The fact that Anlis was a Hero truly gave Fula quite a shock.

It wasn’t jealousy, once she came back to her senses, she immediately started making a fuss about joining Anlis’s Hero party.

But...

Anlis didn’t agree.

Just thinking about the one in her party who was watching like a tiger eyeing its prey.

If Velian, that Demon Lord, let her acting slip and her best friend noticed something, wouldn’t everything be completely over?

In her view, that Corruption Demon Lord would absolutely be capable of killing to silence someone in order to achieve her goals.

But directly refusing would hurt their relationship too much, so Anlis could only vaguely say, “Let’s wait and see later.”

Fula wasn’t in a hurry, she had grown up with Anlis since childhood, and now she had awakened the rare Mage class, no matter what, Anlis wouldn’t reject her.

After spending quite some time, the two entered the city and soon arrived at the Norman District.

This was an old district, Anlis had come here a few times before with her father.

As soon as she stepped in, Anlis spotted her father from afar.

He was standing not far away, talking with a few people.

Everything was going a little too smoothly.

But that made sense, after all, it was a location given by the Demon Lord, if he wasn’t here, why would she give such a precise place?

At this moment, Anlis’s father had several bloodshot lines at the corners of his eyes, his expression carrying the exhaustion and weariness from staying up all night searching for someone.

Suddenly hearing his daughter’s familiar voice from not far away, he abruptly turned his head.

At first, he thought it was just a hallucination, until he clearly saw that it was indeed Anlis standing there, the shock on his face slowly fading.

There was no anger, no blame, only the heart that had been tense for so long finally relaxing completely.

“Hey bro, look, isn’t that Anlis?” Beside him, a man who looked like a skinny monkey pointed in Anlis’s direction and asked. [TL: Felt unnecessary lol.]

“It is, as long as she’s fine, thank you for helping me last night.”

“Ah, we’re brothers, it’s nothing, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head off first.”

The man smiled, not planning to stay any longer, said his goodbye, and left with the others.

“Father.”

Anlis hurried forward, lowering her head awkwardly.

It was her fault for making her father worry so much.

But thinking about it again, it wasn’t entirely her fault, it was all that hateful Demon Lord Velian’s fault!

“Where did you go last night?”

“Something unexpected happened.”

Anlis gave a brief explanation, still using the same excuse, and he accepted it quickly without asking too many questions.

It was only when he learned that she was a Hero that his expression changed noticeably.

That was a Hero!

Even he had once dreamed of becoming one when he was young.

But just as he was about to say something, suddenly, a shadow darted out from the darkness at the street corner, incredibly fast.

It was a man holding a long blade.

The sharp edge glinted coldly, his target clear as he shot toward Anlis’s father.

He was far too fast, even though Anlis’s father noticed him immediately, his exhausted state from staying up all night made it impossible for him to respond in time.

The blade’s tip carried a faint green glow, clearly poisoned, if it hit, it would be fatal.

There was no way for him to dodge!

At that moment, Anlis reacted quickly, striking the man’s wrist with the staff she had been concealing, causing him pain and losing strength, his attack veering off as he stumbled back.

Anlis had kept Velian’s warning in mind the whole time, never relaxing her vigilance.

She was already level 25, even without training, the sheer increase in speed and strength from leveling up was enough for her to display astonishing power.

Hiding her strength in front of the Demon Lord was important, but she couldn’t ignore danger directed at her family.

How to deal with Velian would be something to think about later.

As she tensed up, she caught a whiff of a disgusting smell.

It was the aura of Corruption.

But this aura was completely different from the rose-like scent of the Corruption Monarch, it was like rotten salted fish left for days, a stench that made one want to vomit.

She tightened her grip on the staff, using it as a sword, thinking about how to strike.

Anlis’s father’s expression darkened, he immediately drew the sword at his waist, stepped forward, shielding the two girls behind him as he prepared to fight.

Fula, flustered, also formed a small flame in her hand, her hand trembling slightly.

None of the three noticed that high above them, in a hidden corner, someone was silently observing their every move.

That person wore a neat tailcoat, carrying the elegance of a butler, and had a strange mask covering his face, hiding his puzzled expression.

‘Hmm~ a Hero? Why has she appeared so early? That shouldn’t be the case, she’s really disrupting my plans. But it doesn’t matter, it changes nothing.’

He didn’t intend to personally step in yet, instead planning to observe the Hero’s combat strength first.

When dealing with a Hero, one must always be cautious.

First send endless cannon fodder to test her strength, and only when certain of victory would he act personally.

Only then could he remain undefeated.

‘I wonder what kind of expression the Hero will have when she learns what’s about to happen.’

He raised his eyes toward the distance, where Kachi Village lay, a faint smile forming on his lips.

‘If I can completely destroy the Hero’s mind, such a great achievement will surely earn praise from the newly born Demon Lord, and perhaps serving by her side won’t be such an unreachable dream. Heh heh heh~’

* * *

On the other side, Kachi Village.

“Huh? Where did Anlis go again?”

Anlis’s mother Lisna frowned, her voice full of worry, carrying two large bags of ingredients, while little Anli held onto her clothes, following obediently, chewing on a piece of malt candy.

“The Hero said she was worried about her father, so she went to the city to look for him, please don’t worry.”

Velian said with a smile, and seeing her gentle face, Lisna’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed, her worry easing somewhat.

“I see, that’s good, Miss Nun, I bought a lot of ingredients, do you have any food you avoid?”

“Avoid? I just don’t like soft mushy things or organs.”

“Good thing I didn’t buy those, oh dear, I should have asked earlier.”

Lisna smiled and tapped her forehead, apologizing for her carelessness, then quickly carried the ingredients into the kitchen.

Velian followed, seeing that the bag contained a chicken, several pieces of white bread, a handful of vegetables, a fish, and a large piece of meat.

For an ordinary family that usually relied on a few black bread loaves to survive, this was an extremely luxurious meal.

“Mm... um, Sister, may I ask how you plan to use these ingredients?”

Hearing the word “sister,” Lisna was delighted, instantly feeling much younger.

Come to think of it, she was only 37 years old.

“Isn’t it simple! Sprinkle some spices on the chicken and roast it, throw the fish, meat, and vegetables into a pot and boil them, then dip the white bread into the soup, it’s delicious!”

Just hearing it made Velian feel exhausted.

She wasn’t particularly picky about food, but in this world, she had no choice but to be.

If she didn’t cook herself, she might actually go insane.

Having a normal meal felt like a luxury.

“H-how about... I cook instead.”

“How could that be, you’re a guest, how could we let a guest cook?”

Lisna immediately refused.

“Please, you must let me cook.”

Velian stepped forward, directly blocking the ingredients.