Chapter 15: Deception
“They want to kill us to silence us!”
The chainmail-clad warrior shouted out the hidden thoughts of Jima in a voice as grating as a pig being slaughtered.
At that moment, the adventurers noticed six people lying next to George’s feet. They immediately scattered to avoid being taken out in one fell swoop by George. Jima also saw a few people stop in their tracks, keeping a safe distance.
If any blood was shed, they would quickly run back to spread the news.
So clever, more cunning than devils… Jima sighed and quietly complained to George, who had walked over to her, “Looks like we’re going to have to slink back home now.”
“I will explain to them,” George said as he sheathed his sword and tossed it to Jima as a sign of sincerity.
The adventurers split into three groups, cautiously moving closer, countless eyes fixed on the bulging backpacks they carried.
“What are you doing?” someone asked.
“They just came out of the Ki-ma vault and want to kill us to monopolize the treasure!” the chainmail warrior immediately replied. “Brothers, hurry and find the noble benefactor so we can all take credit together.”
The adventurers, already itching for a fight, drew their swords, which glinted in the firelight.
“They broke the rules,” someone suddenly said.
Exactly, they see themselves not as robbers, but as punishing those who broke the rules. As for the valuables on Jima and George, they would be used to cover the costs of enforcement, and the benefactor would be generous and reward them with more gold.
If not for the six people lying at George’s feet, the adventurers would have charged right in.
George gave them a cold glance, speaking with deliberate clarity: “I didn’t kill anyone; they are trying to rob us.”
His words landed firmly, doubtlessly, in everyone’s ears. The adventurers instinctively believed George, and immediately halted, looking to each other, their excuses stripped away. They began to discuss among themselves.
“The people on the ground aren’t dead; it’s just a tussle.”
As they debated, the adventurers lowered their weapons.
Jima understood that this was George’s extraordinary ability. He couldn’t lie, and the truth commanded belief. But this issue couldn’t be resolved solely by speaking the truth.
The chainmail warrior grew anxious, reminding them, “The blue light came from them; they must have just teleported out of the Demon King’s vault because the vault is in an alternate dimension!”
The blue light was a sign of teleportation. Thus, upon seeing the blue light, the adventurers rushed over like vultures drawn to the scent of rotting flesh.
“We didn’t,” George replied.
It was the truth, but it didn’t help.
“Brother, since you say there’s nothing, why not open your bag and let us see?”
“Even if your bag is empty, can you explain the blue light?”
The adventurers pressed on.
The chainmail warrior insisted, “Even if there’s nothing in the bag, they must have teleported from the vault. Otherwise, how could there be blue light?”
George found himself momentarily silenced. If this continued, he would have to honestly say he teleported from the cathedral.
Silence was acceptance. The atmosphere dropped to freezing point. Countless flames of greed burned in their hearts.
Considering that returning to the cathedral in shame would probably lead to their vault being given away to the noble benefactor, Jima stepped forward, lifting her chin and looking disdainfully at the ragtag group:
“What’s the matter? My master’s kindness becomes your reason to treat us like robbers?”
With that arrogant statement, the adventurers’ gaze fell on Jima’s charming face.
“Master, allow me to introduce you to these barbaric and ignorant ruffians, so you don’t take on an extra blood debt.”
Fortunately, George’s helmet obscured his face; he felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment and could only say, “Alright.”
“My master is a noble lord from Bato, the champion knight of the Summer Festival, embarking on a long journey for exploration.” The little girl lifted her face, her eyes filled with contempt for the misfits.
“Is he a traveling knight?” The more knowledgeable adventurers quickly caught on.
“What is Bato? And what the hell is a traveling knight?”
“Keep it down; the traveling knights of Bato prove their bravery to the goddess by going out to fight anyone they can, like rabid dogs. He wouldn’t hesitate to chop off your head and hang it on his horse.”
Bato is the land of knights, primarily worshiping the goddess of the lake, promoting chivalry to gain her favor. Every year, Bato sends out a large number of fearless knights seeking fights everywhere.
The adventurers observed George in his outdated yet sturdy full armor. Added with the servile nature of Jima and her unyielding arrogance.
Only nobles could afford to have a beautiful and proud little maid serving them, accompanying them through the cold long nights.
This matched their stereotypes about noble lords. Hence, even though George didn’t have a horse, they were still intimidated.
Some quietly cursed their misfortune and discreetly left the group.
Seeing the adventurers initially deceived, Jima pressed on. “Because my master, being young and overly bloodthirsty, has been punished by the gods for being too talkative, allowing him to only speak 140 words a day. Therefore, even though you tarnished his honor, he is still willing to spare your lives.”
“But you take this as weakness, forcing my master to respond to your shameless accusations with his precious words.” Jima sighed, “Last time he ran out of words and had to remain silent for a day, slaughtering a den of bandits alone for amusement.”
Some adventurers shrank back, but many still weren’t easily deterred.
The chainmail warrior was one of them, blood dripping from his mouth, mumbling, “That’s ridiculous. A knight without a horse? What nonsense is this, kid?”
“My master, he questions your lineage; were you born into a noble house in Bato?”
George’s face twitched slightly, and he nodded, responding truthfully, “Yes.”
The adventurers’ hearts shook with revelation, completely accepting George’s truth.
A tall, thin adventurer in the front flashed a smile, saying, “Sorry, we just came to see the excitement. Since it’s a misunderstanding, I’ll be leaving.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
But more adventurers stayed put, driven by a sense of luck.
The chainmail warrior’s face stiffened, awkwardly smiling as he pulled himself together, attempting to maintain his dignity, yet his voice unconsciously dropped:
“You know about the Ki-ma vault—”
“It’s Ki-ma, you country bumpkin.” Jima interrupted.
“So what if it’s Ki-ma?” The chainmail warrior glared at Jima, then his tone softened, asking George, “Have you seen the Ki-ma vault?”
“We didn’t come from the vault of the Demon King,” George replied honestly.
The adventurers immediately deflated like a popped balloon, murmuring among themselves, voicing grievances against the chainmail warrior.
“Fraud.”
“Sir, we were deceived by his wicked tongue; it has nothing to do with us.”
Someone gave the chainmail warrior the middle finger, saying, “Disturbing everyone’s sleep.”
The chainmail warrior’s face reddened with embarrassment, feeling his reputation in the community shattered. He asked, “But the blue light and the horse—”
Jima interrupted: “My master received a divine revelation from the goddess, walking deep into the forest to pray. What’s wrong with that? The blue light doesn’t necessarily signify teleportation!”
“The master speaks; children, don’t interrupt!”
“I didn’t bring a horse.” George stated.
Before the chainmail warrior could ask again, Jima coldly interrupted, “That’s the forty-eighth word.”
“What?”
“My master spent precious forty-eight words just to address your foolishness.” Jima sighed, “Is this a test from the gods? Sending so many fools our way.”
“You!” The chainmail warrior clenched his fists.
“Boss, stop talking!”
His teammates quickly pulled him back, apologizing to George, “Sorry, it was just a misunderstanding. We’ve been searching for the vault for four months, everyone is anxious, and sleep-deprived, bothered by goblins all day.”
George remained silent, taking a small step forward.
The adventurers departed even faster, some directly fleeing like rabbits pursued by an eagle. Others approached, eager to serve George and introduce him to Shalin City, but were declined.
The two made their way, watching the adventurers scatter like birds.
Using the honest ability of a virgin to support lies made misleading others far too easy. A virgin merely needs to acknowledge partial truths, and the other party will trust the preceding lies as well. My succubus charm and my talent for lying… truly a perfect match—ah, no, the virgin is indeed a handy tool.
Jima’s tail happily swished from side to side beneath her robe.
“Jima performed quite well just now,” George praised.
“Of course.”
“She doesn’t seem like a little girl not even a week old.”
“Your… mother possesses a memory of a succubus that has been passed down for thousands of years.”
“A little child shouldn’t say ‘your mother.'” George replied, “Be polite, it’s impolite.”
“Alright.”
“Now, repeat that line again.”
“I possess a memory of a succubus that has been passed down for thousands of years.”
“Yes, now that sounds like a lovely girl.”
“Your whole family is lovely!” Jima gritted her teeth, falling silent. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
“George, that was very dangerous,” Jima said. “The mission almost failed; don’t you think?”
George pondered for a moment, “Yes.”
Jima brightened up, adopting the tone of someone with experience to impart wisdom: “So, you should have listened to me and decisively killed them to silence them. They are robbers, which does not violate the principles of kindness.”
“But that’s still taking a life; slaughters shouldn’t be the answer.”
“If we exposed our identities, you might escape, but I could end up here dead.” Jima sighed. “Is my life and freedom worth less than a villain’s life?”
George paused, falling into thought.
Ha, this virgin thinks he can teach me, I’ve seen far greater storms.
Jima’s tail perked up happily as she swayed her robe.
George countered, “That’s a flawed argument. If I had killed them from the start, wouldn’t that have just allowed the approaching adventurers to see it?”
Jima considered this, finding it reasonable, but couldn’t admit defeat.
“But the dead can’t speak,” Jima retorted, “We can frame them for being robbers—hey! Why did you hit my head?”
“Copy down ten extra pages today.”
“Why?” Jima rubbed her head which was starting to throb.
“Killing in silence is not necessarily the best option. Yet you insisted stubbornly, showing that you’re influenced by your evil nature, deriving pleasure from the suffering of others. This is dangerous; you need to read more scriptures to cleanse your malevolent thoughts.” George said sternly.
“You’re just seeking revenge!”
“Nature can unconsciously affect your thinking, and you might not even realize it. The road to redemption is long; you need me to keep alerting you.” George said, “Blame me if you want.”
“Fine, I understand.”
Jima silently vowed that in the future, when seeking revenge, she would definitely force George to copy the dictionary a thousand times, ah no, ten thousand times! Not copying would lead to… well, he would still be punished regardless, heh, he would surely be desperate then.
“Fifteen pages.”
George continued.
“Huh? Why?”
“Because you lied just now.” George said with a serious face, “I know you blame me; that’s fine, but you should copy five more pages to purify your mind.”
“Why would I copy…” Jima started to protest but suddenly felt a sharpness in her mind, a small punishment of the slavery contract. She quickly changed her tone, “I’ll copy, I’ll memorize it, I’ll study well.”
The burning sensation in her mind dissipated.
George reached out and rubbed her angry little head, saying, “When you grow up, you’ll understand I’m doing this for your own good.”
Jima nearly exploded with frustration.
At that moment, a group of adventurers approached from the woods, the orange light of their oil lamps reflecting off George’s bucket helmet.
“Hey, brother. What’s the deal with the blue light up ahead?” a sneaky halfling greeted.
Jima, finally seeing someone shorter than herself, straightened her back and cleared her throat, saying:
“I heard someone just came out of the Demon King Ki-ma’s vault.”
Instantly, the adventurers’ eyes lit up.
“There was a little conflict; the adventurer who just teleported from the vault had his teeth knocked out and didn’t mention the entrance to the vault,” Jima explained. “Even though he broke the rules and secretly ventured onto someone else’s territory, my master and some noble individuals were willing to let him go, and we simply left.”
“Nowadays, there are very few in this line who speak of honor like your master,” the halfling complimented, clearly belonging to the dishonorable type, “But is this true? It differs a bit from what we just heard.”
“My master,” Jima turned to George, asking, “Did that greedy fellow not have his teeth knocked out by a sword hilt?”
“Yes.”
A deep male voice from within the helmet carried an undeniable credibility.
“Thanks!”
The halfling’s mouth spread wide into a grin, thanking them as he and his companions hurriedly rushed forward, as if they had stumbled upon a pile of gold from the sky and feared missing out.
Jima watched their eager retreating figures with satisfaction. It was indeed enjoyable to trick others.
“Jima, this isn’t very good.”
“I’m petty, I hold grudges, I’m bad.” Jima kicked a small stone by the roadside, “This makes me happy.”
With that, she fixed her gaze on George, waiting for the inevitable reprimand and punishment from this virgin.
“Letting off steam is alright; it helps with learning.”
“Huh? Shouldn’t you, as a paladin, be very angry?”
“I can’t punish you for a bunch of greedy robbers, can I?” George looked at her curiously.
“Oh.”
Jima followed behind George, carrying her backpack.
After walking for ten minutes, George spoke again.
“Jima.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know the way to the main road and nearby villages?”
Jima paused, speechless, “Are we lost?”
“Yes.”
