Serenya of Minilon

A lady moved forward, her steps deliberate and elegant. Her pink eyes shined with kindness, her blonde hair flowed like sunlight, and she had the kind of grin that could make a kid stop sobbing or a thief confess. Lady Serenya was tall, brilliant, and dressed in white robes with gold trim. She resembled the saint described in songs.

Jarce tensed like if he had been hit by lightning. He was left speechless for a bit before gathering his thoughts by coughing into his fist.

 “L-Lady Serenya! I… I have brought this vampire! If you can… please… make her human again!”

Serenya’s warm smile didn’t waver. “You’ve done well, Jarce.” She looked and Anna and she looked quite shocked?

Maren, where is your sword brother?

“I… don’t know… It seems like he’s not here.”

“Jarce, you may leave. Thank you.”

Jarce blinked. “But… Lady Serenya, surely I—”

“Sir Jarce…” Her voice cut him off, “Please leave.”

Confused, reluctant, but bound by reverence, Jarce bowed his head and slowly backed away until the great doors shut behind him.

Anna stood alone with Serenya, her sharp eyes locked on the saint. Every nerve screamed caution. Something about the woman’s poise. Anna’s instincts, honed by both hunger and survival, told her she was standing in front of something far more dangerous than nuns or knights.

Until Serenya tilted her head and finally spoke,

“Well then, vampire girl… come here. I will lead you somewhere.”

Anna cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Lead me? You mean?”

The woman’s lips twitched. “to another room, dear. Let’s not talk in here.”

She turned as if to glide away, robes flowing with saintly grace—only to pause as a nun leaned close and whispered something in her ear.

The blonde froze. Then cracked, she looked back to Anna again, “Seems like we have a bit of difficulty, could you be so kindly to wait a few moments?”

“WHAT?! LADY SERENYA IS NOT IN HER ROOM?!” Scream another nun, her voice rang through the vaulted ceiling, echoing like a cannon shot. The other nuns stiffened in horror. One dropped her incense burner.

The blonde girl sighed, “For goodness sake, can you all keep it quiet?! I have a guest here…”

The room went dead quiet. “I- I’m sorry Lady Serenya… I didn’t meant to…”

Anna looked up at her, “So you’re not Serenya…? I thought so.”

The “saint” grit her teeth. Her smile disappear but still, she forced it back on her face like a cracked mask. “I-I apologise for the… inconvenience. But you are mistaken. I am Lady Serenya. Pure, holy, virtuous—”

Another nun, trembling, hurried up and whispered frantically into her ear.

The blonde froze again. Then exploded: “ARS CAELUS IS GONE TOO?!”

Like a thunderclap, her scream broke the sacred quiet. She covered her lips and eyes with both hands, then gently lowered them. She smiled back nervously. "Oh my, I'm so very sorry. I didn't intend to frighten you."

Anna stared, deadpan. “…Saints don’t scream like that.”

The blonde’s eye twitched. “…You… have quite the sharp tongue, little vampire.”

Anna leaned in slightly, “No. I have a functional brain. Something you clearly misplaced when you decided to play dress-up. Since she’s not here… why not I just take that test? I have decided I want to do it.”

“Mnnaaa? You did? When?” Maren asked.

“Just now.” Anna answered without any beat. “So then, fake Serenya. Give me my info.”

The nuns gasped like she’d blasphemed. The blonde chuckled weakly, “Anna, right…? Very well then. Since you’re already here… it looks like I have no choice but to do what you say?”

“More like I already heard too much.”

“Understood... This way then…”

Time slipped by, and when Anna finally stepped out of the grand temple gates, the night air hit her like a relief. Maren sighed in her head, “Ughhh, that was exhausting… My poor blade nerves can’t handle another fake saint screaming about lost relics… Now what, Anna… They clearly thought you’re a saint from another city… And they gave you a mission as well…”

Anna looked neutral as always, exhaling slowly. “It’s just a mission of checking that farm, right? It’s easy. And after that I’m gonna search a way to level up. If I didn’t get to 50 million before the corruption reach the city, then I will call myself a failure…”

“Mnaaaaaa, getting 50 million is not easy! Most monster only has 50k mana, so to get to 50 million… with your current mana you’ll need…”

“520 monsters to be killed.” Anna continued, “Is that easy or hard?”

“MNNAAAAA, OF COURSE IT’S HARD!!”

Outside, Jarce was waiting, leaning against the carriage with his arms crossed. He straightened as soon as he spotted her. “Anna! Finally—so? How was it? Did Lady Serenya save you?”

Anna glanced at him, her expression flat, eyes cold as glass. “…Serenya said I’m too far gone to be treated. Looks like I have been turned for more than a day.” Anna lied naturally.

Jarce’s face fell, his heart twisting with pity. “Oh… Anna… I’m really sorry… I thought I can help you turn back to a human.”

But in truth, Anna’s mind replayed what she had learned: that “Serenya” wasn’t Serenya at all. It’s Bella, the childhood follower, had been standing in her place, wearing a saint’s smile. And the real Lady Serenya is a shut-in saint who hadn’t left her chamber in years. And now she is missing? Anna still couldn’t decide if she found that hilarious, pitiful, or terrifying.

Jarce tilted his head, studying her silence. “…Anna? You’re awfully quiet again. Are you okay?”

Anna’s lips twitched, but she didn’t give him the satisfaction of sincerity. Instead, she brushed past him toward the carriage. “I’m fine.”

Her abrupt dismissal made Jarce blink, the friendly smile on his face faltering for a second. "Ah, right… But the test at the guild, did you manage to do that as well—"

Anna stopped mid-step. “Oh, I did. They gave me a special card. Church exclusive. Serenya said I don’t need to bother with the guild for commissions anymore.”

Jarce’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? From the church itself? That’s incredibly handy.” He took a half-step closer, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Could I… see it?”

Anna’s eyes narrowed into suspicion. “Promise you’ll keep it a secret?”

He held up his hands in a placating gesture, “Is it really that great? I just want to know how much mana you have. To control a flying sword with such ease… That’s so overkill for someone to do, and to kill with it.”

“My mana huh…” she mused, drawing the words out as if tasting them. She met his earnest gaze, her own expression hardening into something cold and serious. “I guess I can show you. But I’ll kill you if you tell a single soul. I mean it.”

He saw the high walls she had built around herself in that single, fierce declaration. He gave a small, almost imperceptible shake of his head.

“I see,” he said, his voice gentle. “In that case, it’s fine. I won’t force you.” He took a deliberate step back, giving her space. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to show me the card.”

Anna tilted her head. She had expected him to push, to wheedle, to treat her threat like a child’s tantrum. He hadn’t. “You sure?”

He just nodded.

“Alright then,” she said, turning away for good. “The saint told me about a good inn, so I’m set for the night. Thanks for the money again. I’m sure we’ll meet again cause your captain owed me something.”

Jarce watched her go, her small figure swallowed by the evening shadows. “Yeah,” he murmured to the empty air. “Good night, Anna.”

The streets of Frola were dim, lanterns flickering weakly against the midnight hush. Anna moved calmly, her boots barely making a sound, while Maren’s voice suddenly rang sharp in her mind.

“Anna… we’re being followed.”

Anna didn’t even pause. Her eyes stayed forward, posture calm. “Are we now?”

“Yes!!!” Maren practically squeaked. “I can feel them! It’s like three people!”

Anna smirked faintly. “Just ignore them. Not worth my time. Bella said this inn will save us. I believe her.”

“Yes, she did say that but…”

Anna was already ducking into a narrow side street, stopping in front of a modest inn with peeling paint and a crooked sign. She stepped inside, placed a single coin on the counter, “Bella sent me here. 5 nights.”

The innkeeper blinked at her cold glare, nodded frantically, and handed her a key.

The room upstairs was a bit small, with a filthy window facing out on the street, a single bed, and a rickety desk. Anna smiled smugly as she uncapped her ink pen, dropped a fresh leather-bound book onto the desk, and sank herself languidly into the chair.

“Now let’s see what I can write in this holy notebook that they gave me. Should I just doodle around?”

“Anna!!” Maren’s voice cracked like a flustered maiden’s. “that book you’re scribbling in costs like forty gold coins here!! You’re robbing them to give you books and stationery!”

Anna dipped the pen in ink, humming as she began jotting neat, sharp lines across the pristine page. “I didn’t rob anyone. I simply stated what I wanted, they clearly said will give me anything I want to keep it a secret.”

“That poor Bella girl—ahhh! You should apologize to her! You’re robbing her!”

Anna raised a brow, quill still scratching. “I will apologize later. I’m sure all this map and info will be used. And BESIDE! She told me to fix the corruption in some farmyard?”

“Mnna…! It’s the one and only farm for Minilon! And Bella just lost Serenya, of course we have to go there! I would do the same if I can’t leave the temple and then a random person with 20 million+ mana happen to go in the city.”

“Fair…” She looked at the mask Bella also gave her along with many stuff, “And Maren, is this mask special? It’s just full white face mask with this weird sun symbol.”

“Hmm?? If it’s special, then it has to be an artefact. No human, even saint can put a spell on a mask.”

“So this mask can only be used for disguise huh. I really hope it’s special…”

“Anna!! You already took so many things! At least be grateful!”