Taming The Villainesses

Although Marmar said she saw someone wearing clothes similar to mine, I didn’t really take it too seriously.

After all, Ark was overflowing with people wearing mage robes.

Since mages detected the magic energy in the air and meditated to harmonize themselves with the external world, they mostly wore robes instead of heavy armor.

And among them, skilled or wealthy mages often used enchanted robes, not just your typical ordinary ones.

「Angmar Robe: High Artifact. Protects the wearer from fire, magic and curses. The efficacy is further strengthened according to the wearer’s Rank. Solomon’s equipment masterpiece.」

Though, since this was Angmar’s robe, which was even called Solomon’s masterpiece, I didn’t think there were many things more valuable than it.

Marmar said.

“It was a very odd outfit. I could feel strange magic similar to comrade’s. But it was all black.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes! I even thought that it was really cool!”

I got this as a reward from clearing Angmar’s ruins.

Demon King Solomon wandered around the world and had left his mark everywhere. So it actually wouldn’t be surprising if someone else got the same thing as me from another place.

But just in case, I asked Marmar who the person was.

But after pondering for a moment, Marmar shrugged.

“I don’t know!”

“I see…”

“I don’t know his name! He was a strange person and was likewise traveling with other strange people.”

“Strange people?”

“Yes! They were the ones who killed the agent!”

‘Ah, I see.’

Marmar seemed to have met the Hunter Party.

Now that I thought about it, when Kalira and I met them the last time, Marmar was cocooned in the spider web and couldn’t see their faces.

“Have you talked to them?”

“No, they looked scary.”

“Yeah, if you can, don’t approach them.”

“Well, I’m busy anyway.”

That was the end of my conversation with Marmar.

Marmar invited me for lunch, but I postponed it for some other time. After all, I had to attend the lunch meeting between the Saintess and Aira.

Two big episode bosses having a sit-down…

From a personal standpoint, I was very interested in this situation. But as someone who had to balance variables in a situation where anything could happen, I felt a bit uneasy.

I could only hope nothing went wrong…

But on the other hand, the Saintess held the key to many secrets.

I started thinking about how I could easily extract the information I needed from her.

* * *

“Theo, do you know what time the appointment is?”

“It’s in Gwangmyeong Hall at the Great Temple at twelve o’clock noon. If we leave now, we won’t be late.”

We still had time.

But despite what I said, I felt a bit anxious. I couldn’t imagine Aira leaving her room.

Currently, as usual, she was staring at several pairs of black stockings, pondering over which ones would look best…

“I don’t know which one would suit me.”

“Would any outfit be able to cover Aira-nim’s radiance?”

They all looked the same anyway, so please just wear anything. With that in mind, I urged Aira.

However, Aira was still immersed in her world and could not get the hint.

“Hmm… Even so, I can’t just dress lightly when meeting the beacon of the church.”

“The beacon of the church?”

“Yes, Priga Nightfall. It would be better to be proper and show some respect when meeting her.”

My sense of urgency suddenly faded for a moment at Aira’s unexpected words.

She, who had always been indifferent to everyone, was now willing to dress formally. I didn’t quite understand. Then Aira let out a long sigh.

“Theo, it seems that your insight is still lacking.”

“…….”

Seuk-.

Aira raised her index and middle finger.

“In the church’s long history, they have produced many talented individuals. Of course, there were also many fakes, with two that stood out.”

“And the Saintess is one of them?”

“Yes, she was a slave girl without the status of a nobility or title, but she became known as Saintess Priga that was admired by people.”

‘A slave girl?’

Saint Priga played an important role in driving the latter half of the story in the “Villain Hunter” novel.

Hence why, detailed stories about her were thrown at readers as story elements that aroused interest. It was also around that time that her past as a slave was revealed.

“Okay, that’s enough. Come and put them on.”

At Aira’s urging, I skillfully fitted the stockings she chose to her feet up to her thighs.

Aira patted my head while saying, “Good job.” As if putting on stockings made her feel good. And she also didn’t forget to give some advice.

“Be careful of your words and actions when meeting the Saintess.”

“I understand.”

“No, Theo. you don’t understand. In some ways, that woman might be considered fake, but among fakes, she is real. So it’s better not to show any weaknesses.”

Aira often talked about trivial things, but sometimes she showed piercing rationality.

I was starting to think that maybe this was the moment where I should carefully listen to her warning.

So we headed for the Great Hall, having no clue whether Saintess Priga had already arrived.

Many people were already waiting for us in the beautiful garden of the sunlit temple.

Then, an old archbishop with a white beard and glasses bowed towards us.

• Edited by: faker