Chapter 34

Chapter 8 Farewell!

“Then… will you come with us to get it?”

I tilted my head slightly, my tearful eyes blinking twice, an innocent look of innocence on my face.

Brother Abe and his younger brother immediately covered their noses.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Look, we’ve only just met, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go to your place right now… How about this, you go home to get the money, and we’ll follow behind you. Then, we can wait for you near your house. Once you have the money, you can find us. How does that sound?”

Brother Abe’s small eyes, peeking out from under the black cloth, were filled with a playful smile.

I almost laughed again at his cute idea. This was the kind of person who didn’t want to be a good guy but couldn’t quite be a bad one either.

But I realized that my seemingly pitiful appearance seemed to have an odd effect in gaining people’s trust.

So I tried hard to maintain a composed expression, trying to appear even more harmless.

“Hmm… That works. How much do you need? I’m afraid my pocket money isn’t enough.”

“How much pocket money do you have?”

“Maybe a few hundred gold coins?”

The bandit brothers were stunned, their eyes wide open.

A few hundred gold coins!

She said gold coins! Not silver or copper coins!

Those were gold coins! A few hundred gold coins could sustain them for years! At least five years of luxurious living.

Thank the gods, she really is a little rich girl!

At this moment, their gazes towards me were like those of the most devout followers.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m just borrowing the money, I promise I’ll pay you back.”

Brother Abe quickly said, as if fearing I might change my mind.

He was doing his best to hide his emotions, but inside he was already overjoyed.

This girl looked so naive and easy to deceive, surely she was some noble’s young daughter who knew nothing of the world’s evils. Such children usually grow up in a pampered environment, receiving excellent education, surrounded by reasonable people, perhaps completely unaware of the dangers of human nature. Maybe tonight she snuck out alone to play the adventure game favored by nobles.

What luck, to catch such a foolish person. And… this girl truly had an angelic face… If possible, could there be a chance to take advantage of her?

If he could befriend such a wealthy young lady…

Thinking of this, Brother Abe’s eyes shone with an eerie light. The wicked hope in them made me feel uncomfortable, goosebumps breaking out all over me.

The act felt like it was about to fall apart.

“Then let’s hurry. Where’s your home?”

“Saint Marie Cathedral.”

I blinked again, my face losing its disguise, returning to normal. These two were too low-level; it was boring to play with them. Next time… I should find someone more skilled.

“What did you say?”

Brother Abe’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Brother, she says her home is Saint Marie Cathedral.”

“… Miss, we’re just trying to make a living. Don’t joke with me. How can a cathedral be your home?”

“But, I’m not lying. I live there.”

Looking at the earnest girl before him, Brother Abe swallowed hard, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“Are you… part of the Holy Church?”

“Um—”

Hearing this question, I really did tilt my head and think seriously.

Am I part of the Holy Church?

It’s hard to say. Although Carlos told me that the title of a Knight of the Pope, while bestowed by the Pope, was merely a honorary title. Knights of the Pope were heroes of humanity, not belonging to any organization, nor subject to anyone’s jurisdiction, not even Angel himself could command them. However,

This is just Carlos’s perspective, or rather, the official stance of the Holy Church.

From another angle, the Holy Church possesses a large number of well-equipped Church Knights and controls the world’s largest banks and countless currency exchange merchants with extensive resources. The largest military power and economic lifeline in human society are in the hands of the Church, and even rulers of various countries have to submit to the Church’s will. So, can a Papal Knight, no matter how strong his personal abilities are, really escape the control of the Church?

Heh heh.

If he could truly escape the control, why would he be called a Papal Knight?

“Is… that so?”

Upon hearing this ambiguous answer, Auberge felt a bit uneasy. What if this young girl really has connections with the Church… He decided to probe her indirectly.

“Is that so… then, are all your family members in the church?”

“My brother, there.”

“What is your brother’s name?”

“Angel.”

Angel? Why does this name sound familiar? Auberge began to suspect.

Although he couldn’t immediately recall who it was, any name that felt familiar to him definitely wasn’t that of an insignificant person.

“He is very wealthy. I can, let him give you, a lot, a lot of money.”

I told him seriously.

“What is your brother’s last name?”

“John. John the Eleventh.”

John the Eleventh?

Auberge was dumbfounded.

John the Eleventh!

This girl said her brother is named John the Eleventh!?

Isn’t that the Pope of the Holy Church!?!?!

Come to think of it, the Pope does indeed have a name called Angel, no wonder it felt familiar… Are you kidding me? Pope? Your brother? Do you take me for a fool?

“Do you take me for a fool?!”

Auberge roared at me angrily, completely forgetting that he was actually robbing me at this moment. Young people often lose their minds when they are fooled, disregarding everything and losing their reason.

I gave him a sweet smile.

“Am I not?”

“Auberge, this woman is playing with you,” his younger brother reminded him from the side.

“I know that, do I need you to tell me!” Auberge slapped his brother’s head again, “You’ve revealed my name, idiot.”

“…Brother, what should we do now?”

“What do you mean ‘what should we do’? I don’t know what to do either! She doesn’t have any money on her, could it be that we really follow her to the church?!”

“How do you know she doesn’t have money? What if she’s lying? Brother, search her! A child of such status must have some valuable jewelry on her!”

“…That’s right, I didn’t think of that.”

Auberge’s eyes lit up instantly, rubbing his hands together as he said to me,

“Um, sister. I don’t want to search you, it wouldn’t be very friendly. Let’s both compromise, just hand over the valuable things you have on you?”

“Okay, thank you~”

Hearing this, I nodded and pulled out the Papal Knight medal hanging around my neck, waving it in front of Auberge’s eyes.

“This, is pure gold. Do you want it?”

Indeed, it seemed to be made of high-quality gold. Auberge squinted and leaned in to carefully examine the golden medal gleaming with light.

Then he saw the iris flowers engraved on the medal.

As someone who had struggled at the bottom of society for so many years, if Auberge didn’t understand the significance of the iris, it would be an insult to his intelligence. He was the kind of person who knew exactly who he could and couldn’t provoke.

Auberge recalled the scene from earlier that day when he stood in the alleyway, looking up at the newly created Papal Knight on the balcony. In his memory, the age, physique, and voice of that person… all seemed quite similar to the girl in front of him.

“…Goodbye!”