Chapter 4

I called my buddy over to one side of the Vatican garden, holding back a smile as I looked at him.

“Hey, how’ve you been lately?”

My friend looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What’s up with you being so nice all of a sudden? Seeing you like this makes me think you’re up to something.”

‘He’s sharp as always.’

I kept the smile on my face while thinking that.

“No, I was just curious if you were adjusting well here. And…”

I deliberately paused for a moment. My friend narrowed his eyes and stared at me.

“And… what?”

“Well, you know how it’s a bit burdensome for me to get involved with the Hero. But you’re different, right? You’d fit right into that Hero party, don’t you think?”

Hearing my words, he snorted as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Hey, what are you really trying to get me to do? Why should I join the Hero’s party?”

“Think about it. The Hero does such noble and honorable work. Wouldn’t it be great for you to be part of that story?”

I placed my hand on his shoulder and added with a sly smile.

“Honestly, you’d fit in better than me. I’m the Saintess, so I should stay here at the Vatican and handle holy duties. The Hero’s party is more your thing, isn’t it?”

My friend pointed at me and said, “Hey, it feels like you’re trying to push something onto me.”

“No, no. I’m serious. If you cooperate well with the Hero, you could do great things and ultimately survive here.”

I forced a smile and added, “And it’ll help you in many ways too… It’s not a bad deal, right??? Hehe…”

He looked at me suspiciously for a moment, then sighed and nodded.

“Alright, whatever. There’s nothing fun going on here anyway… Joining the Hero’s party might be interesting.”

‘Great, he’s on board.’

I cheered inwardly and shook his hand.

“Right~~ Right~~ It’ll be a big help to you later.”

After convincing my friend, I immediately moved on to the second phase of my plan.

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.

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I pulled my hood deep over my face, hiding my features and suppressing my Holy Energy as much as possible. It felt strange to suppress my Divine Power, but I had no choice.

‘If I want to survive alone in this world, I have to carve out my own path.’

As soon as I opened the guild door and entered, I pulled my hood even lower. Inside was more crowded than I expected. Adventurers were chatting noisily or picking something from the request board.

‘This is my first time in a place like this… Anyway, I should register first.’

I looked around and found the counter, quietly approaching it. A middle-aged woman was sitting at the counter. She looked up as soon as she saw me.

“Are you here to register?”

I lowered my voice as much as possible and answered.

“Yes, I’d like to register as an adventurer.”

She nodded and pulled out a form from the desk, handing it to me.

“Please write your name and some basic information here. After that, there will be a simple test. Don’t worry, your rank will be determined based on the test results.”

‘A test? It’s probably nothing major.’

I took the form and wrote my name.

“El…”

My hand stopped mid-writing.

‘…Oh, I can’t write Elysia here.’

I shook my head and quickly wrote “Ellie” before handing the form back.

“Please proceed to the test area now.”

Following her guidance, I quietly moved to the test area. There was a large orb similar to a magic power measurement device.

“It’s simple. Just place your hand on the orb and channel your magic power,” the administrator said.

I nervously placed my hand on the orb.

‘If I use too much magic power, my Divine Power might leak out… I have to be careful.’

I carefully channeled my magic power. But I was too cautious…

“Nothing’s showing up,” the administrator said in a puzzled voice.

‘…Damn, did I hold back too much?’

I tried to channel a bit more magic power, but the administrator was already shaking his head.

“It seems you have almost no magic power. You’ll have to start at a low rank.”

He wrote something on a small memo and handed it to me.

“You’ll start as a beginner adventurer, Rank E. You can rank up as you accumulate achievements.”

‘Rank E? Whatever. It’s better not to look too strong anyway.’

I took the memo and returned to the guild counter.

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.

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Back at the request board, I started looking for something suitable.

‘Goblin extermination, wolf hunting… Too cliché. But am I limited to these requests because I’m Rank E?’

Then, one request caught my eye.

“Missing Child – Location: Lucian Village”

Rank: E

Status: Incomplete

‘Oh? This seems special.’

A request to find a child seemed more interesting than simple combat. Plus, the low rank suggested I could handle it alone.

I took the request form and brought it to the counter.

“I’d like to take this request.”

The clerk checked the request and nodded.

“Confirmed. However, this request can’t be done alone. You need at least two people.”

‘…What? Two people?’

I gritted my teeth inwardly.

“Fortunately, there’s someone else who has chosen the same request. You can form a team with them.”

“That’ll do.”

“The same request…?”

Then, a voice came from behind.

“Are you here for this request too?”

Turning around, I saw a woman standing there. Short brown hair and a firm gaze. A dagger hung at her waist, and she wore light leather armor.

“I’m Claire. A C-rank adventurer. And you?”

‘C-rank? That’s pretty high up.’

I quickly pulled my hood lower and answered.

“Ellie… just an E-rank adventurer.”

Claire looked me up and down, then gave a slight smile.

“E-rank? You were going to take on this request alone? That’s pretty brave.”

‘…Is she mocking me?’

I grumbled internally but nodded.

“Well, anyway, since we’re doing this together now, let’s get along. Let’s head straight to Lucian Village.”

Claire grabbed the request form and gestured for me to follow.

“We don’t have time, so let’s hurry.”

As I followed her out of the guild, I muttered to myself.

‘A party… this is going to be more exhausting than I thought.’

—

The road to Lucian Village was long and rough. The surroundings were dense forest, and the path was gravelly. I kept my hood pulled low and walked in silence, but Claire, walking beside me, seemed to find my quietness frustrating and spoke up.

“So, Ellie… why did you become an adventurer?”

I glanced at her and gave a vague answer.

“Just… to make a living?”

Claire snorted and moved closer to me.

“To make a living? You’re not trying to dodge the question, are you? Most people have some kind of goal. Money, fame, or maybe revenge.”

I shrugged, annoyed by her barrage of questions.

“I don’t have any big goals. Just trying to survive.”

Claire shook her head, seemingly losing interest in my answer.

“You’re really unique. Not many adventurers these days have that kind of mindset.”

‘When is this conversation going to end?’

I sighed internally and quickened my pace. But then Claire suddenly leaned in close and whispered in a low voice.

“By the way… why are you wearing your hood so low? Is showing your face going to cause some kind of trouble?”

I flinched and turned my head away.

“Just don’t like the sunlight.”

“Sunlight? We’re in the middle of a forest.”

Claire looked at me with suspicion. I quickly changed the subject.

“You… why did you take this request? As a C-rank adventurer, you must have had better options.”

Claire kicked a pebble on the path and answered.

“Honestly? Just bored. Sometimes these kinds of requests can be fun.”

“Bored, huh…”

‘Upper-rank adventurers really have a different sense of things.’

She chuckled at my reaction and continued.

“And finding a missing child… if we find any clues, the reward isn’t bad, and we might even get some praise. It could be a good experience for someone like you.”

“The reward is more important than the praise.”

I muttered. Claire burst out laughing again.

“Wow, you’re really something. For an E-rank adventurer, you’re pretty realistic.”

She kept walking, not stopping as she spoke.

—

As we exited the forest, Lucian Village came into view. But something felt off.

The village was quiet. Too quiet. There was no sign of the usual noise from people or animals.

Claire looked around, her expression hardening.

“Something’s wrong. The village seems empty.”

“A child went missing… where did everyone else go?”

I muttered softly as we stepped into the village.

Claire drew her dagger and immediately went on guard.

“Ellie, be careful. In situations like this, anything could happen.”

‘I know! Claire…’

I grumbled internally as I followed her.

—

When we reached what seemed to be the village square, we found strange traces.

On the ground, there were dark red marks, as if something had been dragged. The trail led out of the village.

Claire spoke in a low voice as soon as she saw it.

“That… did someone drag the child away?”

“Who? Or what?”

“We’ll find out if we follow it.”

I scolded myself internally, thinking, ‘I was naive to think this would be an easy request,’ and followed Claire.

The trail led somewhere, and at its end, I had a feeling that another ominous event was waiting for us.