Only then did Hilde remember the young man.

It was Mirina Rivette's unstoppable brother. When the gag soaked with spit and tears was released, he cried and clung to her.

“I was wrong, I was wrong, Miss Hilde! Please forgive me! I will never feel that bad again.”

He desperately asked for forgiveness, as if he had experienced something that warranted serious repentance.

Hilde took pity on him and sent him back safely, and on that very day the Count Rivette family donated a large sum of money.

A similar incident occurred during lunchtime.

“Ahhh! I was wrong! Please save me!”

“That person is... Chef Hans?”

After dinner, she went out to the church garden for a walk and saw a middle-aged man hanging upside down from a tree. Hilde approached in surprise and a note fell down in front of her eyes.

-There are traces of collusion with the Magic Council. Suspected of being a spy.

When I checked, it was true. It was revealed that the wizards had secretly planted spies to keep the Unryongyo in check.

Chef Hans was fired immediately.

These strange incidents continued into the evening.

As I was about to wrap up the day, a priest wearing a deep hood approached me and informed me that a believer had come to confession.

'Did our church have a boy priest like that?'

The moment she tilted her head, he disappeared, and Hilde went to the confessional, leaving her doubts behind. And the moment she opened the door, she was shocked.

Because the two priests were tied together and passed out.

As expected, a note was left behind.

-There have been numerous instances of Elfenheim Church Knights using their own passwords and hand signals. They are believed to be Order Church spies. Their purpose is unknown, so they are being questioned.

He was taken into custody for now. It was a serious matter that needed to be discussed with Pope Aylet when he arrived.

In this way, suspicious people were being identified one by one. Despite the fact that it was a welcome situation, Hilde was left with doubts.

'Who is it? Who on earth would provide this kind of help?'

It has been a great help in running the Unryonggyo. In an overly convenient situation, this possibility has finally come to mind.

'Could this be a guardian angel sent by the spirits?!'

Of course, the fairytale-like imagination was quickly put to rest. Hilde was a mature enough girl.

In any case, it was certain that it was all thanks to the grace of the 'World-Building Words'. The next morning, Hilde decided to offer a prayer of thanks.

A quiet chapel. In front of the sacred table where the Eucharist was laid, a young cardinal with her platinum hair loosely braided into a single ponytail clasped her hands together.

After completing the sacred ritual, her sparkling pink eyes shone as if she had received divine grace, looking like she had been pulled out of a sacred painting.

There was still quite some time before the next scheduled event. Hilde began to clear the communion table herself.

Talk.

"oh."

While I was busy moving my hands, something fell to the floor. The button on my clothes, which had felt a little loose since morning, seemed to be unable to hold.

The button rolled under the table, which was covered with a white tablecloth up to the legs. Hilde lowered herself and entered.

“Found it.”

It was a time of small joy.

With a snap, the candles went out. Darkness fell in an instant in the chapel with the blackout curtains drawn.

'What, what is it?'

Hilde's ears were startled and she heard strangers talking.

“Captain, I can’t see the target.”

“I have clearly seen the Archdeacon enter this room. Find him. Find him and take him out alive.”

"yes!"

Thanks to the shady spies captured last night, Hilde was able to grasp the situation immediately.

'Me, kidnapped?! Me?!'

Hilde crouched under the communion table and covered her mouth with both hands.

Since she had trained primarily in healing powers, she did not have the fighting ability to summon divine lightning from the dry sky like Aylet.

All she was allowed to do was hide in fear and pray.

'Help me, Your Majesty! Your Holiness!'

The prayers of the Cardinal Girl were effective.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“Kwaaaaak!”

Screams echoed from beyond the tablecloth.

All Hilde had hoped was that the intruders would pass by without looking under the table, but her prayers seemed to have done more than that.

The screams gradually died down and were replaced by groans of pain. Hilde carefully left the table and looked around.

I saw five or six thugs completely subdued and piled up on the floor like luggage.

I was familiar with the bindings that made it impossible to use any of the joints and the knots that seemed so strong that they would never come undone.

The workmanship of the unknown assistant was clear.

Hilde finally meets the person who helped her find the spy of the Unryongyo.

“Eek, I got caught. I was just going to write a note and leave right away.”

It was a man wearing a black hood and a mask over his face. He had a slender build and a voice that was younger than expected, and he seemed to be on the borderline between a boy and a young man.

Hilde quickly grabbed Ash as he tried to hand over the note and go out through the window.

“Wait a minute! Who are you and why are you helping our church like this?”

“Of course.......”

"of course?"

“I am a guardian angel sent by the spirit god~”

“Really?!”

Hilde asked back with a face that smiled without realizing it. Ash felt embarrassed.

“......Do you believe it?”

“Ah! That was a lie. Cow, lying, that’s too much.”

“I didn’t lie, I was just teasing you.”

“No, you’re kidding me! This is too much!”

“Ahem, okay. I went too far. I’m sorry.”

Ash stepped back. Looking into those tearful pink eyes, he felt guilty for bullying a weak animal.

Ash introduced himself properly. He omitted the information about his affiliation as an assassin, as it was confidential, but he took off his mask since he was not on an assassination mission.

“I’m Ash Knight. I was escorting Cardinal Hilde Marcelion at the request of Sister Shin Seong-gyeong.”

“Ah! Your Majesty?!”

“Yes. It seems like you foresaw this kind of attack situation. As expected, you are truly amazing, Sister.”

“Of course! After all, our Holiness is the 9th-ranked sacred scripture protected by the Unryungnim!”

“Wow, Shin Sung-kyung. That’s right. I can’t help but think that you’ve done a good job standing in line. I absolutely must not turn you into an enemy. Cardinal Hilde, please speak kindly to your sister about me.”

“Of course. You helped me like this. But, do you call His Majesty ‘sister’?”

"yes."

“Ugh.”

“Why is that?”

“Oh, I’m so jealous! I want to call you unnie too......!”

Ash found himself laughing out loud and then exclaimed, "Oh no."

It's true that he's easygoing, but because of his job, he's always had a clear line in interpersonal relationships. It's been a long time since he showed an unguarded smile when we first met.

'No, that could be the case.'

Ash quickly rationalized. The girl in front of him seemed innocent and trusting, and her personality seemed harmless.

Why would you need to be so sensitive that you have to be on guard against an opponent like a herbivore?

'And it's cute.'

So, I guess I could laugh a little. I didn't think it was a big deal.

'Just keep the line.'

This is the person in charge of the request. Now that we have exchanged brief greetings, let's return to business-related matters.

But then Hilde made a suggestion.

“Hey, Ash.”

"yes?"

“By the way...... have you eaten? It’s lunchtime now.......”

“.......”

The meaning of the expectant face was clear.

The girl who was looking at him with her hands clenched and her eyes wide open was now asking him to join her for a meal.

Ash thought.

'Objectively, it's not a bad suggestion. I can escort you up close while you eat. My meal times have become very irregular these days because of the escort work. Besides, if I get to know the person ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) I'm requesting, it'll be easier to impress my older sister.'

I gave three reasonable reasons. If I had squeezed a little more, if I had thought about it, I could have given thirteen more.

Hilde asked with perfect timing.

“Ash, would you like to eat with me?”

“What... could that be?”

Ash answered, scratching the ball.

It's just a reasonable acceptance, he thought, the tips of his ears slightly reddening.

✠

My location and Reed's location continued to be the Demon King's territory of Inferinos.

As expected, the demon was good at driving humans mad. Infernos held a banquet of death the next day, and the day after that, and even the day after that.

Every morning felt like the day was rolled back because the same routine was repeated over and over again.

Inferinos expected Reed to grind out demons every night, but Reed did not live up to his expectations.

Not only did he pick me every night, but starting today at the banquet, he even made me sit next to him in the VIP section.

The sleep horses, whose passionate pursuit of the lead had been interrupted, were now sending murderous glances at me from all directions.

[Congratulations to you for winning the battle for the heroine in 'Trials of the Skyscraper Architect'.]

[You enjoy the time and jealousy when the 'Libra, the Judge of Souls' focuses on you.]

[The 'Balance-Balancing Sarcastic' tells them to have fun until Muriel Philise shows up.]

I didn't really enjoy it.

'I'm sleepy.'

I guess the sleeping arrangements in the Demon King's Castle didn't suit me, but no matter how much I slept, I couldn't shake off my fatigue.

Here, the strange intoxication buff that is a rule of the banquet hall is steadily accumulating and eating away at my stamina. I was a little on edge.

Reed looked at me blankly and said.

“That’s strange.”

"what?"

“I couldn’t sleep, but why do you look tired?”

“I guess you’re not feeling well because it’s the devil’s den... But wait, you couldn’t sleep? You?”

"okay."

Come to think of it, we share the same bedroom, but I don't think I've ever seen Reed sleep.

“That may be true for me, but why you, Reed?”

“Well, why is that?”