Chapter 33

The woman’s voice rang out like the roar of a wild bear.

Startled, I instinctively took a step back—only for Lycian to wrap an arm around my shoulders and pull me into his chest.

The red-haired woman had already closed the distance. Allen stammered at her, flustered.

“D-Daphne? How did you—”

“How did I get here? I followed your trail! Tracking’s my specialty, remember?”

“Y-You didn’t come all this way because of me…?”

“Of course I did! Didn’t I tell you not to think you’re useless to the guild?!”

“But… it’s true that I’m lacking. I just wanted to be even a little helpful….”

“Even so, you can’t go wandering around somewhere dangerous all by yourself! Next time, you tell me so we can go together. Got it?”

“Yes…. I’m sorry.”

“Honestly… fine. But—”

The woman called Daphne yanked Allen behind her and shot us a feral glare.

…She’d definitely gotten the wrong idea.

Sure enough, her voice lashed out sharp as a whip.

“Who are you people?! What were you planning to do to this innocent kid?!”

“D-Daphne! It’s a misunderstanding! They’re my benefactors!”

“…Benefactors?”

Daphne, who had been about to draw her bow, paused.

She narrowed her eyes and slowly looked us up and down, as if weighing whether Allen was telling the truth.

I gave an awkward little smile and shrugged. We had nothing to hide.

Still gripping her bow, Daphne shot Allen a sidelong look.

“They really helped you?”

Allen grabbed her arm with both hands, practically clinging, and blurted out urgently.

“They did! So put the bow down—please!”

Only then did Daphne lower it, though she continued to watch us warily.

She had just opened her mouth to say something when—

Another figure emerged from the direction she’d come running from.

The newcomer approached with a faint presence and quiet, fluid steps.

He looked young, yet there was something ageless about him—an air that made it impossible to guess.

Ash-gray hair brushed lightly against his shoulders in a neat bob, and his eyes were a deep indigo, like the night sky.

The tips of his ears were slightly pointed.

Half-elf, probably. Those who inherited strong elven blood tended to have sharper ears.

A calm, low voice flowed from him.

“Allen.”

“Mr. Mikhail!”

So his name was Mikhail. Allen beamed at him, chattering brightly.

“Did you come too? To look for me?”

“…Of course.”

His reply was dry, but a gentle smile tugged at his lips. The way he looked at Allen was warm—like spring sunlight.

‘I knew it!’

Watching them, I came to a secret conclusion.

‘Allen must be the healing support of a top-ranking guild!’

“And… these people?”

“Ah.”

When Mikhail’s gaze shifted toward us, Allen let out a small sound.

As if afraid another misunderstanding might spark, Allen hurriedly spread his arms in front of us, protective.

“They’re my benefactors! The ones who saved me in the forest last time…!”

“Ah…. Them?”

“Yes, those people!”

Judging by Mikhail’s reaction, Allen must have told the guild about us.

I offered a pleasant, easy smile. When I glanced sideways, Lycian’s expression was stiff—his gaze toward Allen and his companions far from kind.

“I heard someone took down over ten monsters alone… Was that you?”

Mikhail looked at me with open curiosity. I shook my head, correcting him.

“Not me. It was him.”

I gestured with both hands toward Lycian, who was still holding me close as if shielding me.

Interest flickered through Mikhail’s eyes.

“To face that many monsters alone… I’d like to see how skilled you are.”

“…….”

Lycian smiled without a word, though he didn’t look pleased. In fact, it was less a smile and more a threat.

His gaze shifted to Daphne, and he drawled coldly,

“We saved his life, picked him up while he was wandering around lost, and even fed him. And your first move is to suspect us?”

“…?”

Mikhail tilted his head slightly, then looked straight at Daphne as if asking for an explanation.

Daphne cleared her throat, suddenly looking a little guilty, and shot us an awkward glance.

“…Sorry for the misunderstanding. You’ve probably already noticed, but Allen tends to trust people too easily…. I worry constantly that he’ll get scammed or dragged into something.”

I nodded in understanding. From what I’d seen, Allen really felt like a child you couldn’t take your eyes off of for even a second.

Lycian’s expression still wasn’t great, but he didn’t seem inclined to press the issue further. So I smoothly changed the subject.

“Rather than standing around out here, why don’t we go inside and continue? I was actually in the middle of discussing something important with Mr. Allen.”

“Inside?”

I pointed toward my red-roofed house in the distance.

A small home surrounded by vegetable plots and flower beds.

It looked like something out of a storybook—almost jarringly out of place in this contaminated land.

“What in the world…?”

Daphne muttered in disbelief. Mikhail’s eyes widened as well.

Smiling brightly, I took Lycian’s hand and led the way.

“Come on. I’ll treat you to strawberries I grew myself.”

About thirty minutes later.

After hearing the full story, Daphne and Mikhail sat there in a daze, chewing strawberries.

Daphne swallowed and stammered,

“So… you have purification abilities?”

“Yes. Nothing extraordinary, though.”

“That’s not the point! A Purifier, for heaven’s sake!”

Her reaction wasn’t much different from Allen’s.

Being praised like some kind of living miracle was… embarrassingly overwhelming.

I had a feeling most people I’d meet in the future would react the same way.

“Purification….”

Mikhail, who had been quietly listening, murmured with a grave expression.

“…Your life’s about to get very difficult.”

“…….”

That, I hadn’t expected.

He was even looking at me with genuine pity.

A laugh slipped out of me. This guild really was full of different personalities.

I shook off the lingering smile and continued.

“For that reason, I’d like to collaborate with the Veratis Guild you belong to. That’s what I was discussing with Mr. Allen earlier.”

“Collaborate…? With someone like you? That’s a pretty big scale.”

“I’m not trying to burden you. I just need people who’ll stand on my side. Even if it’s only a business relationship.”

I held Daphne’s gaze and added,

“And I’m not a saintess. Just call me Muriel.”

Daphne gave a faint smile and sighed.

The way she looked at me was… complicated. Reverence, maybe. And something like sympathy.

“But whether you want it or not, people are going to try to raise you up as a saintess.”

“…….”

“Our guild’s mostly made up of rankers, so we’re not a bad choice to back you. But wouldn’t it be better to seek protection from a noble house? Or the temple? Or even the royal family? The Grastea Empire’s imperial family would work too.”

The Roblet royal family made me uneasy. The Grastea imperial family felt burdensome.

The temple… would obviously parade me around as a saintess to expand their influence.

And nobles…

“I actually… have a bit of a noble allergy.”

“…Huh?”

Daphne blinked rapidly.

I straightened up and spoke frankly.

“Let’s be honest—nine out of ten nobles are trash. I don’t know about other countries, but in the Roblet Kingdom, that’s how it is. Most of them are blinded by wealth and power. Why would I entrust my safety to people like that? They’d try to use me. It’s obvious.”

Not just Daphne—even Mikhail stared at me, eyes round.

A brief silence fell.

Then Daphne clutched her stomach and burst into hearty laughter.

“Ahahaha! Muriel, you’re seriously something…!”

I could practically see her favorability toward me shooting straight up.

Right on cue, the system chimed in.

Just like Allen’s, it was a blue heart. Blue probably meant human affection or friendship.

I scratched my cheek awkwardly. I hadn’t said it with that intention, but at least I’d won her over.

“Alright, I’m in. This feels like it’s going to get interesting. What about you two?”

“I’m in too…. Muriel seems like a really good person…. Ah, I’d love to see you often from now on!”

Allen clasped his hands tightly, calling out shyly but bravely. He was genuinely adorable.

Mikhail stared at him for a long moment before speaking.

“If Allen’s in… then so am I.”

Grinning, Daphne clapped her hands once.

“Then that’s three in favor. We’ll ask the others once we’re back at the guild. Sound good?”

“Yes!”

“Let’s do that.”

It seemed to be a guild run in a fairly democratic way.

I found myself curious—what kind of place was Veratis, really?

In any case, things wrapped up smoothly, and the three of them decided to stay the night in our living room.

Only one person could fit on the sofa, so I brought out spare blankets and spread them over the carpet.

We had to move the table aside to make room for two sleeping spots.

“Well… it probably won’t be comfortable, but sleep well.”

“Haha, it’s fine! We’ve got plenty of experience sleeping rough. Don’t worry about us—go get some rest!”

“Good night, Muriel…!”

Mikhail had already closed his eyes and didn’t respond. Allen lay beside him, Daphne on the sofa.

I smiled at them and headed into my room.

Click.

The door shut behind me.

And when I turned around—

My eyes met Lycian’s.

He was sitting primly on the bed.

“…….”

The air between us felt… strangely charged.