Chapter 102: Is this Yan Zuo serious? (Patreon)

"Be that as it may, but right now I'm..."

Saidela's hair was a disheveled mess. All he had left were the filthy clothes on his back and a few scattered odds and ends tucked inside them — nothing else remained.

At that, Pandora simply shook her head.

"No need to worry about that. Let me introduce myself." As she spoke, she held out her hand. "Pandora. At the moment, I suppose I'm just someone on her way to the Holy Capital for a bit of sightseeing."

Seeing Pandora smile as she said it, Saidela — who had still been holding himself back somewhat — froze for a moment in surprise.

"Ah... hello."

But looking at his own outstretched hand, none too clean, he found it hanging frozen in midair.

Once, his hands should have been just as clean as this — just like his heart, once...

Just as he stood there dazed, unsure what to do, he felt a touch against his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Saidela."

Watching Pandora, who didn't seem to mind at all, Saidela had to admit that in that instant he felt treated as an equal — not as a failure enduring someone else's pity.

"I'm confident I can clear your name." As she spoke, Pandora withdrew her hand and nodded. "Of course, nothing worthwhile comes without gain. Only by showing the other party the benefit they stand to receive can you earn their trust."

The words left Saidela, still turning over everything that had just happened, more than a little dazed.

"Wait — Miss Pandora." He looked at her with open disbelief. "What did you just say... something about clearing my name?!"

As he said this, he glanced over at Luluo, only to find her wearing an equally dazed expression.

Looking at it that way, made sense — Luluo hadn't said a single word this entire time. The platinum-haired girl before them had been the one steering the whole conversation from start to finish.

At this, Pandora nodded. "Yes, I have that confidence. If anything, I think it'll be an easy thing to manage."

"This..."

A girl who looked utterly powerless, and who hadn't demonstrated any ability besides — she was clearly a hard sell.

Seeing Saidela's awkward expression, a streak of mischief suddenly welled up in her.

"You do know about the Witches, don't you?"

The moment those words left her mouth, Saidela, Luluo, and the big sister nearby all frowned slightly.

"I... I know of them, but..."

After all, the word "Witch" was a sensitive one — just hearing it made one's heart clench without meaning to.

Pandora's only reply was a smile, and silence.

Saidela seemed unable to process it. After a long stretch of quiet—

"...are you joking?! Aren't they all already—"

Shocked as he was, this time he kept his voice under control and didn't cry out.

Since Pandora still gave no answer, he widened his eyes and shot a questioning look at Luluo instead.

Seeing Luluo looking mildly startled, but reacting all the same, left him even less sure of himself.

"Well, that's all I can really say about it." Though both of them looked rather shaken, neither seemed to actually believe her — a reaction Pandora was well used to by now. "What I want is simple: once this is settled, Mr. Saidela will do one thing for me that I want done. Nothing harmful, of course. How about it?"

Hearing this, Saidela could tell right away there was more to it than she was letting on, but he had little choice in the matter — after all, the arrangement was mutually beneficial to begin with.

Seeing this, Pandora nodded in satisfaction and raised the cup she'd been holding all along.

"Well then — here's to a pleasant partnership..."

Just as she said this, Pandora noticed the big sister nearby suddenly rise to her feet and start walking toward them — a move that naturally drew the attention of every patron in the tavern, though of course none of them dared do anything about it.

(That much presence, just from standing up...)

Pandora couldn't help but frown slightly at the woman's stern, unreadable expression.

Before long, the woman had reached their table, and Louliana immediately stepped in front of Pandora, as if determined not to let history repeat itself.

"I'd like to ask something..." She paid no mind whatsoever to Louliana's guarded stance. "May I join in?"

Though it was phrased as a question, there was nothing questioning about her tone — still, something about the whole thing felt distinctly suspicious.

"I happened to overhear, so I came to ask."

"Happened to," sure...

"More hands mean more strength, I'll grant you, but what's your reason for suddenly wanting in on this?"

Both of those — the reason, and the purpose — would need to be made clear.

At that, the woman didn't hesitate for even a moment.

"For the Gusteko Holy Kingdom."

Given such a wildly suspicious answer, Pandora found herself momentarily at a loss.

Could she be some kind of patriot? She hardly looked the part — not exactly your typical hot-blooded youth brimming with righteous fervor...

Seeing the woman's utterly serious expression (though, admittedly, she always seemed to wear that same look), Pandora let out a helpless sigh.

"And what should I call you?"

To her surprise, the woman simply raised an eyebrow and offered no reply.

"If you're going to join us, we ought to at least know how to address each other."

Watching the woman's blank "I don't understand" expression, Pandora couldn't help feeling puzzled.

(...Don't tell me she's one of those "Four Nothings" types? On top of the usual Three Nothings, she's even nameless.)

It wasn't unreasonable of Pandora to think so, either — the woman standing before her gave off exactly that impression.

"Odegulas."

After a long pause, the big sister offered up... that, as an answer?

The way she'd looked as though she'd been mulling it over for ages before saying it was utterly baffling.

Odegu... as a name, Pandora had to admit, her mental "database" was starting to come up empty more and more often.

"...Pleased to meet you, then."

As she said this, Pandora extended her hand once more, smiling as she studied the woman closely.

At this, Odegulas glanced briefly at Saidela's hand beside her, then lowered her head as though lost in thought. After a moment she gave a firm nod to herself and looked up at Pandora.

Feeling the sheer force transmitted through her hand, Pandora grew even more puzzled.

Was a handshake really supposed to be this crushing?! It wouldn't cause any real injury, sure, but at this point it was more or less certain: this woman calling herself "Odegulas" had no grasp whatsoever of basic social etiquette, or common se—

In the end, it was Pandora who pulled her hand back first — otherwise, there was no telling how long Odegulas would have kept holding on.

[Author's Note: Thanks to Guheng Tiaoye for the 688 VIP-point reward!]