In the bustling hall of the Adventurer's Guild, where adventurers constantly came and went, a sudden silence fell as a figure clad in a green cloak walked in.
The oversized cloak obscured most of her face, leaving only a few strands of pale gold hair peeking out. Judging by her slender frame, she was clearly a woman.
The eyes of those around her followed her movements. Feeling the chill radiating from her, they couldn't help but gulp, and hushed whispers began to ripple through the crowd.
“Look, that female version of the Grim Reaper just completed another quest.”
“That has to be the twentieth quest she's completed! It's only been a week. With that kind of efficiency, she's definitely a worthy partner of the Grim Reaper.”
“No kidding. Even the quests she takes are similar to his—she completely avoids those investigation and puzzle-solving ones.”
“As expected of someone who can stand by the Grim Reaper's side.”
The quiet discussions drifted into Hilia's ears. Even though these words painted her as some sort of cold-blooded person, she didn't care in the slightest, her expression remaining entirely unchanged.
After all, what they said was true.
Her telling Xia De earlier that she needed to restock on potions and other supplies hadn't been an excuse.
To fund this, while she had been continuously working on her plan to win Xia De over these past few days, she would also take on quests of her own whenever he went out on his, earning the rewards she needed.
To save time, she specifically chose combat-only quests, completely avoiding any unnecessary interaction with others.
Still, she didn't find it boring at all. Knowing that this town was merely a temporary stop for Xia De, she didn't care about anyone else here. She only needed to focus on him.
Hehe! Xia De!
As Xia De's face and voice surfaced in her mind, the little chibi version of her in her heart couldn't help but drool.
As for why she didn't party up with Xia De to complete quests?
That was, of course, a calculated part of her plan. The gap in strength between her and Xia De was massive; blindly tagging along would only result in her struggling to keep up with his pace.
Furthermore, she knew very well that the current Xia De wouldn't slow down to wait for anyone. Doing so would only make her a nuisance to him. And she knew better than anyone that Xia De absolutely detested trouble.
Thus, having a clear understanding of her own limits, she took on quests alone. This way, she wouldn't put Xia De in a difficult position, and she could gather her necessary supplies much more efficiently.
Naturally, she hadn't hidden this from Xia De at all. In fact, she had proactively laid out the pros and cons to him.
And then, she let him see her hardworking side.
In this way, a self-aware, considerate, hardworking, and reliable image of her was presented right before Xia De.
Hilia's Schemes: +1
Sure enough, the results were just as she expected—Xia De was highly receptive to this approach. She could feel that his interactions with her were becoming more and more natural.
After receiving her quest reward from Elulu, Hilia turned to head home. She still had to cook her special dinner made with love.
Hehe!
At the thought of this, Hilia's expression brightened with joy, the corners of her lips curling upward involuntarily.
Just then, a figure blocked her path, speaking in a fierce tone:
“I haven't been around for over a month, and I didn't expect a new beauty to pop up in our midst.”
With a vicious expression, a mohawk of red spikes with shaved sides, and a lip piercing, it was none other than Red Thorn, who had been beaten into a coma over a month ago.
Red Thorn stared at Hilia. Although most of her face was concealed by her hood, he could tell from the brief glimpses of her features that the cloaked figure before him was an exceptionally beautiful woman.
Having been defeated by a kid in broad daylight over a month ago and only just recovering enough to move around today, he felt he had lost all his face. Coincidentally, this woman seemed to be quite famous now. He figured all he needed to do was teach her a lesson to re-establish his authority.
“Get lost!”
Hilia's voice was ice-cold. She raised her head slightly, staring at Red Thorn as if he were already a corpse, her emerald eyes flashing with a chilling light.
How dare you interrupt me from going home to make my special dinner!
Die, die, die, die!!!
Red Thorn felt a chill run down his spine under her freezing gaze.
“A mere woman, acting so arrogant! I'll teach you a proper lesson today!”
Unleashing the aura of a peak Tier Two, Red Thorn reached out in embarrassment and anger, his expression vicious as he tried to grab Hilia's shoulder.
He had learned his lesson—when a conflict arose, it was best to strike first. Reacting defensively might just get him beaten unconscious again.
Hilia's eyes turned freezing cold. Sidestepping to dodge Red Thorn's hand, an exquisite dagger suddenly materialized in her grip.
In the next instant, several elegant arcs of green light flashed through the air, and Hilia appeared behind Red Thorn. Dozens of thin, lacerated wounds instantly burst open across his body, blood seeping from them.
His mouth hung open, unable to form words, only emitting a raspy, choked gasp. Suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of profound weakness, he collapsed flat onto the floor.
Sssss...
A collective gasp echoed through the room. Looking at the dense network of fine, blade-like cuts covering Red Thorn, the onlookers felt a deep chill in their hearts.
Only Miss Elulu sighed as she watched the scene, feeling a slight headache coming on. She was going to have to clean the floor again.
Paying no mind to the stares of the crowd, Hilia turned her back on everyone and left. The most important thing right now was to get back and make her dinner!
Only after Hilia had departed did the usual atmosphere slowly return to the Adventurer's Guild.
Elulu walked over to Red Thorn. Looking down at the man splayed on the floor, she wore a sweet smile.
“Excuse me, sir, but sleeping is not permitted here.”
Then, she added with a smile,
“You will also need to compensate us for property damage, cleaning fees, and so on. If you require medical attention, there will be an additional treatment fee. In total, it will only be fifteen gold coins.”
“Fifteen gold coins?! Why don't you just rob me instead?!”
Lying on the floor, Red Thorn looked at Elulu's angelic, sweet smile, but he couldn't find any joy in it. To him, she was nothing but a demon.
He only had twenty gold coins on him in total. This would instantly wipe out more than half of his entire net worth—how could he possibly accept this? Yet, with his body unable to move, he could only let out a humiliated groan of agreement.
Elulu quickly called someone to heal him, and under her sweet smile, he reluctantly handed over fifteen gold coins. As for trying to wriggle out of paying? He didn't dare entertain the thought for a second.
“Miserable bitch! I'll definitely kill you next time!”
Fuming with rage, Red Thorn walked down a dim alleyway, cursing viciously.
He failed to notice that the alleyway was growing increasingly dark, as if it were about to swallow him whole. The sounds from the main street seemed to gradually fade away.
“Aaargh! What is this?!”
A blood-curdling scream soon rang out from the alleyway, but passersby on the street went about their way as if they couldn't hear a thing.
In the alley, several black threads had wrapped tightly around Red Thorn's legs, rendering him unable to take even a single step. Then, like venomous serpents, the black threads crawled up his shins, leaving a trail of black flames in their wake.
“Aaargh! What on earth is this?!”
Red Thorn flailed his arms wildly, his face twisted in sheer panic and terror as he tried in vain to tear the black threads off.
But all his efforts were futile. Within a few seconds, silence returned to the alley, as if nothing had ever happened.
Only a handsome, black-haired youth with a black greatsword strapped to his back sat atop the alley wall, silently watching the scene with an expressionless face.
Rate on N.U.
