Chapter 39: We Were Accomplices Long Ago

Her nose tickled, as if something brushed it.

Na Naya opened her eyes, catching the culprit.

“You’re awake?”

Meng Linna, hair grabbed, gave an awkward smile.

“You looked tired…”

Na Naya sat up from Meng Linna’s lap pillow.

She didn’t want to admit lingering fondness for those soft thighs and silky golden hair.

Seeing Meng Linna, timid like a startled beast, Na Naya recalled her early days at the monastery.

Back then, she too feared being disliked, always cautious.

Just like the woman before her.

Whatever.

That was the past.

Na Naya sighed, patting her thigh.

“I’m not mad. Just don’t do sappy stuff like that. We’re escort and suspect. Keep some… distance.”

She couldn’t finish the sentence.

Seeing Meng Linna’s humbled look, the words stuck.

“I just want your forgiveness. We’re not strangers, right?”

Sensing Na Naya’s softer tone, Meng Linna grabbed her hand.

Na Naya shook it off.

It reminded her.

This woman abandoned her.

Her gaze hardened.

“Stop being sappy. We’re less than strangers. Don’t forget, I’m out for revenge. Keep your neck clean until I get my chance.”

Meng Linna flashed a bright smile.

“A chance? Now’s perfect, right? I’m in your hands. Go ahead and take your revenge…”

She played nonchalant, but her body trembled.

Private punishment by Na Naya? No way.

The church would likely let her off.

But if Na Naya lost it, she might die here.

Na Naya froze.

Yeah, now was the best time for revenge.

No one else around…

“No. I’m a saintess candidate.”

Her last shred of reason curbed wild fantasies.

“I act aboveboard.”

Meng Linna exhaled, forcing a smile.

“Of course, you’re a saintess candidate.”

The words sounded mocking to Na Naya.

She frowned.

“Of course, I’m a saintess candidate.”

Silence fell.

Na Naya looked at her hands.

Why spare Meng Linna?

As a saintess candidate, she wasn’t naive.

She knew dogma by heart but didn’t blindly follow.

The goddess didn’t watch every dark corner.

Meng Linna and her duke father taught her that.

Even private punishment wouldn’t trouble her conscience.

But she didn’t do it.

How should she take revenge?

Clutching her Flame Giant Whip, calluses marked her palm.

She noticed them for the first time.

Since getting her system, she’d rushed from place to place, growing stronger.

No time to care for herself.

Only now did she realize.

She talked big about revenge but had no plan.

The journey was long.

Even if the church cleared Meng Linna, she’d return with her.

Plenty of time to figure it out.

Her brooding expression spooked Meng Linna.

“Your face looks scary…”

“Got a problem?”

“No, no!”

Meng Linna waved her hands, prioritizing survival.

***

“Get off.”

The sun set, and the carriage stopped.

“Already?”

Meng Linna marveled at the speed.

Yanan, a remote border city, was famous for blood therapy.

Without it, its isolation would’ve stunted growth.

A carriage to the kingdom’s capital, Payford City, took at least two days.

Na Naya gave her a “you’re an idiot” look.

“Idiot. We’re just resting.”

A regular town carriage reaching the capital in three days was good.

They’d covered less than a quarter today.

“Oh, dinner!”

Relieved to eat after a bumpy day, Meng Linna perked up.

“You’re too cheerful.”

Na Naya, annoyed, turned away from Meng Linna’s silly grin.

Ignoring the jab, Meng Linna bounced to the nearest diner.

“Two barbecue rice plates!”

She ordered without asking Na Naya.

Na Naya, following, wasn’t standing idle.

She strode to the counter.

“Change mine to grilled fish rice!”

“But I don’t want fish!”

The owner, seeing they were together, nodded.

“One barbecue rice, one grilled fish rice?”

Na Naya glared at Meng Linna but relented.

“…Fine.”

They paid separately and sat at a table, in sync.

“Didn’t I take you out to eat before?”

During the wait, Meng Linna brought up the past.

“Of course.”

Na Naya filled a disposable cup with water.

“A nun dodging fasting rules. You snuck out for barbecue. I caught you, so you brought me along.”

Meng Linna chuckled.

“So we were accomplices way back?”