“My lord, we have arrived.”
Adair had been utterly exhausted the day before, so he had fallen into a deep slumber on the dragon carriage. He hadn’t expected to wake up only when they had reached his desired destination.
Adair yawned, then inquired, “Thank you for your hard work. Nothing out of the ordinary happened on the way, did it?”
“Nothing major. Just nearly got intercepted by some of our own brothers, but a flash of identity smoothed things over.”
Adair was speechless.
‘These bandits truly never change their ways,’ he mused. ‘Even now, they’re still thinking of ways to line their pockets out there.’
Adair dismounted the dragon carriage and unharnessed his swift dragon. After tossing a silver coin to the driver, he said, “Thank you for your trouble. You may return.”
If he could, Adair would have grandly given gold coins, but alas, his wallet wasn’t under his control. This meager allowance was still from Ye Xi.
Nevertheless, a silver coin sufficed. The driver, delighted by the unexpected tip, thanked him profusely before departing.
Upon returning to the inn, Adair discovered that Ye Xi had not yet come back.
While Adair had not personally visited the church in Baron Quentin’s territory, based on the map’s distance, Ye Xi should have returned by now, given her usual efficiency.
Just as Adair pondered this, Ye Xi’s voice drifted from behind him.
“You’re back?”
Adair turned his head to see Ye Xi walking in, cradling a sleeping Yuzu.
That damned perverted wolf, even in slumber, couldn’t behave. It kept rubbing against Ye Xi’s chest from time to time—truly enviable!
Adair’s thoughts turned dark. ‘Perhaps I should get this wolf neutered.’
“What are you staring at?”
Ye Xi entered the room and carefully placed Yuzu on the bed. Then, she pulled out two chairs and instructed Adair, “Come, sit down. I have some things to discuss about your future training plan, and I’ll disguise you as we talk.”
A premonition of unease flashed through Adair’s mind, yet he obediently sat down. Before Ye Xi began, he thoughtfully asked, “You just got back. Aren’t you going to rest?”
Ye Xi replied calmly, “No need.”
She then scrutinized Adair before applying the disguise, leaving him feeling somewhat bewildered.
Ye Xi sighed, “Indeed, there’s no harm without comparison. Even among trash, you’re quite the sight for sore eyes.”
Adair raised an eyebrow. ‘Is she implying that I’m just a pretty face?’
“What did you encounter out there?”
Ye Xi casually responded, “I met a wicked mud monster priest.”
Adair was utterly perplexed.
While he knew the Holy See was renowned for its inclusiveness, this racial disparity seemed far too great. This couldn’t be a true mud monster; it was more likely that the priest had simply angered Ye Xi.
“Don’t overthink it. Cheer up. My favorability towards you actually increased because of that mud monster. At least 10 points were added.”
Adair was dumbfounded. ‘This works too? Is it really all about getting ahead by making others look bad? Should I take Ye Xi to more churches in the future? Or perhaps, upon arriving in a new region, I should first ‘scout’ the local church. Ten churches might grant an SSR Ye Xi, and by the eleventh, we could even get married on the spot.’
Ye Xi adjusted Adair’s face, then deftly produced her tools and began his disguise.
“Let’s get back to business. Aside from being a bit vexing, my experience this time was very rewarding. The biggest discovery is that my previous method of protecting you had a significant flaw.”
Adair questioned, “No, it didn’t. Look how well I’m living.”
“I’m living so awkwardly, and you say I’m living well?”
“No, no, no, I’m not living well.”
“I protected you so much that you’re living awkwardly, and you say you’re not living well?”
Adair was speechless.
Adair suddenly realized he was foolish enough to try and reason with a woman (or man) who was clearly in a fit of pique.
Ye Xi sighed, saying, “Shut up and listen. Even Kira monkeys know not to interrupt others.”
‘That’s because they can’t speak at all,’ Adair retorted inwardly.
However, he quieted down, refraining from another word. He listened obediently to Ye Xi, like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck by fate.
Ye Xi began Adair’s torment. “Back to the main topic. First, do you think my current identity is that of a maid or an assassin?”
Adair pondered for a moment, sensing this wasn’t a trick question, before finally speaking. “It should be a maid. After all, wasn’t an assassin your previous life’s profession? In this world, you’ve only been a maid, and you’ve worn maid outfits the most since leaving with me.”
Adair decided to answer meticulously, hoping to avoid being made to look like a fool.
“Exactly. But the work you ask me to do far exceeds the scope of a maid, forcing me to pick up some skills from my previous life. However, I was an assassin in my past life, and you expect me to be a bodyguard. That’s unreasonable.”
Adair still didn’t understand what Ye Xi was trying to say, but this time he wasn’t foolish enough to interrupt her. He could feel the hard pen she was using on his face pressing a bit harder, and he worried that if he upset her again, his face might ‘blossom’.
“So I reconsidered. Perhaps what you said about killing all enemies being the most perfect stealth holds a valuable underlying meaning worth studying.”
“Hmm?”
Adair was starting to misunderstand Ye Xi’s intentions. Was Ye Xi planning to transform into a greatsword-wielding berserker assassin?
Ye Xi asked matter-of-factly, “I’m not suited for direct combat, so why not leverage my strengths? When you are attacked, I will assassinate your assailant before you perish. Isn’t that the best protection?”
Adair felt Ye Xi’s words made sense, yet something felt off. After much deliberation, he finally posed a crucial question: “Between the time I’m attacked and you assassinate the enemy, what am I supposed to do?”
“It’s simple. You just need to endure the beating and not die.”
Adair chewed on those words, his face instantly paling. “Wait, isn’t that inappropriate? What if I perish before you take down the enemy?”
“Are you questioning my abilities?”
Adair shook his head decisively. “No, no, no. I’m just worried that an assassin with abilities similar to yours might have a suicide mission in mind, and accidentally exceed your expectations, taking me down.”
“Therefore, I will adjust your future training regimen.” Ye Xi paused, then continued, “I previously only trained you as a damage dealer, but I’ve found that this approach offers pathetic improvements to your combat strength. Indeed, one cannot expect a green caterpillar to evolve into a Sky Dragon. Without the ability to use Qi, no matter how much you train your endurance, reflexes, and speed, what you can achieve is very limited. Others can easily accomplish these things with Qi. So, I’m thinking that in the future, we should focus on training your durability, the toughness of your body, and your survival skills. After all, aren’t you a Black Dragon hybrid? Black Dragons are known for their despair-inducing physical constitution.”
Adair couldn’t refute her, so he simply asked, “How do you plan to adjust it? How will I improve my durability and body toughness?”
Ye Xi smiled. “That’s very simple. Just take a beating. Your body’s toughness will also increase quickly with each cycle of destruction and repair.”
Adair listened, feeling increasingly uneasy.
Ye Xi continued, “You’ll continue your endurance training during the day, and for five hours every night, we’ll have practical combat training. How does that sound?”
“In simple terms, you want me to put on that weighted gear and get beaten for five hours every night?”
“Precisely.”
“Can I refuse?”
“Of course, you have the right to refuse. I never force anyone. But don’t expect to change the training plan.”
Adair’s mouth twitched. He asked, “Is there any better training method?”
“Perhaps, but I haven’t thought of one yet. Until then, you’ll just have to be a sandbag. All right, I’m done with your disguise. Go on, off you go.”
Ye Xi put away her tools, a smile on her face, and watched Adair depart, utterly dejected.
Five hours of brutal beatings every night.
Adair suddenly felt his life had hit a low point. Even more alarming was Ye Xi’s apparent tendency to transform into a sadist. This inclination was already developing. He needed to seriously consider how to correct Ye Xi’s mindset, or his future prospects would be bleak.
Adair spent the entire journey contemplating how to rectify Ye Xi’s way of thinking. Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the Baron’s mansion.
Looking at the still opulent facade before him, Adair finally snapped back to reality. Now was the time to attend to important matters.
Adair patted his face, preparing to enter the Baron’s mansion, when a sudden heaviness in his body nearly caused him to trip over the threshold.
‘Damn it!’ Adair belatedly realized that Ye Xi hadn’t removed his gravity suit!
It was too late to turn back now, so Adair had no choice but to brace himself and find Baron Quentin while still wearing the gear.
However, something was peculiar today. Usually, there were always two vicious servants guarding the mansion’s entrance, yet Adair had walked right in without seeing any of them.
As he ventured further into the Baron’s mansion, Adair noticed that the servants all seemed tense and worried.
Adair grabbed a random servant and asked, “What’s going on in the mansion?”
The servant trembled as they spoke, “The master, the master has gone mad. The Old Butler is also missing. When the master found out, he went crazy, wielding a cleaver and searching the mansion for the Old Butler, killing anyone who tried to stop him. He kept shouting things like, ‘You old bastard, how dare you betray me!'”
Adair’s expression shifted subtly. He now understood what had happened. Baron Quentin must have thought the Old Butler leaked information about the underground secret room, leading to the failed transaction.
Adair patted the servant’s shoulder and asked, “Where is the master now?”
The servant replied, “The master is in the living room, restrained by Lord Gulu and Lord Fujiwara.”
Gulu and Fujiwara were Baron Quentin’s two bodyguards; subduing a mad, fat man would be no challenge for them.
Adair nodded, then headed towards the living room to assess the situation.
In the Baron’s mansion living room, Baron Quentin, despite being restrained on the sofa by two powerful bodyguards, struggled madly, incessantly cursing, “Beast! May you die a horrible death! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!!!”
The Baroness and the other stewards watched this scene with headaches. Such a sudden development in the mansion left them momentarily at a loss for what to do.