“Hmm?” Who is she? She seems familiar with Older Brother Jayad. I feel like I’ve met her before, and I suddenly became alert.
She was a beautiful girl with long, light golden hair and fair skin. She wore an elegant yet practical short skirt, a rapier at her waist, and carried herself with distinguished politeness, looking like a young lady from somewhere.
“Miss Bailing Ding, we meet again. I hope our collaboration will be pleasant,” Older Brother Jayad said with a smile, appearing to be quite familiar with her.
Ah! Miss Bailing Ding! I remembered that name. She was the slave swordsman Older Brother Jayad had fought in the Iron Cage Arena. Later, Older Brother Jayad threatened to resign unless Safah released her.
Compared to then, the current Miss Bailing Ding was wearing a proper adventuring dress. With a bit of styling and the radiant glow of freedom, along with her heartfelt smile, she was even more beautiful than when she was in the Iron Cage Arena.
“Yes! As soon as I heard that Mr. Jayad had taken on this mission, I immediately volunteered to join. I hope I can be of assistance to you this time!” Miss Bailing Ding smiled and reached out to take Older Brother Jayad’s hand.
“Stop, stop!” I immediately moved from behind Older Brother Jayad to the front, blocking Miss Bailing Ding and interrupting her outstretched hand. “Wait a moment, Miss Bailing Ding. Didn’t Older Brother Jayad already win your freedom for you? Why are you still here?”
“Ah, I know you. You are Miss Parul, aren’t you? It’s nice to meet you for the first time, but I’ve heard Mr. Jayad mention you many times. Greetings.” Miss Bailing Ding politely performed a noble bow, her demeanor so graceful that it was hard to imagine her previous disheveled state in the Iron Cage.
“Uh, hello, it’s nice to meet you… No! Answer my question. Why are you still in Cando City? Aren’t you returning to your home in France? And what do you mean Mr. Jayad has mentioned me many times?!” I asked agitatedly.
“Well, my family lost its status during the war, and my father also died in battle. So, I am homeless and it’s difficult to return alone. Therefore, I could only stay under Safah to find some work. That’s when I heard about you while working with Mr. Jayad,” Miss Bailing Ding said with a pitiable expression.
This is troublesome. With Miss Bailing Ding looking so pitiful, I find it hard to press her further. I’m just too soft-hearted, and she has more or less answered my questions.
“Parul, Miss Bailing Ding was working as a waitress and part-time security guard at Safah’s Iron Cage Arena. Now, she and I are colleagues, so we’ve met a few more times since then,” Jayad explained.
“Hmph, I didn’t know,” I said, a little unhappily. Older Brother Jayad was chatting and laughing with girls he knew at work, and he even talked about me. Yet, he never told me about her when we were home.
“Uh, I thought Miss Parul wasn’t really interested in these things. You only ever asked me if I had fought or if I was injured,” Older Brother Jayad said with a wry smile.
That was true, but how was I supposed to know he had such a rich and colorful work experience? I just thought he was going off to fight.
“Alright, Miss Parul, let’s work hard together today. This is my first mission in the wilderness too. I hear the wilderness is very dangerous now, so we must stick together,” Miss Bailing Ding said, holding my hands.
“Oh, oh, alright,” I replied awkwardly. I’m really not good at dealing with such enthusiastic and polite girls.
She is different from the mischievous Via, the innocent Lorna, or the obedient Sherris. Miss Bailing Ding is a young lady of noble upbringing. Every move she makes is graceful, and her conversation is always polite.
Moreover, her status is equal to mine. In fact, theoretically, as a noble lady, she is nobler than I am. Facing such an approachable young lady, I don’t know how to say anything impolite.
Just then, another girl walked over and said, “Mr. Jayad, the Master has sent me to assist you. Lord Buck is in charge of leading the team, so we won’t trouble him. Is there anything you need to prepare? You can tell me now.”
She was a maid, wearing a black and white maid outfit. Although not as elaborate as Lavias’s, it was still quite high-class.
I’m not saying I’ve never seen a maid before. Not only in the Lord of the City’s mansion or Lavias’s underground castle, but I’ve also occasionally seen girls in maid outfits out shopping on the street. They must all be maids from wealthy families.
But it’s truly rare for someone to wear a maid outfit to the wilderness. Her outfit, with its ribbons, lace, and bows, wouldn’t just make combat difficult, but even moving around in the forest would be hard.
Moreover, this maid seems to be Jayad’s colleague as well. Does he have so many beautiful girls among his colleagues? I hope she’s not another one he’s close to.
“Thank you, Miss Elena. I’ve already prepared everything myself, so there’s no need to trouble you,” Older Brother Jayad said politely. His attitude was noticeably different from how he was with Miss Bailing Ding, not as intimate.
“And you, Miss Bailing Ding? Is there anything you’ve overlooked?” the maid, Elena, asked Miss Bailing Ding.
Miss Bailing Ding seemed a little intimidated by the maid; she lowered her head slightly and replied, “Sister Elena, I’ve finished all my preparations. I can depart at any time.”
Elena nodded and then walked towards the others, seemingly intending to check with everyone.
“Older Brother Jayad, who is she?” I knew she was an important person. The maid exuded a faint, almost imperceptible killing intent.
“Elena. She is Safah’s personal maid, and also his personal bodyguard and secretary. I’ve only met her once or twice,” Jayad said.
In other words, she was a trusted confidante within the trusted confidantes. Safah wasn’t completely confident in Lord Buck’s ability to handle the mission and specifically sent Elena to assist and monitor him.
Although Lord Buck was nominally leading the team, Elena could speak on Safah’s behalf at crucial moments. She was the de facto leader behind the scenes of this team.
“She, like me, also came out of the Iron Cage Arena. And she participated voluntarily, achieving ten consecutive victories and earning the right to be Safah’s personal bodyguard,” Miss Bailing Ding said, a hint of fear in her voice.
This demonstrated her absolute confidence in her own abilities. As Older Brother Jayad had told me, the Iron Cage Arena offered generous rewards to voluntary participants, but it also came with strict punishments and restrictions.
For example, female challengers would become Safah’s slaves if they lost even one match. The more consecutive victories they achieved, the stronger their opponents would become. Ten consecutive victories was extremely difficult. Of course, challengers could choose to stop at any time.
I saw Elena even speaking with those three Demon Hunters. Even the solitary and arrogant Demon Hunters dared not show disrespect to Elena and listened to her intently. As for that group of mercenaries, they were laughing and chatting with her.
It seemed this personal maid also played a role in keeping the group in line.
