Chapter 22: Part (2): Almsgiving

Kaya spoke with sparkling amber eyes and animated expressions.

Millie couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Having stayed in Eisenberg for a while, she was used to the stern, cold atmosphere of Seraphina and Evelyn. Suddenly encountering someone so straightforward—almost naively honest—threw her off balance.

“I may be a merchant, but today, I took the queen’s money, so that makes me the queen’s person!”

“Until the mission is complete, I won’t sell you off!”

“…??” Millie was left speechless by Kaya’s blunt words.

“Besides, if I sold you now, where else would I find a client willing to pay this kind of princely sum… cough, I mean—customer?”

Millie was even more dumbfounded.

How could someone be so naturally proud—like “This is just who I am, and I love it!”—without a hint of hesitation?

What kind of brain circuitry does this person have…

“All right, little saint, chit-chat time is over.” Kaya suddenly jumped off the sofa in a single motion:

“Time to get ready and head out.”

“Do you have special clothes? You’ll be meeting people today.”

“Yes…” Millie pointed to the wardrobe. “Seraphina prepared a… white outfit…”

Kaya walked over, opened the wardrobe, and pulled out the neatly folded white saintly robe, shaking it slightly in her hand.

“Oh my…” Kaya looked at the intricate lace and the layers upon layers of fabric, her expression exaggeratedly disdainful.

“How are you supposed to run in this? If an assassin shows up, you won’t even be able to dodge.”

“Uh…” Millie averted her gaze, saying nothing.

“This thing’s only purpose is that if stray bullets hit you, the blood will explode on the white fabric in the most eye-catching pattern.”

Millie’s cheeks twitched.

“Eh… whatever, it’s safe enough here anyway.”

Ignoring her, Kaya went back in front of her, holding the robe and gesturing at Millie.

“Get up, get up, lift your arms!” she said, peeking her face from under the raised fabric.

Millie instinctively reached for the hem. After a moment, she stammered, “I… I’ll change myself…”

“Afraid of what? You’re too slow at changing anyway,” Kaya said matter-of-factly.

“…”

“Besides, why be shy—oh?”

Beep beep beep—

Just as Kaya enthusiastically tried to pull her up, a communicator beeped in Millie’s pocket.

“Hm?” Kaya paused. “Okay, you want to change yourself, fine. I’ll just take this call first.”

She tossed the saintly robe onto Millie, letting it drape over her head, then took a palm-sized metal device from her waist pouch—the screen flashing a red signal.

Kaya held it to her ear and hurried outside: “Hello? Oh—Your Majesty! Hahaha, what’s up, Your Majesty…”

Her voice faded as she walked away.

Millie sighed, removed the robe from her head, and hurried to the bathroom to change.

Had Seraphina gotten busy again?

She recalled Kaya’s flustered expression while taking the call, curiosity pricking her about what was happening on the other end.

Finally dressed, Millie opened the bathroom door to see Kaya standing at the entrance, holding her arms and looking distressed.

“Waaah…”

“Uh… what’s wrong…?” Millie asked, puzzled.

“The queen… she said… she’s deducting my final payment, wahhh…” Kaya rubbed her cheeks, her voice full of grievance.

“Huh?”

“Damn it! Little Saint, you have to give me a good review later!” Kaya ran over, hands clasped in a pleading gesture, looking pitiful:

“Please tell the queen not to deduct it…”

“Really can’t deduct it! Please, please…”

“Heh—but… why is she deducting your money?” Millie asked, almost laughing.

“She said I was too casual in the room just now…” Kaya protested, gesturing angrily. “I wasn’t casual! I just ate an apple! And I even said it was tasty!”

“Well… it was tasty,” Millie admitted.

“Ah, unbearable!” Kaya sighed heavily and pushed Millie toward the full-length mirror, meticulously checking the outfit Seraphina had instructed her to wear.

As she tied the intricate back laces, she kept smacking her lips:

“What a waste of fabric… like a target…”

“That could make ten water filters for our caravan!”

Millie felt overwhelmed by her chatter, wanting to laugh but knowing she shouldn’t, making her shoulders twitch.

In the mirror, the girl wore a pure white robe embroidered with pale golden threads.

The wide sleeves and long skirt draped to the floor, emphasizing her already delicate figure.

Her black hair flowed down her back, contrasting sharply with the white robe. Her pale face and clear blue eyes gave her an almost otherworldly, saintly aura…

“Hm… looks convincing enough,” Kaya said, rubbing her chin in satisfaction. “But… it still feels like it’s missing something.”

She soon pulled out a delicate silver necklace from her bag:

“Here, wear this.”

“W-won’t this be too expensive?” Millie hesitated.

“Don’t worry, it’s a prop, not real,” Kaya said carelessly. “In our line of work, we have everything. Props for decoration can’t be missing.”

Millie relaxed and carefully put on the necklace.

“Pffst pffst—remember to give me a good review…” Kaya whispered, pressing the back of her hand to her cheek and reminding her repeatedly.

“Ha… okay, okay.”

Millie looked at herself in the mirror, feeling like she was wrapped in a layer of opulent clothing that didn’t belong to her, feeling awkward.

Looking at her watch, Kaya exclaimed: “Ah! Took too long! We’re running out of time!”

“Go, go, go! If we’re late on the first time… the queen will deduct my pay again!” Before Millie could react, Kaya grabbed her and pushed her out the door.

Unlike before, when she was with Seraphina, the soldiers they passed today stared curiously at Kaya but did not approach.

Apparently, Seraphina had arranged everything in advance.

They dashed through the long corridor of the old museum and finally reached the armored vehicle waiting outside.

“Quick, quick, quick! Brother! Head to the Outer City plaza!” Kaya shouted anxiously at the driver.

“Cough… fasten your belt,” the driver said irritably without turning back, coughing at her urgency.

Millie, still catching her breath from being almost yanked off her feet, leaned against the seat.

Looking at her skirt trailing almost to the floor, she hesitated.

“Isn’t this… too much…?”

“Too much?” Kaya laughed loudly.

“No, no! Do you know how the envoys of the Purification Sanctuary appear?”

“——Full-body golden armor!”

“With super, super, super huge mechanical wings on their back! Oh my god!”

“Compared to that, your outfit is really low-key.”

Kaya glanced at Millie’s hair, slightly messed up by the wind, thinking she should fix it.

But seeing her smooth black hair, she paused.

“Uh, your hair… I don’t really know how to style it,” Kaya said awkwardly, scratching her head.

“I can do braids or small decorations, but yours… it’s too refined, I’m afraid I’ll mess it up.”

Millie looked at the tiny beaded braids on Kaya’s head—exotic, but completely unsuitable for a saintly image.

“It’s fine, just leave it,” Millie shook her head, gently loosening the strands pinched at the back.

“She didn’t specifically ask for anything before.”

“Good…” Kaya breathed a sigh of relief.

“You know, this is my first time being a babysitter.”

“Usually, we’re running around doing intelligence and trade…”

She leaned back in her seat, the safety belt under her elbow, tapping her fingers on her knee in rhythm, humming a cheerful desert folk tune Millie had never heard before.

Unlike her earlier boisterous tone, it sounded especially melodic against the roar of the engine.

The car sped toward the Outer City, the scenery outside blurring into streaks of light.