Chapter 1: Reborn as a Scumbag?

“It’s been a while, Miss Scumbag.”

Na Naya turned to face the guild’s receptionist.

“I suddenly don’t want to join this adventurer team anymore.”

As the adventurer guild’s receptionist, the catgirl Miao Miao Niya lacked the composure expected of her role.

Her cat tail swished rapidly behind her.

“Hey, but didn’t you finalize everything with Miss Peggy last night?”

“I did agree with Peggy, that’s true. But I didn’t know that person was on this team.”

Na Naya shrugged.

“I don’t want to adventure with her.”

Na Naya raised her hand, pointing at the blonde older sister hiding behind Peggy.

‘The inevitable has come.’

Standing behind Peggy, Meng Linna let out a heavy sigh in her heart.

She stepped forward.

“What happened in the past was indeed my fault…”

Meng Linna bowed deeply to Na Naya in apology.

Everyone waited for her to continue explaining.

But both fell into silence.

The receptionist couldn’t help but speak up.

“So, what exactly happened between you two?”

Some unforgivable acts, if spoken aloud here, would not only deny Meng Linna any sympathy but likely make her despised by everyone.

As the perpetrator, she’d probably have to flee Yanan in shame.

Meng Linna tightly pursed her lips.

She couldn’t bring herself to explain.

Nor did she have any grounds to stop Na Naya from explaining.

“It was just some unpleasantness. It’s all in the past.”

Meng Linna looked up in surprise.

She saw Na Naya’s calm, breezy expression.

‘Despite being treated so horribly, she’s not taking revenge here?’

Judging herself, Meng Linna knew she wouldn’t pass up such an opportunity for retaliation.

“Could it be something like school bullying?”

Peggy, Meng Linna’s teammate, began speculating on her own.

“Na Naya is a cleric, and Xiao Meng was at the convent before.”

“Were you two classmates or something?”

“You could say that.”

Na Naya casually affirmed Peggy’s guess.

But Meng Linna knew her actions were far worse than what Na Naya implied.

At this, Meng Linna cast a grateful glance at Na Naya.

In return, she received Na Naya’s teasing expression.

Despite being an older sister towering over Na Naya by more than ten centimeters, Meng Linna felt utterly dominated by the petite, one-meter-five loli before her.

“Anyway, that’s that. I refuse to join this team.”

Without giving anyone time to react, Na Naya turned and walked away.

She left the three with only her white-clad back.

Before Na Naya could exit the adventurer guild’s hall, the receptionist Miao Miao Niya eagerly turned to the dejected Meng Linna.

“Miss Na Naya has always been a gentle person.”

“This is the first time Miao has seen her so directly reject someone, meow.”

Hearing the receptionist’s words, Meng Linna lowered her head in shame.

“There were some unpleasant things between us…”

Her tone was low.

“If someone did that to me, I’d find it hard to forgive them too.”

“But the more it’s like that, the more you should work to earn her forgiveness, right?”

Miao Miao Niya produced a bouquet of lavender from somewhere and stuffed it into Meng Linna’s hands.

“Even if you wronged her in the past, if you sincerely repent, Miao believes a gentle girl like Na Naya will still forgive you.”

“But…”

Meng Linna hesitated.

Miao Miao Niya’s attitude hardened.

“No more excuses!”

“You all already signed the contract. If you break it now, Miao’s workload will increase again! For the sake of keeping Miao’s work light today, Miao orders you to make up with her. Go now!

This lavender is Miao’s gift to you!”

“It feels like you’re sending me to confess my love or something…”

Seeing Miao Miao Niya’s inexplicably perky cat ears, Meng Linna hesitated for a moment.

Still, she accepted the lavender and chased after Na Naya in the direction she left.

***

In the beginning, Meng Linna and Na Naya’s relationship wasn’t so strained.

It could even be called close, like best friends.

After all, in the convent, Na Naya was a saintess candidate.

Meng Linna was being groomed by her duke father to become the next regional bishop.

Even if only for their future paths, maintaining a good relationship was necessary.

Though, back then, Na Naya had no such intentions.

But that was all in the past.

One morning, Meng Linna suddenly awakened memories of her past life.

As a regional bishop, Meng Linna had been assassinated by an unknown assailant.

She, who had never even held a girl’s hand, breathed her last in regret.

Perhaps even the Goddess pitied her fate.

When she opened her eyes again, Meng Linna found herself back at eighteen, still studying in the convent.

But gains came with losses.

Though she had the chance to live again, Meng Linna’s most important “little brother” was gone.

Yes, in her past life, Meng Linna was a spirited, one-meter-five shota.

But as if the Goddess had played a deliberate joke, this life’s Meng Linna was a curvaceous, one-meter-six blonde bombshell.

Because her past self died in an unclear assassination, Meng Linna decided she would never follow her father’s arrangements again.

She absolutely wouldn’t walk the path of a regional bishop.

Thus, abandoning her noble status to become an adventurer wasn’t unacceptable.

At least she wouldn’t die so mysteriously without ever holding a girl’s hand.

With this mindset, Meng Linna began seeking ways to escape the convent.

Her father was unreasonable, so she could only provoke the convent’s abbess to expel her.

But it wasn’t as simple as she thought.

After all, the entire convent was her family’s private property.

Minor mischief, like tricking the saintess candidate into playing the Hundred Oddities game or stealing her underwear, didn’t make a difference.

Even bullying Na Naya, the saintess candidate, didn’t get Meng Linna expelled by the abbess.

Realizing that no matter how much trouble she caused, the abbess wouldn’t kick her out, Meng Linna’s malice grew bolder.

She did something unforgivable to the innocent Na Naya.

In the end, even the abbess, who had been lenient with the duke’s youngest daughter, had no choice but to expel her.

Meng Linna’s furious father also disowned her from the family.