Key

Both of them were startled by the sudden voice, and the man shouted loudly,

“Who?!”

Then, he saw a pink-haired girl in a white dress appear beside the black-robed figure, though he had no idea when she had gotten there.

“Oh my♪ I didn’t expect you to be a girl\~ Can I take a look at your face?”

Edenia tilted her head slightly with her hands behind her back, a smile on her face, her eyes trying to peer through the hood’s shadow to see the black-robed figure’s true face.

“Pink hair… a girl like a goddess… are you the one recently impersonating a deity in the church?”

Seeing Edenia’s appearance, the man was reminded of the recent rumors he had heard circulating in the church.

He had always dismissed those rumors, thinking someone was just putting on a show.

A deity appearing here? Impossible—after all, deities are…

“I’ve heard those rumors too♪ Thank you to everyone in the church for praising me\~”

Edenia smiled happily, sincerely grateful to those who had praised her.

“So… what brings you here? I heard you only appear when someone needs help, but it seems I don’t.

Are you here to save her?”

“That’s right\~”

“Is that so? Just a pretender, though quite pretty. But thinking you could be a god? That’s delusional.

Since you choose to help demons, I’ll just eliminate you too.

Don’t worry, after you die, I’ll tell people you sacrificed yourself to defeat demons. That way, they’ll hate demons even more, hehe.”

The man chuckled lightly, and the book in his hand glowed golden, preparing to continue the magic he had paused.

But just as he blinked reflexively, Edenia suddenly appeared in front of him.

“What?!”

Before he could finish speaking, Edenia smiled and lightly clapped her hands in front of him.

The man froze, and a second later, everything returned to normal—but the two in front of him had vanished.

“Damn it! What kind of magic was that?!”

Seeing this, the man’s previously calm face twisted into a snarl.

He roared, sweeping his hand, and the surrounding trees were all neatly cut down.

Edenia’s teasing infuriated him.

He was used to being the one who teased others—no one had ever dared this with him.

At that moment, he swore he would torture them in the cruelest way next time he met them.

After a while, his expression returned to calm.

He closed the book and placed it in his pocket, speaking lightly toward the empty space,

“It’s about to begin. No matter where you run, you won’t escape, hahahaha!”

His eerie laughter echoed through the quiet forest, startling countless animals to flee.

“Everything’s fine here, right?”

Edenia supported the black-robed figure and arrived at the orphanage they had left not long ago.

“You… who are you?”

The black-robed figure, exhausted, asked in a weary voice.

“Mhm♪ A pink lady who’s always smiling and watching over you\~”

Edenia’s reply made the black-robed figure silent for a moment, then, after a few seconds, she asked again,

“Why did you save me? Weren’t you together with them?”

Edenia blinked and tilted her head, asking playfully,

“Why ask that? I just wanted to save you\~ Besides, I’m never really ‘with’ anyone, everyone is just so likable to me♪”

The black-robed figure was silent again.

Edenia didn’t emit the aura of a church member with light-aligned magic; instead, she carried an unfamiliar, yet pleasant, presence.

“So\~ Can I see your true face♪”

Seeing the black-robed figure silent, Edenia asked again with curiosity, her charming eyes full of “I’m really curious.”

“If you want to see it, then see it…”

After thinking for a moment, the black-robed figure realized she couldn’t feel any hostility toward this pleasant pink lady.

If it was just to show her face, there was no harm.

She slowly removed the hood, finally revealing her hidden face.

Seeing the face, Edenia’s constant smile turned into surprise, and she instinctively said,

“Xiao Ying?”

Indeed.

Beneath the hood was a face almost identical to Xiao Ying’s, except the black-robed figure’s pupils were violet, and her face slightly slimmer than Xiao Ying’s chubby cheeks.

Aside from that, Edenia noticed little difference in appearance.

“Are you Xiao Ying’s sister or younger sibling?”

A thought popped into her mind, and she asked curiously.

“No, my code name is Key, not the Xiao Ying you mean.”

The girl named Key lowered her head slightly, answering in a voice a little more mature than Xiao Ying’s.

“I see… I still have a lot to ask you, Key♪ But being outside isn’t ideal. You’re injured, so let’s go inside first\~”

“Key? Are you talking about me?”

Hearing the unfamiliar name from Edenia, Key looked at her with curiosity.

“Wow! It’s Sister Eden! Sister Eden’s here!”

Two others who had been standing at the orphanage gate for a while were finally discovered.

The children in the orphanage suddenly felt immense joy.

Whenever they felt sudden happiness, it meant the warm person they had been thinking of had come.

Without answering Key’s question, Edenia smiled at the children running toward her.

“Oh my♪ My cute little ones, did you miss me\~”

She opened her arms and hugged the few children who ran into her, while the slower ones tightly circled her, happily greeting her.

“Sister Eden, Su Mo and Xiao Ying came here today too! Su Mo told us a bunch of crazy stories we couldn’t understand. Can you tell us the real version, Sister Eden?”

Edenia laughed and replied,

“Alright, alright\~ Sister Eden will tell everyone the story♪

But before that, let’s let this injured big sister go inside and rest first♪”