200 meters away from the east camp, Parita stopped dashing. She paused and inspected her garment. Running in the wild at night made her skin sticky. She was also covered in light sweat because of the workout. ’I want a bath. Should I use the idol-meeting magic again on myself before I go to sleep, or should I save it for an emergency tomorrow? Say, system, what do you think? Your opinion?’ [System skills are best preserved for emergencies. When you have leftover usage before the refresh time, you can afford to squander it.] ’Fair. I’ll save it then. I hope they have a well with clean water.’ [Please be warned. Some disgusting medieval people sometimes threw garbage into wells instead of using them as a water source. Please check the well if it is full of garbage or human corpses before you throw a bucket in there.] ’Wait, what the hell?!’ [History Class 101. Dried-up medieval wells were often used as garbage dumps or breeding grounds for pests. They tossed excrement and damp trash inside. Sometimes, lazy idiots piss in public water wells. The Black Plague spread fast for a reason.] Parita almost vomited. She recalled that she had been drinking water from the mansion’s well, and she had never inspected whether those sewer elves had thrown something in there. Fortunately, she had boiled the water every time she used it. ’I’m gonna purify that goddamn well when I get back.’ [Good luck sleeping tonight. You’re welcome.] ’Ah yes, thank you very much for the unnecessary knowledge.’ Orıginal content can be found at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥 Parita sighed at the trolling system. She proceeded to the camp. However, as she approached, she noticed multiple torches brightening the entire camp. All adventurers gathered and gazed south as though they were waiting for something or someone. When they saw Parita, they started shouting. Parrot was the first to run, throwing herself at Parita. She hugged her and cried. Sparrow and others also huddled around Parita. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm your tits, ladies. I’m not into sesbian lex." Parita laughed at their reactions. She then gazed at the other adventurers, who gazed at her with sad eyes. Many female adventurers also cried like the elves. Parita frowned. She had a bad feeling about this. Parrot was still sobbing, but she pulled out her dagger. She cried as she whispered. "I promise. I’ll make it painless." "Huh?" Parita broke a sweat. Sparrow wiped her tears and unsheathed her spare sword. She pushed Parrot aside and volunteered. "No. This is the duty of the party leader. I’ll embrace this sin." Parrot protested. "No! I’ll shoulder the duty! Let me kill her myself!" Goldfinch and others wiped their teardrops. The gold-haired elf in disguise suggested. "Instead of bearing the burden, don’t forget that we have to do it painlessly. Let’s put her to sleep first, and then we’ll end her together." Parita had heard enough. She broke away from the group and took several steps back. "Ladies! What the hell are you talking about?!" Sparrow and Parrot were still sobbing, but they gave Parita a bright smile. "Don’t worry. It will be over soon." "WHAT’S OVER SOON?! ARE YOU FREAK TRYING TO KILL ME?!" The girls and the onlookers blinked in confusion. They thought that Parita had returned to bid their friends farewell. Rubella, after seeing the weird reaction from Parita and detecting clues, coughed and reminded the elf girls. "Ahem. Miss Sparrow. It seems Miss Kestrel might not realize that she has been infected. Let’s teach her about the Bloodscorch curse first." Parrot raised her eyebrows and elaborated. "She saw fellow adventurers send off their comrades. I thought she knew." "Okay." Parita understood what had transpired, but she didn’t understand how they had come to a conclusion. "Why do you think I got Bloodscorched?" "Was the visual box your doing? I mean the cube with the images?" Parita facepalmed. She finally remembered that the system forced her to livestream the entire quest. Parita paused for several seconds. As if her mind exploded, white smoke billowed from her ears. Although her face flushed crimson, the darkness masked her embarrassment. Parita screamed. Mortified by her actions, she buried her face in her hands and writhed on the floor. "IT’S OVER!! MY LIFE IS OVER!!" Parrot crouched and patted Parita’s back. "I know. That’s why we’ll make it painless. So, is there anything you wish us to do?" Parita didn’t know what to feel. She was half-frustrated and half-ashamed. Part of her wanted to die, but her conscience prevented her from unaliving herself. "Yes, fuck off. Please. I won’t kill myself because people saw me naked!" "Don’t worry. None of us cared for that. But you got bloodscorched. In three days, you will turn into a monster, so..." "...I’m not freaking infected, you bum!" "But blood got into your mouth and eyes?" Parita paused and gave everybody a meaningful look. She finally realized why they looked sad, yet they wanted her dead. She grabbed a torch and held it up to her face, revealing her appearance to the crowd. Her eyes were clear. Her face and blood vessels showed no signs of contamination. Parita affirmed to the crowd. "I. AM. NOT. INFECTED." Sparrow and her team froze. Parrot stood in front of Parita and leaned closer, almost kissing her. She pried Parita’s eyes to get a better look up close. Parrot sweated profusely. Slowly, she turned to the crowd and pointed at Parita. "Shouldn’t her eyes be red or dark if the blood entered them?" Sparrow and the girls gathered around Parita and examined her eyes. They also grabbed Parita’s arms, legs, and waist, feeling her all over and checking for anomalies. They found nothing. The entire party began sweating. Their expressions turned dark because of the embarrassment. A second later, they coughed and averted their eyes. The lizardwoman, Bald Eagle, walked over. She sniffed Parita’s hair and touched her forehead with a snake tongue. She gave her verdict. The crowd stared at Parita and Sparrow’s party with wide eyes. Lupus facepalmed while Haast’s shoulders trembled. She turned around and suppressed her laughter. Harpy looked at her party leader. "You knew, right?" "Shhh." Haast covered Harpy Eagle’s mouth and carried her away from the crowd, preventing misunderstandings. After taking the girl far enough, she whispered. "Keep it secret." "But we all saw that she was infected?" Haast’s expression turned solemn. She turned around and gazed at Parita. She then explained. "I don’t know how, but I sensed a faint holy mana from her. She might have removed the scorched blood before coming back." "I see! So, she knows THAT magic, right?" "...Probably not the same magic, but it’s better to wait and see." "Is she a friend or foe? Will she be like the vulture or the condor family?" "We don’t know. That’s why we have to keep watching her for a while longer." Harpy nodded and observed the crowd from a distance. Meanwhile, the atmosphere around Parita turned awkward. Adventurers from the other parties still doubted Bald Eagle’s judgment. As they were standing around in confusion, H5N8 and his men barged into the adventurer’s camp and beelined toward Parita’s group. H5N8, at the front of the military unit, marched ahead of his soldiers. After pushing the adventurers aside, he saw Parita standing with the elf team. He licked his lips and ogled her body. "You there. You must be the elf behind that floating square thing, right?" H5N8 pointed fingers at Parita’s face. Parita frowned at the ugly noble. "Yeah, so?" "You’re under arrest for causing a public disturbance at night. Take her!" H5N8 gestured to his soldiers to seize Parita. Bulky knights raised their spears and pointed at Parita’s face. One of them brought an iron choker and shackles to chain her. However, the adventurers reacted. Lupus stood between Parita and H5N8, confronting the nobleman. "Hold it, governor. The city’s authority does not extend to the adventurers. You have no authority over them." H5N8 sneered. "Indeed, I can’t apprehend you lot. But she, she has been bloodscorched! According to the laws laid by the founding goddess, regional leaders have the authority to arrest, expel, or otherwise control anything connected to the bloodscorched and the Hungers to maintain peace and order in their territories. In short, my authority supersedes yours when it comes to the Hungers and the bloodscorched, hoodlums! Now, move it!" The soldiers assumed their authority. They cuffed Parita’s neck with the iron choker and put shackles on her ankles. Parita stood there, unresisting by instinct. She thought of killing the soldiers and the nobleman, but she didn’t have the courage to murder fellow humans. Still, Rubella and Sparrow didn’t agree with the proclaimed authority. They raised their weapons and pointed at H5N8’s neck. "Release her," Sparrow ordered. H5N8 smirked. He raised his cane, and a hundred magic circles manifested in the sky. He taunted them. "Try it, and you lot will be purged together with her." Rubella was more unyielding. She pressed a dagger against H5N8’s throat. "Do it, and you’re dead, too." "You think I will chicken out?" H5N8 laughed. Rubella’s eyes brightened green, ready to unleash her mana and hidden abilities. The other adventurers also raised their arms and prepared for a fight. However, the soldiers on the wall noticed the commotion and gathered their men, preparing for a big fight. Haast, who had been on the sidelines, let out a long sigh. She thought of stepping in. However, an invisible person flew through the sky and transformed into a gold comet. As he descended, hundreds of gold beams hit everybody, knocking the adventurers, soldiers, and H5N8 off. The magic circles in the sky also dispersed because of the invisible man’s interruption. Neutrophils dispelled his stealth ability, revealing his paladin armor and his gold aura. The veteran glanced at Parita for a moment. Upon detecting the absence of the curse, he smirked and then turned to H5N8. "I heard everything." Neutrophils calmly said. "I agree that the authority of the nobles supersedes the authority of the adventurer guild at a time . However, that doesn’t mean you can apprehend a suspect without conducting a proper trial in public." H5N8 got up and glared at Neutrophils. Although he had the backing of the Vulture and the Condor Clan, he looked nervous in front of the paladin. "Well, fine! We’ll conduct a trial, but what do you suggest then? How will you prove the wench’s crime?" H5N8 asked while he looked around, searching for Andean and Cathartes. He was puzzled about their disappearance, considering their intended target was in plain sight.