Chapter 14: War with the Enemy.

Facing Suna’s teasing words, the scarred hunter awkwardly averted his gaze and asked politely, “So, you’re leaving town now?”

“Yeah, the townsfolk are so warm here, I’m worried they’ll try to convince me to stay as a resident saintess.

But my journey’s not over, so I’ll have to slip away quietly.”

Suna’s excuse didn’t surprise the hunter.

She suspected the faint gaze she felt at last night’s banquet came from a hidden hunter.

As a team leader, he likely knew about the event.

“Then I wish you a safe and happy journey… Saintess Suna.”

Hearing the familiar title, Suna’s veiled face froze for a moment.

Thanks to her [Veil of Truth] blessing, the hunter didn’t catch her subtle reaction.

She knew he wasn’t referring to the “deceased” Saintess Suna from Korez Town.

Her current backup identity, registered at the inn, was Suna Flurist, not Suna Deadwood.

“Hm?

Nameless hunter, you’ve been snooping on me, haven’t you?

Well, I’m forgiving, so I’ll let it slide.

See you if fate allows.”

With a playful jab, Suna bid farewell.

The scarred hunter scratched his head, his expression tinged with frustration.

Meeting an eccentric saintess was interesting, but their mission was a failure.

Eleven days ago, on March 30, his team in Korez Town was attacked by a shapeshifter.

Outplayed and injured, they prioritized survival, sent a distress signal, and gathered some clues while hiding.

Seven days ago, reinforcements arrived, and they submitted the clues.

A diviner tracked the shapeshifter, but interference magic and its constant movement hindered progress.

Yesterday, they followed the diviner’s lead to Stada when the shapeshifter paused, but found no trace.

“How do I write this report?

At least we took down a chimeric warbeast and some ancient cultists—should be enough to call it a day.”

Muttering, the scarred hunter prepared to meet his fellow team leaders to plan their wrap-up.

Suna, meanwhile, passed Stada’s checkpoint at the town wall.

Recognized by the guards, she was thanked for saving the townsfolk and waved through.

Walking along a snow-dusted plain, Suna used perception magic to stay vigilant.

She gazed complexly at the Demon King’s territory, sighing with worry.

“What now?

I can’t go back, so I’ll have to make do in the Dustney Empire.”

Accepting reality, she quickly outlined her priorities.

[First, I must keep my identity hidden, so I’ll maintain [Veil of Truth] constantly.

Second, contact the Demon King’s territory for a solution.

Third, to live in the empire, I need a job that pays and allows location changes.]

Gazing at the endless, snow-covered plain with few trees or hills, she muttered, “Guess it’s either become an adventurer or live like a wandering saintess, earning money with healing and support magic.”

She quickly dismissed the adventurer option.

Before her mission to derail the strongest hero, she’d crammed Golden Bough Temple’s basic healing and support magic, but her offensive skills were purely shapeshifter-based.

Relying on basic enhancement and healing magic to bash enemies would risk exposure.

“So, a wandering saintess it is.

For my future, I’ll need to get some Golden Bough Temple magic books.”

Setting her plan, Suna recalled the Twenty-Seventh Human-Demon War and Eleventh Iron Wall War twenty-nine years ago, collectively called the Corruption Peak War.

Humans called the former the Twenty-Seventh Hero Expedition.

During that war, a black-red mist spread hundreds of kilometers, and an ancient divine kin-led army of creations breached the northern Iron Wall, catching both humans and demons off guard.

The Dustney Empire and two warring demon kingdoms were forced to truce and unite against the endless “nightmare.”

At the war’s end, after nine years, a demon duchy broke from its kingdom due to various reasons.

That duchy, led by the demon duke who became the Burial Queen of the Garivold Demon King’s territory, was Suna’s savior.

Post-war, with the Dustney Empire’s factions gearing up for conflict, Suna was assigned two years ago to prevent the strongest hero’s rise.

“Thought it’d be a slightly tough mission, but I never expected to end up like this.”

Sighing wryly, Suna halted, her senses catching something entering her perception range on the snowy plain.