Wait… could it be…?
Suddenly, a bold guess flashed through Charles's mind. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed right!
With this thought, he turned his head in disbelief, secretly glancing to catch Malena's expression—only to see her cheeks burning red, utterly flustered, looking so mortified it was as if she wished she could vanish.
At once, he knew his suspicion was true. His heart began to pound, and he felt his own face flush and heat up uncontrollably.
Inside the cup was truly the milk that Malena herself had expressed!
Realizing this, a wave of panic and confusion swept over him, making it hard to control his expression. As fate would have it, Malena happened to look over too, and their eyes met.
The embarrassment on each other's faces told them everything: both now knew what was in the cup—and both realized the other knew as well. They both knew exactly what was running through the other's mind…
The air went silent, awkwardness thick as a blanket. Only Lisa remained oblivious, since her mother had never expressed milk into a cup before, leading her to believe it really was just leftover cow's milk from last night.
Proud of her mother's milk-warming skills, she looked at Charles with bright, innocent eyes and asked, "Priest, does it taste good?"
Charles, forcing himself, nodded awkwardly. "Mm, it's very tasty."
"If you like it, that's great. Mom's milk always tastes the best." Upon hearing this, Lisa beamed all the more. "You can come here often! Every day, Mom makes plenty of milk for us to drink."
"Mom always says she doesn't know how to repay you for everything you've done for us!"
Malena, now red to the roots of her hair, snapped in shame and anger, "Lisa!"
Lisa blinked, but was utterly unafraid, only giggling into her hands. "Mom's embarrassed!"
Charles wished the ground would swallow him up. Even though the little girl thought it was just milk, he and Malena knew the truth!
Before the embarrassment could escalate further, he stood quickly. "I should go. Tonight's events aren't over yet. There's much left to handle."
He tried to excuse himself, but Lisa wasn't done with him. "Huh? Priest, aren't you going to finish your milk?"
He stiffened, but, bracing himself under Malena's gaze, lifted the cup and forced himself to finish the drink in a single swallow.
…It really did taste rather nice.
Hiding just how awkward he felt, he set down the cup. "Thank you for the treat, Lisa."
Lisa laughed cheerfully. "Don't thank me, Priest . Thank Mom! She's the one who made such delicious milk."
Charles was going numb from embarrassment. He turned to look at Malena, who was now so red and lost that she barely knew what to do with her hands. Struggling for composure, he said, "Thank you for the milk, Malena madam."
Malena covered her face with her hands, so desperate to avoid the situation that she nearly fainted. "No need, Priest… If you come next time, there'll be more…"
Even as she said it, she regretted it immediately.
Dear gods, what am I saying?! Of all the moments for polite small talk…
Charles's thoughts were no less of a mess. Quickly blurting "Next time for sure," he made good his escape from the residential district.
Lisa just stared after him, puzzled by the way the Priest was walking, his posture oddly hurried.
Unable to understand, she simply stopped thinking about it. She turned back to her mother—only to find her cheeks so red she seemed to be glowing.
Concerned, Lisa hurried to her side. "Mom, are you alright? Do you feel sick?"
"Are you cold? I'll get you a glass of warm milk to cheer you up."
At this moment, Malena would have liked nothing more than to give her daughter a thrashing.
My dear girl, you'll be the death of your poor mother from embarrassment!
Leaving Malena's blushing misery aside, Charles returned to the monastery. First, he joined the witches to magically clean away the corpses and bloodstains.
The city hall of South Harbor District was useless and corrupt. True power belonged to the Amazons living in the neighborhood, but certain appearances still needed to be maintained. Thankfully, the body count was low and confined, and word hadn't spread — otherwise, Blackstaff Tower might start paying attention, which would mean real trouble.
Once the traces were cleared, Andny brought him troubling news: that succubus was almost certainly dead. None of the witches had found even the slightest trace left behind.
Not even a scrap.
Charles could only sigh, resigned to the fact that Ines had powerful escape spells, and his own ranged stopping power was still a bit lacking.
His Storm Warhammer's throwing range was limited. In situations like earlier, when enemies flew high above and exchanged spells at long range, it was almost useless. His hammer simply couldn't be thrown far enough, so his ability to stop a retreat was very weak.
With a sigh, Charles glanced down at the plain hammer hanging at his hip. It was just a common model, after all. It could only hold two spell slots—a single first-level spell's worth—which put strict limits on its power and range.
Oh well. It seemed the monastery's secrets were destined to fall into enemy hands.
Fortunately, not all was lost. While the succubus escaped, several cambions and human kidnappers had been captured.
Even though the hour was late, Charles, anxious and sleepless, went with the witches to interrogate the prisoners in the dungeon.
The humans were quick to talk. Hard-bitten criminals they might be, but at least they weren't comfortable consorting with demons. Once they learned their job had been to serve fiends, they confessed everything they knew.
In short, they belonged to a new gang in the slums called the Seayard Gang. After beating a Xanathar's Guild underboss and expanding their turf, they were in rapid growth—but short on funds. Lately they'd take any work at all, and kidnapping a little girl was no problem for them.
As for their leader? He'd already died by Charles's sword during the battle. That man's strength was higher than the other kidnappers, but he made little impression; so much so that Charles couldn't quite remember killing anyone especially stronger than the rest.
In sum, these guys had only been hired by the succubus, disposable cannon fodder with no knowledge of important intel. Once Charles had gotten all he could from them, he gave them a swift end.
The captured cambions, on the other hand, were stubborn. Even as prisoners, they spat curses at him, relying on the fact that fiends resurrect after death and so defiantly had nothing to fear.
Charles had no patience for such games, especially while still angry over Ines's disappearance. He used the cruelest, most sadistic methods of torture he knew, finally extracting some information.
Simply put, all his suspicions were confirmed. They did indeed serve the Abyssal Lord Montport, sent to kidnap a small "offering"—clearly Lisa.
Having the answer, Charles sighed. He didn't kill them—after all, they'd just return to the Infinite Layers of the Abyss anyway. Instead, he built a new dungeon beneath the clinic and locked them away, never to see the sun again.
Only when all this was done did he wash up, then sank exhaustively into sleep.
He knew his days of peaceful growth were over. Now, he had to actively face the threat of the Abyssal Lord.
...
Rubble District, Rockseeker Camp.
Anno gazed at the fully assembled Adventurer Squad beside her, unable to hold back her excitement. This was her first time venturing out as an independent adventurer, joining a band of strangers on a mission in the wild.
She had to admit—the feeling was truly exhilarating.
She had joined a temporary squad of eight, built on a core of four adventurers, then recruiting another four members including herself.
The party's composition was well-balanced: a female brass Dragonborn barbarian, a male dwarf warrior, a tall red-haired human female warrior, and Anno herself as the frontline's four members;
The backline included two male Halflings—one a Wanderer, one a Bard—an Evocation School female Gnome Mage, and a life domain male cleric.
It was a textbook team setup: someone to handle traps, a tank, DPS, AOE, support, and healing. By Anno's own studies on adventurer party composition, getting three spellcasters plus herself—a half-caster—meant the team could solve almost any challenge.
Although, in her view, the rest of the party's level wasn't high—none besides herself had passed the Adventurer Guild's level-five examination—it didn't matter. Their current mission wasn't difficult: they were headed to a dwarven copper mine called The Tide Caverns, to investigate the sudden appearance of undead and monsters, and, if the opportunity arose, eliminate them.
It was a typical commission—almost nothing could go wrong. Besides, even if something unexpected did occur, she could protect her comrades with her divine light, and her Divine Smite was the ultimate bane of the undead.
She found herself looking forward, excited to see what this adventure would bring, and what kind of role she herself might play.
Noticing the excitement on her face, the tall, red-haired female warrior by her side offered a gentle smile. "Looking forward to it? Ready to solve the dwarves' troubles and be hailed as a hero in their eyes?"
This strong and curvaceous female warrior was Bonnie, the captain of the Adventurer Squad and, aside from Anno, its highest-leveled member—a solid level four, enough to command the respect of the others.
But most convincing weren't just her strength, but her leadership and adventure experience. By her looks, her skin, and her sturdy motherly build, it was clear she wasn't young.
In fact, Anno had learned she was already thirty, married, and had a child. She had retired from adventuring, but when her husband was laid off due to his age, she had no choice but to take up her sword again to help support her family.
Fortunately, her strength hadn't faded with time, and her experience was plenty for work in the Rubble District.
"Mhm!" Anno nodded vigorously, full of respect for this sisterly figure who looked out for her. "This is my first time ever adventuring in an underground mine!"
"Heh, real adventures aren't always as pretty as you might think, Anno." Bonnie smiled indulgently, unconcerned by her inexperience.
They'd dueled before—with neither casting a spell—and Anno had managed to win purely by swordplay. As far as Bonnie was concerned, the strong deserved respect, no matter how new. "Especially fighting undead. Skeletons are tolerable, but if you run across zombies, the stench will have you losing your breakfast."
"And that's not the worst. For the sake of clues—and loot—you have to fight through your nausea, rifling through muck and enemy corpses for spoils… What do you think, sound pleasant?"
Anno thought a moment, then made a pained expression. "I… I'll hold it in!"
"Haha, hope you do." Bonnie smiled again, clearly pleased. She couldn't hide her fondness for this cute, courteous, and incredibly strong young paladin—always eager to learn. She wanted to share all her experience with her as quickly as possible. "But if you can overcome all that, I think you'll come to love the feeling of adventure."
With everyone gathered, she looked around, then led the way. "Let's go—time to clear the undead from The Tide Caverns for the dwarves!"
...
Afternoon, scriptorium, first floor.
Andny sat on her bench, flipping through a religious tome of the Goddess of Life, her lips gently parting as she read aloud to the little girl beside her.
Next to her sat little Lisa, perched high on her bench, legs too short to touch the floor, kicking gently in the air.
She stared at Andny's delicate face with her big, beautiful black eyes, listening intently to her reading, completely enraptured.
Lisa loved this petite, similarly slight and purple short hair young nun sister. For so long, she'd been the one to keep Lisa company, learning the teachings of the Goddess of Life from the beginning. When they didn't understand something together, they'd go ask the raven-haired, dark-eyed Sophia.
To Lisa, it didn't feel like she was being force-fed knowledge by some distant figure, but as if she was studying with a friend. She cherished the feeling of equality, making her all the fonder of time with Andny.
But what Lisa didn't know was that, behind the gentle smile on the nun's face, Andny was utterly at her wits' end.
She knew this little girl's value was immense, but none of the witches understood the doctrine of the Goddess of Life—so no one was willing to teach Lisa.
Well, except Sophia—the wise memory witch—but she was needed to assist Charles with his Eldritch Invocation studies, so the task had fallen inevitably to the other witches.
Passed down and down, by order of rank, the least significant, weakest witch—Andny—was stuck with the duty.
No choice, knowing no more herself than anyone else, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and teach Lisa from scratch in the scriptorium.
"…The Goddess says that in this material world, every living being has the right to pursue happiness and affection. To be timid or self-abasing is to willingly give up that right; only the active and confident will attract the greatest favor…"
"…The Goddess says that, under my radiance, all beings of wisdom are equal. So do not be humble, do not be fearful, do not despair. No one is unworthy of anything—when you step forward to pursue happiness, you are already worthy of what you seek…"
"…The Goddess says, if someone stronger oppresses you, do not be terrified, do not despair. They, too, have their own shortcomings and weaknesses. Find them, exploit them, and overcome, to win the joy that your heart desires…"
Andny chanted the holy words; beside her, Lisa listened quietly. This was hardly Andny's first time reading the goddess's teachings, and at first it had been merely mechanical, with inward scorn and disbelief.
But as the days and readings accumulated, as she pondered her situation—and found encouragement in the tomes—her resistance faded, and she began to truly consider their meaning.
Bit by bit, she found herself accepting the message, even moved by it—maybe, she thought, the goddess was right, after all.
Today, the gradual change finally reached a turning point. With each line, each line of divine script entering her mind, confusion crept into Andny's eyes…
Don't be timid or self-abasing—be active, be confident, pursue affection and happiness…
These words echoed in her mind—until they filled her thoughts completely…
Maybe, I can…
--------------------------------------
Enjoying the story? Get early access to 90+ Advanced Chapters!
👉 Support now: patreon.com/TransFic
--------------------------------------