‘Wait, seriously? You’re even saying something like that just to stay alive?’

Velian’s eyes widened sharply, the calm on her face finally cracking, her gaze filled with unprepared confusion and shock.

The two archbishops exchanged glances, already understanding.

Archbishop Meli’s actions had confirmed Archbishop Gran’s thoughts.

When Archbishop Gran had bowed earlier, there had actually been a slight hesitation.

If Archbishop Meli had not bowed, he could have immediately stopped and overturned his assumption.

But Meli had bowed, which meant his guess was correct.

Archbishop Gran’s actions had also confirmed Archbishop Meli’s thoughts.

When Archbishop Meli had bowed earlier, there had also been a slight hesitation...

‘Hmph, that Gran must have wanted to monopolize the credit, but now he couldn’t hide it anymore.’

“Ohhh! I knew that old knight had sharp eyes!” The villagers, who had been nervous, were now completely at ease.

“Nun Velian really is the Saintess! She kept denying it, but look, even the two archbishops personally bowed! Who would have thought our insignificant Kachi Village would have the honor of hosting the Saintess, what a blessing!”

The villagers’ gazes toward Velian became even more devout and worshipful.

The two archbishops listened quietly to the villagers’ chatter, and when the word “Hero” reached their ears, their eyes lit up and their expressions grew even more serious.

‘Hero! The prophesied newly born Hero had truly appeared here!’

If the Hero had indeed been born in Kachi Village, then this Saintess before them must also be genuine!

Archbishop Meli was the first to compose herself, putting on a gentle smile, trying to appear approachable.

“Saintess, you must have come here because of the Hero, correct? After all, the two sacred classes, Saintess and Hero, are naturally drawn to each other and can sense one another. I humbly request that you lead us to meet the Hero, so we may do our utmost to protect her and ensure her smooth growth.”

Velian’s thoughts were still in disarray, she truly couldn’t figure out how she had ended up being mistaken for a Saintess.

If she had mind-reading abilities, she would absolutely dig into these two archbishops’ minds to see what they were thinking.

Looks like she could only go along with it!

Steadying herself, Velian said, “Ah, alright, follow me, but the Hero has gone out and isn’t in the village at the moment, you may need to... wait for a while before she returns.”

“No matter, please lead the way, meeting the Hero’s parents would also be good.”

* * *

Norman District.

At this moment, Anlis was panting heavily, leaning on a wooden staff, while gripping a poisoned dagger in her right hand.

She had picked up this dagger earlier when she knocked the attacker’s weapon away, never giving him a chance to reclaim it.

Though the three of them weren’t exactly reliable, they had still managed to defeat the opponent with great difficulty.

It couldn’t be helped.

Although Anlis’s class was Hero and her level was high, she had never trained, lacking any technique, fighting purely with brute force like a street brawl.

Fula’s level was low, her flame weak, unable to deal much damage.

In the end, their victory was mostly thanks to her father.

She never expected that her father, who worked in the fields every day, actually had some skill, his swordsmanship might not look powerful, but it clearly had form.

They hadn’t gone for the kill.

How could commoners casually kill someone in the city?

At most, they could knock him unconscious and disable him, then hand him over to the city guards.

The city had its own rules, after all.

Unintentionally, Anlis glanced at the mark on the back of her hand.

That was the mark Velian had placed on her before she left, saying it could help her resolve this crisis.

In the end, it hadn’t been used.

She gently rubbed the mark.

‘It was better that it wasn’t used.’

With that thought passing, Anlis stopped dwelling on it.

Compared to the useless mark, she was more puzzled about why her father hid his strength.

Thinking this, she opened her father’s status panel.

[Name: Bolai Kachi]

[Lv: 120 ‘Cursed’]

[Class: Farmer]

[Imitation Dragon God Swordsmanship: A technique modeled after the legendary lost Dragon God Swordsmanship, though not as miraculous as the original, it retains 60% of its power.]

[Natural Divine Strength: Your strength stat is innately far beyond ordinary people, requiring less training to gain greater power.]

[Poison Curse Technique: Your level and all attributes are weakened as a result.]

Anlis stared at her father’s attributes and level in disbelief.

Just seeing this, she could already piece together a whole story in her mind.

A passionate young man who learned a sword art that countless people dreamed of, charging forward in life’s script, defeating countless powerful foes, only to be struck down by fate, eventually losing heart and returning to the village to live an ordinary life as a farmer.

Her father was actually someone with such a story?

Why had he never mentioned it to her or her mother?

And that Poison Curse Technique...

Just as Anlis was about to ask something, a strange laugh suddenly came from the rooftop, cutting off her words.

“Hahaha, not bad, truly not bad, I’ve watched all of your performance, it was quite splendid.”

Anlis once again smelled a foul Corruption stench, different from the previous attacker, this one mixed with a hint of perfume, creating a bizarre and unpleasant scent.

She immediately became alert, looking toward the source of the voice.

On the rooftop stood a figure dressed in a butler’s tailcoat, slender, with an indistinct face, making it impossible to tell their gender.

[Name: Ubikaki]

[Lv: 130]

[Class: Corruption Victim]

[Corruption Will: A being that walks within the concept of Corruption, blessed by it.]

[Chaos Bewitchment: Your words are more easily believed, allowing you to corrupt others.]

‘Corruption Victim!’

Anlis’s pupils shrank, and in that instant, she suddenly realized that Velian’s setup had only now fully revealed itself.

In a flash, everything connected in her mind.

The initial attacker had only been an appetizer, meant to test her current strength through this subordinate.

Then sending this subordinate, someone she couldn’t possibly defeat, to force out her limits.

And finally, pushing her into a desperate situation so she would instinctively use the mark Velian had given her.

After defeating the enemy using the mark, she would naturally feel gratitude and grow closer and more trusting toward Velian.

If Anlis had known nothing, she might truly have believed Velian was a savior appearing at the perfect moment.

But after learning Velian’s true identity as the Corruption Monarch...

Anlis tightened her grip on the dagger, letting out a heavy breath.

‘Velian, you really planned quite the scheme.’