Taming The Evil Saintess – Chapter 14

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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Clang. The swing door creaked open. Olton, the innkeeper, saw the two newcomers and inwardly rejoiced.

‘Jackpot!’

He couldn’t help but think that, looking at the elegant beauty and the stoic man. They were trying to appear ordinary in plain robes, but the woman’s silver hair and sparkling emerald eyes betrayed her noble origins.

Moreover, he could hear the clinking of coins from the pouch she was carrying. Olton’s lips curled into a greedy smile.

This was clearly a noble lady, oblivious to the ways of the world, accompanied by her retainer, out to see the world.

If that were the case, they would likely be clueless about the current prices in the Empire. In other words, they were easy prey.

“Welcome, welcome to my humble establishment! What brings such esteemed guests to our little inn?”

Olton greeted them with a practiced smile. The woman responded first.

“Hmph. You admit it’s humble, then.”
“…Ophelia, you shouldn’t speak like that.”
“Why not? He said it himself.”
“That’s just a greeting, a figure of speech. You can’t take it literally. Like when I call you a beautiful woman.”
“What did you just call me, you bastard?”
“I said you’re very beautiful.”

‘What’s going on…?’

Olton frowned. Judging by their appearance, he had assumed they were a noble lady and her servant, but their conversation suggested otherwise.

The woman’s language was as vulgar as a third-rate mercenary’s. The man seemed to be her retainer, but he didn’t show much loyalty. And the name the man had used, Ophelia… he had heard it somewhere before. He couldn’t quite place it.

“Just give us a room.”
“Right away!”

Olton pushed aside his doubts and maintained his cheerful facade. This was a rare opportunity to make a killing.

“So, what kind of room would you like?”
“Anything is fine.”
“Just one room?”
“Of course not! Who knows what this pervert might try.”
“With all due respect, unlike Ophelia, I can tell the difference between shit and miso without having to taste them.”
“Shut up.”
“Um… so… about the room…”
“Give us two of your best rooms.”

The woman opened her pouch. Inside were gold and jewels the likes of which Olton had never seen. He gasped. They were far wealthier than he had anticipated. Good.

He had to play his cards right. That way, he could squeeze more out of them. But not too much. Too much greed would ruin everything. Olton was experienced in this.

“Let’s see… about this much…”

Olton smiled, holding up two fingers. Two gold coins. An outrageous price that would make an ordinary person balk. But the woman simply rummaged through her pouch without a word.

Olton smiled triumphantly. However, the retainer’s reaction was different. He narrowed his eyes and whispered something into the woman’s ear.

“Huh. Is that so?”

The woman scoffed after their whispered exchange. She reached into her pouch. Or rather, she extended her middle finger.

“You greedy pig. Trying to rip us off? Eat shit.”
“Excuse me…?”

Had he been caught? He could still deny it. He could say that the two fingers represented two rooms.

That was his plan, until the woman pulled a dagger from her robes and slammed it into the table, pinning Olton’s hand.

Thud!

“Aaargh!”
“Didn’t you learn that you lose a hand if you get caught cheating? Or is it your head that gets chopped off for fraud in the Empire?”
“No, no! It’s not like that!”
“Trying to weasel your way out of this? Should I give you a moment to say goodbye to your piggy hand?”

The woman twisted the dagger, and blood gushed from the wound. Olton screamed. The other guests in the inn were shocked by the sudden commotion.

The man sighed and placed his hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“Ophelia, I told you. It’s best to avoid unnecessary trouble. You’ve been doing so well.”
“But he’s pissing me off!”
“So, you stab people when they annoy you? Are you some kind of porcupine?”
“….”

Olton finally remembered the name Ophelia. He had seen it in a newspaper a mercenary had left at the inn a few weeks ago.

[Ophelia Meredith, Saintess of the Holy City, Embarks on a Pilgrimage to Find the Hero.]

‘Damn it! Why couldn’t I remember that?!’

Olton cursed his memory. But he also felt wronged.

How could he have imagined that someone who used such vulgar language was the Saintess? The woman, no, Ophelia, sighed and rested her chin on the table.

“Hey.”
“Y-yes?”
“How much for two of your best rooms?”
“That would be…”
“If you try to bullshit me again, I’ll shove this dagger down your throat.”
“….”

The regular price was four silver coins. Olton cautiously said so, but Ophelia pressed the dagger deeper into the table. He gritted his teeth, suppressing a scream.

He could feel the blade against his hand. He might lose the use of his hand if this continued.

“I’ll ask again. How much?”
“T-that’s the regular price! Really! Please believe me…”
“No, I know that’s the regular price, but how much for us?”

What nonsense was this? He looked at the man, pleading with his eyes, but the man didn’t intervene. He was simply looking at Ophelia with an almost… approving expression.

“…I-it’s free. Please… enjoy your stay…”
“That’s what you should have said in the first place.”

Only after Olton’s reluctant agreement did Ophelia pull the dagger out of the table with a smirk. Olton quickly wrapped his hand with a cloth. The dirty rag turned crimson. The bleeding wouldn’t stop. Olton’s face turned pale.

Ophelia placed her hand over his wound. A golden light enveloped his hand, and the bleeding stopped.

“…Whoa.”

Olton’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar divine magic. Ophelia held out her other hand. Confused, he tilted his head, and Ophelia said,

“Medical fee. Two gold coins should be enough. A special discount, just for you.”
“…Ah.”

Demon.
Olton swallowed the word that rose to his throat.

“You call these your best rooms? They’re trash.”
“This is a remote village in the Empire. You should be grateful for what you have.”

Compared to Ophelia’s chambers in the Holy City, these rooms were indeed a far cry. Ophelia, uncomfortable with the rough blanket on the bed, wrapped herself in the blanket she had brought.

Still, it was a decent inn for a remote village in the Empire. This village, where Ophelia and I had decided to stay for the night, was about a week’s journey from the Holy City’s border.

We could have stayed in a better inn in a nearby town if we had taken the main road, but I had chosen a less traveled path. I was worried Ophelia would cause trouble in a more populated area. She had just stabbed the innkeeper’s hand, after all.

“Well, it’s not so bad, considering we’re staying for two gold coins.”
“Did you really have to do that?”

I had anticipated that we would be staying for free as compensation for the attempted rip-off, but I hadn’t expected her to stab him and then demand a medical fee. Two gold coins, no less.

“A single gold coin is enough to feed a family of four for six months.”
“So, isn’t it okay to rip off someone who tries to scam you out of that much money?”
“I can’t argue with that.”

I had expected some inflated prices, but not to that extent.

I had encountered countless scams during my mercenary days, but it had been a while since I’d met someone so brazen. They must have taken us for naive nobles and their attendants.

“Anyway, I’m keeping this for my future fund.”

Ophelia carefully placed the two gold coins in her inner pocket instead of her pouch.

“You have more than enough money. You don’t have to be so greedy.”
“Those are the Church’s money. I can’t use them once I’m no longer the Saintess.”

That was true. Ophelia planned to abandon her position as Saintess after defeating the Demon King.

She unrolled her blanket and looked at me.

“By the way, what are you going to do once I’m free?”

Defeat the Demon King, liberate Ophelia… what then? The game ended with an era of peace. I hadn’t really thought about it.

“….”

I remained silent, and Ophelia shrugged. She spoke hesitantly.

“…You could become my servant?”
“Ugh. I’d rather eat shit than do that.”
“….”

My immediate response made Ophelia’s face fall.

“…Don’t come begging to me later. Even if you cling to my skirt and cry your eyes out, I won’t give you a single penny.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Bastard.”

Ophelia muttered, turning her back to me. I chuckled, watching her. Just then…

“….”

Clank. I sensed movement outside the inn. The sound of metal. A group of armed men entered the building.

“…Ophelia.”
“Yeah? It’s too late to apologize.”
“It’s not that. There are…”

Before I could finish, I heard the clang of metal from the stairs, and the door to our room burst open. A group of men with grim expressions, each carrying a weapon. They made no attempt to hide their hostility.

“Were you the ones who stabbed Olton?”

The man in front growled, resting a broadsword on his shoulder. He wore leather armor reinforced with metal plates, and several daggers hung from his belt. The men behind him carried axes and clubs.

Judging by their appearance, they were third-rate mercenaries. Probably a local mercenary group hired to handle odd jobs around the village. They must have come after hearing about the innkeeper’s injury. That’s what third-rate mercenary groups did. They protected the village in exchange for regular payments.

The innkeeper was probably paying them protection money, so their appearance here wasn’t surprising.

“…Ophelia, I told you. Excessive greed invites trouble.”
“Why are you blaming us?! That bastard tried to rip us off first!”

Ophelia protested, but the leader of the mercenaries ignored her. I stepped forward.

“Didn’t you hear the innkeeper’s side of the story?”
“Do we need to? You attacked a merchant in our territory and extorted money from him. That’s all that matters.”

The hypocrisy was infuriating. This damn fantasy world. Common sense might have prevailed in the Holy City, but things were different outside its walls.

These mercenaries had acted on instinct, without even waiting for the innkeeper’s instructions. They probably didn’t realize that Ophelia was more important than even an Imperial princess.

Choosing these plain robes to conceal our identities had been a mistake.

“This is troublesome.”

Ophelia grinned at my words.

“What are you going to do, Elliot? It seems these thugs are after this beautiful and innocent maiden. I’ve read about this in those cheap novels.”

“Where do you even find these novels? Is there a shop in the Holy City that sells them?”

“There is. A cheap stall in the back alley. I saw it when I was with Emily. I’ve been going there to read sometimes. In those stories, the stoic knight always saves the damsel with his sword. And they end up getting married and having five kids.”

So, that’s why she kept disappearing during training.

“You’re not exactly a damsel in distress, are you?”
“Anyway.”

Ophelia looked at me expectantly.

“Are you going to show off your skills?”
“There’s no need for that.”

I sighed softly and took my hand off the hilt of my sword. There was no need for bloodshed. I just wanted to resolve this quietly. The mercenary leader frowned at my gesture. Just as he took a step forward…

Whoosh.

A fist, moving faster than he could react, struck him squarely on the temple.

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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m still new to translating as this is my second novel to pick up, so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.