I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess

Chapter 68: Northern Mountains (1)

The next day, Sirien was suffering from a hangover.

Though not as bad as the day before, she still couldn’t avoid sleeping in late. Her temples throbbed as she pressed them with her fingers.

It was the most haggard I’d seen Sirien in recent memory.

And no wonder—she’d gotten drunk out of her mind after drinking heavily for the first time in ages.

In a way, she was just paying the appropriate price.

“Ah, good morning… Razen. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, I slept just fine.”

“Oh, that’s good. Ugh, my head hurts.”

But Sirien still had one more consequence left to face.

From the morning onward, Sirien kept stealing glances at me.

It was obvious why—she must have retained some memories from the night before.

Even while I carried her on my back, Sirien hadn’t stopped her antics.

My left ear had spent a good portion of the night inside her mouth, and she even tried slipping her hands inside my clothes.

I managed to stop her mischievous hands, but I couldn’t save my poor ear.

Even as I tried to fall asleep, the phantom sensation of her licking my ear wouldn’t leave me.

“By the way, I kept hearing a rustling sound in my ear while I was sleeping.”

“You… Razen, you!”

“What? Should I pick you up and carry you like before?”

“Eek!”

Still, it was fun teasing Sirien.

Her face turned bright red, and she looked as if she might kick the blanket in frustration at any moment.

I knew the feeling all too well. I was just relieved it wasn’t happening to me.

I wanted to tease her all day long, but I held back, fearing she might actually burst into tears.

Not because holding her hand had made me feel self-conscious.

No, that wasn’t it. We’d held hands before, so why was this any different?

Now that our relationship had officially changed, I thought it would be easier.

But instead of growing accustomed to it, I seemed to be losing whatever tolerance I had.

Even the smallest actions felt new and strange when I thought of her as my “partner.”

“Good morning to you both!”

On the way to the dining hall, we ran into Baron Esquente again.

The man’s face clearly showed signs of exhaustion. Ever since we arrived, he seemed to be suffering from a lack of sleep, with dark shadows under his eyes. 𝘙

That didn’t mean his chatty nature had diminished in the slightest.

The baron stared at Sirien and me, a sly smile curling his lips before his expression morphed into one that begged to be punched.

“The atmosphere between you two has changed quite a lot in just a few days, hasn’t it?”

“And so has your appearance, Baron.”

“Ah, that’s true. Hahaha! It’s because I haven’t been getting any sleep. Still, I attended the festival on the final day, didn’t I? It wouldn’t make sense to skip it when I organized it just to have some fun! I lived three days’ worth of life in one!”

Despite his exhausted face, he grinned like a madman.

Should I call him energetic or just insane? Either way, I had to acknowledge the baron’s eccentricity.

Clearly, he wasn’t entirely normal.

“By the way, did the saintess mention anything to you?”

“What about?”

Had Sirien told me something important?

I couldn’t think of anything significant. As I replayed our conversations in my mind, nothing particularly noteworthy came to mind.

I glanced at Sirien, who had an expression that screamed, “Oops.”

It seemed she had forgotten something.

“Sorry, I completely forgot. It’s just… I was so out of it yesterday.”

“It’s no big deal. You can tell me when it’s convenient.”

“As soon as we’re ready, we’ll head to the capital.”

****

The capital of the Edelmar Empire. Edelmarion.

A city that had prospered throughout the empire’s long history and served as the birthplace of all wealth and power.

True to its reputation, Edelmarion was a den of scheming power players.

It was also where the main storyline of the original work would begin, just a few years later, with the heroine’s reincarnation.

The Crown Prince, the Main Male Lead, Resides in the Capital

By now, the Swordmaster and the new talents of the Mage Tower must also have established themselves there.

In the original story, both Sirien and I frequently visited the capital, and the Holy Church of Light—the reborn heroine’s domain—had its headquarters near Edelmarion.

It was truly the main stage of “Saintess, Reverse Harems Is Impure!”

“Razen! Two on that side!”

“I’ll take care of it right away!”

However, the journey to the capital was anything but smooth.

Of course, the Empire wasn’t a strong nation from the start, bold enough to declare itself an empire.

Back in its early days, there were nations far stronger than the Empire, and its capital had come close to falling multiple times.

Each time, the Northern Mountains became its saving grace.

The Northern Mountains served as the dividing line between the central and northern regions of the Empire and acted as its second shield.

While not as sacred as the forest of Hibras, they were home to ferocious monsters and wild beasts, making it nearly impossible to deploy an army.

In truth, it wasn’t just armies; the region was dangerous for any human traveler.

“One’s escaping over there!”

“Sirien!”

“On it!”

A pack of monsters attacked our carriage convoy.

They were creatures commonly known as Blood Wolves. Though they resembled wolves, they weren’t true wolves—they were closer to beasts of evil.

Unfortunately, they were far from easy opponents.

Monsters like these were far stronger and more aggressive than ordinary wild animals.

The knights’ manual instructed trained soldiers to face these creatures in pairs.

For a safer confrontation, groups of three were recommended.

Considering that Blood Wolves roamed in packs, it was easy to see why they were considered a traveler’s nightmare.

But they’d picked the wrong group to target.

We weren’t mere soldiers; we were seasoned warriors, jokers on the frontlines against the demonic forces.

In fact, we’d pulled some of our strongest members from the northern gates before heading to the capital, making this encounter with mere monsters laughably manageable.

— Krrrrrk!

— Kgek! Yipe!

A greatsword crushed the body of one wolf.

Its hide was tough, so it couldn’t cut through two at once. One died instantly, while the other recalibrated itself before lunging again.

I decided to handle the second one carefully.

A tough hide meant its pelt would fetch a high price.

The first one was beyond salvage, but at least one should be taken down cleanly for profit.

I drove my blade under the wolf’s body, piercing its heart in one precise strike.

The creature struggled briefly before succumbing to its fate.

Moments like this make me jealous of Sirien’s powers.

Sirien’s strength worked best on creatures with little to no reason.

To be precise, the lower their soul’s quality, the more effective her abilities became.

She could enforce death itself by channeling her immense divine power.

While this didn’t work on higher-order beings capable of communication, it was quite effective against mindless beasts and monsters.

For humans or demons, there were other ways to handle things, but to an observer, all deaths probably looked the same.

Humans consumed by fear behaved no differently from beasts.

As for the wolves targeting Sirien, they simply dropped dead as if falling asleep.

The one that tried to flee was struck by a thrown axe, which whistled through the air before returning, dripping blood.

Watching the axe absorb the blood as it was gripped again was eerie, no matter how many times I saw it.

“Shall we take a short break here? We need to clean up the corpses and rest after the fight.”

“That sounds good.”

“We’ll take care of the Blood Wolf pelts and ensure they’re properly accounted for. You have my word as Nelloa Esquente!”

“You’re just saying that because we’ll catch you later if you try to cheat us in the records.”

“Come now, Saintess, that makes it sound like I’m out to cheat others! I have my honor to protect!”

“Sure, sure.”

Our caravan had a 40% share in Esquente’s trade group.

In essence, it was a joint operation, but Sirien was meticulous in her inspections of the accounts.

This made Isquente rather wary of her.

...No, actually, it was fair to say that the baron was downright afraid of her.

After casting a thoughtful glance at Isquente, Sirien walked over to me.

Together, we moved to the back of the convoy, inspecting the aftermath of the skirmish.

“There doesn’t seem to be any major damage. No injuries, either.”

Our convoy consisted of over thirty people, including guards.

In addition to Sirien, myself, Russell, Isha, and Baron Esquente, there were the baron’s staff, trade employees, and three mercenaries we’d recruited from the Arctania Gate.

Among them, our people stood out the most.

Technically, they weren’t just mercenaries—they were all initiates of Hibras. Calling them either mercenaries or devotees wouldn’t be wrong.

As we reached the rear of the convoy, the scent of charred flesh filled the air.

At the center of the burnt corpses stood a woman with fiery red hair.

Next to her was a man holding a bow, and nearby, a massive white tiger beastman waved at us with his hammer in hand.

The red-haired woman’s face lit up as she saw Sirien.

“Welcome back, sis!”

“It’s been a while, Captain.”

Over the past four years, these comrades had shared many battlefields with us.

They were our people, nurtured by Sirien and me through blood, sweat, and trust.

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