Chapter 119: Just Friends?

“You’re just a heartless woman! You deceived Her Highness’s feelings and then just walked away like nothing happened—damn it, you deserve to be hunted down!”

Sennahita glared, chewing on the roasted meat in her mouth, her words hitting like fire-hardened stones.

“Well, you can’t put it like that. I’m quite helpless about how things turned out too.”

Peretti spread her hands helplessly, wearing a completely innocent expression.

But in Sennahita’s eyes, that look only resembled a seasoned “heartbreaker” putting on an act.

She bit hard into the lamb leg, grease running down the corner of her mouth, pointing at Peretti indignantly while chewing.

“You’re a scumbag who plays with people’s feelings, and you still have the nerve to act innocent?!”

She had completely forgotten that the seemingly harmless human beside her had cleanly taken the lives of three of her own kind not long ago.

The two of them went back and forth, talking like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in ages.

“…Sigh. You’ve never experienced my past. You don’t understand how wronged I really am.”

“Tch, which heartbreaker doesn’t say they’re wronged? Like you’re anything special. If Her Highness hadn’t ordered us to hunt you down, would you really have reflected on yourself?”

Sennahita rolled her eyes, hugging the thoroughly gnawed clean bone of the lamb leg, her pink tongue still stubbornly licking off scraps of meat her teeth couldn’t reach.

Seeing her childish behavior, the tension in Peretti’s heart loosened slightly, her tone becoming more sincere.

“So… could you help me with something? Please. This is really important to me.”

She looked up at Sennahita, her gaze clear and open—without the slightest hint of deceit.

Sennahita froze for a moment. Perhaps because Peretti was too approachable, she gradually forgot the barrier between their races, her courage growing.

“I can help… but I’m a demi-beast. How are you planning to get me out of this city?”

Brest was heavily guarded right now. Just hiding here had already exhausted her—escaping the city was something she didn’t even dare dream of.

“Don’t worry. As long as you agree, everything else is easy.”

Peretti’s tone was firm.

Sennahita clenched the hem of her clothes, hesitating for a long time before finally speaking.

“Then… I have one more request. Can I… bring a few companions with me?”

As soon as she said it, she lowered her head first.

The entire city was searching for escaped beast slaves. For Peretti to take her alone out of the city was already a miracle—let alone bringing others.

But those companions were her only attachments in this sunless cage.

Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, she wanted to try.

That tiny spark of hope in her heart pushed her to make this almost impossible request.

For a brief moment, Peretti’s eyes grew slightly moist.

She looked at Sennahita. In those eyes, it was as if starlight shimmered—astonishingly bright.

Such pure and blazing light—she had never seen it in the eyes of those sanctimonious believers of the Holy Light Church.

The girl before her had been imprisoned for years, subjected to inhumane abuse—yet she still carried a burning heart.

Peretti’s heart trembled.

“…Of course you can.”

She agreed almost without hesitation.

“Really…?” Sennahita suddenly lifted her head, her eyes full of disbelief.

It was so unbelievable that she couldn’t trust her own ears.

“You don’t believe me? I don’t make promises lightly—but once I do, I always keep them. As for the method… it’s simple. I’ll let you walk out through the city gates openly.”

Before she finished speaking, Peretti grabbed Sennahita’s arm. Gentle magic flowed from her fingertips as the Form-Shaping Spell quietly activated.

With beast slaves escaping, knights and guards in the city were especially wary of people hiding their appearance—but far less cautious toward ordinary humans.

As long as Sennahita looked like a normal human and carried no suspicious items, the guards would likely just glance at her and let her pass.

Sennahita instinctively reached up to touch her head.

Her fluffy beast ears were gone—replaced by human ones. The tail that used to sway unconsciously behind her had also vanished.

She looked down at her hands. The texture of her skin felt the same—but her entire appearance had become completely human.

“That’s amazing…”

Her voice was filled with shock and joy as she repeatedly touched her ears, even picking up two stones and lightly tapping near them.

The clear sound of impact came through her human ears—only then did she realize this wasn’t a simple disguise. Her body had truly been transformed into that of a human.

“How did you do this?” she couldn’t help asking, her eyes lighting up. “C-Can I turn back?”

That light carried an overwhelming longing for freedom.

Peretti had given her hope of escape—and this ability to become human had opened a door to freedom for her.

“It’s just a small trick. This ability requires my magic to maintain. After leaving Brest, it can last about six hours—enough for you to return to beast territory.”

“I see… thank you.”

Sennahita’s voice choked slightly. This was the first time in over four years that she had truly felt hope.

“No need to thank me at a time like this. If you’re grateful, just deliver the letter for me. Hurry up, put on the clothes and come with me. If we’re too slow, it’ll be difficult for you and your companions to leave.”

Time was running out.

Not just for Sennahita—but for Peretti as well.

Revealing her power—especially light-element magic—was no different from telling Anasha that she was a high-ranking member of the Holy Light Church.

Moreover, the nearby city of Falisa had suffered disaster. Peretti’s identity could easily be linked to the surviving priests who escaped the chaos.

She knew very well—searching for surviving church members and nobles after war was one of the Regulation Squad’s routine duties.

They would come to verify her identity.

As a high-ranking priest of the Holy Light Church—a rare core figure—news of her survival would definitely reach the Church.

But none of that mattered.

What truly concerned Peretti was that Josuna, as the first candidate for Saintess, had the authority to access such records—and might even be assigned by the bishop to handle related matters.

By then, once news of Peretti’s presence in Brest reached Josuna, she would definitely come looking for her.

Sennahita nodded repeatedly, hurriedly putting on the clothes, moving so fast she nearly tore the fabric.

Peretti first took her to a nearby clothing shop to buy several neutral long robes, then followed her to find the companions hiding in the corners of the city.

The beast race’s perception ability was indeed mysterious—Peretti witnessed it firsthand along the way.

She couldn’t help but wonder—

How was Sennahita able to find her kind without any form of contact?

And that princess—the way she communicated with the beast race seemed one-sided. She could send messages, but they couldn’t respond.

That was actually good.

At least it wouldn’t leave additional traces.

Peretti quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

They found Sennahita’s companions on the roof of an abandoned house.

There were five of them—young beast-girls, huddled in a corner, their eyes filled with vigilance and fear.

“Sis… can we really trust this human?” one petite girl hid behind Sennahita, peeking out cautiously at Peretti, who was bargaining with a street vendor for bread.

If Sennahita hadn’t repeatedly guaranteed it, she would never have come out of hiding.

Under the effect of the Form-Shaping Spell, all five of them had turned into humans—but the girl still couldn’t understand why Peretti, an enemy of the beast race, would go to such lengths to help them.

Sennahita patted her shoulder, her tone firm.

“It’s complicated… but she can be trusted.”

She had seen Peretti’s strength—and more importantly, the sincerity in her eyes.

This trust had nothing to do with race.

Peretti returned carrying a bag of bread and roasted meat, distributing it among them.

Along the way, she silently escorted this group of battered girls out of the city that had given them countless nightmares.

The moment they left the city, all of them stopped and looked back at the towering walls, their expressions complicated.

“Sis… who exactly is she?” the petite girl asked softly.

Standing atop a yellow earthen slope, the wind brushing past her hair, Sennahita tightly gripped the pure white envelope in her hand, her fingertips turning pale.

Behind her were companions who had regained hope.

Before her lay the road to freedom.

And the human who had led them out… was already walking back.

She looked at Peretti’s gradually receding figure and softly said—

“She… is a friend.”

The word wasn’t entirely accurate.

But it carried all of her gratitude and respect.