“Captain Mavis, this Relic is entrusted to you for safekeeping!”
The middle-aged man handed over a sapphire inlaid with a ruby.
Mavis took it, her golden eyes full of doubt.
The sapphire was the size of a chicken egg, while the ruby was only the size of a quail egg.
“What is this thing? Such peculiar taste.” Mavis looked at the embedded gemstone in her palm, complaining.
“Ahem. This is a Relic of a Truthspeaker, possessing the power to peer into the minds of others.”
The middle-aged man answered the first question but didn’t elaborate on the second.
“I don’t believe something this good would be casually given to me for safekeeping.”
Mavis sneered; she wasn’t as easily fooled as before.
“Well, this Relic is currently in a semi-defective state due to excessive use, and the Inquisition has a new replacement.
The Guardian saw your recent progress and sent me to deliver this as a reward.” The middle-aged man said awkwardly.
“Tch, just say you’re dumping trash, why make it sound so nice, a reward…” Mavis curled her lip.
The middle-aged man could only smile awkwardly.
A perfect one? You think they’d give that to her? A half-broken one, and she still complains.
What could he do? He could only smile obsequiously.
In Mavis’s past, she might have thought her second brother was looking down on her, and she wouldn’t want second-hand junk, and most likely would have smashed it on the ground in a fit of anger.
But now, she just complained a bit and silently accepted it.
At worst, she could play with it until it broke and then sell it; it was still a gemstone, even if the price had dropped recently.
If she really smashed it, not to mention anything else, her little darling wife would definitely lecture her severely.
The middle-aged man silently noted that the test was successful; Mavis had indeed curbed some of her temper.
“Anything else? If not, I’m leaving.”
“N-no, nothing else, Captain Mavis, farewell.”
“Oh, I’ll go patrol then.”
With that, Mavis stuffed the inlaid gemstone down her neck; she was wearing plate armor, so it was difficult to place.
There was a pocket on the left breast of the inner lining, just enough to stuff it into.
She tied up her golden hair, tucked it under the plate armor, and then Mavis put on her helmet.
A muffled sound rang out, “Everyone, listen up! Patrol!”
“Yes, Captain!” A dozen voices responded in unison.
“Hmm, very good, full of spirit, go!”
The soldiers donned their helmets and began to patrol in orderly steps, while Mavis leisurely walked in the opposite direction.
The middle-aged man gazed slightly, his expression unreadable.
A captain not patrolling with their team—if it were any other captain, they probably wouldn’t want the job anymore.
But if it was Mavis, not harming her teammates was already a blessing; one couldn’t ask for too much.
Of course, if Mavis were still the same as before, she wouldn’t be a captain.
The middle-aged man nodded slightly; after Mavis disappeared from his sight, he prepared to return and report to the minister.
“Whistle whistle…”
Mavis whistled idly, her hands behind her back, strolling leisurely.
The residents on the street originally showed warm smiles upon seeing the captain-type plate armor of the patrol team.
Suddenly, they noticed its unconventional walking posture, and their smiles immediately froze.
According to the current rumors in Holderma, the person before them must be the infamous Mavis.
The surrounding people dispersed, and the more astute vendors directly closed up shop.
A customer, with his back to Mavis and unaware of the situation, was about to get angry, but the vendor grabbed him and pulled him inside.
The customer was bewildered; the vendor pointed to a small window, and the customer immediately understood, looking at the vendor with grateful eyes.
Although visibility was limited inside the armor, Mavis could clearly see their actions.
A normal person encountering this scene, avoided by the residents, would definitely feel uncomfortable.
But Mavis was different; she only felt that the residents were expressing their loyalty to her.
She was very satisfied, surveying her territory like a lion.
Because it wasn’t quite time to get off work, Mavis wasn’t in a hurry to go home, so she just wandered around.
Going back early would get her scolded by her little wife for being lazy.
Huh? What’s this, exotic fruit? Might as well swipe one to taste.
Suddenly remembering that she was still wearing her helmet, she immediately lost interest, and in the stall owner’s fearful gaze, she stretched out her large hand and placed the fruit back.
The stall owner was stunned.
To maintain her dignity, Mavis didn’t plan to take off her helmet.
The stall owner scratched his head, watching Mavis walk away. “She doesn’t seem as annoying as the legends say.”
“Heh, don’t be fooled by her. Legend has it that Mavis is the incarnation of the God of Cunning and Deceit, committing all sorts of evil.”
“So that’s why she hasn’t been punished all these years.”
“Our village had a complete crop failure last year, all thanks to Mavis!”
“My older brother and sister-in-law divorced last month under the witness of the God of Judgment, also thanks to Mavis.”
“And and, the screams from the neighboring village at night…”
“Also thanks to Mavis?”
“Well, it’s probably related to her.”
“Speaking of which, how could she do so many things alone?”
“Witchcraft! She used witchcraft!”
“So it’s witchcraft! Then I have no choice but to believe it.”
“Soldier ahead! Please help stop that little thief!”
Mavis was wearing a helmet, and the distance was far, so the voice was somewhat distorted.
Of course, she still heard the words clearly, but she just turned her head to look, curiously staring at the nimble little thief jumping on the rooftops.
She was entirely wrapped in a black robe, unable to see her face, with a petite figure, looking like a woman.
Mavis felt somewhat familiar, but dismissed it as her imagination.
That agile escape posture, from afar, looked like a mischievous black cat.
Mavis crossed her arms, curiously watching the little black cat leap over the building beside her.
As the little black cat passed by, she glanced at Mavis.
But she quickly retracted her gaze, leaped into the crowd, and disappeared.
The pursuer, seeing this, knew that he couldn’t catch the little thief, and in anger, he berated Mavis,
“You could have caught her just now!”
Mavis looked left and right, finding no one around, and then realized that the person before her was reprimanding her.
She didn’t have that good of a temper, and immediately retorted, “You didn’t ask me to help.”
The person laughed in anger. “‘Soldier ahead, please stop that little thief,’ did you hear that sentence?”
He grabbed a bystander and said fiercely.
“H-heard it.”
The bystander was somewhat afraid.
He pointed to a few more, and they all said they heard it.
Seeing this, he felt his reasons were sufficient.
“You will have to go to court to pay the price for your dereliction of duty!”
Mavis just crossed her arms; according to her little wife, she was just watching the fun.
“Speechless, are we?” Marton sneered.
“Are you done?” Mavis was getting a little impatient.
“Heh, planning to get violent, are you?”
“No, no, my point is…”
Mavis paused and pointed to the medal on her shoulder. “First, you have to call me ‘superior’.”
“You’re not my superior.” He tried to reason, avoiding Mavis’s abuse of power.
“No, my point is, your previous sentence should have been ‘Superior, please help the incompetent us.’
You called ‘soldier,’ how am I supposed to know who you were calling?”
The bystanders, never ones to pass up a chance to watch a good show, burst into laughter.
“You, aren’t you the only one here? Who else would I be calling?
It was just a slip of the tongue, but you clearly knew I was calling you; there are no other soldiers around.”
He seemed a little anxious.
“Come, look into my eyes.”
“? How am I supposed to see with you wearing a helmet?”
“Exactly! I’m wearing a helmet, my field of vision is so narrow, how am I supposed to know there aren’t any other soldiers around?” Mavis said righteously.
Common people might think that Mavis was doing it on purpose, giving others a hard time for not calling her “superior.”
But the truth was, the reason she was angry was very simple: the person before her clearly didn’t call her, yet insisted on blaming her.
“Alright, alright, everyone move along. I’m very sorry, Superior, my friend has some issues in the head.”
Originally, the other guards were just watching the show; after all, they were somewhat dissatisfied as well, the difference between captain-type plate armor and regular plate armor wasn’t clear from a distance.
They thought that the patrol team captain was deliberately letting the petty thief escape, finding fault for dereliction of duty, happy to see a brother acting as their mouthpiece.
But as they listened, some people felt that the voice sounded familiar?
Holy crap, it’s Mavis!
“Yeah, yeah, Marton does have some problems in the head, we’ll take him to see a doctor!”
Another person stepped forward, stretched out a large hand, and directly covered Marton’s mouth.
Marton looked at his teammates in confusion, wanting to speak, but was directly pulled away by the two.
Mavis nodded thoughtfully. “I thought so; you came up and blamed me for no reason, so it turns out you have brain problems; that’s not surprising then.”
Mavis continued to stroll through the streets.
In a nearby alley.
“Ptooey, Hans, why are your hands all sweaty? It reeks of sweat.” Marton said disdainfully.
Hans shrugged.
“After all, I’m not like you, with a girl you like, able to shower every day.
I haven’t showered in a week, and I ran so far just now.”
Marton gagged, and then he asked in confusion,
“Why did you guys pull me away just now? It was clearly that woman’s dereliction of duty; even if she’s a captain, I have to report it truthfully!”
“Ahem, Marton, you’re a bit too hasty.” Jim glanced at Hans inadvertently.
Hans shrugged.
Marton himself might not think anything of his actions to attract aggro by revealing Marton’s name, but Jim was very clear about it.
The three of them came from the same boot camp and were on good terms.
But Hans was assigned to a different team from the two of them, and the relationship was a bit colder.
Just now, they happened to encounter the theft in the same place, and he acted together out of old affection.
Hans’s act of selling out his teammate made Jim a little disheartened and could only turn his head to comfort Marton.
“Do you know who she is?”
“I don’t know who she is, but I know that the court will give me justice! Holderma’s supreme law will give me justice!” Marton was very agitated.
The reason was simple: the little thief stole from the family of the person he liked.
To show himself, he boasted, but he couldn’t catch up with the thief, so he was a little anxious.
When he saw Mavis, he was overjoyed, thinking he could catch her.
But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment; she let her go!
In a fit of anger, he lost his temper. Although he later realized the difference in positions, he, in his youthful vigor, didn’t plan to back down.
“I don’t care what her background is; I don’t believe the judge will violate the supreme law for her!” Marton was still very agitated; he probably guessed that the woman had some background.
But with a surge of hot blood, he couldn’t care less.
Holderma was a country of law! He firmly believed in this.
Meeting Hans’s gloating expression, Jim sighed and said, “She is Mavis.”
“Mavis, is it? Watch this, I’ll just… Wait? What was her name again?” Marton’s eyes widened.
“Mavis.” Hans added fuel to the fire.
Marton fell silent, his face suddenly pale, and he said stubbornly, “Mavis, Mavis can’t be so derelict in her duty, right?”
“Four years ago, the entire family of the Guardian of the Silver Codex was torn to pieces by Mavis, and the Guardian was furious for an entire day.” Jim sighed and added.
Marton’s face became even paler. “Even the Guardian…”
“There’s no shortage of righteous judges who take on Mavis’s cases, but in the end, they all come to nothing.” Hans shook his head.
“Wh-why? Isn’t Holderma supposed to be a country of law?”
Marton’s face was as white as paper.
“Two possibilities: one, her background is so powerful that even the Guardian avoids her edge; two, she really is the incarnation of the God of Cunning, and Holderma can’t do anything about it.”
“But either way, you’re screwed.” Hans was still gloating.
Marton was silent. “The incarnation of a dignified god shouldn’t bully a small person like me, right? I was just eager to catch the thief. Forget it, where does she live? I’ll take a day off tomorrow to beg for forgiveness. Do you think I can live until tomorrow?”
“Pfft…” Hans couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter.
Marton’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Hans quickly stopped laughing, and then…
“Pff hahaha… Sorry, I really couldn’t hold it in.”
Veins popped out on Marton’s face. “I’m about to die, and you’re still laughing; do you believe I’ll drag you down with me?”
“Don’t fight.” Jim quickly stepped forward to stop the two.
“Okay, we shouldn’t scare you. I have a friend who works in the Inquisition; according to him, don’t believe the crazy stuff outside.
Mavis is indeed wicked, but at most she plays some pranks, never killed anyone; otherwise, Holderma wouldn’t tolerate her existence.”
“That’s right, that’s what my friend said too.” Hans avoided Marton’s large hand.
Marton immediately beamed. “So that means I won’t die?”
“Yes, friend.”
“But be careful of Mavis’s pranks.”
“Tch, what’s that? Almost forgot, I have to go apologize to Alice, I’m leaving now.”
Marton breathed a sigh of relief, and his love-struck brain took over; he couldn’t be stopped.
“Oh right, about the Guardian’s matter, my friend told me not to tell anyone, but we three are good brothers, so I told you. Don’t tell anyone!” Jim urged with concern.
“Okay.” Hans nodded.
As for Marton, he had already walked far away.
Jim could only hope that he heard it.
Feeling that the time was almost up, it wouldn’t hurt to go back a little earlier.
Mavis, having patrolled her territory, strode towards home.
648 Gemstone Avenue, opening the door, Mavis took off her helmet and placed it on the shelf, saying loudly, “I’m back.”
“Oh, oh, coming, coming, you’re back a bit early today.”
The bathroom door was opened, and a petite girl held a bath towel in one hand and used a towel to dry her still-dripping black hair with the other.
A few strands of hair hung down to her chest, and water droplets fell, meeting the beautiful curves and soaking into the bath towel.
“Welcome back, darling, do you want to eat first, or…” The girl’s face was rosy, and she smiled shyly.
Mavis’s heart fluttered as well, and she directly went to hug her. Linlin skillfully avoided her, saying with slight disdain,
“Go take a shower first.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go take a shower first, no need to eat, hehe.”
Linlin nodded upon seeing this. “Okay, darling, I’ll wait for you.”
Saying that, she held the bath towel with her arm, making a heart shape in front of her chest.
“Okay, wait for me.”
Mavis’s mouth became even drier; she removed her armor and quickly walked towards the bathroom.
[Almost got caught, I should hurry up and trick her into the bathroom first.]
A sly voice rang in Mavis’s ear, the tone and voice exactly the same as Linlin’s, but the tone sounded completely unlike her cute Linlin.
Mavis hesitated. “Linlin, were you just talking?”
“Huh? I didn’t say anything.” Linlin was wiping her hair, somewhat puzzled.
“Oh, maybe I was just hallucinating.” Mavis didn’t take it to heart, just thinking she had hallucinated.