Aya now feels a strange sense of guilt.

Although she retrieved her money pouch and punished the thief, everything seemed fine. But why does she feel like she is the bad person in all of this?

If she were to pinpoint a reason… it might have something to do with the sobbing girl over there.

"Sob... Sister, what you said is right... The outside world is so scary..." The girl cried while holding a bowl of steaming potato soup and accidentally choking on it.

Aya helplessly patted her back to help her catch her breath, her forehead filled with black lines. "She clearly stole from me first, so why is she pretending to be the victim?"

"I didn't steal it!" The girl widened her eyes. "When I was in town, I saw this bag being kicked around on the ground by people. I was just curious and picked it up."

What? Aya was taken aback and carefully recollected. It seemed that there were a lot of people at that time, and she didn't secure her money pouch tightly... Could it be that it was accidentally pushed off without her noticing?

If that were the case... Aya's expression instantly became interesting.

"Tsk tsk, how pathetic. Not properly understanding the situation and falsely accusing others, and even bullying a little girl," Etras commented from the side, holding a bowl of soup and blowing on it gently as if watching a show.

"This is not entirely my fault!" Aya felt wronged. "Besides, I still shared food with her in the end, didn't I?"

The freshly cooked potato soup was quickly devoured by the three of them who were already starving. However, most of it ended up in the stomach of the girl who appeared out of nowhere.

"Ah, I'm so satisfied. Thank you for the hospitality!" After eating, the previously pitiful girl finally stopped looking so pathetic and sat up straight, sincerely thanking Aya and Etras.

"No need to thank us, it's just a pot of soup after all." Etras waved her hand generously. Although it took some time, it was just a pot of soup in the end, and it was nice to be able to help someone.

Moreover, they were more concerned about who this child actually was.

After all, she had quietly evaded Aya's psychic detection before. Plus, appearing in a place like the Dark Marshes, which was said to be a paradise for adventurers, only ghosts or monsters would believe that she was an ordinary person.

"Cough, since we owe you a meal, it's basic courtesy to explain your background, young lady."

Aya used Dragon's unique magic to scan the girl from head to toe at a close distance, but found that she couldn't determine anything about the girl other than her appearance. It was all chaos, and she couldn't even confirm if she was human, let alone analyze her power system.

—This aspect is a bit similar to Chirp, the beast-eared loli in her house.

Aya unconsciously made a connection with Chirp, who was a relic of the ancient magitech civilization. But it couldn't be so coincidental that she would encounter another one, right?

"My name is Angelica, and my home is deep within this marshland."

The girl took off her hood, revealing a small face with a few leaves and a bit of dirt. She had a pure smile on her face.

However, this sentence baffled Etras and the dumbfounded dragon.

Meow meow meow? Deep within the marshland? She clearly looked like a little girl, but how could she easily navigate through the treacherous Dark Marshes alone? It was suspicious enough, and now with her statement, wasn't she basically saying that she was a witch?!

"Hey, Angelica, you're not... the witch, are you?" Etras forced a laugh and discreetly pressed her hand on the ring that stored her weapons.

No matter how you look at it, witches are the target of S-rank missions, and they are definitely dangerous opponents. In case they suddenly attack at such a close distance, there may not even be time to react.

This boss battle caught Aya off guard. She silently complained to herself and quietly prepared a defensive spell to be ready to cast at any moment.

The atmosphere instantly became heavy and terrifying, with only the faint sound of insects chirping in the surrounding bushes.

...

"I mean, Archbishop Heinrich, wouldn't it be more appropriate to call this judge a witch rather than a clergyman?"

Outside the prayer room of the Royal Cathedral, Brad sat on a row of benches used by believers during prayer. He leaned his elbows on his knees, pressed his temples, and wore an unmistakable expression of anger on his face.

In the prayer room behind him, one of his knights lay on a temporary bed with his eyes tightly closed. His face was pale, devoid of any color, and his right wrist was wrapped in thick bandages.

The judge had severed his entire right hand at the wrist. Although the church's priest used Healing Magic to reattach it in time, the prolonged delay made it impossible to fully restore it, even with the help of Holy Spring. The excessive blood loss had also put his life in danger, making it impossible for him to recover for a long time.

Even Brad, who had a good temper, couldn't bear the judge's arbitrary actions, so he directly called her a "witch," a derogatory term that was enough to provoke a duel for clergymen.

But even Heinrich, who was used to the judge's whims as a gardener, understood that she had gone too far this time. He could only stand by with a helpless expression mixed with apology.

"I told her the same, but the judiciary has a high degree of autonomy. Even the Pope would find it difficult to control them."

"But it was your suggestion to employ her, wasn't it?" Brad raised his head and looked directly at Heinrich, his eyes showing a rare anger and dignity. "Your Excellency, you should take responsibility, shouldn't you?"

"Naturally." Heinrich smiled bitterly. "Regardless, we only have this card to prevent your sister, the legendary powerhouse, from causing trouble."

"So she can still roam freely in the city instead of being locked up in the palace dungeon." Brad stood up, straightened his clothes, took one last look at his subordinate in the prayer room, and turned to leave the cathedral. He boarded the waiting carriage outside, which had been waiting for a long time.

"Your Majesty,"

The attendant responsible for opening the door bowed to Brad.

"Mm." Brad nodded vaguely. After closing the carriage door, he couldn't help but touch his own nose and said to the attendant, "I still can't get used to it. Call me 'Your Highness' instead. I haven't removed my father from the throne yet."

"Oh, right, arrange his affairs. Take ten thousand gold coins from my personal wealth and give them to his family. Also, when he recovers from his injuries, directly transfer him to the Royal Guard as a captain."

"Understood."

Ten thousand gold coins were a considerable sum of money for an ordinary guard, and the Royal Guard of the royal family... even just a captain was someone many nobles were willing to befriend. After all, they were one of the most trusted members of the royal family.

In a sense, the brother who was lying in the sickbed due to blood loss was also fortunate.

...

"Guess... guess who I am?"

Heinrich suddenly had his eyes covered from behind, followed by a clear and melodic laughter.

He calmly turned around and glanced at the beautiful girl in the holy robe, and his furrowed brow did not relax even a bit. Instead, he sighed softly.

"Vera, you really crossed the line this time. It would be better if you didn't cause any casualties."

"But Minnis, that old man, promised back then that as long as we could achieve our goal, it didn't matter what methods we used," Vera blinked her eyes.

"It's just my personal request. You are now carrying the title of the magistrate, and it will be troublesome if it involves the church matters."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm always obedient," Vera replied.

Seeing that Heinrich was not joking, the young girl lowered her arms and slightly bowed her head, circling her toes on the ground, and said in a grievous tone, "I thought I had already restrained myself... Speaking of which, Archbishop, you heard it just now, right? His Highness actually called me a witch..."

"I actually think he's not entirely wrong," Heinrich covered his face. To tell the truth, according to the doctrine of the Temple Church, including the entire tribunal, including Vera, there were significant problems, especially with a few magistrates who were so cold in their methods of sentencing pagans that they could have been condemned by the holy knights hundreds of times.

— "Shadows in the Light," that's how the tribunal is called within the church, to the extent that most young people entering the church and even some higher-ups dislike the magistrates.

But Heinrich also understood that even in the sunlight, there were shadows, and in such a vast church, there were always some matters that could not be brought to light, and magistrates were the best choice to handle these matters.

"Ah, ah, to actually say it out loud, it's so disheartening," Vera made a pained expression, but her gaze secretly glanced at the Archbishop's expression.

"Set off as soon as possible. That Tiran His Highness is not an easy character. He even defeated an Angel back then— " Heinrich reminded her.

"Defeated an Angel, right? I understand. I've read the information that the Archbishop gave me before. There's nothing worth worrying about when it comes to defeating a waste like an Angel, who only has immense power but rushes blindly," Vera said, disregarding Heinrich's strange expression. The girl stood on one foot, bent down playfully, and prepared to leave the cathedral.

"Oh, by the way, there seems to be some unusual activity in the Dark Marsh area lately. If you don't go back and check it out, will there be any problems?" Heinrich suddenly remembered another matter and called her back.

"That place? Well, if I have time, I will go and take a look. After all, it's been a while since I've been back... But now, I care more about Silver War Maiden. I'll worry about the marsh and such when I'm in a good mood. Besides, even if something really happens, the nearby countries will be the ones with headaches first, right?"

The girl waved her hand behind her, not facing Heinrich, and quickly disappeared outside the cathedral.

"A good mood..." Heinrich repeated these words once more, unable to help but grit his teeth. Damn it, that was a major matter concerning the peace of the region. Is it really okay to be so nonchalant about it?

No, no, no, ultimately, it was a mistake to bring this girl back to the church in the first place, right?