Chapter 384
Chapter 15: Help Me! Mr. Lester!
After the sudden event in the morning, Vilyric, along with several girls, hurriedly made their way to the Black Knight Mercenary Corps’ base before things could escalate.
Having been here once before, they were somewhat familiar with the place, but upon arriving at the entrance and seeing the Bangs guy standing guard like a door god, the Priestess couldn’t help but chuckle.
It was highly likely that Uncle Lester had given this guy a good beating and punished him to watch the door.
What a deserved fate, considering he had such a lack of insight, gallivanting out to stir trouble. With his thick-headed personality, even if he hadn’t run into Vilyric and the others, he would soon find himself in deep trouble.
After warmly greeting the flustered Bangs gentleman who reddened at the sight of them, the group entered without any obstacles. Yesterday, Uncle Lester had mentioned that they could come to him for help anytime if they ran into trouble in the city.
So how could the Priestess be polite about it?
When they encountered Lester, he was inspecting the facilities within the base. Vilyric had heard that their mercenary corps had just completed a big job, with finances looking good. Plus, given the increasing tension in Demon Town, it seemed they wouldn’t be taking on commissions for a while. So the Priestess wasn’t worried about Uncle Lester being unavailable.
“Hey, Uncle Lester, busy, huh?”
The black-haired girl smiled as she greeted the commander in full black armor, though there was something a bit mischievous about that smile.
At her words, Lester turned around. He didn’t wear his helmet inside the base; recognizing a familiar face, he returned her smile warmly.
“It’s Miss Vilyric! We just met yesterday. During the day, why aren’t you out enjoying the city with your companions? What brings you here?”
Including Leila, Renée, and Edwina, it was the first time for the others to meet Lester. Vilyric quickly introduced them, and after the greetings, she got straight to the point.
“Hehe… well, you see, we’ve run into a bit of trouble. Can we change locations to talk?”
“Hm? Trouble? Alright, follow me.”
Upon hearing the word “trouble,” Lester quickly wiped the smile from his face, his expression turning serious as he nodded and led the way.
There weren’t many mercenaries in the base; most were part-timers who also worked as adventurers, so they wouldn’t just be idling around. Even if they didn’t leave the city, there were plenty of commissions to handle.
Lester led the girls to the reception room they used yesterday, dismissing his subordinates and closing the door tightly behind them.
“Alright, this should be safer. Miss Vilyric, what trouble have you encountered?”
“Um, it’s actually like this…”
Without embellishing the story, Vilyric calmly outlined what had transpired that morning.
When she looked up again, Lester’s expression was one of shock.
“W-wait, you guys beat up soldiers with search warrants from Demon Town? You even caused fatalities?”
The Priestess crossed her arms, nodding her head earnestly.
“Isn’t that reason sufficient? Those were poachers, criminals! And when we acted, how was I to know that Demon Town would go so low as to recruit such scum into the army? I was just thinking of removing a threat to the public.”
In truth, the real reason was simply that Miss Vilyric didn’t want those rough guys rummaging through their rooms and luggage. It was more of a stubborn tantrum than anything else.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have intentionally killed anyone, but Alvin’s lewd gaze made her uncomfortable, and the soldier’s bullying manner didn’t sit well with her either. Knowing they were poachers made her actions a bit more severe.
The only one she had personally dispatched was that foolish guy poking her with a spear; the others were all taken care of by Little Dragon Daughter. Vilyric just hadn’t followed her usual habit of stopping her pet.
“Sigh… Miss Vilyric, your reckless nature hasn’t changed since our first encounter; back then, you’d give away things of this level just like that…”
Lester glanced at the heavy black knight shield sitting by his feet, gently stroked it, and then raised his head with a weary smile.
“Actually, I know that the Demon Town military has all sorts of questionable elements mixed in. Even before I arrived in this city and established the Black Knight Mercenary Corps, these hunters were already around. Not just in Demon Town, but many cities to the north of the kingdom have similar professions.”
“To be honest, those guys normally get bold relying on their power. They can’t openly bully the townsfolk, but they definitely take advantage of situations, stealing and committing other petty crimes. After all, who among those who become poachers are decent people? Not just me, many adventurers loathe them too.”
“But no matter how you slice it, they are still officially part of the Demon Town and the United Kingdom’s forces. What you did, Miss Vilyric, might feel good to you, but it’s equivalent to slapping the kingdom in the face. This is likely to end badly…”
With a carefree chuckle, Vilyric leaned back into the sofa, looking nonchalant.
“I know, that’s why I came to ask for your help, Uncle Lester. You can’t sell us out, okay?”
“Sigh…”
The helplessness on the commander’s face deepened.
“What kind of talk is that, Miss Vilyric? While I may not be a powerful person, I would never sell out my friends and benefactors. However… you left that poacher named Alvin when you came here, and his route wasn’t exactly concealed, so Demon Town is likely to take targeted action soon. This place may not be able to hide you for long.”
After pondering for a moment, Lester seemed to have come up with a plan.
“Here’s what we’ll do: you definitely can’t stay in this town any longer. For now, let’s have you hide out here until it blows over. I’ll make some connections and get you out of the city tonight under cover of darkness. Given the tense situation, once you’re out of the city, the kingdom should be too busy to pursue you.”
“Hmm… that works too. Thank you, Uncle. I’m really causing you trouble this time.”
“I can only do my best. Compared to your kindness, this is a small matter. For now, you girls should stay put and not run around. I’ll go arrange for some people.”
“Mm-hmm~”
With that, Lester grabbed the shield and hurriedly left. It seemed that there would be no interruptions as no one else entered the reception room. Soon, only the girls were left inside.
At that moment, Little Dragon Daughter tilted her head in confusion and poked the Priestess, who was leisurely enjoying her desserts.
“Master, what are you doing? Do we really need to seek help from that human? They’re just a bunch of ants; if they dared to cause trouble, couldn’t we just squash them like bugs?”
Vilyric smiled without answering, but Leila, more perceptive, caught on to the Priestess’s intentions and chimed in with a knowing smile.
“Lady Xiao Guang, Miss Vilyric is deliberately testing Lester’s attitude. She’s probably trying to see if he’s trustworthy. Also, she intentionally fell out with those soldiers this morning.”
The white-feathered girl, with four wings neatly folded behind her and beside her ears, looked brightly at Vilyric, her delicate face filled with an expression that seemed to plead for praise and affection.
“It seems our Miss Vilyric has made her decision, hasn’t she?”
