Chapter 171: The Saintess on High Alert—A Whiff of Cat Mischief in the Air!

Translation by: Weebsread👹

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A joint operation to kill Honor Knight Lin Wei?

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Wait—what on earth was an Honor Knight, anyway?!

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Afuduo blinked, thoroughly bewildered. The title rang a bell; suddenly, she remembered the newspaper she’d glimpsed that morning, on her way home after the night shift.

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The headline had sung the praises of the Great Pope Selena, who had finally purged the corrupt faction led by Duke Ous from the ever-strengthening Empire!

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The article had gone on to list a string of accomplices—regional governors, imperial officials, stewards—who’d been swept away in the purge, along with a roll call of those who’d distinguished themselves in the process.

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At the time, she’d been too exhausted to pay attention and had gone straight to bed. But she vaguely recalled that the Holy See had just appointed a new “Honor Knight.”

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Someone whose rank was nearly on par with a Vice Commander—no wonder the whole city was abuzz.

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And now, of all times... that name had popped up right in front of her.

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Which meant—this man who’d just introduced himself as the Honor Knight—could he really be...

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“Mr. Lin Wei, are you actually with the Holy See?!”

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She’d always known he was important, that much was obvious.

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But it had never once occurred to her that he could be clergy—let alone someone of such absurdly high status.

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Her mind reeled, nearly short-circuiting from the shock.

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“How now? Miss Afuduo, you look positively stunned for someone who’s been cozying up to the demons.”

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Stunned? That didn’t begin to cover it—she was downright terrified!

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Entrapment!

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Bait and switch!

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Caught red-handed!

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A cacophony of warning bells blared in Afuduo’s mind.

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No wonder he knew so much about the demons, and even dared to work in secret with a demon collaborator like her.

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So this man was a high-ranking clergyman, personally trusted by Her Holiness herself.

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Once she’d outlived her usefulness, he’d probably turn her in on the spot, wringing every last drop out of her first!

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“Don’t overthink it. Sure, I’m clergy, but I have no interest in hauling in small fry like you.”

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“In fact, given how well we’ve worked together, even if you can’t exactly call it atonement, you could at least claim you were ‘forced to serve the demons.’ The Holy See doesn’t go around killing innocents just to pad its record.”

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Lin Wei raised a hand to his forehead, cutting off Afuduo’s spiraling panic.

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This woman was decent enough, but her imagination always ran wild.

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Even if he wanted to curry favor with the Holy See by capturing demon collaborators, he’d aim for a real demon, not—

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Wait. A demi-human who’d managed to establish direct contact with a Demon Bigwig, operating undercover in the Imperial Capital?

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Actually, that was pretty valuable.

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“In any case, don’t worry about it. Just do as I say, and everything will be fine.”

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“If you can lure out this so-called Demon Bigwig, I’ll look into your sister’s case and break the Evil God curse along the way.”

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But now that he thought about it—if some demon had really contacted Afuduo in secret, how did the Evil God curse come into play?

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He was fairly certain that none of the Demon Generals possessed that level of magic.

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“I’ll write the letter right away!”

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Using herself as bait to lure out a Demon Bigwig and set up an ambush...

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Just how terrifying was Mr. Lin Wei, if he was so confident facing a Demon Bigwig?

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Wasn’t he worried about being instantly wiped out, forced to slink back to the capital in disgrace?

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If a clergyman of his rank was this formidable... then just how monstrous were the true elites of the Holy See?

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Why did she have this gnawing feeling that the demons’ days were numbered?

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Her mind spun with worry, but as soon as she finished writing the letter, all those thoughts faded away.

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A few minutes later.

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Lin Wei skimmed the succinct, honest message and nodded in satisfaction. He didn’t press Afuduo for the recipient’s details.

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After all, Evil God curses were a nightmare—impossible to trace, impossible to analyze, impossible to get to the root of.

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If he forcibly broke the curse, the caster would sense it immediately.

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Given how little he knew about the demons’ plans, there was no reason to risk it just yet.

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“Thanks for handling the letter, Afu-meow. I’ll check back in when I have time.”

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“By the way, you’ve been in the capital all this time—still working odd jobs under the table?”

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Ever since they’d started working together and moved to this side of town, Lin Wei had noticed that Afuduo always looked sleep-deprived.

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A cute catgirl with dark circles under her eyes, running on fumes, half out of it most of the time.

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He couldn’t help but ask—after all, their partnership had started over a job rivalry.

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Honestly, if he hadn’t shown up in the capital when he did, she probably wouldn’t have landed the gig so easily in the first place.

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“Yeah... It’s tough to get a legitimate job with my status.”

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“I mostly run errands in the slums—treating folks and mixing medicine for people who can’t afford a real doctor.”

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“I just pray no one rats me out to the city guards. If I get caught for unlicensed practice, I’ll spend a few years in jail and get deported—and if they find out I’m Catkin, I’ll probably end up as some noble’s plaything!”

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He couldn’t deny it—that was all too likely.

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Imperial nobles indulged in all sorts of depravity. If they got their hands on a criminal catgirl, you could bet they’d put on a show about being “capable nobles.”

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“Relax. If you actually get thrown in jail, I’ll find a way to bail you out.”

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“We’ve worked together pretty well, and you’ve definitely put in the effort.”

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He reached into the coin pouch Iresha had given him and handed her a generous handful of gold coins.

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Seeing Afuduo’s look of utter disbelief, Lin Wei shrugged and explained,

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“Consider it a friendly sponsorship. Just some living expenses.”

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“Take today off and get some rest. You can go back to your odd jobs tomorrow.”

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Treating the poor when they couldn’t afford a proper doctor was a good deed.

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But honestly, this sort of thing should be the Holy See’s responsibility.

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Lin Wei couldn’t help thinking it over as he spoke.

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Still, he’d be heading to the Borderlands soon. He’d talk it over with Veya when he got back to the Holy See.

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It shouldn’t just be for show, making the Great Pope Selena look good.

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These were things the Holy See ought to be doing for real—spreading the light of Alicia the Goddess and upholding justice.

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It was about time someone took stock of things and restarted all the projects that had been shelved.

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“Thank you so much, Mr. Lin Wei, meow!”

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“You... you’re actually this nice to a Catkin girl like me...”

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The gleam of gold coins left Afuduo trembling with excitement, her words tumbling over themselves.

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“I can’t exactly offer you my body, but if you want me to end every sentence with ‘meow’ so you can get a taste of being Master, I can do that.”

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“In fact, I could even—never mind, see you later, Mr. Lin Wei!”

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She didn’t get to finish. Lin Wei cut her off with a brisk “scram” gesture.

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Clutching her coins, Afuduo bolted out the door, beaming with delight.

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Lin Wei couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.

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This woman... Her Catkin village was way out in the sticks—where on earth had she picked up all this strange knowledge?

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She even knew about the “meow at the end of every sentence to please Master” trick?

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Had the once-innocent Catkin girl finally been corrupted by the capital’s influence?

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Then again, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

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Yeah!

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When he got home, he’d have Veya try being a catgirl for a while!

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Knock, knock, knock!

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“Hm? Did you forget your wallet, or is there something else?”

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Another round of knocks sounded at the door.

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Still grumbling, Lin Wei turned to open it—half-expecting to see Afuduo back again.

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But instead, standing before him was not the catgirl he’d just sent off.

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It was a young woman in an ornate gown, standing tall and poised on the threshold.

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Her delicate features radiated youthful innocence, her slender waist accentuating her dainty, graceful figure.

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Golden hair, as lustrous as spun gold, tumbled down her back in an elegant braid—she looked every inch the noble princess.

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Her sapphire-blue eyes sparkled with kindness, shining even in the afternoon light.

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She gazed at him, her sweet face tinged with a hint of awkwardness.

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She hesitated for several seconds before dropping into a curtsy, flawlessly executing the etiquette drilled into every noble lady since childhood.

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“Good afternoon, Mr. Lin Wei!”

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“I’m here on Her Holiness’s orders to report for duty~”

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“By the way... did you just have a friend over?”