Chapter 2: The Saintess’s Proposal

‘Oh, right, this is why I came here…’

Allyrose sorted through her memories, then took a deep breath. She stepped forward, entering the dungeon of the royal capital that stood before her.

She slipped money into the guard’s hand at the entrance, following it with a charming, alluring glance.

As the Hero’s fiancée, Allyrose easily dismissed the guard, sending him off to smoke a cigarette by the entrance.

She then proceeded to the sixth level of the dungeon, slowly halting before an iron cage where someone was held in solitary confinement. Pulling up a chair, she settled down on the spot.

A silver-haired youth sat quietly on the cold floor inside the iron cage. Hearing the sound, he lifted his head, his stern gaze meeting Allyrose’s from beyond the bars.

In that instant, a strange tremor suddenly stirred within the silver-haired youth’s previously agitated heart.

The young woman’s beauty was truly captivating, enough to topple kingdoms. Her soft, black-red-brown twin tails cascaded over her shoulders, her lithe figure perfectly proportioned.

Her full, shapely breasts and elegant, fair legs made it impossible for lustful eyes to tear away.

Most striking were her enchanting, seductive fox-like eyes. With a slight upward flick of her long, curved outer corners, complemented by a natural flush and two delicate tear moles beneath, they were utterly mesmerizing.

Yet, this young woman, as elegant and charming as a nine-tailed fox, wore a strikingly contrasting elegant red miko outfit, symbolizing mystery and purity. This immediately revealed her identity to the silver-haired youth.

She was the Saintess of the Holy Church, Allyrose!

The moment he recognized the young woman, Luo Jia’s eyes immediately sharpened with wariness. Just as he pondered why this woman was here, Allyrose abruptly broke the silence.

She first reached out with interest, shaking the iron bars. Then, resting her chin in her hand, she chuckled playfully.

“Hmph~ What a pained expression you have, little white-hair~ Look at you, like a defeated dog. What, feeling indignant? Ah, judging by that look, you show me no respect at all. Could it be… you don’t recognize me?”

As she spoke, she extended a hand, pointed to her own face, and continued to smile gleefully.

“I’m the fiancée of that man who suddenly caused you trouble earlier, had you detained, arrested, and thrown into this dungeon~”

“Tsk…” Hearing this, Luo Jia quietly sneered. Then, a purple glow, imperceptible to others, gradually began to emanate from the youth’s hands, which were cuffed behind his back.

“Heh, of course I recognize you, Saintess. I simply wonder, why has the Saintess herself come to see me in the dungeon, even going so far as to dismiss the other guards?”

“Could it be that the Saintess wishes to vent her anger on behalf of your Hero fiancé once more?”

“Oh, ‘Saintess’… Heh, what a nostalgic title. I won’t be called that anymore~ For now, though, I suppose I can be the Saintess one last time~”

“Little white-hair, you recognize me, and I recognize you too~! Even if I don’t know your name, do you know something, little white-hair? As a Saintess, I can distinguish those demons and monsters hiding among the crowd, you know~! Hmph hmph~”

****

A sudden jolt—

Hearing this, Luo Jia’s heart instantly lurched.

There was a profound reason for his reaction: the silver-haired youth’s true identity held a rather special connection to the Saintess before him.

He was none other than Luo Jia, the Demon King who commanded all evil forces in this world!

As for why the Demon King had become the Saintess’s prisoner…

Luo Jia had simply been bored, so he decided to wander around the human empire’s royal capital. He never expected the Hero’s guard detachment to suddenly conduct a ‘robbery-style’ search throughout the city.

Without identification or money, Luo Jia was promptly detained.

Of course, given the meager strength of those guards, Luo Jia could have effortlessly annihilated the “small fry” on the spot and escaped without a scratch.

However… the Demon King did not wish to reveal his whereabouts, which was why he had cooperated all the way into the dungeon. He intended to easily break out when no one was watching.

Who would have thought that just as Luo Jia prepared to leave, Allyrose would suddenly appear, specifically coming to find him, as if to pin him down with her gaze.

‘Could it be that this little fox… so easily and playfully recognized my identity… as the Demon King?!’

As this thought struck him, a powerful surge of murderous intent erupted in Luo Jia’s heart. He stared intently at the triumphant young woman before him, the chains already silently broken.

The demonic energy in his arms flared dramatically. Just as he contemplated how to swiftly and silently extinguish the life of the girl before him, he heard Allyrose still chuckling playfully.

“Hmph hmph, no need to pretend anymore, I know everything! Actually, little white-hair, you… you are the Demon King’s! …scout, right?!”

‘Hiss… Hmm? Wait, hold on, no, not… huh?!’

Luo Jia froze, the demonic energy in his arms subtly retracting. After a long moment, he tilted his head, then awkwardly uttered,

“Huh?”

“Oh, don’t pretend anymore! I told you, I’m certain you’re a demon! A member of the Demon King’s army! But you don’t have to be scared.”

“I won’t tell anyone else about this, as long as you, little white-hair, promise your big sister one thing~”

‘No… not?’

The Demon King fell silent for several more seconds, his stern gaze now tinged with clear confusion. Only one thought remained in his mind.

‘What does this woman want?’

‘Could it be… she wants to use me as a connection to help her fiancé, the Hero, defeat the Demon King?’

At this thought, Luo Jia’s expression tightened once more. He slightly furrowed his brows, then spoke,

“What do you want?”

“Hmph hmph~ It’s simple!”

Allyrose suddenly, and silently, pulled out a stack of glittering banknotes from her pocket. She then waved them at Luo Jia through the iron bars, speaking.

“Little puppy, don’t be scared now~ Looking at your tattered clothes, you probably haven’t seen this much money, have you? This is a grand total of one hundred thousand dinars~!”

“That’s enough for you to splurge in the royal capital for a while. Human society has far more entertainment than your demon race, I bet you’ll soon forget all about returning home~”

Allyrose then scattered the money before Luo Jia. Wiggling her fair, delicate little feet, she continued to smile as she swung them in front of him.

“Every month from now on, I’ll give you this amount to keep you as my sugar baby~ If it’s not enough, you can name your price.”

“My demands are simple: you come when called, help me contact the Demon King, and… become my male servant and pretty boy, obeying all my commands! Hmph hmph, well, pretty boy, are you tempted?”

‘Ah, this…’

‘Hmm?!’

Watching the stack of human currency before him, and having heard Allyrose’s proposition, Luo Jia immediately tilted his head. His gaze towards the twin-tailed Saintess was utterly bewildered.

‘This… could these truly be words from the fiancée of his mortal enemy, the Hero? It seems the Hero might be sporting some rather green headwear…’

‘Er…’

Seeing his disdainful look, Allyrose quickly cleared her throat twice.

‘Ahem… Heaven above, I’m really not trying to experience the joy of being a rich sugar mommy by keeping this little white-hair. What, what kind of joke is this? I’m a man!’

‘This is just to complete the beginner mission for the “Sponsor the Enemy” system!’

She remembered clearly that at this point in the original story, Jason had captured this suspicious little white-hair, who then mysteriously vanished from the dungeon.

Later, it was revealed to be a plot device for the demon storyline, confirming the little white-hair’s demonic identity.

Vivian had also speculated that the silver-haired youth was likely a scout for the Demon King, responsible for gathering intelligence and reporting back to the Demon King.

‘Given that, isn’t this a perfect opportunity to sponsor the Demon King’s army?’

Allyrose had considered it for a long time, concluding that directly approaching the Demon King herself was far too dangerous; after all, he was the leader of the evil antagonist forces.

‘But if I could sponsor any member of the Demon King’s army, count it as sponsoring the enemy, and receive corresponding rewards, wouldn’t that be exploiting a loophole?’

‘No matter the reward amount, at least the beginner mission could be completed first. Contacting the Demon King could be done slowly, and this little white-hair could serve as a bridge between me and the Demon King’s army.’

‘Who knows, by connecting with the Demon King’s army, I might be able to both sponsor them, gain system rewards, and receive various forms of help from them in the future. A sustainable cycle, having both ends covered, that would be the best~’

This was why Allyrose had conceived the idea of keeping this little white-hair. As a former Saintess, she still possessed a substantial amount of money anyway.

‘However… Allyrose didn’t want to just throw money away. Since the money was already being spent, then… having the little white-hair serve as her male attendant, providing some emotional value in the process, wouldn’t be a problem, right?’

Ahem… The flashback ended, and Allyrose returned to reality. Facing the wary little white-hair, after a long moment, the twin-tailed little fox sighed in exasperation, rubbing her forehead as she explained the situation of the true and false Saintess to Luo Jia.

“In short, that’s how it is. I’m no longer the Saintess now. The new Saintess, Vivian, and the Holy Church have significant grievances against me.”

“My damn fiancé has practically had his soul stolen by the true Saintess, and I’m practically becoming a lonely outcast. So…”

Allyrose rested her chin in her hand, then pointed at Luo Jia, and smirked mischievously.

“That’s why I need a little puppy like you by my side, to help me out, so I don’t look so solitary. And incidentally, to thoroughly annoy my damn fiancé, serving as a shield or something~”

‘Little…’

The silver-haired youth’s mouth twitched instantly. This… this woman actually dared to call him a little puppy?!

‘Tsk… if not for the fact that she seems to want to side with me…’

“Ahem, I still don’t understand… If you think they’re targeting you, wouldn’t it be better to just cut ties completely with your fiancé and that new Saintess?”

Seeing that Luo Jia still seemed somewhat suspicious, Allyrose sneered, then shook her head.

“Little puppy, you don’t understand~ Hmph, if I were to do that, wouldn’t it be exactly what those two scoundrels want?”

“Sometimes, you have to let someone witness the entire process of losing everything before they regret it~ That’s the best form of revenge!”

“Hmph, but don’t overthink it, little puppy, I won’t actually get serious with you~ So, what do you say, are you in or not? You’ll get money, you want all this money, don’t you~? Then, sign this contract~”