Someone looking for her?
And it was even the President of the Gilded Chamber of Commerce who had specifically sent someone to invite her?
What’s this about?
Though Letia didn’t know the other party’s true intention in seeking her out, the things she’d just learned from the script made her vaguely uneasy, leaving her with a not-so-good feeling.
She walked up the stairs to the second floor, pushed open the door to the reception room, and as the blinding light faded away,
The person who appeared before her was none other than…
Otto!
Sure enough, when she first saw that invitation, she already felt something was off.
Now it seemed clear—the Gilded Chamber of Commerce was brought here by Otto.
“Good evening~”
Otto swirled his glass of red wine and said to Letia, “Priestess Letia, did you enjoy the banquet?”
“I was enjoying it before,” Letia replied with a dead-fish stare, “but now I’m not having fun at all.”
“Oh? Am I really that disagreeable to you?”
“No, I just regret it—why did I only eat and not pack some food to go? If I’d known you were behind this banquet, I would’ve taken it all with me.”
“Then the others wouldn’t be happy about that.”
Otto chuckled, clearly unconcerned.
In fact, not to mention Letia taking all the food, even if she wanted to buy the whole place, it would be fine.
“So, what did you want from me?”
“Nothing much,” Otto took a sip of his wine, “Just to remind you, you’d best change your outfit for what’s coming next.”
“Why?”
Letia was a bit confused, but Otto only smiled mysteriously.
“The invitation you and Red got—that was from me,”
“But the invitation for the Dawnblade came from the President of the Gilded Chamber of Commerce,”
“So… you’d best take my advice.”
Seeing Otto’s enigmatic smile, Letia hesitated for a while, but in the end chose to trust him.
Though this guy rarely acted like a decent person, there were times when he could be trusted.
“I’ll trust you, just this once.”
Letia put on her mask, and with a wave of magical energy, she once again transformed into Litt.
Otto couldn’t help but marvel at the scene before him.
“This magical artifact is certainly something.”
“Don’t stare—it’s not for sale.”
After bidding Otto farewell, Litt left the reception room.
Otto, meanwhile, remained in the room, gazing through the window at the hall outside, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
No one knew what he was smiling about.
***
After transforming back into Litt, it was only natural to go look for Red.
From the script and Otto’s words, it was clear that both she and Red had received invitations from the Gilded Chamber of Commerce.
And the invitation in Red’s hand had been delivered personally by Otto.
At the time, he had told Red that she would be coming too, only she needed to finish her work at the abbey first.
From this, it was obvious—Otto was definitely scheming something.
“Red!”
Litt trotted over to the corner where Red was standing.
“Sorry… to keep you waiting. There was a lot of work at the abbey today. I’m so sorry!”
Litt pressed her hands together, her face full of apology.
“It’s fine.”
Seeing Litt arrive, Red couldn’t help but feel a little warmth in his heart.
Even though she was so busy she hadn’t even had time to change out of her habit, this young girl still insisted on accompanying him to the banquet.
Who wouldn’t feel a flutter of emotion at such a scene?
Red was no exception.
“Hey there, little sister,” said Brian, grinning broadly when he saw Litte, “I’m Brian, Red’s good friend. I’ve seen you before.”
“Ah…”
Noticing there were others besides Red, Litt quickly straightened out her somewhat disheveled clothes and hair, doing her best not to look too messy.
“Hello, Mr. Brian. I’m Litte, a nun of the White Church. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Look at that, what a polite kid!
Compared to that noble young lady from earlier, it was like night and day.
Brian looked at the warm, sunlit nun, growing more satisfied the longer he looked.
“I heard from Red it was you who brought this business opportunity?”
“It was just a coincidence.”
Litt replied with utmost politeness.
Seeing Litt still standing, Red beckoned to her and said,
“Come on, have a seat so we can talk.”
“Mm-hmm.”
The table in this corner wasn’t very big.
With Brian, the big guy, taking up one side, Red and Litt had to squeeze together on the other.
As soon as she sat down, Litt seemed to notice that she and Red were sitting a bit too close.
Her cheeks flushed a little as she edged away slightly.
But perhaps thinking she’d moved too far, she edged back a bit.
Back and forth, she actually ended up even closer than before.
Brian found the whole scene quite amusing.
“If you ask me, why bother hiring a hero party to promote things? Just have Litte stand there—her looks alone will have all the men and youngsters in Dawn Town lining up, fighting to catch a glimpse! The promotional effect would be unbeatable!”
Brian’s blunt remark left Litt so embarrassed she couldn’t lift her head.
Seeing this, Red helplessly shot a glance at the laughing Brian and hurried to rescue Litt.
“Alright, alright, Brian, enough with the teasing. Girls are shy, you can’t joke like that.”
He tapped on the table lightly, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
“Don’t forget, we’re here to enjoy the banquet tonight, not to listen to your ‘beauty contest commentary’.”
“Right, right.”
Brian poured himself a drink.
“Then I’ll drink as a penalty.”
He downed his cup in one gulp, and the three of them began chatting idly.
But most of the conversation was between Red and Brian.
Litt would chime in with a word or two from time to time, but for the most part, she sat quietly and obediently to the side.
After a while, a man in a black suit with gold-rimmed glasses walked slowly onto the stage.
This man was most likely the President of the Gilded Chamber of Commerce—Laurent.
He held a manuscript in his hand.
After clearing his throat, he began his speech.
“Heroes and adventurers from all over, please set aside your delicious food and drink for a moment and hear me out,”
“Before introducing tonight’s product, allow me to formally introduce our guests of honor—only five in number, but already having conquered the twenty-third floor—the hero party, Dawnblade!”
“In fact, many of you must have heard of the achievements of this hero party, so I’m sure you’re all curious: how exactly did they manage to do it?”
“Have any of you heard of the all-in-one combat reconnaissance Mechanical Construct?”
“If you haven’t heard of this concept before, then allow me to introduce the Mechanical Construct I have here. It has a very fitting name—the Bloodhunter Spider.”
“This Mechanical Construct combines reconnaissance, warning, suppression, and many other functions in one. Once it identifies a target, it can immediately strike, and won’t stop even if it means mutual destruction.”
“And the inventor of this Mechanical Construct is none other than one of Dawnblade’s own—Mr. Red!”
The spotlight swung over to the table where Litt and Red sat.
The hall fell silent for a few seconds before someone finally couldn’t help but speak up.
“Ahem… President Laurent, um… Red isn’t a member of Dawnblade anymore.”
“…Ah?”
At that moment, far off in the crowd, Litt finally understood why Otto had told her to change outfits.
Well played, Otto—your conscience is as rotten as ever.
If she’d been caught in that spotlight as herself, wouldn’t she have died of embarrassment!?