Chapter 69
As she stood there staring blankly at the village, a child scurrying by stopped in their tracks.
“Adlen is back!”
Upon hearing the shout, Adlen lifted the child up high.
“Yes, I’m back! Has everything been okay in the village?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.”
The child’s clothes were worn but clean, and they appeared well-fed. Moreover, their cheerful expression suggested that life here wasn’t bad.
“But who’s the lady next to you? And where’s Eugene?”
“He’ll be coming a bit later. This here is Irene. How old are you?”
Caught off guard by the casual question, Irene answered before she realized it.
“Twenty.”
“You’re younger than me.”
“How old are you, Adlen?”
“Twenty-five! Would you like to call me ‘sister’?”
Irene was a bit taken aback by the sudden offer. She wasn’t used to dealing with such straightforward people.
“…Sure.”
She hesitated but then agreed, and Adlen gave her a playful pat on the back.
“Oof!”
Adlen was so strong that Irene was jolted forward. Someone else caught her as she stumbled.
“Welcome back, Adlen. But you shouldn’t hit a new guest so hard.”
“I wasn’t hitting her! Just gave her a gentle pat.”
“That’s what hitting is.”
The man who had caught Irene looked irritated. He straightened her up from where she had frozen in his arms.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“Adlen is just strong, she didn’t mean any harm.”
“What do you mean, ‘she didn’t mean any harm’? Of course, I didn’t!”
Adlen protested from behind, but the smiling man ignored her completely.
“What’s your name?”
“Irene.”
“Irene, that’s a beautiful name. I didn’t expect you to bring a new member today. We’ll prepare a place for you soon. In the meantime, would you stay with Adlen?”
A new member? That’s not why she came here.
Feeling confused, she looked at Adlen, who just winked back nonchalantly.
“He’s Chess, the one who manages our village.”
“That’s an unusual name.”
Irene blurted out, flustered. However, Chess responded without batting an eye.
“I liked playing chess. Well, I’ll go get things ready. We’ll have a welcome party for our new member this evening. It would have been nice to have a heads-up about this.”
Chess glared at Adlen before walking away. Adlen offered no explanation.
“Okay, kiddo, you should go now too.”
“I’m not a kid!”
The child grumbled as they followed Chess into the distance.
Only then did Irene get the chance to question Adlen.
“What is all this about? Why am I staying here?”
Adlen shrugged in response.
“Do you have any other options? You can’t exactly announce here that you’re the Saintess.”
That’s true, but she wondered how she was supposed to leave later. Did they plan to keep her here indefinitely?
As she looked at Adlen with a troubled expression, she soon shook her head.
She didn’t believe the goddess’s words were false. Despite the many hardships left by her, the goddess’s intentions seemed sincere.
“Fine. I’ll follow your lead for now.”
“Great! Let’s head to my place then.”
Adlen hummed a tune as she led the way.
As they walked to her home, they occasionally passed by people, most of whom had ominous symbols. There were some without, but they were also rare.
“Here we are! This is my house!”
Adlen opened the door to a small house on the edge of the village.
“Tired? Take a rest.”
Adlen tidied up the bed in the corner and guided Irene to it.
As she pulled Irene’s hand, her sleeve rode up, revealing a mark. The clothes were bigger than what Irene usually wore.
“What is this mark?”
Adlen asked about the scars as if she had just noticed them.
What should she say? Irene hesitated for a moment.
Whatever Adlen made of that hesitation, she decided not to press further.
She simply laid Irene down on the bed.
“You really have no stamina.”
“You’re just strong.”
“Let’s go with that. Just get some sleep. I’ll wake you when the meal is ready.”
With that, Adlen turned and walked away. She pulled out a small pot and began tossing various ingredients into it.
At first, Irene tried to stay awake, but her eyelids grew heavier and she eventually fell asleep.
As soon as Irene was asleep, Adlen turned to look at her.
“Irene?”
Even calling her name didn’t make her stir. She must have been exhausted.
Watching her, Adlen approached the bed.
‘What could have happened for the Saintess to have those scars?’
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