“Uh… I don’t really get it.”
Tos scratched his head.
Coming from a noble background, let alone washing a girl’s clothes, he didn’t even know how to wash his own.
Usually, he just dropped them off at a laundry shop.
Now that there was a little succubus at home, she had quite happily taken over that particular chore.
“Heh…”
Indeed, human joys were not universal.
Because of that inhuman fellow, Letia, Red had spent a long time explaining his innocence back then.
It was from that moment that he seemed to have defaulted into taking on this unlucky job.
Thinking about it now, time had passed quite quickly.
“True,” Tos nodded in agreement.
“I just don’t understand. You’re clearly living in a Tender Land, yet you have no self-awareness at all. Tell me, how far have things actually progressed with Letia? You’re already boyfriend and girlfriend, yet you didn’t even tell us!”
“It’s precisely because we’re a couple that I can’t tell you big-mouths!”
Red clutched his aching head.
He was well aware now that he had entered a vortex of lies and was sinking deeper by the second.
“Also, we just started dating. Let me reiterate that—we just started! How could that kind of thing have happened already?”
By the end of his sentence, Red couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Tos.
“Red…”
However, the other man wore a rather complex expression, silently staring at Red.
“I’ll ask just in case… are you actually…”
Red quickly interrupted Tos.
“I’m very capable, extremely capable. I am a fine, upstanding man! Please stop with the strange doubts, okay?”
Honestly, if either Liz or Tos weren’t present, Red could have explained himself clearly.
But reality was cruel.
With both of them here, no matter what he said, it wouldn’t come out right.
“I’m telling you, stop worrying about me and Letia. There are many ways to date, and we’ve simply chosen the most mundane one.”
Red flipped over the Knight Sword, which was mostly repaired.
He didn’t intend to dwell on the topic and instead looked at Tos.
“Changing the subject, Tos, what are you here for anyway?”
“Oh, I almost forgot the main business.”
Tos slapped his forehead.
He was about to speak when his gaze kept shifting between Liz, who was radiating a sour aura, and Red.
His meaning was obvious: he was asking if he should continue with an outsider present.
Red glanced at Liz and shrugged.
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
He knew Liz well.
She wasn’t the type to spread rumors.
In fact, when it came to keeping secrets, Red felt Liz was much more reliable than his circle of fair-weather friends like Tos.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told the lie that had now left him stuck between a rock and a hard place.
‘Fine… even if she laughs at me, as long as I get paid… maybe this can be smoothed over easily.’
“It’s about the White Church,” Tos said directly, seeing Red’s nod. “I’ve confirmed it now. The Holy Maiden definitely exists, and she appeared right after Otto left. You should understand the implications of that, right?”
Before Red could respond, Liz spoke up first.
“A transfer of power?”
As a noble, Liz naturally reacted instantly—even faster than Red.
“Exactly.”
Tos pulled over a stool and sat down.
Piece by piece, he recounted all the intelligence and deductions he had gathered that morning.
After nearly ten minutes of talking, he looked at the silent Red and Liz, waiting for their reaction.
“So, you’re saying Litt didn’t actually die? Instead, she used her ‘death’ as a way to take the baton of power from Otto?”
Liz’s brow furrowed.
“That seems a bit too…”
She didn’t finish her sentence.
Her gaze landed on Red, and as if realizing something, she quietly shut her mouth.
“Well…”
Tos was also a bit puzzled.
“Maybe Litt had her own difficulties. So, Red, what do you think?”
Red remained silent for a long, long time.
To be honest, he didn’t know whether he should feel happy or angry at this moment.
He had always been very rational, not the type to be ruled by his emotions.
But precisely because of that, if Litt were to stand before him again, he really didn’t know what expression to make.
After an unknown amount of time, Red slowly exhaled a long breath.
“Let’s wait until the truth fully surfaces. Right now, all of this is just speculation.”
Tos wasn’t too surprised by Red’s answer.
He simply smiled.
“Fair enough. Since it’s all just conjecture and we have no physical evidence… besides, I don’t even know what that Holy Maiden looks like. I only know she studied at the Holy Church for a period of time.”
“The Holy Church?”
Liz fell into deep thought.
“How did a Holy Maiden of the White Church end up at the Holy Church?”
“Who knows? Maybe it’s like studying abroad?”
Tos obviously couldn’t figure it out, and the others were equally baffled.
“In any case, that’s all I have to say. I’ll keep digging for the truth. As for how to handle the relationship aspect…”
Tos fixed his gaze on Red.
“That’s for you to figure out yourself.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
Shortly after Tos finished, his Communicator Crystal rang.
He hurried off, seemingly because his little succubus was calling him home for dinner.
“Well, Red, I’m heading out.”
“Yeah, see you.”
Red nodded and then returned his focus to the work at hand.
Forging a sword using magic—something that seemed impossible—was already a daily routine for Red.
He skillfully manipulated his magic, weaving the shape of the blade bit by bit.
Compared to a standard Knight Sword, this personal blade for Liz was something he crafted with great care.
Naturally, it required a long time to polish.
Time flew by.
Liz sat quietly by his side the entire time, just like the boy and girl they had once been.
“Here.”
Red handed over the refurbished longsword.
Compared to his younger, greener self, this sword was now more exquisite and sharper.
From the cold glint shimmering on its surface, one could tell its quality was second to none, easily rivaling the divine weapons forged by so-called master bladesmiths.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s just business.”
Liz took the sword and returned it to its scabbard.
For the first time, a look of joy at recovering something lost blossomed on her face.
Red, however, did not stop.
He buried his head once more into the massive pile of Adventurer’s Journals.
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