Chapter 21: Pure white letter paper.

The day after the subjugation battle, Ordis was still basking in the afterglow of victory.

For the Iron Sword party, today was the happiest day of all… distribution day.

At the guild counter, a heavy coin pouch landed on the oak table with a dull, intoxicating thud.

Thanks to Hill’s outstanding performance in this subjugation battle, and Elisa’s astonishing damage-tanking numbers, the guild had issued an extra, quite generous bonus.

A full fifty gold coins!

Hill stared at the glittering pile of gold, eyes faintly sparkling.

“Fifty… Now I can refine that mithril shortsword one more time, or maybe buy those boots enchanted with Windstride…”

A fair, slender hand reached over—elegant yet swift—and swept the pouch straight into its owner’s bosom.

“No can do, Hill.”

Phyllis smiled as she pulled out an account ledger and a quill, already scribbling rapidly across the page.

“This money needs to be saved. We have to plan for much longer-term goals.”

“Longer-term goals?”

Hill blinked.

“Yes.”

Phyllis kept her head down, focused on the calculations.

“For example, someday we’ll buy a house with a big garden. We’ll establish our own guild headquarters. And Hill’s retirement fund in the future…”

“Retirement fund…”

The corner of Hill’s mouth twitched.

“I only just came of age.”

Though the exact age was unclear, judging by physical sensation, it should be right around adulthood.

“Planning ahead is the vice-captain’s duty.”

Phyllis closed the ledger, counted out five gold coins from the pouch, and handed them to Elisa, who had been watching with wide, hopeful eyes.

“Here, Miss Elisa. This is for your equipment repair costs and nutrition expenses. Remember to buy plenty of meat—you’ve seemed a tiny bit thinner lately. You won’t be able to take hits properly if you get any lighter.”

“Thank you, Vice-Captain Phyllis!”

Elisa accepted the coins with tears of gratitude in her eyes.

(In truth she hadn’t lost weight; it was just that the dents in her armor made her look thinner.)

Next, Phyllis took out a single silver coin and flipped it playfully in her palm.

In the corner, Nia’s ears immediately shot straight up; her tail spun like a propeller.

“Nia, you did very well this week. Here’s your pocket money.”

Phyllis flicked the silver coin over.

“Nyaa! Banzai!”

Nia caught it mid-air and immediately started rubbing her cheek against it in delight.

“I can buy sooo many dried little fishies!”

Finally, Phyllis turned toward Hill.

Hill obediently held out both hands, eyes full of anticipation.

Phyllis blinked once, reached into her own pocket… and placed two copper coins in Hill’s palm.

“……?”

Hill stared at the two pitiful little coppers.

“Phyllis, this is…?”

“Hill’s pocket money, of course.”

Phyllis smiled as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Hill eats my food, lives in my house, and wears clothes I bought. You don’t actually need to spend money at all. These two coppers are enough to buy a couple of candied apples from a street stall when you get a craving.”

“But I wanted to buy a whetstone…”

“I already bought the whetstone.”

Phyllis pointed at Hill’s waist.

“And it’s the very best—dragon-bone whetstone. So Hill only needs to focus on practicing swordsmanship obediently. No need to worry about these vulgar, money-stained matters.”

Hill opened their mouth, then finally let out a helpless sigh and pocketed the two coppers.

Something felt off—being treated like a child under strict supervision… and yet, it was impossible to deny that Phyllis arranged everything with perfect order.

Being a hands-off figurehead actually felt… kind of comfortable?

Watching Hill give in, a flicker of satisfaction passed through Phyllis’s eyes.

Perfect.

Financial blockade is step one of control.

As long as there’s no money in your pockets, you can’t go anywhere. You’ll never be able to leave me.

…

By the time they returned to the dormitory in the White Rose District, dusk was already settling.

Phyllis was in the entryway, helping Hill change shoes.

She had insisted on it herself—said she wanted to contribute something to the team. Hill found it a little strange, but couldn’t bring themself to refuse.

Suddenly, Phyllis’s movements paused.

In the mailbox by the entrance lay a single letter.

Unlike the previous scarlet guild conscription order, this one was pure white.

The paper stock was of the highest quality, edges gilded, sealed with an exquisite wax stamp.

A double-headed eagle clutching a cross.

The confidential seal of the Holy See’s Supreme Tribunal.

Hill noticed the letter too and asked curiously:

“Is that… a letter from the Church? Phyllis, is it for you?”

Phyllis’s expression did not change in the slightest.

She picked up the letter and lightly brushed her fingertip across the emblem.

“Ah, probably from the convent I used to stay at.”

Phyllis tossed out the excuse casually; her voice remained perfectly steady—not even her heartbeat skipped.

“They’re most likely asking about the formula for holy water again. Those old nuns can never remember the proportions.”

“Oh. Then go ahead and read it. I’m going to take a bath.”

Hill had zero interest in Church trivia and yawned as they headed toward the bathroom.

Today’s battle had been easy, but the mental tension had never let up. Now that it was over, exhaustion was finally catching up.

“Go on. Remember not to make the water too hot.”

Phyllis smiled and watched Hill’s back disappear around the stair landing.

Only after she was certain Hill could no longer hear anything from this side—

—the smile on Phyllis’s face vanished completely in an instant.

What remained was an expression colder than midwinter frost.

She did not open the letter.

She could recite its contents with her eyes closed.

Nothing but the usual nonsense: “Subject 779, why have you remained stationed in Ordis for so long?”, “Why have you unauthorizedly employed high-grade forbidden techniques?”, “Report mission progress immediately,” and so on.

“…How annoying.”

Phyllis murmured under her breath.

The voice was so icy it was hard to believe it belonged to the gentle girl from moments ago.

She walked to the fireplace.

The flames were roaring.

Phyllis raised her hand and—still unopened—dropped the confidential letter, wax seal and all, straight into the fire.

Sizzle!

The moment the flames touched the envelope, they flared into an eerie, sickly green.

The reaction of the tracking magic woven into the paper being forcibly destroyed.

Phyllis watched expressionlessly as the letter turned to ash in the green fire.

The firelight danced in her pupils like twin will-o’-the-wisps.

I’m very busy right now.

Busy taking care of Hill. Busy cooking for Hill…

Busy turning Hill into my personal possession.

I don’t have time to deal with the orders of you bunch of decrepit fossils.

“Phyllis? I forgot my bath towel!”

Suddenly Hill’s voice drifted down from the bathroom upstairs.

The ghostly flames in Phyllis’s eyes snuffed out instantly.

She turned around; the sweet, flawless, tender smile was back on her face.

“Coming~!”

She answered brightly, voice brimming with affection.

“I’ll bring it right up—and I’ll scrub your back for you too!”

She stepped past the shadow of the fireplace and headed toward the brightly lit second floor.

As for the letter that had become ashes, and the colossal power it represented…

In Phyllis’s eyes, it wasn’t nearly as important as fetching a bath towel for Hill.

…

Inside the bathroom.

Steam filled the air.

Hill lay draped over the edge of the tub, letting Phyllis gently wipe their back with a soft towel.

“Phyllis, what did the letter say?”

Hill asked casually.

“Nothing important.”

Phyllis’s fingers, slick with body wash, slid lightly down the groove of Hill’s spine.

“They were just asking whether I’ve been doing well lately, and if I’ve been praying on time.”

“And what did you reply?”

“I wrote back that…”

Phyllis leaned down and whispered beside Hill’s ear with a soft laugh.

“I’m living very happily right now. Because I’ve found the deity I will serve for the rest of my life.”

“Deity?”

Hill paused, not quite following.

“You mean the Goddess?”

“Hehe… yes.”

Phyllis did not explain further.

Her fingers traveled up along Hill’s neck, then gently pressed the back of Hill’s head, forcing them to tilt their chin up slightly.

Phyllis gazed at that slender, fragile stretch of white throat—Hill’s vital point.

With just a little strength, it could be snapped.

But instead she simply lowered her head and placed a tender, almost reverent kiss on the pulsing carotid artery.

“You are my miracle, Hill.”

The kiss tickled; Hill shrank their neck.

“Stop it, that tickles… You can’t joke like that. If the Church heard you, they’d accuse you of blasphemy.”

“It’s fine…”

Phyllis straightened up. Deep in her eyes, mad flames flickered silently.

If the Church dares interfere with us…

Then I’ll burn the Church down too.

“Alright, the water’s getting cold. Up you go.”

Phyllis picked up the large bath towel and wrapped Hill like a swaddled infant, then scooped them into a princess carry.

“Hey! I can walk by myself!”

Hill protested.

“The floor is slippery.”

Phyllis’s reasoning was ironclad.

“Besides, Hill just finished bathing—your soles are too tender right now. You can’t step on hard floors.”

As she carried Hill out of the bathroom, Phyllis passed the living-room window.

Outside the window.

A black crow perched on a treetop, staring fixedly into the house.

A spy of the Church.

Phyllis carried Hill without glancing sideways.

But the instant they passed the window, the fingers hidden behind her back twitched slightly.

An invisible wind blade slipped through the crack in the glass.

The crow on the branch didn’t even have time to caw before it exploded into a mist of blood, dissolving into the night.

“What’s wrong?”

Hill felt Phyllis’s steps pause for a moment.

“Nothing.”

Phyllis looked down at the person in her arms and smiled radiantly.

“I was just thinking… the moonlight tonight is truly beautiful. So pure. Not a single impurity.”