I’m a Rookie, but I’m an Experienced Professional - Chapter 87

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 87

Though Tabin wouldn’t eavesdrop, I locked the door just in case and moved as far away as possible.

“I heard the lord expelled all the temple envoys, so why are you still here?

I kept my voice as low as possible so it wouldn’t leak outside.

“Don’t tell me the others are still in Belheim too?”

“N-no!”

Anabella, who had been hanging her head like a criminal, answered in surprise.

“Everyone else left. I’m the only one who stayed here.”

“So what’s the reason you stayed alone? And why did you come to see me?”

“That’s…”

Anabella couldn’t answer easily and pressed her lips tightly together.

“Did that priest Silas order you to stay behind alone and do something?”

Again she didn’t answer, but silence was as good as confirmation.

“Ha.”

I let out a hollow breath and swept back my disheveled hair.

“What’s the reason for doing this to me? I didn’t commit treason against the temple, and I have no acquaintance with that priest or anyone else. Why are you so desperate to drive me out of Belheim?”

When I asked with a voice mixed with irritation and indignation, Anabella’s eyes shook greatly.

After hesitating for a long time as if deciding whether to speak or not, Anabella finally opened her heavy lips.

“I don’t know the detailed circumstances either… but it’s probably because of the donations.”

I blinked.

“Donations?”

Anabella nodded and continued.

“Whenever there were monsoons in Belheim or the Raed River in Nuviar flooded, the lord would offer massive donations to the temple instead of asking for help. From the temple’s perspective, it was a very lucrative regular source of income.”

Anabella looked directly at me for the first time.

“But since Miss Eileen solved the problems of both territories, there’s no longer any need to request help from the temple. Since the donations were cut off because of that… it seems they’re trying to get rid of Miss Eileen because of that.”

The reason for this wasn’t some divine revelation but purely money?

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even let out a hollow laugh. I understood why Callix Crowbell had cursed them as money-grubbing materialists when he first saw the temple envoys.

I also felt a sense of disconnect since the temple I’d seen in the novel wasn’t like this.

‘Well, even the female lead is completely different from what I saw in the novel.’

In any case, the fact that the temple viewed me as a thorn in their side wasn’t good news.

When they said they wanted to ‘get rid of’ me, it didn’t seem to simply mean separating me from Callix Crowbell’s side, but that they wanted to kill me. This wasn’t something I could just brush off lightly.

“So what did that Silas guy order you to do? Don’t tell me he told you to poison me or something?”

“P-poison!”

Anabella was startled and shouted that it absolutely wasn’t that.

“Shh, they’ll hear outside.”

Since it would be troublesome if Tabin heard, I hurriedly covered her mouth. Anabella looked at the tightly closed door, then nodded as if understanding what I was worried about.

“If it’s not that, then what did that priest order you to do?”

From her reaction, it didn’t seem like he’d told her to kill me outright. Maybe he told her to lure me outside Belheim?

So they could deal with me afterward?

When I pressed her, Anabella hesitated for a long time with a face mixed with guilt and bewilderment, then finally gave a completely unexpected answer.

“Well… he told me to become friends with you.”

“…What?”

I had thought of various hypotheses, but what came out of her mouth was a completely unexpected and out-of-the-blue answer.

“Become friends? Are you saying Priest Silas ordered you to build ‘friendship’ with me?”

When I asked again, she nodded slightly. I stared at Anabella, not knowing what to make of it. She also had a face that showed she had no idea why she’d received such an order.

“Haha.”

I let out a short hollow laugh.

Even if I questioned her further, it didn’t seem like I’d get a more specific answer from Anabella.

She was just in a position to follow orders. She wouldn’t know the exact reason, and even if she did, she probably wasn’t in a position to speak freely about it.

“Sigh, so?”

I looked at her with my arms crossed.

“What are you planning to do now?”

Anabella hesitated for a moment, then quietly spoke.

“…I’m not in a position to refuse orders.”

“So you’re going to follow that ridiculous order.”

Anabella expressed her agreement through silence.

“But what should we do? I have no intention of becoming friends with you, and I have even less desire to accommodate your circumstances.”

“Ah…”

“So leave Belheim first thing tomorrow morning.”

I wanted to throw her out right now, but it was too dark outside the window.

If I sent her out at this desolate hour when even the stagecoaches had stopped running and she met some thugs and had an accident, it would weigh on my conscience forever, so I decided to let her stay one night.

“This is a warning. If you’re still hovering around in front of me tomorrow, I’ll tell the lord everything.”

At my fierce declaration, Anabella’s shoulders visibly flinched. She spoke with an expression that looked like she was about to cry.

“B-but… if I return like this, the priest won’t leave me alone.”

“That’s your problem.”

I wasn’t generous enough to accommodate even that, and above all, she was the original female lead. Even if she got severely scolded, nothing serious would happen.

“If you understand what I’m saying, follow me. I’ll guide you to the guest room.”

Anabella seemed to have more to say as her lips moved, but she didn’t say anything and quietly followed me.

* * *

The next morning, I sent Anabella away on my way to work, just as I had declared the night before.

She followed me to the entrance of the hunters’ village, clutching her luggage bag to her chest, unable to easily take a step and lingering around me.

“Um, Miss Eileen… I’m truly sorry. And last night…”

“That’s enough, so please go.”

I coldly cut off her words and boarded the stagecoach that had just arrived.

As the carriage departed, the scenery outside the window slowly receded. Her retreating figure visible through the gap looked a bit pitiful, but I didn’t show irresponsible sympathy.

Callix Crowbell had threatened me to report immediately if something like this happened, but I decided not to tell him.

There was no need to go and confess everything when he hadn’t asked, and this was my last act of sympathy toward the original female lead.

Of course, if she crossed the line one more time, I planned to tell him everything without mercy, but after that, neither Anabella nor anyone from the priest’s side came around anymore.

* * *

The next morning, Eileen sent Anabella away as she had warned the night before.

Anabella, who had followed her to the entrance of the hunters’ village, clutched her luggage bag to her chest as if it were a lifeline.

Unable to bring herself to leave, Anabella lingered around Eileen before finally managing to speak.

“Um, Miss Eileen… I’m truly sorry. And last night…”

“That’s enough, so please go.”

Eileen coldly cut off her words and boarded the stagecoach that had just arrived.

Anabella watched the rapidly departing stagecoach, let out a deep sigh, and turned around.

Though she left the hunters’ village like that, she couldn’t go far before sitting down under a large tree by the roadside. When she buried her face between her knees, a surge of sorrow washed over her.

“I can’t go back like this…”

It was obvious that Priest Silas would be furious if she returned without accomplishing her goal.

The chilling voice that had threatened her to definitely become friends with Eileen, and if she couldn’t, not to think about returning to the temple, was still vivid in her ears.

“What should I do…”

Should I just run away? But I have nowhere to go.

As she was sobbing while looking down at her toes, a dark shadow fell over her head.

Anabella looked up in surprise. In front of her stood someone wearing a black robe pulled deep over their head.

At the appearance of this unidentifiable figure, Anabella shrank back and became wary.

That was only for a moment—when a gentle, warm light began seeping from the other person’s body, she blinked her eyes wide.

The identity of that light was none other than divine power.

“Are you a priest from the capital?”

Anabella asked, lowering her guard slightly.

Instead of answering, the other person bowed their head slightly in greeting, then asked in a gentle voice.

“Beautiful sister, why are you crying so sadly here on the roadside?”

It was an androgynous voice that made it impossible to distinguish whether they were male or female.

“Is there some kind of trouble you’re facing?”

At the kind question, she let down even her remaining wariness and answered in a mumble while wiping away tears with the edge of her sleeve.

“The High Priest gave me an order, but I failed to carry it out properly. If I return like this, I’ll surely be scolded, so I’m too afraid…”

“Oh my, how pitiful.”

The Ascetic Priest clicked their tongue as if feeling sorry. They slowly approached and knelt on one knee to match Anabella’s eye level.

Though their face was hidden by the robe, a strange smile hung at the corners of their mouth.

“Shall I help you a little?”

“What? You, priest… how could you help me?”

When Anabella asked back in puzzlement, the Ascetic Priest extended a white hand and gently grasped her delicate hand.

“There are many ways. You just need to trust me and leave it to me. I’ll take away your fear.”

The moment their hand touched hers, Anabella felt a chilling sensation penetrate her entire body.

The warm divine power disappeared without a trace, and something ice-cold and sticky burrowed into her mind.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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