The next afternoon, at Mapel’s café.
Today was a rare day off, because in another day, most of Avelina’s High Archmages would head to the Abyssal Well, and all the shops were closed in preparation to welcome the Guides of the Holy See.
The cleanup of magical beasts had always been organized by the Holy See, so anyone from any faction was summoned by them.
On the entire continent, only the Holy See had the authority and strength to make factions with even sixth-rank Archmages obey.
“Why did you call me here?”
Lin Yue sat in his usual seat, looking troubled, as if he still hadn’t figured out how to explain things to Isabella.
“I told you last time, didn’t I? The Nightingale’s palm print, and the task I entrusted you with…”
Mapel irritably slapped the letters in her hand, and had already scratched out several locks of her hair.
That look… Lin Yue seemed to have seen it in real life before; when he was a corporate slave, he had looked just the same.
“Is there coffee?”
“Make it yourself… You don’t have hands?”
Honestly… that’s really unceremonious.
Listening to Mapel’s annoyed tone after dropping her mask, he could only sigh and walk to the bar.
Before long, the rich aroma of coffee wafted out, reaching Mapel.
This guy, although he’d worked part-time in the shop before, he’d never actually operated the magic coffee appliances himself, right?
How could he brew it so fragrant?
Just as Mapel was distracted, Lin Yue placed a cup of coffee in front of her.
“Drink while it’s hot.”
Mapel looked at Lin Yue with disdain and said bluntly, “What are you trying to do, please me so you can get me into bed?”
“…?”
Hearing Mapel shamelessly utter such wild words, Lin Yue felt fortunate he hadn’t drunk anything yet—otherwise he surely would have choked.
“Aren’t you nobles all like this? You talk about gentlemanly manners, but in the end isn’t that what you really want?”
“I’ve had plenty of people eyeing me before. That’s why I disguise myself, so I won’t look like an easy target…”
She seemed used to those lecherous looks from others, and it made her especially disgusted by anyone’s overtures.
Seeing Lin Yue’s contemptuous expression, Mapel immediately became energetic, stood up, pinned Lin Yue against the wall, poked his chest with a finger, and showed a seductive expression, “Are you going to say you’re different from other nobles? Oh my, have you forgotten all the bad things you’ve done…”
Wow, what solid pecs.
No wonder—he really is the eldest young master of a warrior family…
That’s right, Mapel was using her own way to get back at him for the other day—at the very least, to avenge her own ** humiliation.
“Or is it that Young Master Hawk wasn’t satisfied with the ambiguous encounter last time, and now, when there’s no one to stop you, you’re planning to completely defile me?”
She slowly took off her glasses, gazing at Lin Yue with an expression that most men couldn’t handle.
Looking closely, you’d see the upturned corners of her eyes, her brows and eyes brimming with allure, looking every bit the enchanting vixen—absolutely stunning.
She’d never seen a man calmly meet her gaze for ten seconds before.
“……”
Twenty seconds passed, and Lin Yue’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, only showing the look of someone thinking, “How long is she going to keep acting?”
Could it be I’m doing this wrong?
Just as Mapel began to doubt herself, Lin Yue nudged her away with his elbow, saying, “If you just wanted someone to play out your roleplay fantasy, then I’m leaving.”
Weird?
Why was his reaction even weaker than last time?
Lin Yue only thought she had a bit of a performer’s personality, and besides, seductive vixens weren’t his type.
“Tch, no fun.”
Mapel let go of Lin Yue, feeling she’d at least gotten some payback by teasing him, then spoke up, “The task I’m about to assign you is related to tomorrow’s Archmage expedition. You know the Holy See will send someone to escort them, right?”
“I know.”
Seeing Lin Yue so calm, Mapel continued, “The Nightingale Organization is the most advanced and secretive intelligence network on the continent. From military intelligence to royal secrets, there’s almost nothing they don’t know.”
“And among the Holy See’s people arriving tomorrow, there’s someone who, in the next ten years, will likely reshape the Holy See’s entire landscape.”
Lin Yue folded his arms and listened attentively.
“Saintess Serphina will be arriving at Avelina Academy as an expedition envoy.”
Finally, she’s coming.
A name that would be etched in his memory forever surfaced in his mind.
Slaughter Goddess.
The one who, in the plot, beat his second playthrough self into bitter tears, nearly making him demand a refund.
The Fallen Saintess—Serphina.
She grew up in an orphanage.
When the church bishop came to recruit, he discovered her Saintess constitution, brought her in as a nun, then had her enter the Saintess selection.
Later, at the critical moment of breaking through to fifth-rank, she was pushed into the Abyssal Well.
After what she experienced inside, she returned a fallen Saintess.
As for why she was called Slaughter Goddess, it’s because even as a Saintess, she loved to fight.
When things got complicated, she solved it by force.
Her military talent was also extraordinary.
After her fall, she became even more terrifying.
She slaughtered all the young fourth- and fifth-rank clerics of the Holy See, then retreated unscathed.
In the end, it took several of Allen’s protagonist party, wielding multiple Laws and the Astrologer’s Guild, to finally seal and kill her.
Too painful—even harder than playing Soulborne games.
And the death of Saintess Serphina would become the most crucial condition for the Demon God’s descent.
If not for the need to tightly control the chain of causality for the entire game’s plot, Lin Yue really didn’t want to mess with a super boss who was hard to defeat even in full god-gear.
But seeing his calm demeanor, Mapel couldn’t help but frown: “You don’t seem surprised at all? Or have you heard of Saintess Serphina already?”
The Hawk family doesn’t believe in the gods, so there’s a good chance they don’t know anything about the Holy See.
Lin Yue returned to his senses and pulled the corners of his mouth slightly, “A Saintess of the Holy See—who on the continent hasn’t heard of her? But, they’ve had more than one Saintess; who knows if she’ll be the most powerful of them all.”
You people haven’t played the game.
Of course you wouldn’t know she’ll become corrupted later on, not unless you’re a meta-gamer or have future sight.
“Nightingale knows.”
Mapel raised an eyebrow, not pressing further about his attitude.
“They’ve invested a lot of resources and effort into this Saintess. In fact, there’s a faint feeling they want to reform the Holy See, promoting only one Saintess.”
She continued, “Nightingale wants all her information. Not the public information, but all her private details. What she likes to eat, whether she drinks, what she does in private, even any little-known habits or taboos.”
“Huh?”
Lin Yue was stunned, looking incredulous.
“You want me to dig up all that? What, is the Nightingale Organization a tabloid paparazzi crew?”
“Cut the crap.”
Mapel crossed her arms, giving a no-nonsense order.
“Serphina’s identity is special. Her public actions are watched very closely by the Holy See. Extracting core secrets is basically impossible. But the more private her lifestyle details, the more likely you are to find her weaknesses and true nature. I… Nightingale needs all of that, for important reasons.”
Did you just let something slip?
She looked up at Lin Yue, her tone brooking no refusal: “You’re close to Professor Lia. When the Archmages set out the day after tomorrow, you’ll probably be among the send-off group and get to see her. With your abilities, getting close to her attendants, or finding an opportunity to chat with her and probe for this information—shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
Do you think I’m Doraemon, able to just pull out some gadget from my pocket and invisibly eavesdrop?
“Incredible…”
Lin Yue grumbled.
“That’s the Saintess, surrounded by cleric bodyguards. If I go up and ask, ‘Do you prefer sweet or savory?’, I’d deserve to be burned in the street for my stupidity.”
Just thinking of facing Serphina made his scalp tingle.
She was a Slaughter Goddess, and even in her youth, her power wasn’t something a minor character like him could mess with.
Not to mention, she’d be guarded by a crowd of high-ranking clerics and divine envoys—there’s no way he could pull it off.
Let alone extracting intel, even getting close without being noticed would be pushing it.
“Not my problem.”
Mapel crossed her arms, putting on a shameless, teasing smile.
“I still have evidence of that stunt you pulled last time. If you don’t want to be expelled, you’d better cooperate~”
Vixen!
Lin Yue’s face darkened.
This woman was definitely taking personal revenge.
His original plan was to observe Serphina’s movements from afar and see if she deviated from the plot, then call it a night.
He hadn’t expected to be forced into a high-risk, thankless job.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose your true colors?”
He tried to struggle a bit.
“Go ahead, try it…”
Mapel smirked cunningly.
“If you don’t want to be turned to a bloody mist by Airella and the other girls…”
As she spoke, she played with the crystal orb in her hand, its surface inscribed with a sound-recording spell.
Lin Yue was left speechless—this woman really knew how to hit where it hurt.
But, changing his mindset, maybe there’s no need to resist so much…
There might be some hidden side quests in this world that even he didn’t know about.
Having access to a well-connected intelligence group might not be a bad thing.
After half a minute of deadlock, Lin Yue finally sighed, looking utterly defeated, “Fine, you win… I’ll do it.”
He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
While he knew a lot about Saintess Serphina, not in the way Mapel wanted.
He only knew that Serphina was a pitiful child, forced into faith from a young age, never experiencing much of the outside world.
Still, she was cheerful, thoughtful, a bit of an airhead—she’d never really suffered from depression.
But after falling into the Abyssal Well, her personality changed drastically, losing faith in the gods, her power soared, and it took several sixth-rank Archmages plus Allen’s team to bring her down.
As for all those little quirks, he didn’t know.
The game only built her up as a tragic character to make everyone feel bad—most of the story focused on her hardships in the snow mountains.
Her daily habits and hobbies were never detailed.
From her debut, she was in and out of prison until her scripted death—calling her “Laufey” wouldn’t be wrong at all.
“Anything else to tell me? If not, I’m leaving…”
Ever since that honeytrap incident, Lin Yue hadn’t wanted to come to this café much.
It was almost his spiritual refuge, but now it was another source of stress.
Where was his safehouse now…
“Wait… Don’t be in such a rush. Give me your hand.”
Mapel took off her glasses and, not caring about anything else, grabbed Lin Yue’s left hand, pulling a calligraphy brush from the drawer.
“The Nightingale Mark I mentioned last time—let me add it now.”
“Can I refuse…”
“Nope~”
As she spoke, she waved the crystal orb at him again.
Sigh…
He sat back down powerlessly, letting her do as she pleased.
Mapel fondled his hand, pinching here and there, thinking how slender his fingers were—unlike a man’s.
But his palm was unexpectedly broad and masculine.
“How long are you going to keep squeezing?”
Lin Yue asked, a little speechless.
“Tch, don’t know how lucky you are. Plenty of people would die for this chance…”
When she marked other members, it was always at a distance with a mask on—besides the brush touching their skin, there was no direct contact.
This was her first time doing it like this.
Looking at the man in front of her—one of the few who knew her true face—Mapel couldn’t help but relax a bit.
Since coming to the academy, she was either putting on airs to command subordinates or acting sweet and innocent around classmates.
Her true nature was almost bursting to break free.
Lin Yue’s arrival wasn’t so bad, at least she now had someone to bully, and her mental health greatly improved.
After a long while, she finished painting the palm print on Lin Yue’s hand.
“Done. Try channeling your magic, there shouldn’t be any problem.”
Lin Yue looked at the mark carved onto his left hand, closed his eyes, and accepted his fate.
Since he was here, he might as well make the most of it.
If she wanted to use him, why couldn’t he turn it around and use the Nightingale Organization himself?
As long as he bailed before it went down.
He focused, and the mark on his hand gradually grew clear, even glowing blue.
Seeing Lin Yue’s curious look, Mapel finally relaxed, and recalled how he’d been cursed at by the crowd the other day.
It didn’t feel right, just bossing him around.
Plus, he’d lost the duel a few days ago and must be feeling down.
Maybe it was too much to ask.
“You… take it easy. If you really can’t do it, just treat it as training, don’t get yourself into trouble.”
“When the task’s done, come by the café. I’ll give you something good.”
After revealing her true face, Mapel’s rare trace of concern caught Lin Yue by surprise.
One moment she was plotting his death, the next she cared for his safety—truly impossible to understand.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.”
Ring ring…
The bell at the door jingled as Lin Yue left, but Mapel’s eyes lingered.
“Scumbag…”
“Did I go too far?”
Thinking of everything since they first met, and of those on the stands who hurt him, Mapel stared at her palm, which had just touched his, lost in thought.
…
On the way back to camp, Lin Yue rubbed his chin, his eyes darting back and forth as he pondered how to catch a good timing while Serphina was out for a stroll, so he could use non-invasive means to get just enough info for Mapel without disrupting the plot.
Nightingale, huh…
Speaking of sneaking around, there was an expert he could consult…
Thinking so, he opened a thin spatial crack and called into it: “Lia, call Airella for me, it’s urgent.”
The first act of the story was about to come to an end.