped in again, acting like she knew everything. “Amisha, didn’t you see it before? That male appearance Lady Saintess disguises herself as—Lady Saintess has been pretending to be a man for a long time so the Church won’t notice.”

“Usually, Lady Saintess shows herself in that form and uses a male identity, so naturally she got assigned to the same dorm as the boys.”

“But... wouldn’t that be inconvenient day to day?” Amisha asked hesitantly. “Lady Saintess is a girl, but her roommate is a boy. Living under the same roof... that would be inconvenient, wouldn’t it?”

Between the lines, Amisha was also worried that living with a “boy” might mean Vanessa could get taken advantage of.

Vanessa didn’t know how to explain.

And she couldn’t exactly tell them Shicodale was a girl.

Ah—no.

Only Shicodale was a girl.

“Oh, right—Lady Saintess!” Fennia said. “That elf boy didn’t use his position to take advantage of you or bully you, did he? If he bullied you, tell me—I’ll go teach him a lesson!”

If she weren’t still carrying Vanessa, she probably would’ve raised her fists right then and there.

Shicodale... bullying her?

Vanessa couldn’t even imagine that scene. Forget bullying her—Vanessa couldn’t imagine soft, squishy Shicodale bullying anyone. It didn’t fit her at all.

“No. Dale is a very good person. How could he bully me?” Vanessa denied, then leaned a little closer to Fennia’s ear. “Fennia... are you tired?”

“Ah—oh! N-no, not tired!” A soft, delicate whisper, warm breath brushing her earlobe.

Fennia had no idea what happened, but her ears instantly went red—and then her cheeks, too. With her hair already red, she looked even more like a tiny apple.

“Really? But Fennia, you were injured earlier, weren’t you?” Vanessa asked, glancing at the spot she’d pinched earlier. She lightly poked it with a finger. “Is it ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) okay? Do you need me to heal you?”

“N-no! That’s not it! I’m not hurt at all!” Feeling Vanessa poke her soft waist, Fennia’s voice jumped several pitches, like it tickled—or like something else entirely.

“Really not?”

“Really! Lady Saintess, you don’t need to worry about me!” Fennia rushed to insist.

“Really? But aren’t you so tired your face is red?”

“That’s not it! I-I was born like this—I blush easily! That’s all!”

Blushing...

Fennia felt guilty.

Lady Saintess smelled so good. Soft. Resting against her back, hair sliding over her cheek, leaving that white-tea-and-lavender fragrance clinging to her skin.

How could she be tired??

Fennia only felt that the longer she carried her, the more energetic she got.

“Pfft.” Luna, listening from the side, just smiled without commenting.

“How about this, Fennia?” Amisha offered. “I’ll take over for you. You rest for a bit. I’ll carry Lady Saintess.”

“No, no.” Fennia refused immediately. “Amisha, you’re a nun, not a knight. How would you have the strength to carry Lady Saintess? If you can’t hold her steady and she falls, you’ll get hurt too—and she’ll get hurt.”

“Oh~?” Vanessa’s eyes narrowed, as if she’d caught a key word. “So what you mean is... I’m heavy, Fennia~?”

“N-no! That’s not it!” Fennia panicked. “Lady Saintess is super light! Carrying you takes no effort at all!”

“Fennia,” Vanessa said pleasantly, smiling. “Talking so directly... isn’t very ladylike, you know?”

“I’m sorry! Lady Saintess, I was too direct!”

“Oh?” Vanessa’s tone shifted, her smile even brighter—her voice more alluring for some reason... and somehow scarier. “So you do think I’m heavy, then?”

“Ah! I—uh—I—” That sudden turn smashed Fennia’s brain into a full stop. She didn’t know how to answer.

Was it her imagination?

After Lady Saintess showed her true face... her personality and thoughts felt more complicated.

Had she been deliberately hiding all of that too?

Vanessa knew Fennia couldn’t talk her way out of a paper bag, so she stopped teasing her.

...Well.

She did want to stop teasing.

But still—

“Fennia,” Vanessa asked again, seemingly unwilling to let it go. “Honestly—do you really think I’m heavy?”

“No! Really, no!”

“Oh my~ What good luck.” Up ahead, Luna pushed aside a thicket and chuckled. “I thought this place looked familiar. So it’s here?”

“Lady Luna, you recognize this place?” Vanessa asked.

“Of course. Where we are now should be very close to the Tyrel Empire’s border.” As she spoke, Luna parted the brush so everyone could see forward.

In their view, not far ahead, a luxurious courtyard appeared.

“There’s a courtyard over there...” Amisha murmured. “It looks like someone lives there.”

“Maybe we can ask them for help?” Fennia suggested. “Lady Saintess, what do you think?”

“If we could take a bath and change clothes, that would be perfect,” Vanessa said—voicing their greatest need so far.

Their clothes were all in tatters.

Luna, Fennia, and Amisha were wearing Carillian Academy uniforms, and they’d been beaten into ragged strips. Even Luna’s white stockings—thin enough to show skin—had been torn into holey stockings, one side long and the other short.

Fennia and Amisha weren’t much better. Their uniforms were shredded, and even their hair was a mess they couldn’t properly fix.

Vanessa’s [Armor Fortress] wasn’t any better. Her white knee-high heeled boots had been blasted into short heels. Her gloves were gone. Her skirt hem was in pieces. Only the soft-armor portion on her upper body remained relatively intact.

“No need to ask for help,” Luna said.

“Huh?”

“Because that’s my home.” Luna’s lips curved upward.

“Huh?!” Amisha blurted out. “Lady Luna—you live here??”

“Mm. More precisely, it’s one of the Haukekai Family’s estates,” Luna explained.

“Huh?? Lady Luna’s family has an estate at the empire border?”

“Amisha,” Luna said as she stepped out of the brush, Fennia and Amisha following behind, “my family is, at the very least, a great family known throughout the world.”

“The ecology here is quite good, so our family originally planned to build a church here for travelers to stay in. But later, for certain reasons, the church couldn’t be built—so we rebuilt it into this instead.”

“That said, our people rarely come here. There should only be a few servants, at most,” Luna said.