Chapter 177 : Trouble

“See? I told you I just got some blood on me.”

Milly wiggled her pale calves. She was still holding the leather shoes and the blood-stained white socks. What a pity. She liked those socks. They were comfortable. Now she had to throw them away.

Stacy carefully examined Milly’s slender legs. There were no wounds.

Phew… Seeing that Milly was unhurt, Stacy breathed a sigh of relief. But watching Milly throw the blood-stained socks into a pile of junk and put her bare feet into the blood-stained shoes, she felt the need to get the hero a change of clothes.

After returning to the Church, she would have the hero take a holy water bath to clean herself, and then she would pick out a clean and suitable outfit for her. After all, her skirt was also stained with blood.

Oh right, she had been so focused on Milly, she hadn’t noticed the other things in the alley. The blood on Milly… she looked at the charred demon corpse on the ground, and the dead guard. Her face darkened.

“A demon… why is there a demon here?”

Milly shrugged. Who knew? She was just passing by. If she hadn’t heard the noise, the guard would have been killed silently, and the demon would have taken his armor and infiltrated the city.

Well, even if he had, it wouldn’t have lasted long. Unless he could shapeshift, his cover would be blown soon enough. But thinking about the nature of this world, with its strong settings, it wasn’t impossible for a simple disguise to work.

The situation was clear. A demon had infiltrated the city, and there might be more. What would these two do? Would a quest pop up, asking her to find the hidden demons? Or would they try to protect her?

After all, if the Demon King knew that the hero who could defeat him had appeared, he would try to kill her immediately. That would be convenient. She wouldn’t have to go all the way to the Demon King’s castle to find him.

Speaking of which, where was the Demon King’s castle? It couldn’t be in the demon territory, could it? If she just went there, would it just spawn?

Milly was lost in thought. Meanwhile, Stacy walked toward Candice.

If there was one demon in the city, there might be more. Although many knights had been sent to the border, the remaining garrison was constantly patrolling. And since the demon attacks began, the city’s protective barrier had been activated. Any demon trying to sneak in would be blocked.

The barrier was down for an hour at noon, but that was when the garrison was on high alert.

When did they sneak in?

Stacy frowned at the charred corpse. If the hero hadn’t found it, they might never have noticed the anomaly in the alley.

How did they sneak in so quietly?

Now, the once-safe Starlight City had become a dangerous place.

Worse, today was the day the chosen hero had descended. The summoning had been held in the sanctuary, and many believers had been there. Stacy couldn’t be sure if there were any demons among them. Even if there weren’t, the news of the hero’s arrival was spreading.

By tonight, the news would be all over the city. The demons who had infiltrated would know. And if the news reached the Demon King’s castle, he would act, to kill the hero before she could grow stronger.

This had to be prevented.

“Candice, if we seal the city now and search for the hidden demons, do we have time?”

Candice thought for a moment, then nodded, and then shook her head. “We don’t know how they got in. The moment they know, they might have already left.”

Seeing Stacy’s pale face, Candice continued, “Of course, that’s the worst-case scenario.”

“The demons probably used the one hour when the barrier was down to sneak in. But getting out is not so easy.”

“Because of the barrier, demons are blocked from entering or leaving.”

There were still five hours until the barrier was down.

After five hours, the demons who knew would be able to leave. But before that, they couldn’t escape.

If they could find all the hidden demons in five hours, they could prevent the news of the hero’s arrival from getting out, and buy more time for the hero.

“Stacy, tell me where the Demon King’s castle is.”

Milly, who had been listening, suddenly interjected. Their plan was too complicated.

To search the entire city in five hours and find every hidden demon was too much trouble. Since the Demon King was looking for her, she didn’t mind revealing her location.

But waiting for him, who knew when he would come? It would be much easier for her to go to his castle and chop off his head.

Eh?

Not only Stacy but also Candice was shocked. But her expression quickly returned to normal, a hint of pity in her eyes, as if she were looking at a fool.

“Milly?”

“The demons are probably united because of the Demon King.” From what they said, Milly knew the current situation.

“Without the Demon King, they’re just a scattered mess. Tell me where his castle is. I’ll go and kill him, and it will all be over.”

“But… but…”

Stacy understood every word, but she couldn’t comprehend the sentence.

Even if she was the chosen hero, she was still in her growth phase. She was no match for the Demon King. And in his castle, there were not only him but also his four heavenly kings and countless minions. Even if Milly was strong, she would be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

“Just tell me where it is.”

Seeing Stacy still frozen, Milly spoke again. It was just a location. What was so hard to say? And if Stacy tried to dissuade her, she wouldn’t listen.

She looked at the crimson countdown. She didn’t have time to waste in this file.

“No one has ever set foot in the demon territory. So the exact location of the Demon King’s castle…”

That was a headache. If they didn’t know, then the demons would.

“Fine, I’ll go and catch one and ask.”

With that, she left the alley. After a moment of hesitation, the worried Stacy followed her, leaving Candice alone.

As for the Saintess, Candice was used to it. But the hero… if she wasn’t that strong, Candice would just think she had met a fool today. But since the “hero” was actively looking for demons, it was a good thing.

Alright, she should go and see a few people, and then mobilize all the city’s garrison. Before the barrier was down, she would find all the filthy demons hiding in the shadows.

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