Chapter 31: The Invincible and Adorable Faceless Saint (laugh).
“““Huh?!”””
At Suna’s revelation, everyone except Pepas and Inkos showed varying degrees of surprise.
Though they’d accepted Suna as a saintess with blessings, connecting her to the “Faceless Saintess” behind a string of recent incidents was a stretch.
More crucially, as Demon Lord agents operating in a foreign empire, keeping a low profile was common sense, so they’d instinctively ruled out Suna as the Faceless Saintess.
Kerol, the mermaid ranger, sighed heavily.
“So we wasted our time?”
“Not entirely,” Pepas said. “Kerol, compile a detailed report on the Decay Omen Cult and Demon Hunter Guild conflict. Stone, Darkness, you have other intel to share, right?”
At Pepas’s directive, Kerol shrugged and nodded.
“Ugh, I thought we had a big lead, but it’s just one of us.”
Stone, muttering regretfully, moved on to another piece of intel.
“I did get something else significant. The Fallen Blood Clan is planning a [Blood Sea Banquet] in the eastern human empire, likely in one of five cities. Underground market activity there has spiked by thirty percent, with no other clear cause.”
“Fallen Blood Clan?” Suna asked. “Mr. Stone, does your intel include anything about this person’s identity?”
Projecting the silver-haired man’s image from her memory, Suna watched as Stone rubbed his chin, then shook his head.
“No. Fallen Blood Clan members rarely show their faces. The empire’s demon hunters aren’t pushovers either. A name would make it easier to track.”
At Stone’s response, Pepas eyed Suna suspiciously.
“Suna, you didn’t stir up trouble again, did you?”
“…Haha, no way, Pepas. Don’t you trust me?”
Suna forced a laugh, but at Pepas’s question, she instinctively averted her gaze.
Catching the slip, Pepas pressed with a slightly threatening tone.
“Really? Lying comes with punishment, you know.”
Facing her now-superior Pepas, Suna sighed and came clean.
“Fine, fine. I admit it. I recently raided a company in Blackmont called RichLikeSoup after stumbling on evidence of their cruel biological experiments. But when I confronted the boss, he was just a remotely controlled puppet. All I got from probing his mind was this image.”
Pepas pinpointed one of Suna’s motives.
“So, you came here hoping for help or resources.”
“…Heh, you saw through me?”
Seeing Suna’s sheepish grin, Pepas responded sternly.
“You know the outpost’s rules. No matter how much you play dumb, I can’t allocate resources or manpower for your personal goals.”
Suna’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
She’d expected this—[Web Beneath the Grove]’s mission in the empire wasn’t to eliminate ancient god-tainted groups but to curb the empire’s warlike tendencies toward the Demon Lord’s domain through intel and covert ops.
Even as friends, Pepas couldn’t justify using resources for Suna’s private aims.
“Got it,” Suna muttered, resigned.
Pepas pushed the meeting forward.
“Given the Fallen Blood Clan’s potential [Blood Sea Banquet], Stone, intensify surveillance on them. Ensure your safety while confirming if they intend to provoke war and gather intel on attendees.”
Suna blinked at Pepas’s reasonable yet considerate arrangement.
But the next second, Pepas’s mischievous side surfaced.
“As for last meeting’s issues—funding shortages and lack of public partners—our invincible, adorable Faceless Saintess (haha) will handle them.”
Suna realized the favor came with a price.
“What?! No way… I’m broke too!”
Despite her whining, Suna didn’t refuse or claim she couldn’t do it—she wasn’t one to take favors without working.
“Yay! Miss Suna, my bonus depends on you!”
Kerol clasped her hands in a playful plea, while Darkness sighed subtly and steered the topic back.
“Chief Pepas, my other intel is about the prophesied future strongest hero, Skull Pluck.”
At the familiar name, Suna’s body tensed, her pointed ears twitching slightly.
She stayed silent, showing no further reaction.
Darkness’s demeanor suggested she didn’t know Suna was the one who disrupted Skull’s fate.
“Since Skull was retrieved a month ago, both the empire and the temple have been highly protective.”
Darkness paused briefly before continuing.
“But they haven’t assigned overly strong escorts, just multiple golden-tier knights for protection. It seems they’re training him while secretly investigating his last two years.”