CHAPTER 104……………………….
When she tilted her head back, the night sky was so full of stars it looked as if they might spill down at any moment.
A silver full moon filled the heavens, dazzling in a way completely different from the sun.
“Does the moon still rise in the Demon Realm?”
At Esther’s question, Larksa smiled softly.
“Yes. The red moon still rises beautifully.”
Esther nodded.
She didn’t bother to ask what the Demon Realm was like.
She already knew it couldn’t be in good shape.
A child yawned and rubbed at his eyes.
“Shall we proceed as you instructed?”
“Yes. How do you plan to do it?”
“Hmm… I’ll heal them a bit, leave a few traces of battle, then brainwash them so they continue their work as before.”
“Good. Clever boy.”
Larksa’s eyes went round as he quickly knelt and pressed his head down.
Looking at his bright, shining eyes, Esther sighed softly and stroked his hair with her small hand.
“Good job.”
Larksa’s face instantly lit up.
“Ah! That’s not fair, Master! Me too!”
Ross, in his human form, came running up with a tearful pout.
Kneeling beside Larksa, Ross looked up at Esther with wide, glimmering eyes.
Esther chuckled and patted Ross’s curly hair too.
When she glanced up, Chiffon was watching with a strange expression.
“Want me to do yours too?”
Esther asked with a mischievous grin.
She fully expected Chiffon to refuse—it was in his nature.
But Chiffon hesitated, then slowly walked over, knelt, and bowed his head.
Esther blinked in surprise, then gently patted his hair.
“You’re all such babies.”
Esther giggled.
A faint blush spread across Chiffon’s cheeks.
“Well, everyone looked so happy when you did it…”
He mumbled awkwardly, almost defensively, then brushed the part of his hair she’d touched.
“Feel good?”
“I’m not sure… but I don’t hate it. I’ve never really been praised like that before.”
There weren’t many who would ruffle the hair of a noble’s daughter to praise her.
Her parents might offer kind words or a hug—but never this kind of affectionate touch.
“…No, actually… it does feel kind of nice.”
At Chiffon’s words, Larksa—who had stood up—snickered.
“You’re finally learning to say something pleasant, Chiffon.”
“And you’re still as irritating as ever.”
Chiffon replied coolly and rose to his feet.
Meanwhile, Ross was rolling around at Esther’s feet, looking utterly delighted.
Maybe it was the beast’s instincts still strong within him, or maybe Esther’s touch was simply that pleasant.
Esther kept petting Ross’s head until she yawned deeply.
“Mmm, I’m gonna sleep a bit more.”
“Yes, I’ll return once everything’s ready.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Esther crawled into her tent, burrowed under the blankets, and curled up.
“Quickly! Take the kid and dump her over there before anyone sees!”
She heard that voice a few hours later, just as she was drifting back to sleep.
When she tried to open her eyes, something like a huge sack fell over her.
‘…Huh?’
Was this part of the plan?
Even when she opened her eyes, everything was pitch black. She blinked, confused.
“Kyuk?!”
Ah, Ross was with her too.
A panicked little squeal sounded from within the sack.
“But are you sure it’s okay to send her off alone?”
“They said she’s a saint. If she’s really chosen by God, she’ll be fine.”
“She could starve to death though! Shouldn’t we kidnap a maid or butler too?”
What kind of idiots are these…
‘Larksa, what kind of brainwashing did you even do?’
They were worried the kidnap victim might starve to death.
“Ah—ah! Wh-who are you people…?”
A horribly unconvincing voice rang out, stiff and awkward like bad theater acting.
“That’s the maid!”
It was Chiffon.
‘Chiffon…!’
Esther groaned inwardly.
He always looked at her acting like it was pathetic, yet he was even worse.
This was turning into a ridiculous amateur play. Esther was actually grateful to be hidden in the sack.
“Sh-shut up or I’ll kill you!”
“Kyah! Your… your s-s-sword is so scaryyy!”
‘Note to self: Chiffon is banned from acting. Forever.’
If something like this happened again, he’s not participating.
“Kh-h… pfft… i-if you’re taking Lady Chiffon, then… take… pfft… take me instead…!”
Larksa was barely holding in laughter.
Yeah, no wonder Chiffon hates you.
Granted, Chiffon’s acting was laughable.
“You two little punks…! What should we do?”
“She wants to die, so let her. We just need to finish this job.”
“R-right. Grab them!”
“Ah—yes!”
“Kyah! Spare meee!”
“Shut her up!”
Yeah, that might be for the best. Otherwise, Chiffon’s terrible acting might break the brainwashing spell.
Soon it seemed everyone was being taken away. Esther couldn’t see much from inside, but she could guess what was happening.
She gathered mana in her eyes and finally saw through the sack.
They were being taken to a place filled with soldiers and priests—at least a dozen of them.
Clearly, these were people hostile to Kaelos.
‘Should I leave Larksa behind?’
If they provoked him and he killed Kaelos, that would be a problem.
‘Maybe leave Ross instead?’
Esther narrowed her eyes.
“Did you bring her?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s send her off. I bought a teleportation scroll.”
A priest buying a magic scroll.
A priest and a mage—weren’t those supposed to be opposites? The world really had changed.
“We were going to use it to bring the saint to our side, but… given the situation, we have no choice.”
“Yes, besides, there’s another saint now.”
“That’s right. This girl was never confirmed by divine revelation anyway. Frankly, it’s suspicious.”
Wait—there was another saint?
Well, of course, Esther wasn’t a real one, so a true saint existing made sense.
‘So he chose one?’
He had to know what state she was in.
‘Damn you, Michael Enoch.’
Clearly, he planned to toy with her to the end.
He’d always gotten on her nerves.
“You! Get up there.”
“Sniff… okay.”
Chiffon…
I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you—or your acting career.
They pulled Esther from the sack and placed her on a magic circle drawn on the ground, handing her the scroll.
“Tear it.”
Esther tilted her head.
“You gonna pay me?”
“…What?”
“I’ll tear it if you pay. If not, I’ll tear you. I’m not going anywhere for free.”
She grinned.
“You crazy kid! Don’t you get the situation?! Tear it if you wanna live!”
One soldier barked, and Esther straightened up, smiling brightly.
“Mmm. I get the situation perfectly—that’s why I’m asking for payment!”
“What… what?”
“You guys need me, right? You can’t kill me… and I have to go somewhere dangerous…”
So basically—
“I’m the boss here! You’re the employees! So pay up.”
“Pfft…”
She glanced over and saw Larksa shaking, hand over his mouth, shoulders trembling.
‘Yeah, he totally deserves Chiffon’s hatred.’
Somehow, he was just infuriating.
“Money.”
One flaw with teleportation scrolls—they had to be torn by hand.
Which meant, unless someone wanted to die, no one else would tear it.
So it had to be her… or one of her people.
“…How much do you want?”
“Hmm, about fifty million Mairon?”
“…What?!”
“It’s cheap! I’m going to risk my life to save all of you! Fifty million is a bargain—just thirty thousand per person!”
“…Fine. You’ll be paid once you return safely.”
Esther snorted and tossed the scroll lazily into the air.
“Wha—Hey!”
One of the priests panicked and scrambled to catch it.
“Up front! My grandpa always said you get paid before you start!”
Of course, her grandfather had never said that—but it sounded like something Ernheart Egbert would say.
“No pay, no go. And if you don’t, I’ll tell my father everything in the morning.”
“……”
The lead priest clenched his fist, then gave a stiff nod.
He pulled out a pristine white check, scribbled on it, and handed it to her.
“It’s a temple-issued draft. Fifty million Mairon.”
“Hmm… I prefer cash.”
At that, all the priests’ faces twisted in frustration.
