Chapter 46: So the Minotaur is me

Litt removed her disguise and once again returned to her appearance as Letia.

Now, she had to go check on the people at Dawn’s Edge to see what exactly was going on over there.

After all, even though Red had taken the initiative to ease the atmosphere last night, who could really know what Liz was actually feeling?

Letia let out a sigh.

“I’d better go see for myself.”

It took Letia about half an hour to return to Dawn’s Edge’s base.

Unlike before, today there was only Liz in the base; the other two teammates were nowhere to be found.

They probably couldn’t stand the stifling atmosphere in the room and chose to escape.

“Letia, where did you run off to again last night?”

“The banquet was too boring, so I slipped away midway to go have fun with Succubus Sister.”

Letia took a diamond card from the Land of Dreams out of her pocket.

“The balance on this is enough for me to play nonstop for a whole month.”

A lie—the card didn’t have a single coin on it.

“……”

Liz really didn’t know what to do about Letia.

This priest never listened to a word she said, always acting on her own whims.

“Letia…”

Liz took a deep breath.

“Have you run into Red recently?”

Hearing this, Letia’s heart instantly sounded an alarm.

“I did run into him once before, and again at the banquet. Why?”

“In your opinion… is Red important to us?”

Once, Liz had always felt that everything Red tinkered with was just a waste of time, neglecting his proper duties.

But after what happened last night, perhaps those creations of Red’s weren’t as simple as she’d thought.

Liz certainly knew that even that spider was something Red had casually created—the simplest thing.

And… even just that simplest thing was enough to draw the attention of the Gilded Chamber of Commerce, a major trading company with imperial backing.

So rather than being angry, she found herself doubting herself more.

You had to understand, Liz had never suffered any setbacks since childhood.

With elite noble education and her exceptional talent, she’d become a powerful knight and advanced to hero status so smoothly that everyone thought of her as an Heir of Heaven.

The New Star of the New Generation of the Empire.

Yet those gazes that fell on Liz last night—the suspicion, the sarcasm, the mockery—made her want to get angry, want to explode, but she had no idea where to direct it.

She’d thought she was already outstanding enough, but among those present last night, how many were really weaker than she was?

Even they seemed to be mocking her decisions.

Could it be that, after leaving the dungeon, after leaving that bloody hunting ground, she was really no match for Red?

That not-so-outstanding, the weakest member of Dawn’s Edge, Red—was he really the most important person on the team?

Liz didn’t want to admit it.

She couldn’t possibly admit it.

Everything she’d done since childhood had always been right.

She couldn’t be wrong…

“Maybe he is important.”

Letia took a sip of tea.

Seeing that Liz wasn’t angry, there was no rush.

If she stormed off, sword in hand, to cause trouble for Red, that would just give her a headache.

“Maybe you should have a proper talk with Red, Liz. Given your history, he probably wouldn’t hold a grudge against you.”

Letia was already doing her best to help Liz.

The script could always be changed; even if Red could never rejoin the team, if the two of them could at least smooth things over, maybe he could help her out in the future.

And this was already a pretty tactful way to put it.

If she was more direct, she’d just be telling Liz to apologize to Red.

“I’m not going.”

Damn…

Alright, as expected of the ever-proud Lady Liz.

There’s just no persuading a stubborn soul—the star of misfortune above your head has been flashing for a while now, girl.

“Let’s not talk about that anymore,” Letia shifted the topic.

“Have you made any progress on your investigation of that White Church envoy?”

At this, Liz looked troubled and responded unwillingly.

“I don’t know what’s going on. The force behind the White Church envoy is really strong…”

“I had my family look into it, but they actually warned me not to get involved,”

“So it seems Litt’s identity isn’t simple at all. My guess is she might be the Saintess of the White Church, but I’m not sure.”

Just like Liz, Letia had also suspected the real Litt’s identity as the Saintess.

But by now, she’d basically ruled that out.

After all, the Saintess of the White Church had died several years ago.

There’s no way a new Saintess would be selected that quickly.

“I don’t think so.”

Letia shrugged, but Liz stuck to her theory.

“Even if she’s not the Saintess, there’s no way her status is low.”

Thinking this, Liz gritted her teeth, placing both hands on Letia’s shoulders.

“Letia, you’re the person I trust most…”

Liz took a deep breath.

“I have something I need you to help me with.”

“…Go ahead.”

Letia’s face straightened, like a general accepting a critical mission.

It was just that, for some reason, her body wouldn’t stop trembling—maybe she was just nervous.

“I know you’ve never admitted it…”

Liz stared straight into Letia’s eyes, her speech quickening, “but Red said so himself—he said you’re a battle priest from the Tribunal! So I know your stealth and tracking abilities are the best among us!”

Before Liz could finish, sweat beads were already rolling down Letia’s face.

Red, you bastard!

It was just so he could slack off that she’d kept the fact that she was a battle priest from Liz, and now look—he’d sold her out completely!

“Now that Red is living together with that fox vixen Litt, there’s a good chance something… unspeakable might happen between them. So I’d like you to plant this in Litt’s bedroom.”

As she spoke, Liz handed over a recording crystal.

“Uh…”

Letia didn’t react for a moment to what Liz was implying.

“And what’s this for?”

“If you really catch some indecent footage…”

She almost gritted her teeth, squeezing out each word:

“I’ll… I’ll report it directly to the Pope of the White Church.”

“……”

Letia was rendered speechless on the spot.

Goodness, I can only say—goodness.

Letia of course knew that, deep down, Liz still had some feelings for Red; after all, the two had been together for so long.

So even if they did catch something they shouldn’t see, she probably wouldn’t really report it to the White Church.

More likely, she’d watch the footage in secret, see the two rolling around in bed, then bite her handkerchief and curse under her breath, right?

Isn’t this exactly the setup for a bitter heroine?

Tsk, it’s kind of thrilling…

…Hm?

…Wait a minute?!

Isn’t there something off here?

That “fox vixen Litt” who’s with Red right now—wasn’t that actually me in disguise?

So in the end… the cuckold was me all along?