As the wind cleared, Juno felt the ground underneath her feet shift. Before she could react, the two had already left the ruined temple behind. However, something seemed to be awry. Glancing around the scenery, Juno could only see a dense thicket. 

 

No matter how you saw this place, this was definitely not the temple of a large city like Atska! But if they were not in Atska, then where were they?

 

’Great. After all of that, we ended up in the middle of nowhere. God knows how far away we are from Atska now.’

 

Juno turned towards Iliya, who awkwardly averted her eyes.

 

”Well, you managed to teleport us without connecting to another temple. How the hell were you able to do that?” asked Juno. 

“Ah... my apologies. I can control divine energy, but unlike humans, my body rejects it. Most navigational magic requires the use of one’s internal divine energy. As such, I did not know where we would end up.”

”So you didn’t know where we were going and didn’t bother to tell me about that?!”

”Sorry, I... Got caught up in the heat of the moment.”

 

Juno resisted the immense urge to facepalm, and took the chance to assess her situation. Seeing Iliya’s magic, Juno knew she would suffice as the party’s mage, but if Iliya rejected the healing and buffs that Juno could provide, her plan of using buffs to overkill the demons wouldn’t work with her at all! Having gone so far, though, Juno didn’t want to immediately go back on her words and abandon Iliya.

 “Um... let’s try to see where we are. If we go up that hill, we may be able to see a glimpse of civilization in the horizon.” Iliya pointed at a tall hill deeper within the forest. Given the fact that they had nowhere to go, Juno reluctantly obliged.

 

Distance-wise, the hill was not too far away. However, the densely packed forest proved to be an annoying obstacle, constantly pushing the two back and forcing them to take detours. After around two hours, the pair was still nowhere near the top of the hill.

 

”Iliya, do you... need to eat?” Juno took out some bread from the rations bag she had brought out. Having hiked for a few hours under the scorching sun, it sufficed to say she was tired. 

“No, I can manage just fine.” 

Juno was about to give her some food anyways, when she heard a sharp yell from her side. Snapping her head back, Juno saw that a person had tumbled down from the hill, slamming straight into Iliya. 

 

“Owowowowow... Ah! Are you okay?” The boy was young, around the age of Juno. His black hair and black eyes were... average, to say the least. If Juno had to give him a rating, she’d call him a 5/10 at best. That being said, the completely average looks this boy had reminded Juno of some rather unpleasant memories.

 

“I am alright, but... “ Iliya rustled her hair, shaking off the dirt that had gotten everywhere. “Since you are here, you must have come from a settlement, right?”

”Hm? Yeah, I was exiting Atska to hunt some wild demons when I slipped and tumbled down the hill.”

“Atska?!” Juno jolted up at the mention of that name. By sheer luck, it seemed that the temple had dropped them near Atska, at least.

”Huh? Wait, are you guys lost?” The boy pinpointed the problem immediately. “Well in that case, I don’t mind taking you there.” The boy motioned for Juno and Iliya to follow him, and soon the trio arrived at a dirt trail.

“This trail’s a bit confusing, so I’ll lead you two straight to Atska.” As Juno was preparing to tail the boy, Iliya suddenly pulled her back, maintaining a medium-sized distance with him.

 

”Eh? What?” Juno looked confused at Iliya, who leaned closer towards her.

”Juno, I don’t trust that boy. He’s too... convenient.” Iliya’s voice was barely a whisper, but Juno understood what she meant.

 

The two had wandered around the hill for hours, without a single sign of life nearby. Not to mention, they also never found the trail, despite the boy having led them to it in less than ten minutes. Truly, it was a suspicious circumstance.

”I’ll keep following, but be ready to fight. I want to know what his goals are.” Juno then headed towards the boy, leaving Iliya to ready her magic.

 

“By the way, are you the holy priestess?”

As soon as Juno approached the boy, she was met with a strange question. Although many knew about her existence, the number of people that had ever recognized her from her face could have been counted on one hand. 

 

“Yes, I am. What about it?” Juno carefully looked at the boy, making note of the expressions he was making.

 

”Ah, I thought I recognized your face somewhere! I’m blessed to be in your presence. But why is the priestess wandering in a forest? Where’s the hero?” With every sentence between the two, Juno felt like this boy was getting bolder and bolder.

”I’ve left the hero’s party. The only person I’m working with now is that elf.”

 

”Oh, is that so?”

The three suddenly stopped walking. Unmistakably, Juno could sense the slightest bit of malice in the boy’s tone. From behind, Iliya started to gather divine energy. 

“Then, you need party members, right? Let me join, won’t ya?” As if nothing was wrong, the boy put on a smile and continued to talk.

 

Juno silently chanted the incantations for a buffing spell. 

”Actually, I think it’s better if you don’t join us.” The boy looked in shock, taken aback by the unexpected rejection.

“Huh? Why?”

”Ah, it’s nothing much, just... you kind of have the same face as someone I kinda despise.”

”Oh.”

 

”Well.”

 

Juno silently chanted one more buffing spell, and took a step backwards.

‘Here it comes...!’

 

”Aw man, that kind of sucks.”

 

‘...Eh?’

Of all the reactions Juno was expecting, none of them were this... dull. Was she mistaken? Was this really just a young boy whose dreams Juno had just crushed? As Juno was lost in her thoughts, a flash of light suddenly crashed past her and into the boy.

 

”Juno, watch out! It’s a succubus!”

Iliya’s shout brought Juno to her senses. When she looked at the could of dust where the boy was, she noticed that the creature standing before them wasn’t the average-looking boy from earlier, but rather a taller, stronger figure. As they got up, their black hair swayed in the wind, framing a face that could easily pass as a model’s. Compared to before, this demon was at least a 9/10.

 

‘Wait, why am I thinking about this kind of stuff?’

Juno mentally slapped herself in the thigh, grounding herself into reality. After all, this demon probably wanted her dead.

 

”Who are you?!” she yelled at the figure. Before she could get an answer, a gust of wind shot through the dust cloud, dissipating it all.

 

“Succubus? No, not really. But I did use illusion magic. Didn’t expect the holy priestess to hate the hero, though!” The demon nonchalantly laughed, sending chills down Juno’s spine. Whoever they were, they had to be an extremely high-level demon, most likely sent specifically to kill her.

”Save the chatter!” Iliya rushed forward, throwing magical attacks straight at the demon. Effortlessly, each attack missed its mark. The demon swerved towards Juno, revealing a set of wings black as the night sky. 

 

“Ah, how entertaining! I’m sure his majesty will enjoy this news.” The demon flew into the sky, before a cloud of darkness began to envelop their body. 

“By the way, priestess, thanks for the 9/10.” Flashing a smile, the demon disappeared into the shadows.

“...” 

Both Juno and Iliya looked blankly at the air where the demon had just been.

 

”Hey, wait, how’d they know what I was thinking?!” Juno’s face turned slightly red from embarrassment. Now not only did the demon know her rating, Iliya did as well!

“They probably used seduction magic to force you into thinking that way. I’ve never seen a succubus up close.” Iliya walked towards Juno. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

”No, I’m fine. More importantly, should we follow this trail?”

”I’m not sure, they could have been lying.”

Juno looked past the trees that had been blown slanted by the demons. She could make out a tall building from the corner of her eye.

 

”Hey, a city! That might be it!” Excitedly, Juno jumped towards the trail.

 

”In that case, let us depart.”

“To Atska!”