She, Grinya Loran, came from the remote Loranka Town in the Katar Kingdom. Carrying the heavy responsibility of reviving her family's great glory, she had set foot in Yiertaya, the most prosperous land in all of Katar.
She had thought this would be a fresh, bright beginning, yet she wondered if she was being set up, as her experiences these past few days had been exceptionally unlucky.
Being possessed by an evil god, coming into contact with an evil god's body, and witnessing a direct confrontation between two deities—she wouldn't mention these bizarre events, as no one would believe them anyway. Aside from that, she had scored a zero on her theory test, earned the resentment of Young Master Buze of the Kritov family, encountered a cultist attack during the admission trial, been spotted instantly while trying to sneak around, and finally got arrested as a cultist...
Bad luck couldn't get much worse than this.
Grinya lay on the cold stone slab, making do with a thin blanket. Her heart was like cold ashes and her eyes were vacant; she had spent the entire night just like this.
How frustrating! The grand cause of reviving her family's glory hadn't even started, so how had she ended up arrested as a criminal?
A rustling sound suddenly came from the cell door. It was the sound of a key sliding into the lock and turning. Then, the tightly closed door was pushed open by a uniformed hunter. He wasn't young, had a high bridge on his nose, and his grey eyes gave off a very mature impression.
Grinya tilted her head slightly to look over, her reaction quite flat.
"Miss Grinya, someone is here to see you," the hunter said in a deep voice as he scanned the room.
Someone is here to see me?
Grinya's dull eyes regained a bit of color. She blinked, feeling slightly dazed.
She had no relatives or friends in Yiertaya, so why would anyone come to visit her?
The only possibility was that the academy had finally noticed her disappearance and had come looking for her.
Just as Grinya was thinking this, a petite girl suddenly hopped out from behind the hunter, her brownish-black eyes looking at Grinya with curiosity.
"Hello, Student Grinya." The girl's face was flushed, and her voice was very soft. "My name is Kriss."
Grinya moved slightly, rolling over to change from a lying position to sitting on the stone slab. "Are you from the academy?"
Kriss nodded. "The academy has already learned of your situation. The hunter who arrested you yesterday is my brother, so the academy sent me to negotiate with the Sin Hunting Bureau. This arrest should just be a misunderstanding."
The hunter behind her suddenly gave a light chuckle. "Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, no one knows. We just can't arbitrarily deal with students of Yiertaya Academy without definitive evidence."
"Bamon!" Kriss looked at him with a slight pout.
The middle-aged hunter named Bamon shrugged, looking indifferent. "I'm just speaking the truth."
"Bamon, I won't allow you to speak of her like that! If it wasn't for Student Grinya yesterday, I and the others would have died on Wuxin Island!" Kriss said with a serious expression. "Student Grinya is my benefactor. She couldn't possibly be a cultist."
Hearing this, Bamon's lazy demeanor immediately shifted. His gaze sharpened, and he looked at Grinya with renewed interest.
"So it was you who defeated the level 20 Shapeshifting Banshee. It seems you must have farmed quite a bit of experience inside Wuxin Island beforehand. Impressive."
Grinya didn't dare to say a word.
It seemed no one knew that she was only level 10 when she defeated the level 20 Shapeshifting Banshee.
Something like that was too shocking; no one would believe it.
The only other possibility was that she was possessed by something unknown, and then her end would be execution as a heretic.
Coincidentally, that happened to be the correct answer.
That was exactly why Grinya didn't dare to speak up.
"Let's go. Remember to go to the front hall to complete the paperwork. We can't skip the proper procedures," Bamon said, stepping aside to make way for the two of them.
Kriss took Grinya's hand, her small face looking at her solemnly. "Benefactor, you've suffered."
In truth, Grinya hadn't suffered much.
Although she was suspected of being a cultist, the Sin Hunting Bureau had no evidence. Furthermore, Grinya was wearing the Yiertaya Academy uniform, making it highly likely she was indeed a student.
So, the Sin Hunting Bureau had only detained her as per protocol. Aside from the stone slab being a bit cold and the blanket being a bit thin, Grinya had actually slept quite well last night.
Kriss clearly had very good relations within the Sin Hunting Bureau. Almost every hunter they encountered along the way recognized her and greeted her. This was likely the benefit of having a four-star hunter brother.
With Kriss's connections, the release procedures in the front hall went very smoothly.
"Alright, we can go back to the academy now!" Kriss gave her a giggling smile.
She admired Grinya immensely, not just because Grinya had saved her, but because she was strong, beautiful, and never feared the power of the Kritov family. She never cared about what others thought of her either, focusing solely on doing her own thing.
This was the kind of person she had always dreamed of becoming. Now that the person she dreamed of being was standing right beside her, Kriss was very excited, though she felt a hint of shy bashfulness.
"Great!"
Grinya let out a sigh of relief. Finally, she could leave this godforsaken place.
She never wanted to come near a place like the Sin Hunting Bureau again in her life.
"You cannot leave!"
A sharp, stern shout suddenly stopped her, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps echoing in the hall.
Both Grinya and Kriss turned their heads in confusion. It was a handsome young man with brownish-black eyes and a grim expression, staring fixedly at Grinya.
"You cannot leave!" Kross repeated as he came to a halt.
His body was tense, and his gaze was so fierce it looked as if he wanted to devour someone. Kriss had rarely seen her brother show such an expression, and she was frightened into silence. "Bro... Brother..."
Kross ignored his sister, his hand tightly gripping the handgun at his waist. If Grinya showed even a hint of anything unusual, he was prepared to draw his weapon and blow her head off at any moment!
"Grinya Loran, I've checked your file. Your record is clean. However! Answer me this: why were you alone yesterday afternoon at that abandoned Church of Order?"
Kross's voice was full of authority, booming through the hall and reaching everyone's ears clearly.
With a cold face, he suddenly dropped a stack of photographs from his palm.
"These were taken by us in the basement of that church. The walls are covered in marks left by cultists, along with their scriptures, ritual altars, and records of various inhumane experiments.
And you were the only one at the scene at the time. What exactly were you trying to do there? Give me an explanation!"
Grinya was stunned. Before she could speak, Kross cut her off again.
"I don't want to hear your excuses. Save whatever you have to say for the church."
...
What the hell? Not this again!
Why does this rude guy always jump to conclusions like this?
Rate on N.U.
