“Ugh…”

Luka let out a groan and dropped weakly to one knee. I hurried to check her wound. The spot where the ghoul’s claws had slashed her was turning purple fast, and the blood oozing from it had gone black.

Was this… poison?

Years of battle experience finally came in handy. I immediately took out an antidote from my inventory—the one that had been sitting there unsold for ages—and poured it over the wound. At least, that stopped it from getting any worse. The first aid had gone well. As long as we could make it to Nagu Town, she’d be able to get medical attention.

“Elsa…” Luka’s voice trembled. “Am I going to die?”

She was usually strong and tough, almost like a boy. But when faced with death, she became a girl again. Seeing Luka sink into despair broke my heart. You can’t just kill her off like this!

“Don’t say that,” I said, looking into her eyes. “You’re not going to die. We’re going back right now.”

Luka endured the pain and nodded determinedly.

After that, it took us most of the day to reach the nearby post road. By then, night was almost upon us, and the danger around us seemed to grow with every passing moment. Wolves howled in the forest, sounding as if they were right beside us. Worse, Luka’s condition kept deteriorating. I poured more antidote over her wound, but it didn’t seem to help. When I saw that her entire arm had turned purple, I started to panic.

Just then, the clatter of hooves broke out. I saw a group of knights galloping toward us along the post road.

Knights… Would they help us?

“Please, sir!” I spread my arms and stood in the middle of the road. “You have to help us!”

I knew the nobles of this world were all haughty, but I couldn’t bring myself to give up this chance. To me, Luka was no longer an NPC controlled by a computer program. She was my companion. Luckily, the knights stopped. With a sharp click, their captain opened her visor, revealing a lovely face.

“I am Catherine de Villefort, captain of the Order of the Holy Knights in the royal capital,” she said sternly. “What happened? Why have you stopped us?”

“Holy Knight, please!” I knelt on the ground and pleaded earnestly. “My companion and I were attacked by ghouls in the forest. She’s been injured—badly.”

“Ghouls?”

The Holy Knight named Catherine looked startled. Her subordinates immediately tensed up, and several began readying their weapons. Two knights turned their horses toward the forest and took up a guard position.

“Where’s the wound? Let me see.”

Catherine swung down from her horse and, with me leading the way, walked over to Luka, who was sitting by the road. The moment she saw Luka’s purple arm, her brow furrowed.

“This is definitely ghoul poison,” she said. “Your first aid was excellent, but without holy water or holy magic, there’s no way to stop the wound from getting worse.”

Her words shocked me.

Nagu Town didn’t have a priest, let alone any holy water.

Damn it. It really was a scripted death!

“However,” she continued, “you’re in luck. You ran into our Order of the Holy Knights.”

As she spoke, Catherine removed her metal gauntlet, revealing a pair of fair hands. I noticed the calluses across her fingers and palms, the result of years of training in the martial arts.

“Holy Light!” She prayed to God. “Please help me save this innocent soul! Light of Purification!”

Holy light began to shine in her palm, so bright it made my eyes sting! A burning sensation spread across my skin, as if I were standing beneath the sun. In the midst of that sacred glow, Luka’s arm slowly returned to its original color. The wound, which had been bleeding black blood, gradually healed until it disappeared completely.

“G-Goddess?”

As Luka regained consciousness, she stared at Catherine and suddenly looked reverent. Before she could do anything embarrassing, I smacked her on the head to help her come to her senses.

“Ow! Elsa, why’d you hit me?”

“Hurry up and thank the Holy Knight, Luka.”

“Ah… ahhh?” Luka swooshed into a full prostration, pressing her forehead firmly to the ground. “Thank you so much, my lady!”

“You’re welcome,” Catherine said with a slight smile. “May the Holy Light watch over you, lovely maiden.”

“Thank you again! Thank you so much!”

Watching Luka turn into Catherine’s number-one fan left me feeling incredibly relieved. But when I thought about it, holy magic was supposed to be unbelievably deadly to vampires. I’d just asked my natural enemy for help. Something about that didn’t feel right…

“This is an urgent matter. We can skip the pleasantries,” Catherine ordered sternly. “I’ve heard you encountered ghouls. I’m ordering you to report exactly what happened.”

“Yes, my lady!” Luka lifted her head. “We were hunting boars near the ruins of a castle in the forest when a ghoul suddenly appeared. I shot arrows at it, but they didn’t seem to do much. Just then, a second ghoul that had been hiding in the bushes attacked me and wounded my arm. Then Elsa took them both out.”

Huh? Why’d she suddenly drag me into this?

Catherine turned her gaze toward me, fixing me with a sharp look. She sized me up, then let her eyes settle on the sword at my waist.

“My lady?”

“Don’t move.”

She took hold of the hilt and drew my sword from its scabbard. Watching the dried black blood on the blade, Catherine used the Holy Light again.

“Weapons contaminated by ghoul blood need to be purified,” she said, handing my sword back. “It’s fine now.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

“Call me big sister.”

“Yes, Big Sister.”

“Drop the ‘my lady.’”

“Yes, Big Sister.”

Huh? What was I doing? Had I just gotten myself a big sister? Before I could figure it out, Catherine swept me into her arms. My face ended up smacking straight into her hard breastplate, and Luka beside us looked utterly shocked.

“That silky silver hair, those jewel-like eyes, that flawless little face, and that petite figure—you’re just so cute~” She hugged me and stroked me over and over. “That’s it, I’ve decided! I’m taking this child back to the Order and training her to be a Holy Knight!”

Being hugged by a beautiful older woman was a pleasant experience, but my face kept rubbing against her breastplate. Catherine’s subordinates let out a collective groan.

“The captain’s doing it again! Somebody stop her!”

“Poor girl. We’ll pray for you.”

Thanks to the Holy Knights’ efforts, I was finally freed from Catherine’s embrace. She returned to her senses too, then cleared her throat loudly.

“Miss Elsa, um… that’s not what I meant,” she explained awkwardly. “Anyway, on behalf of the Holy Light, I offer you my utmost respect for slaying those two ghouls.”

“Thank you very much, my lady.”

I took the opportunity to play along and prepared to slip away.

Since it was getting late, Catherine had a lightly armored attendant take Luka, while she set me in front of her on the saddle like some pretty trophy. I’d actually wanted to ride behind her, but Big Sister wouldn’t take no for an answer. The group set off again in the glow of the setting sun, and finally reached Nagu Town before midnight.

To my surprise, the one waiting for us at the town gate was that bearded uncle—the Count Galaton.