After dealing with the Blood Emperor, the success of Ainz's debut in the Katz Plains battle was basically assured.
All the preliminary work that could be done had been done, and the Blood Emperor's sudden move truly startled Iri.
Although the Blood Emperor was asked to keep it a secret for now, it was able to force the storyline back on track, which You Li, who was present at the time, found very difficult to understand.
However, it was easy to send You Li away; she believed it when told that Ainz had an even more far-reaching plan in the works.
Uh… sorry, having read the script, I can do whatever I want.
So, the time that followed was simply waiting for the Katz Plains battle, which was a very important event for Nazarick.
Of course, Iri was truly not idle during this period; she spent a lot of time in E-Rantel, as this place was about to become a battlefield.
The temporarily recruited militia were also gradually dispatched from various places, and staying in E-Rantel allowed for better collection of information in this regard, to avoid any sudden incidents similar to what happened with the Blood Emperor, and another point was to seize the opportunity to find the Yelantiel Holy Woman!
What Iri was most worried about now was this rumored Yelantiel Holy Woman!
Iri believed she had done well enough! She was kind and approachable to everyone, always maintained a welcoming smile, and no matter their status or background, as long as they sought her help for healing injuries or illnesses, she would do her best without taking a single coin. Surely, doing this much was enough!
Yet! The ungrateful people of E-Rantel and the Adventurers kept praising the Yelantiel Holy Woman, saying how good she was at this and that! They never mentioned Iri!
Iri's original intention in doing this was to imitate the Black Hero Momon created by Ainz, so that after Nazarick occupied E-Rantel, she and Fei Fei could come out and "support" Nazarick.
But… the reputation that should have belonged to her was completely stolen by that Yelantiel Holy Woman! This was truly infuriating! From the rumors she secretly gathered about the Yelantiel Holy Woman.
Basically, everything she did was exactly the same as what Iri usually did! But why did people only remember the Holy Woman's deeds and completely ignore her? And what made Iri even more concerned was!
It was the Holy Woman's identity! From the moment Iri started to pay attention and investigate the Holy Woman's identity, no matter how she approached it, she couldn't find out the Holy Woman's true identity.
Although she could indeed use Nazarick's power to investigate, this was the first time Iri had encountered a "well-matched" opponent! So Iri wanted to deal with this damned Holy Woman by herself!
However, up until now, she couldn't even figure out the other person's identity. The other person was in the dark, Iri was in the light, and the other person accomplished things and then hid their achievements, while Iri could only eat dust behind that damned Holy Woman. It was even possible that in the eyes of the people of E-Rantel and those Adventurers, everything Iri did was merely imitating that Yelantiel Holy Woman!
Now, as the war approached, more and more Kingdom soldiers gathered in E-Rantel. This should have been an opportunity for Iri to show off her skills and boost her reputation, but! But!! No matter how hard Iri tried, the Kingdom soldiers still remembered the Yelantiel Holy Woman! Not some Adventurer Iri!
So this time, Iri was truly angry, and so, today… Iri once again pulled out her usual trick, which was disguise. Anyway, so many people had come to E-Rantel recently, so she could just disguise herself as a foreigner from out of town and then ask the local Adventurers and people about the Holy Woman's situation.
Moreover, Iri also planned to use the excuse of seeking the Holy Woman's help to see if she could meet her directly. If she was lucky enough to actually see her! She would definitely catch her and throw her to the Terror Duke!
"Um, big brother, excuse me, where can I find the Yelantiel Holy Woman?" Iri put on a pitiful voice and spoke to two passing Adventurers, who looked somewhat familiar.
"Hmm… huh? That… you are…" One of the Adventurers looked at Iri with a very awkward expression.
Was her disguise "exposed"? Impossible, right? Her disguise should be perfect!
Her current outfit was inspired by the Evil-Crushing Lolita; the cloak completely covered her unique hair "color", and she wore a mask borrowed from the Evil-Crushing Lolita. With this, no one should recognize her, right!
After all, she had treated many Adventurers in E-Rantel, and she had also asked them about the Holy Woman. Their attitudes were all uniformly evasive, refusing to talk about the Holy Woman. It was obvious they wanted to hide the Holy Woman's identity!
However, for these Adventurers and ordinary people to keep her secret to that extent, she must have asked them not to reveal her identity when she helped them! This damned Holy Woman! She was indeed very careful in her actions!
"I… I am an Adventurer who came from out of town, drawn by her reputation. I just want to ask the Yelantiel Holy Woman for help. Can you tell me how I can find the Holy Woman?" Iri continued to ask, although she kept saying "Holy Woman," in reality, Iri now deeply hated this bitch.
"Uh…" The Adventurer looked Iri up and down, his face conflicted.
"What's wrong? Xiumu? Oh? Isn't this I… Mmm…" The other Adventurer turned around and noticed his companion talking to a strange person, so he also came over, and then the first Adventurer covered his mouth.
"Hmm?" Iri immediately became alert. What was the Adventurer who just came over trying to say? He only said half a sentence before the other Adventurer silenced him? Were they warning her?
Uh… wearing a mask directly is still too strange, isn't it?
"Um, little sister, if you want to find the Yelantiel Holy Woman, please go to Third Street. At the end of the street, there is a very luxurious inn, and the Holy Woman lives there." The Adventurer said to Iri after silencing his companion.
"Third Street, huh…" As soon as Iri heard this name, she felt something was wrong. Looking at the Adventurer's action of silencing his companion just now, she felt that this guy was lying to her, but if he was lying to her… he shouldn't tell her to go to Third Street, right?
Of course, Iri was very familiar with Third Street, as she also lived there. The entire street basically had very proper shops and such, and even the Adventurer's Guild was nearby, so it felt like there was no point for the Adventurers to trick her into going to Third Street, right?
"Okay! Thank you, big brother." Iri thought for a moment before realizing that the two Adventurers in front of her were still looking at her inexplicably, so she thanked them first and then walked away.
Should she go check it out? The inn at the end of Third Street that the Adventurer mentioned?
Uh… the inn at the end?? It just feels… a bit strange… but it's better to go check it out. Although she felt a sense of incongruity, Iri still decided to go see. Anyway, there was no one else in all of E-Rantel who could do anything to her, so she wasn't afraid.
…
Watching Iri walk away, Xiumu could only smile helplessly, hoping that this time Iri would realize that the Yelantiel Holy Woman was actually herself.
"Hey! Xiumu, what are you doing! What if you made Iri angry again?" Dean slapped Xiumu on the back and said. After all, there was an unwritten rule in the E-Rantel Adventurers' circle: never mention anything about the Yelantiel Holy Woman in front of Iri, because she would get directly angry.
Although she would occasionally ask about the Yelantiel Holy Woman, everyone would initially say, "Isn't the Yelantiel Holy Woman you, Iri?" which would only make her even angrier. And if it was mentioned too much, Iri would simply disappear and not show up in E-Rantel for a long time.
However, since Iri was still kind-hearted, even though she was sulking and didn't come, she still had a maid with healing abilities replace her to provide free treatment to everyone.
Although everyone had no complaints about the maid who replaced Iri, they simply wished to see Iri's lovely smile more.
And so… mentioning the Yelantiel Holy Woman would make Iri angry, and she would throw a tantrum and not come to E-Rantel! So, never mentioning this in front of Iri became a rule. Anyone who came from out of town, drawn by her reputation, would basically be warned not to mention this in front of the Holy Woman herself.
"Isn't Iri always concerned about the Holy Woman recently? Perhaps she's also very curious about who the Yelantiel Holy Woman really is? It's about time she knew." Xiumu said.
"It's useless, useless. Last week, when Iri was about to treat Rachel at the Adventurer's Guild, she casually asked, 'Who exactly is the Yelantiel Holy Woman?' Rachel, being a fool, said, 'The Holy Woman is you, Iri.' Guess what? Iri's face turned red with anger, and she immediately left Rachel, who hadn't even received treatment yet, and ran off. This isn't the first time. No matter what you say, Iri will always sweetly cry, 'I'm not the Holy Woman!' and then stomp her foot and run away." Dean said, shrugging.
Xiumu knew this too, as he was present at the time. He found Iri's flushed face truly adorable back then. Incidentally, Iri, after her anger subsided, eventually returned to treat Rachel.
"But speaking of which, Dean, how did you recognize Iri's disguise at a glance? Even though she was wearing a mask…"
Xiumu was quite curious about this. At first, when he saw Iri completely covered and wearing a mask, he wasn't very sure.
Although he did have a feeling that the little sister in front of him was Iri, she was wearing a mask. What if there really was a little sister from some family who had the same cute voice and fashion sense as Iri? That would be awkward.
"A mask can only cover the face, not the body. With Iri's figure and voice, it's hard to mistake her, isn't it? Besides… Iri's fashion style, you won't find a second person like her in all of E-Rantel, right?" Dean said.
Indeed… what Dean said was right. With Iri's striking figure and dressing style, it was too difficult to hide her identity with just a cloak and a mask. With her clumsy disguise, even the nearby children could probably see through her, right? Thinking of this, Xiumu laughed.
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