Knight

"Sister Mony!"

The middle-aged man from the school guard respectfully addressed the nun as she entered.

Qin Ran could tell that such respect was definitely not merely due to her age or status as a nun.

"Leave Lidd to me!"

The elderly nun spoke to the middle-aged man with a gentle smile.

"Yes, Sister!"

The middle-aged man named Lidd bowed and stepped aside. As he passed Qin Ran, a warning gleamed in his eyes.

Nor did he go far. He stood at one side of the school gate, like a guard.

Qin Ran was certain that if he showed even the slightest disrespect toward the nun before him, the man would rush over immediately and might not hesitate to draw his gun.

His intense vigilance said it all.

"Lidd means no harm. He is a dutiful man, though sometimes he can be... reckless!"

The nun smiled gently at Qin Ran.

It was the same smile she had worn when facing Lidd.

It seemed that, in her eyes, Qin Ran and Lidd were no different.

That attitude surprised Qin Ran.

At the very least, he could not do the same.

To Qin Ran, friends were friends and strangers were strangers. They could not be treated as one and the same.

Though he could not do it himself, Qin Ran did not mind showing respect to someone who could, especially given her age.

"Hello, Sister. I am Qin Ran. I came here to..."

"Is this about Artilly Hunter?"

"Come with me. This is not a place to talk!"

The nun sighed softly and motioned for Qin Ran to follow her.

They went around the brand-new teaching building, and the athletic field appeared before Qin Ran. What drew his attention more, however, was the church beside it.

It was not a large church. It could even be called small.

It could accommodate at most thirty or forty people.

Following behind the nun, Qin Ran crossed the field and entered the little church.

At the far end stood a statue of a benevolent goddess, one Qin Ran did not recognize.

Two rows of benches stretched all the way to the entrance.

After entering the church, the nun walked straight to the statue and murmured a prayer.

Following behind her, Qin Ran could clearly hear words such as "Benevolent Bernadette."

"Please, sit!"

"I am Mony, the principal of Saint Paul School!"

The nun turned around and introduced herself.

"Qin Ran, a detective!"

Qin Ran gave the identity the game had assigned him.

"Mm, I have heard your name. The finest detective in this city—Hunter coming to you for help in finding Tilly was only natural! I am also willing to help you find Tilly. That little girl is usually mischievous, but she has never gone this far before. She knows what she can do and what she cannot do!"

Sister Mony spoke frankly.

A trace of worry appeared in her gentle expression.

"Sister Mony, did you notice anything unusual about Artilly Hunter? Especially recently?"

Faced with Sister Mony's cooperation, Qin Ran immediately asked.

"No!"

"Tilly was like any other child. She was merely mischievous, nothing more!"

"After Hunter came last time, I asked some of the children close to Tilly, but I found nothing either!"

Sister Mony thought carefully for a moment before giving Qin Ran her answer cautiously.

Qin Ran believed that answer.

As the principal of Saint Paul School, after something like this had happened,

she could not possibly have ignored it.

"Then did you know that Artilly Hunter was quite skilled?"

Qin Ran asked again.

A stunned look appeared on Sister Mony's face.

"What?"

Sister Mony asked again instinctively.

"I mean special skills, including but not limited to swordsmanship, Shooting, and the like!"

Qin Ran explained in greater detail.

"Our school offers courses such as horseback riding, but we do not have courses in swordsmanship or Shooting!"

"Detective Qin Ran, I am a little tired and would like to rest!"

"If possible, I hope we can continue the rest of our conversation tomorrow!"

Sister Mony said this, then looked at Qin Ran apologetically.

Qin Ran could clearly see Sister Mony's evasiveness. She was not someone good at concealing things.

Clearly, the nun knew something, but she was unwilling to say it.

"Detective, please leave!"

Just as Qin Ran was preparing to press further, the middle-aged man called Lidd entered the church. He was not alone; he had brought a team with him, and they appeared outside the little church.

They wore the same clerical uniforms and had weapons concealed on them.

The moment Lidd appeared, he spoke to Qin Ran without the slightest politeness.

"Lidd!"

Sister Mony frowned in displeasure.

"Sister Mony, I am the captain of the school guard. I have the right to protect every blade of grass on this campus and drive out those with ulterior motives!"

Lidd glared at Qin Ran.

Who that person with ulterior motives referred to was obvious.

"Detective Qin Ran, please do not take offense. Because some things have happened recently, Lidd has become so tense!"

"My apologies again!"

Sister Mony apologized once more.

"It is fine, Sister Mony!"

"I will come again tomorrow!"

Qin Ran smiled and walked outside.

Lidd led his men after Qin Ran the entire way, only turning back after Qin Ran had left the school and the street.

However, the captain of the school guard did not notice anything amiss in the shadows nearby.

His Master-level [Stealth] allowed Qin Ran to easily evade the school guard's vigilance.

He followed behind them.

Lidd hurried back into the little church.

Sister Mony was kneeling before the statue in prayer.

This prayer lasted nearly twenty minutes. Clearly, it was a formal prayer.

Lidd stood respectfully to one side, waiting without saying a word.

Only after Sister Mony finished praying did he walk over, reach out to help her up, and prepare to support her toward a nearby bench.

"It is all right, Lidd!"

"Detective Qin Ran bears no ill will!"

"He is different from those greedy people!"

Sister Mony waved her hand, walked to the bench on her own, and tried to persuade Lidd.

"To me, they are all the same!"

"My duty is to protect you and this place. I will eliminate any danger!"

The captain of the school guard stubbornly shook his head and stood by his view.

Sister Mony looked at Lidd before finally sighing. "Lidd, go continue your patrol. I would like to rest for a while!"

"Yes, Sister!"

The captain of the school guard strode out of the church.

After the captain left, Sister Mony did not rest as she had said. Instead, she left the church as well and headed deeper into the campus along a small path beside the church.

Sister Mony's age did not allow her to get there in one go.

Stopping and walking, she arrived before a small wooden cabin.

This was already the most remote corner of Saint Paul School. Aside from the little cabin before her, there was only a planted grove.

Creak!

Just as Sister Mony stopped, the cabin door opened.

A tall old man with white hair and beard walked out. He wore simple linen clothes, went barefoot, and had his arms bare.

The powerful muscles on his arms showed no sign of age, giving off nothing but an explosive sense of strength.

"Mony!"

The old man smiled as he greeted the nun and welcomed her arrival.

"Gonglansen, were you the one teaching Tilly—Artilly Hunter?"

Unlike the old man's smiling welcome, Sister Mony frowned and asked in an unusually stern tone.

"Yes!"

Gonglansen did not deny it.

Denying the truth was not in Gonglansen's nature.

"That girl has extraordinary talent. Leaving it alone would be a waste!"

Gonglansen spoke bluntly.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Following Gonglansen's admission, Sister Mony began breathing heavily. She questioned him angrily, "Have you forgotten what you promised me? Do you know that doing this will put Tilly in danger?"

"I merely taught that girl a few more skills. Besides, those skills would only protect her, wouldn't they?"

Gonglansen shrugged.

"But now Tilly has disappeared! My guardian knight!"

Sister Mony was completely enraged by Gonglansen's indifferent attitude and shouted emotionally.

This was followed by a violent bout of coughing.

Clearly, Sister Mony's body could not withstand such intense emotional upheaval.

Gonglansen instinctively moved toward Sister Mony, wanting to see how she was doing, but in the next moment, his gaze turned toward a patch of shadow among the trees.

"Who is it?!"

"Come out!"

With a low roar, Gonglansen lunged toward that shadow, his fist swinging out like a fierce gale.

Whoosh!

The heavy force of the punch made Qin Ran, hidden in the shadows, feel as though his face were being cut by the wind.

Qin Ran had no time to regret how the words "guardian knight" had shaken him, disrupting his breathing and causing the other man to discover him.

Yet he was still astonished by the strength the old man displayed.

Though the man's build and physique told everyone that he possessed tremendous strength, Qin Ran had not expected him to be this powerful!

He was definitely beyond E-rank!

And even stronger than E+ rank!

After all, Qin Ran's legs could now reach E-rank, so estimating E+ rank was not difficult.

Only innate strength beyond E+ rank could produce such a fist wind!

Qin Ran was startled by his own judgment.

He had never expected to encounter someone with such innate strength in his very first dungeon.

But then Qin Ran became excited.

No one understood better than Qin Ran what encountering an exceptionally powerful being in a dungeon represented.

Profit!

Enormous profit!