Chapter 86: This Kind of Meeting Is Such a Beautiful Loss~
Before the huge rocks fell, Peiya quickly put down the potions and rushed back to the surface, where Elise had been waiting for a long time.
“I’m back.”
Her heart was beating fast. When she saw that Elise was not hurt, it felt like a heavy stone in her chest finally dropped.
Luckily, Elise looked completely fine.
Peiya stopped her own bad thoughts. A good thing is a good thing, no need to overthink or worry too much.
“Miss Peiya, are you done with your task?”
Elise spoke softly, a gentle smile appearing on her delicate face.
It was like a ray of sunlight breaking through dark clouds, warm and comforting.
Especially after an adventure, being able to meet someone you care about, talk and laugh together… it was truly a wonderful feeling.
It made all the effort and struggle feel meaningful.
“Of course,” Peiya replied softly, stretching her body. “But I couldn’t stop the Ice Bear King. He escaped.”
“It’s fine. As long as you returned safely, that’s enough. He didn’t seem to have much hostility. Since we already got the answers we needed, this journey is already quite complete. Let the past stay in the past.”
“Yeah. We can talk about the details later. The Church people will arrive soon, what do you plan to do?”
Elise paused for a moment, her eyes moving across the unconscious adventurers on the wall and the direction of the pit.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll go bring those people up. We can’t let them die here.”
“Oh…”
“You’re not happy?”
“Not really. Just go and come back safely.”
In the end, what happened with Anna was her personal matter. It was better not to let Elise know.
After a quick exchange, Elise went to rescue the people below. Though she said she would go personally, she actually just stood at the entrance and used magic to lift the three people and throw them to a visible spot.
Peiya watched as they were roughly tossed onto the ground by magic, and the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
For some reason, seeing that made her feel a little relieved.
Elise really knew how to take care of her feelings.
Thinking about the Dawn Guild notes she had accidentally given Elise before, along with Elise’s unusual behavior just now…
With Elise’s sharp observation, it was impossible for her not to notice something.
Just now, when Elise rescued them, she didn’t touch them at all, she used ice magic the whole time.
Did she already notice something?
For a moment, Peiya didn’t know how to face Elise in the future.
When she saw Elise not touching others, she actually felt a little happy inside.
But she wasn’t like this before!
What was going on…?
She suddenly wished Elise would just stay by her side alone. That would be nice.
“I’m back. What’s with that expression?”
Elise dusted off her hands and noticed Peiya lowering her head.
“Me?” Peiya suddenly raised her head. Seeing Elise slightly startled, her expressions became more lively. “I’m fine. Since we saved them, let’s go.”
“Wait a moment.”
Elise reached out and smeared some powder onto Peiya’s face. Her originally pretty face was quickly turned into a messy, dirty look.
“What are you doing?”
“Disguise. If you go out like this, you’ll attract attention. Right now, you’re very valuable in the eyes of the Church.”
“Oh, you should’ve said earlier. That’s easy.”
Peiya let down her hair, pulled it over her face, and made a tired expression.
“Won’t doing that make you stand out even more?”
Elise couldn’t help laughing when she saw Peiya suddenly let her hair down, looking like a messy ghost.
“Just go out normally. Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Peiya brushed her hair aside with her fingers. Seeing how confident Elise was made her feel warm inside. Maybe this is what it feels like to have someone protecting you.
She, Peiya, finally has someone to rely on now!
The two of them left the cave one after another. Not long after, they ran into people from the church.
Those people wore clean church robes, and just from the material, they looked extremely expensive. Thinking about what she had seen along the way, Peiya’s expression didn’t look very good.
Those dead church members were probably people who secretly entered the witch’s forbidden area and were killed by the Ice Bear King. As for the treasure they wanted…
It was most likely related to the whereabouts of the Calamity Witch, Chris. Even though the Ice Bear King didn’t say it directly, Peiya could guess most of it from the clues she had.
At this moment, several church members also noticed the group of adventurers coming out. They didn’t recognize Peiya, but someone recognized Elise.
One person, clearly dressed differently from the others, stepped forward and bowed.
“Lady Elise, how is the situation inside?”
Elise glanced at them coldly. Seeing that they were just minor members, she pointed behind her.
“The remaining enemies have been cleared. Are you an Judicator?”
“Yes, my lady. You have sharp eyes. My name is Bal. Father Ross is waiting outside. If you want to know anything, you can ask him.”
“I understand.” Elise paused. “There are many injured people inside. Did you bring a healing team?”
“There are injured? Charles, go back and bring the sisters here. Can you handle it?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t fail the mission.”
From the original group of seven, three people left. Led by Charles, they exited the cave.
Peiya looked at Bal and noticed that he was wearing the same kind of Judgment Cross as hers. Elise must have used that to figure out his identity.
“And this young lady is?”
Bal noticed the girl standing next to Elise and felt it would be rude not to ask.
“An outside helper. Alright, you should go down and gather clues. If you go too late, some adventurers might die on the spot.”
Elise quickly sent him away, clearly not wanting him to interact too much with Peiya.
“Yes…”
Bal glanced at the unconscious adventurers in the cave. His brows frowned slightly, as if he was looking at a group of troublesome insects.
Peiya frowned. She suddenly remembered that the church and adventurers didn’t get along well. In the church’s eyes, many adventurers were like unstable weapons raised by the kingdom.
The royal academy taught them that the church was evil. Because of that, it would be strange if adventurers and the church had a good relationship.
Honestly, the king’s method was quite cruel. He successfully shifted the conflict onto the adventurers.
Even if they knew the real cause was the king, ordinary people didn’t even have the right to choose their background. Many became adventurers because they had no choice.
However, the middle and lower ranks of the church still preferred to vent their anger on ordinary adventurers. History really feels like a cycle. Back then, when the church dealt with witches, it was also done without much discrimination.
“Miss Peiya, did you notice what just happened?”
“What do you mean?” Peiya looked at Elise, confused.
“The church. Their attitude toward adventurers has never been friendly. If they ever treat you badly in the future, I hope you won’t keep it to yourself. Tell me right away.”
Peiya paused for a moment, then smiled.
“It’s fine. I’m already used to it. At first, it did hurt a lot… but after meeting you, I don’t seem to care about those things anymore~”