Volume 2, Chapter 31 ~Kind of... Suits Her Character?

“Staying in the outskirts will yield us nothing,” I explained. “The demons that reside in this area are mostly low-tier ones without demonic hearts, like goblins and orcs. They aren’t very intelligent, tend to group up, and lingering here would be all effort with no gain.”

With Dylin absent, I had taken on the role of Divine Child in our party, providing analysis for my three teammates.

Astrid gave me a curious look, a flicker of surprise flashing through her eyes.

My tone and expression must have looked exactly like Dylin’s when he was breaking down situations. Not just similar—identical.

Had I picked up his habits from spending so much time with him? Or was this just how a leader acted when analyzing the situation for their team?

“So I suggest that rather than running in circles and returning empty-handed, we push toward the center. It may be risky, but it’s better than standing still. Even staying in the outskirts carries its own dangers—so why not go on the offensive, complete our objective quickly, and get out of this cursed place?”

Felicia thought it over and agreed. She didn’t want us to get stuck here failing the mission—the risks of staying in Ruglian too long were clearly greater.

Astrid also didn’t object. She had always followed Dylin’s lead—not because she lacked critical thinking, but because she was smart enough to understand his reasoning, assess the risks and benefits as soon as he laid out a plan.

Wenfu was the only one silent, curled up in her seat with her furry tail swaying back and forth, betraying her unease.

“Teresa-nee, is it possible there’s an eighty percent chance we won’t make it back?” Wenfu swallowed nervously.

“Not quite.”

“Phew...”

Before she could fully breathe a sigh of relief, I smiled and wagged a finger. “We know nothing about the demons deep in Ruglian. So rather than an 80% chance of not coming back, it’s more like 90%, maybe even 95%.”

“If we run into something tougher than that red-skinned orc from before, we might be stuck here... counting stars.”

“C-Counting stars?!”

“Not just counting stars,” Astrid murmured, crystal-clear eyes shifting away. “It’s entirely possible we’ll be turned into cream puffs.”

“Cream puffs?” Felicia blinked. “Do demons have a habit of eating pastries or something?”

She clearly didn’t understand what Astrid meant, and when asked, Astrid suddenly seemed to realize what she had just said, turning her face away in silence, not willing to explain.

“Isn’t this super dangerous then?!”

“If the risk is that high, we should take a step back,” Felicia added, seeing Wenfu so frightened.

“A step back,” I echoed, glancing at Felicia. “We’ve already prepared thoroughly for this. To be blunt, ‘taking a step back’ is just another way of saying we’re avoiding the issue.”

We couldn’t keep feeding Felicia “fast food” every time she got “hungry.” At this rate, one day she might end up swallowing the whole bowl.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t take the risk without sufficient preparation.” As the leader, I had to ensure the safety of everyone on the team.

Saying that, I reached between my twin peaks and pulled out a scroll.

“What’s that?” Even Felicia, with her experience, had never seen such complex magic runes. She could feel an unprecedented surge of power from it.

“It’s a teleportation scroll.”

“What?!” My nonchalant tone left the others speechless.

Even a village girl catkin could understand how rare and priceless anything space-related was. You couldn’t measure its worth with gold, and ordinary enchanters couldn’t make them—it required infusion with spatial Divine Authority.

This was the kind of item even royal palaces might not have a few of, and I just casually pulled one out??

Felicia began to doubt my identity. Those alchemy potions tossed around like candy were one thing—they could be explained by a wealthy family background. But a teleportation scroll??

“Is it really a teleportation scroll?” Felicia eyed it skeptically.

“Of course. It’s a purple-grade item I pulled recently. Divine Appraisal confirmed it—no mistake.”

As for why it was only purple grade...

“So even if we get into serious trouble, you can use this and save us?” It was like giving the team a second life, improving our margin of error.

“Sort of.”

“What do you mean, ‘sort of’?” Felicia frowned.

“It is a legit teleportation scroll. I had Mr. Dylin use Divine Appraisal to confirm. But... the craftsmanship is a bit rough. It’s low quality—barely third-rate. If we encounter an invincible enemy, it might work if we’re lucky... or it might not.”

“.........”

The three of them fell silent again.

Clearly, entrusting one’s life to something so uncertain was not reliable.

“But it’s not a big deal.” I tucked the scroll away.

They were used to it by now.

My teammates had grown accustomed to me using my ‘cleavage’ as a ‘storage space’. Whatever I pulled out, they rarely batted an eye anymore.

“I don’t like relying on such uncertainty either. Maybe we won’t even need it.”

It was just a safety net. There was no point speculating now whether it would work when needed.

“If it doesn’t work, we’re doomed,” Wenfu tilted her head.

“Don’t say that. Our team is well-balanced—Shaman Divine Princess, Knight Divine Princess, Ranger Divine Princess—we have it all,” I reassured.

Felicia nodded. She wasn’t one to mentally exhaust herself over uncertainties. Whatever was meant to happen, would happen. Most of the time, people just needed to do their best—and leave the rest to fate.

After lunch, we packed up. Despite being a princess, Felicia didn’t mind hard labor at all and was completely down-to-earth.

Once the pot was cleaned and the tent packed, we followed the map and set off.

“Don’t worry, Wenfu. Even if we’re defeated, you’ll probably be fine.” She still looked downcast, so I gently ruffled her hair.

“Eh? Why nya~?”

“Demons are mostly carnivorous. Actually, omnivorous might be more accurate—they eat anything edible.”

“Their sense of taste differs from humans, but they probably have some overlap.”

“So since cat meat is so sour, they definitely won’t eat you,” I said with a bright smile. “Maybe they’ll take one bite, hate the taste, and spit you out.”

“That’s so mean!...” Wenfu nearly lost it. This wasn’t comfort—it was clearly a scare tactic!

She pouted, but thanks to my teasing, she felt a little less nervous.

Teresa-nee always wore that calm and unshakable smile.

She seemed like the kind of person who could handle anything—so much so that Wenfu couldn’t imagine her ever being flustered.

Honestly, why did Miss Teresa enjoy teasing her so much? Where did she even develop this awful habit?

As the sun dipped low, Ruglian too shifted from day to night. Faint footsteps were left on the wasteland, quickly erased by wind and dust.

Felicia led with her pack and greatsword, I followed behind, Astrid covered the flank, and Wenfu stayed in the center, shielded by us all.

Astrid kept sneaking glances at my feet—or more precisely, at my stocking-clad toes.

In this perilous Ruglian, everyone had summoned their domains.

Though these domains manifested in strange ways, Felicia’s knight-princess getup with her bare arms and legs was already unusual. At least it didn’t feel too out of place. Astrid’s high heels and black stockings seemed impractical for the wild, but at least she had shoes.

Only my domain lacked footwear. Just a pair of white thigh-highs—tied at the second toe by toe rings—covered only half of each foot.

Astrid couldn’t help wondering: weren’t my feet... dirty?

And Astrid had a fatal flaw: whenever she had a weird thought, she’d spiral. Wildly.

She suddenly remembered how Dylin used to steal glances at her legs during her Divine Awakening. Subtle, restrained, and awkward when caught—but definitely there.

Was Dylin a leg guy?

If he was...

Considering the relationship between Dylin and me, Astrid’s mind exploded with a bold theory.

Had he ever put those feet... in his mouth...?

The mental image followed swiftly: the golden-haired Elf girl coyly using her pale, delicate toes to pry open a man’s lips and teasingly push them into his mouth.

No no no! These are impure thoughts! They would never...

Wait.

Astrid froze, recalling my teasing smile in her fantasy, my taunting voice muttering “gross,” “you really like this, huh?”

Now that she thought about it, that did seem in character.

The more she thought about it, the more plausible it felt.

Completely unaware of Astrid’s spiraling imagination behind her, I simply followed Felicia, utterly oblivious. If I ever found out, I’d probably be dying to know how Astrid saw Dylin to imagine me like that.

As the sun dipped halfway below the horizon, the dull scenery ahead suddenly glowed with a faint green hue.

“A forest?” Just as I had predicted—only the harsh outer rim of Ruglian was wasteland. Deeper in, forests still flourished.

But I didn’t feel relieved. Maybe it was the twilight, but the forest looked gloomy—as though a huge beast lay dormant within, ready to awaken and strike once night fell.

Activating Divine Appraisal, I scanned the trees. Nothing abnormal so far—at least, nothing lurking near the edge.

“Should we go in?” Felicia eyed the red-streaked sky.

We’d been lucky not to encounter any orcs or goblins so far. But maybe that was just the calm before the storm—luring us deeper into a trap.

“Let’s go.” Our goal was to reach the fertile heartlands and find demons with demonic hearts.

Forests were more dangerous than wastelands, and we couldn’t predict where enemies might attack. We could be targeted the moment we entered—and nothing friendly ever lived in Ruglian.

Still, I felt confident because this was a forest—and we had two Elves on the team.

It felt like going home—no fear at all.

For me, forests meant full combat potential—maybe even better than usual.

The moment Astrid and I stepped inside, we both felt a surge of power from the earth coursing through our bodies, refreshing us completely.

All exhaustion vanished. Heightened senses took over.

Divine Appraisal and heightened awareness confirmed no immediate threats, so I signaled the team to enter.

“The sun’s almost down. Let’s stop here and set up camp. Astrid, you’re on watch tonight.”

“Alright, Astrid?” I asked.

Astrid had finally snapped out of her daydreams and calmly nodded.

Elves barely needed sleep in forests. One person keeping watch was more than enough.

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