The Eternal Night of the Morninglight, a kingdom completely isolated from the outside world, the Dark Silhouette and the Ocean Moon, the Great Priest—these clues all ultimately point to the revered and unknown deity they worship.

If they want to leave this place, the most obvious direction seems to be finding this deity. Otherwise, it would take Aya ages to find a way out on her own in this island nation where dark elemental monsters can appear at any time.

"Your goal is to deal with the Great Priest and save this country, and I want to find that esteemed deity through him. Although our objectives are different, there is room for cooperation. Let's work together... that's all."

At the beginning, Aya attempted to use diplomatic rhetoric to brush it off, but eventually couldn't endure being stared at by several people with subtle expressions. She protested loudly, "Can you stop looking at me with those strange eyes!"

After all, the previous wave of impressive performance had truly amazed these people. Tsk, they just lack exposure. Have they never witnessed someone make a one hundred and eighty degree turn in attitude? This is what it means to be adaptable and quick-witted!

Aya was quite confident in her ability, otherwise, if she hadn't learned to seize the moment and retreat (or rather, learned to admit defeat), she would probably have been played to death by Princess and Mimi...

"Please don't mind," Enko's expression seemed a bit embarrassed too. After all, Tiran couldn't keep up with Aya's leaps and bounds in their thought process, let alone frequently surpass her. All they could do was raise their hands in an attempt to divert the conversation, "Anyway! Let me introduce everyone first since we'll be fighting together."

"I'm Longjing! The young lady's servant. I have been serving the young lady for seven years!" Another particularly enthusiastic young man raised his hand and spoke, his words and manner conveying pride in his role as a servant.

"Sakuya, swordsman."

The young lady who had cut herself briefly introduced herself. However, she called herself a swordsman or sword saint despite clearly using a knife...just like Yumiko.

"I don't have a name. I live by hunting in the mountains. They all call me the Hunter."

The young man who had aimed his bow at himself earlier looked fairly fair-skinned, giving off a somewhat weak bookish vibe, but it was probably just due to his lack of exposure to sunlight. His sturdy arm muscles and the calluses on his hands indicated that he was a seasoned archer.

"And the one who just came in is Xiaoyan, Feliyuan."

In addition to the two who proactively introduced themselves, the sixth person in the cave rushed in from outside, looking panicked. "It's terrible, Miss Enko! That stranger just finished half of our food in no time!"

"Oops...uh, I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I was too hungry."

Aya scratched her cheek awkwardly, quickly stuffing the last piece of dried sweet potato into her mouth to cover up the evidence.

The eyes of the others in the cave instantly became sharp.

...Initially, they thought you were just snacking casually, but turns out what you ate was already considered a dessert after a meal?!

...

"Feliyuan is in charge of managing all the supplies, so she's angry. The rest of us shouldn't blame you." The hunter guy walking in front occasionally glanced back at Aya.

They were still walking through the forest at night, surrounded by the darkened mountains. Aya, walking behind, was still dragging a deer that had been shot through the neck by an arrow.

After accidentally eating their food, in order to make up for it, she had volunteered to go hunting with the hunter guy.

"I'm not really worried about being resented, just feeling a little embarrassed..." Before Aya could finish her sentence, she suddenly freed her dragon scales from the rope that tied the deer and unleashed a blast of dragon breath towards the right side of the forest. The highly compressed air current, visible to the naked eye, hit a hidden Dark Silhouette with great force like a heavy hammer.

"Oh!"

Despite having witnessed Aya annihilating a Dark Elemental monster during the previous hunt, the young hunter couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Just as Miss Xuanzi said, 'ridiculously strong,' no wonder she was able to rescue Miss Xuanzi."

The young hunter sighed.

After spending some time in this world-like place, Aya finally understood her position in terms of combat power.

In one word, invincible.

According to Xuanzi and Suoye, it seems that this world does not have anything like Magic or Chi that can enhance combat abilities. In terms of personal combat power, a swordsman like Suoye is already a formidable existence.

And the existence of skills like "Dragon Breath" is basically incomprehensible.

"Although I'm here to help with hunting, it seems like the only thing I can do is fight and drag the prey," Aya honestly said. If she were to deal with ordinary animals on her own, there's a good chance that they would be reduced to dust with just one punch...

"Aya-sama is joking. If it weren't for you, I would be in danger every time I went out hunting, and my efficiency would be much lower than it is now."

"...What did you just call me?"

"Aya-sama, what's wrong...?" The young hunter looked at Aya, who suddenly covered her face and squatted down, completely bewildered.

Of course, there's something wrong! What makes you think I'm a girl, anyway? Ah...oh, right, there might be something.

Aya glanced at her dress, which was torn and ragged in many places but still made from valuable materials and well-made. She made up her mind to tear this thing apart even if she had to run naked after returning.

Of course, it's not as exaggerated as the Emperor's new clothes. Considering the eternal night environment of the Dawn Empire, if Aya were to choose this kind of nature-friendly attire, she would probably attract countless Dark Mages and wouldn't be able to get rid of them no matter what.

"Oh! This outfit is really cool!"

Back in the cave, Aya looked at her reflection in the moonlit pond and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Of course, this is my masterpiece... wait! Just because you praised me doesn't mean I'll forget about you eating our food!"

Standing beside her, Miss Bairiyan proudly crossed her arms and said, but then she remembered what this guy had done and tried to act angry, quickly pursing her lips and changing her expression.

So she's tsundere... But anyway, this outfit is really good. It seems to be a style for swordsmen, but some optimizations have been made in terms of fabric and details.

This outfit was originally intended for Suoye, but she prefers the loose style of a warrior's robe, so she never wore it.

It's fortunate that Suoye is also tall, so with some minor adjustments to the cuffs, collar, and waist, it fits her well.

After cutting her hair, which hadn't been taken care of for a while, Aya touched her refreshed white hair and nodded in satisfaction. At least now she wouldn't be mistaken for a girl at first glance.

Back in the cave that served as their hideout, the deer they had hunted earlier had been skinned, cleaned, and cut into pieces, hanging on the bonfire.

Although they had other food reserves, meat, unlike other food, cannot be stored for a long time before being processed. Furthermore, Xuanzi's return was good news for the few people hiding in this place, so having a simple barbecue was a small celebration.

"Huh? Is that Miss Aya? You look so handsome!"

The hunter boy sitting by the fire whistled as he sliced the meat with a hunting knife.

"I said it's a boy!"

Aya rolled her eyes and sat down on a rock next to the fire, following Xuanzi's invitation.

Xuanzi looked at Aya's clothes and gently nudged Shuye, who was sitting next to her with a knife in his arms. "Aye, don't you think this outfit looks great? If you wear it like this, you'll definitely look super cool, even cooler than Mr. Aya!"

"It's just okay," Shuye replied calmly, as if unaffected by the excitement around him, while everyone else was chewing on puppy love.

Seems like the only time this child shows big emotions is when Xuanzi returns.

"I really don't understand why this awkward young lady with a peculiar personality would be liked by people. You think the same, right?" The boy who had been tied up like a dumpling next to Aya not long ago gnashed his teeth.

Huh? Aya blinked. What does this have to do with me?

"She's a young lady after all! She's so pretty, and her personality is so gentle. She's good to everyone... She's practically a goddess! A goddess should belong to everyone, right? Why does that black-haired girl who always carries a knife get all the attention?"

If I had some Longjing tea, I'd have a perfect political dog role.

How am I supposed to answer this! Should I comfort you with "Don't worry, you'll find true love when you're in the age group of boys who like gentle older sisters" or tell you "Why should a monster like you oppose someone who is praised for being both talented and beautiful"?

Luckily, I don't have to answer this question because Xuanzi raised her glass before I could: "Cheers."

"Cheers!"

- Although there was no alcohol or anything of the sort in the cup due to lack of supplies. It was filled with tea instead.

Despite this, the atmosphere of the small barbecue party was quite lively, at least for everyone except Aya. Tonight was indeed a good day for them.

But as for Aya...

Maidragon took a bite of roasted venison and tilted her head, her gaze passing through the crack above, falling on the narrow strip of sky visible to her.

"What will this strange place become in the future..." Aya's expression was melancholic, or at least that's how he felt.

Gazing upward at a 45-degree angle, seemingly melancholic.

"Hey, did you eat another deer leg?! You've already eaten so much food before! What kind of stomach do you have?!"

A certain Miss, who was in charge of supplies, shouted in shock and anger.

Hey, isn't it natural to eat more when feeling lost and melancholic about the future?