Chapter 9: Tigers in Front, Wolves Behind

“Good… made it in time.”

As the beastman’s tiger head hit the ground, the blue-haired girl standing in front of Peleti smoothly slid her blade back into its sheath, then turned toward the Peleti who was still lying on the ground.

It had happened so fast there wasn’t even time to react — that terrifying beastman had died right in front of Peleti.

Wait, what? Is the power gap really this huge? He didn’t even survive one strike — just instantly killed?!

Her long blue hair, tied up in a high ponytail, fluttered in the air. From Peleti’s lower angle, her elegant posture looked especially tall. She wore an expensive dress, and those sharp purple eyes glanced coldly at Peleti for a second before turning calm again.

Maybe it was the lighting, but Peleti felt like her face suddenly showed a faint blush.

Probably just her imagination.
After all, the two of them were both girls.
Between two women… that shouldn’t, at least shouldn’t, be a thing.

“Ahem… let me introduce myself. I’m Elaine, leader of Tuning Class, Fourth Squad.” Elaine stared dazedly at Peleti for a moment, then abruptly turned her head away, as if deliberately avoiding looking at her.

Tuning Class? That sounds familiar…

Oh right — wasn’t this organization originally the Witch Hunters, the group specialized in killing witches?!

Damn it. She thought her savior had arrived, but turns out it was a calamity.

“It’s nothing. Thank you — if not for you, I’d probably be dead.”

That much was true.

Even though the person standing before her was someone who could take her life at any moment, it didn’t stop Peleti from expressing sincere gratitude.
She looked just like a normal human now. Elaine would probably just assume she was an ordinary commoner who happened to be pretty.

Probably.

Staying on the ground like this wasn’t great. Peleti tried to get up — but suddenly felt two arms lift her up, like someone picking up a child.

“Um… Miss Elaine, I can actually stand on my own.”

“Don’t move.”

Those two curt words instantly cut her off. Then Elaine’s face suddenly leaned in close, slender fingers touching Peleti’s cheek, tilting her chin upward, and both hands began roaming over her body.

So pretty…
Her body is so soft… like a delicately crafted doll…

Seeing this, Peleti swallowed hard.
What was this girl doing touching her all over?!
Did she just run into a female pervert?!

Elaine seemed to notice Peleti’s discomfort and finally withdrew her hands a bit reluctantly.

“Just checking whether you were injured.”

Even if Elaine said that, the blush on her face had become even more noticeable.

“Right… what’s your name?”

“Peleti.”

Oh come on—

Was her luck really this awful? Lesbians were already rare, yet she managed to bump into one immediately — and on her first day after turning into a witch.

Or… were there actually lots of lesbians in the Empire and she just never noticed before?

Peleti glanced behind her.
By now, many passengers had crawled out of the overturned train car.
Unlike Peleti, these people weren’t so fortunate — most were sprawled on the ground unable to get up.

Elaine didn’t even look at them once.

Diagnosis complete: double standards, certified.

“Squad leader—!”

A shout came from not far away. Peleti looked toward the voice — it was a red-haired girl with short hair, followed by a group of uniformed personnel.

Most likely the train conductor and the workers.

The conductor glanced at the beastman’s corpse and immediately broke into a cold sweat.

Unlucky didn’t even begin to cover it — running into this kind of monster today. These beasts really didn’t fear death. They even dared to attack a train carrying important people. Luckily only the rear cars were hit — most of the passengers here had no background.
At worst, compensation money.

Most commoners were thinking the same thing anyway — unexpected incidents were rare, so this was their chance to squeeze as much compensation as possible.

But if something had happened to people in the front cars?
Even if it had nothing to do with him, his career would have been over.

“Anna, you’re getting slow,” Elaine said as she walked up to her squad member, her voice tinged with disappointment.

“Ugh, that’s harsh, squad leader. I’ve been doing clerical work for half a month — my activity dropped a ton. Suddenly running this far while dragging all these people? How could I possibly be fast?”

Anna pouted. As a squad leader, Elaine excelled in everything — the only flaw was she always used her own standards to judge her subordinates.

How could a normal human compete with this muscle-headed monster?!

“Extra training.”

Just two words — and Anna immediately shut her mouth.

The aging conductor hurried over with a flattering smile.

“Miss Elaine, um… may I ask—”

“The beastman is dead. As for the passengers, you handle them however you see fit.”

What a domineering woman.

Peleti couldn’t help admiring Elaine’s decisive style.
If her witch identity were exposed, Elaine would probably slice her cleanly in half without hesitation.

Forget it, forget it — no need to think about unlucky things.
If it really came true, she wouldn’t even have time to run.

“Anna, you stay here and help. I’m going to take Miss Peleti to record a statement.”

“Peleti? So that’s her name.”
Anna tiptoed to look in Peleti’s direction — but Elaine quickly blocked her.

“Do your job.”

“Ehh? Squad leader, you’re acting weird today. Your face is all red. Don’t tell me…”

“No. Go do your job.”

“Okay okay, I get it.”

Never imagined the iron-hearted squad leader’s tree would actually bloom — and it bloomed into a lily, no less.

Tsk tsk. This could probably be listed in the Empire of Isaac’s Ten Great Miracles.

“Oh right — do you still want to keep doing clerical work?” Elaine suddenly called after the retreating Anna.

“Guh?! Squad leader~! You can’t demote me just because I talked back! Uuugh… what about the bond between us? Our unbreakable partnership? Has our eternal friendship shattered at a single touch…?”

“Tsk. What on earth is that brain of yours filled with?”
Elaine frowned and immediately appeared behind Anna, delivering a sharp knock to her forehead.

“Ow ow ow… so there really is no love left… Wait.”
Anna glanced at Peleti’s silhouette and realized something outrageous.
“Squad leader… you’re not planning to make her join Tuning Class, are you?”

Elaine nodded without hesitation.

“But… she’s just a regular person. How could she possibly join Tuning Class?”

“As clerical staff.”

“But… we’re only one stop away from our destination. There’s not enough time to process anything.”

“Just ask the conductor to change our tickets.”

“But we’re on a mission…”

“Change the tickets… to Faritha.”

“Faritha?! But didn’t the captain say it was best not to get involved in the affairs over there?”

“He said preferably. Besides, if Tuning Class ignores the summons from the Faritha Diocese and the Church starts questioning us, even if the captain is the eldest son of the Isaacson family, he’d be put in a difficult position.”

“Do as I say. The Brest mission can be handed off to Squad Six.”

Elaine turned and walked toward Peleti, leaving Anna stunned in the wind.

So the squad leader’s intention was… to keep the captain out of trouble?

But before this, squad leader always ignored missions related to the Gluttony Church…