The Saintess (2)
Execution Priest Kirill felt a chill settle deep in his chest. An unfamiliar woman sat holding a photograph of the Saintess, smiling brightly at them. ‘...Who is she?’
No one had noticed when or how she had appeared among them. The realization that they would never have detected her if she hadn’t spoken first sent goosebumps racing across Kirill’s skin. They hadn’t noticed? Them? They were professionally trained “Cleaners”—the Church’s shadows, specialists in kidnapping and disposal unlike any other. The idea that such people could fail to sense her presence was impossible to accept. He could barely believe it even while looking straight at her. The pure, innocently smiling woman felt completely out of place in their grim surroundings. It was like staring at a ghost.
“Could you tell me why you’re targeting Lady Joan?”
“That’s…” Kirill trailed off, exchanging quick glances with the other execution priests. “The reason we’re after the Saintess is—”
In a flash, Kirill hurled himself at the woman. The rest of the priests leaped forward at the same time.
At that exact instant—
Slice─ A clean red line flashed through the air, and a head tumbled across the floor.
Having wrapped up a pleasant day with her benefactor and on her way back to the general store, Vanessa noticed she was being watched. Detecting another person’s presence was as natural as breathing to her.
Stealth and darkness—these were the attributes of the awakening ability she had realized, and she was a natural-born assassin who had wielded them freely since the moment she drew her first breath.
Using a walk as her excuse, Vanessa immediately tailed the watcher. At first she had planned only to observe. She still didn’t know what intentions they had in approaching her benefactor. But the instant she learned they were targeting Joan, observation turned into elimination. She could never tolerate anyone threatening Joan or her benefactor, the people who had saved her.
Any potential threat must be removed from the start. She remembered all too clearly what had happened to the people of East End who had failed to do so at the hands of the British government.
First, she would uncover who stood behind them.
“Where are you gentlemen from?”
“Like I’d ever t—”
Slice─ The priest’s neck was severed cleanly as he spoke. His head rolled across the ground with a dull thud.
“Where are you from?”
Holding golden scissors that dripped with blood, Vanessa asked the next priest with the same gentle smile.
“Ugh… I-I can’t say.”
Slice─
Vanessa moved from one priest to the next, politely asking about their backer each time. Those who refused to answer were removed. There was only one question, after all, but many mouths capable of answering it. Those mouths, however, were rapidly disappearing.
Slice─ After cutting the throat of yet another silent priest, Vanessa turned around.
“You’re the only one left.”
She smiled sweetly at the priest who had frozen solid.
“Where are you from?”
“……”
Kirill couldn’t believe it. All eight execution priests who had accompanied him were dead. Only he remained alive, and even his life was no longer guaranteed if he failed to answer the woman’s question. She had literally cut the others apart. Kirill had no idea how a human being could be sliced so cleanly. It was a technique he had never witnessed despite all the abductions and disposals he had carried out. He had never even heard of anyone using scissors as a weapon.
Yet more terrifying than any of that was the woman’s expression. There was no change on her face whatsoever, as though she were a farmer calmly harvesting crops. She smiled kindly, but behind that smile lay no emotion at all—not even in the moment she took a life.
“Why are you targeting Lady Joan?”
His legs shook. The woman frightened even Kirill, a man long accustomed to murder. ‘…Monster.’
Without realizing it he stumbled backward, then spun around and fled.
“U-uaaaaah!”
It was the first scream he had ever uttered in his life.
“……”
Vanessa did not pursue the fleeing Kirill. She had already planted her mana inside him. Her stealthy mana was nearly impossible to detect and would last for a long time. As long as it remained, she could locate him whenever she wished. Kirill would make an excellent guide to lead her straight to the mastermind targeting Joan.
On her way back to the general store, Vanessa felt she finally understood why she had ended up with her benefactor. In a world where people like this roamed freely, it was clearly far more dangerous than East End.
“Did you enjoy your walk?”
“Yes, I had a wonderful time thanks to you, Benefactor.”
Vanessa smiled brightly at Choi Seojun, who greeted her with warm kindness. And she thought to herself: I will never let anyone touch this person.
The next day, after a round of bowling, a shower, and a good night’s sleep, a KakaoTalk message arrived from Kim Hayun saying she had found a house.
‘She really likes her emoticons.’
Still, having a guild was convenient. They desperately needed a new house now that Vanessa had joined them. The general store had been renovated and expanded, but a proper separate home would be better. Who knew how many more people might end up staying with them?
He summoned Joan and Vanessa and asked for their opinions.
“Which house do you two like?”
“The place we have now is perfectly fine. There’s no need to go through the trouble of finding a new house just for us.”
“I was already planning to move anyway, so please don’t feel burdened.”
“Then it seems we should simply choose whatever place you prefer, Seojun.”
“Should we?”
“Yes.”
Joan looked perfectly content with their current living situation. She was the kind of person who wouldn’t complain even if she had to live in a tiny attic room. In any case, she was far too kind. It only made him want to do even more for her.
“What about you, Vanessa?”
“How about this one?”
Vanessa pointed at a quiet residential property with an open, unobstructed view.
“I chose it because it looks like there won’t be many people around.”
She smiled brightly. It seemed she cared more about the surrounding environment than the interior of the house itself.
‘She must prefer quiet places.’
That made sense. Crowds offered no advantages for someone like her.
While they were examining the house Vanessa had selected, Joan spoke up again.
“Benefactor.”
“Yes?”
“Could you summon me again tonight?”
“It’s no trouble at all. Is something the matter?”
“I’d like to explore this new world a little.”
“Understood.”
He nodded without hesitation at Vanessa’s request. When Joan had first arrived she had also wandered around alone from time to time. Since they had come to a distant new land, he wanted to give them as much freedom as possible.
In the end he accepted Vanessa’s suggestion and chose a quiet, spacious house close to the store.
But…
‘Huh. It’s pretty expensive.’
The jeonse alone was 3.2 billion won. On the other hand, the money he had saved—including the amount earned from selling An Wi’s sword—came to roughly 3.6 billion. He wavered for a moment, but the moment he saw the magnificent 80-pyeong residence his mind was made up.
‘Let’s just do it.’
You need a house before you can make money. He rose from his seat.
“Let’s go earn some money.”
“Pardon?”
“The gate. I think it’s time I started making some cash.”
From today onward, he would have to push himself.
He had only cleared C-class gates until now, so he felt slightly nervous. From B-class onward, these were considered true upper-tier gates.
‘I really want to get some more slots, though.’
Entered upper gate.
— Clearing five upper gates or completing related quests grants a chance to obtain additional slots.
‘Now this is worth doing.’
The message that swept away his earlier frustration filled him with motivation.
“Let’s go.”
Watching the green giants emerge from the forest, he strode forward confidently.
‘The standard way to handle ogres is to lure them one at a time.’
As he recalled the proper strategy against the creatures’ massive size—
Whoosh!
Vanessa shot forward.
And then—
Slice─ The ogre’s ankle was severed in a perfectly straight line.
“Grrraaah!”
Thud.
The ogre that had lost its ankle couldn’t keep its balance and collapsed. A single stab to the heart finished it.
“?”
The hunt had been so effortless that he froze for a moment.
Another ogre that had been charging boldly suddenly clutched its face and collapsed, blinded by radiant holy power. It looked exactly like a vampire staring into sunlight.
Schlick─ Almost before it hit the ground, Vanessa appeared like a ghost and sliced its neck clean through.
‘Is this really a B-class gate?’
Why did it feel easier than the C-class ones?
“KRRRAAAAH!”
The “Ogre King” that had been charging in a frenzy suddenly stopped dead when it saw its kin being slaughtered. Then, as if nothing had happened, it turned and calmly walked back into the forest. The U-turn was so natural he almost thought the creature had simply come out for a stroll.
‘Looks like it’s running away.’
He raised Napoleon’s Rifle and aimed at the thick calf.
Bang—!
The magic bullet struck, tearing open the hide. Joan’s holy power poured into the wound, widening it at terrifying speed. Vanessa immediately closed in, sliced once, and that was the end.
Gate:B-1
Clear Rank:SSS
“……”
It looked like he wasn’t even necessary for B-class gates anymore.
‘I need to figure out how to apply the fountain pen.’
That night, after returning from the gate clear, Vanessa gazed at the darkened window. The mana she had planted in the priest the previous day had moved to a new location.
“……”
Confirming that the mana was lingering in one spot, Vanessa glanced toward Choi Seojun’s room. Sensing that he had fallen asleep, she quietly slipped out of the general store.
It seemed tonight’s walk would be rather long.