Violet was sure that this guy had intentionally run in their direction. The reason was quite easy to guess.

 

When people encounter danger, they consciously or unconsciously seek help or something that can assist them. Violet and Xiao Guang were certainly not as fragile as they might appear if they were deep in the Fallen Dragon Valley.

 

By guiding the giant creature to chase them and bringing them into the fleeing group or forcing them to deal with this guy behind them, no matter what happened, it would be advantageous for Francis to escape.

 

Clearly, his scheme had worked.

 

Moreover, he had intentionally grabbed her hand earlier, making it hard to believe he didn’t have some ulterior motives.

 

Even now, Francis maintained a distance of over two meters from Violet, especially Xiao Guang, and his hand never left his staff. It indicated that he was actually prepared to fight the two in front of him at any moment. He didn’t appear as friendly as he had initially.

 

Thinking about this, Violet felt a strong aversion to the man before her, who appeared righteous on the surface.

 

Although she really wanted to teach Francis a lesson directly, their relationship had not deteriorated to that point yet. 

 

They hadn’t even crossed the line to the point where they would hit someone. It seemed that this adventure team was a temporary assembly, and their previous actions were more like personal decisions made by Francis as the team captain.

 

These people were not all cut from the same cloth, and if she were to strike, it would inevitably make her enemies of them all, possibly leading to an all-out conflict or even annihilation. Although Violet didn’t mind doing it, she hadn’t reached the point where she would resort to violence at the slightest provocation.

 

Since the investigation had yet to yield any substantial leads, she decided to try and glean something from this group. She would temporarily hold this grudge.

 

“Violet, this is my assistant, Xiao Guang.”

 

She introduced themselves as succinctly as possible. The Priestess actually wanted to have a conversation with the seemingly easy-to-deceive… ahem, very honest-looking Knight girl. However, someone tactlessly approached them.

 

“Oh, oh! Such a beautiful name, just like your bright and captivating beauty. Ladies, your loveliness would even make the goddess herself envious. May I ask where you are from and why you are here?”

 

Ah, Francis was so annoying.

 

He could brag if he wanted to, but he sounded so forced, making it very difficult not to want to punch him in the face!

 

“Do you have any say in this?”

 

So, her body responded with a step forward.

 

“Uh…?”

 

His elegant smile froze directly on his face, and Francis seemed a bit embarrassed. There was a faint trace of a hidden cunning in the depths of his eyes.

 

But he reacted swiftly, immediately backpedaling and adopting an apparently nonchalant, hearty smile.

 

“Hahaha, Miss Violet is straightforward, and I was too abrupt.”

 

Speaking, he glanced around and continued.

 

“I, Francis, am a high-tier adventurer operating in the Flame Dragon City region, specializing in fire and lightning magic. This young man here is Marlen, also an elite adventurer based in Flame Dragon City, skilled in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.”

 

Without waiting for Violet’s expression to indicate her interest or disinterest, Francis continued, pointing towards the burly man and the female knight.

 

“Barrett, same as above, a shield warrior with extremely strong defenses. Even I would have a tough time breaking through his defenses. He’s the dependable guardian in our team. And this lady…”

 

Francis’s voice trailed off slightly, as if he wasn’t very familiar with the blonde knight, implying that she should introduce herself.

 

This confirmed Violet’s suspicions. This group of people wasn’t all together, as Francis had mentioned earlier that they were a temporary adventure party. Clearly, their coordination wasn’t perfect, or else they wouldn’t have had trouble dealing with the roughly sky-level rolling magical beast.

 

As everyone’s attention suddenly focused on her, the knight realized she had to introduce herself and did so with a hint of nervousness.

 

“I, I am Edwina Cecilia, who set out from the Angel City to gain experience. I am a Holy Knight by profession and recently became a 【Fearless Knight】. I heard that the magical beasts here are causing chaos, and by the grace of the Goddess, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. So, I decided to investigate with Mr. Francis and his team… Please, please guide me!” [1]

 

Edwina, the self-proclaimed Holy Knight, looked somewhat anxious, avoiding eye contact with Violet’s beautiful light-blue eyes and even blushing slightly.

 

Her appearance, resembling a startled little animal, softened the mood, even for the priest, who had previously been in a bad mood. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

 

Perhaps this somewhat long-winded young lady had only just realized that their escape route earlier had caused quite a bit of trouble for the two beautiful girls before her.

 

However…

 

“Edwina Cecilia, is it…”

 

Violet had never heard of the name of the lady knight, but the surname caught her attention.

 

In this world, most races could choose their given names freely, but surnames were not something everyone could possess. People with surnames were generally nobles with high social standing or individuals who had received royal titles.

 

For example, Violet knew Princess Lilya Melchior of the Human United Kingdom, the former world’s number one archery master Anthony Stevenson, Anastasia Syneil, the Lord of the Flame Dragon City, and the Count of the Kingdom.

 

People with humble origins, like Flora or even Leyton, might not receive a surname even if they achieved extraordinary accomplishments. Surnames represented families and the power that could be passed down, so they couldn’t be given casually.

 

So, this seemingly straightforward lady knight introducing her surname essentially indicated that she had a background as a noble descendant.

 

Her distinctive golden hair, different from the pale golden hair characteristic of the Xiao Guang, proved Edwina’s lineage to be from the Holy Empire.

 

And the Angel City… Violet remembered that it should be the capital city of the Holy Empire, while the term “Holy City” was generally used within the kingdom.

 

Violet also glanced at the white cross emblem with six wings hanging around Edwina’s neck, which indicated her rank as a Holy Knight. The priestess couldn’t help but think, “This little girl is not simple at all. She may be a bit naive, but it’s no wonder Francis, a shrewd fellow, managed to recruit her for this job.”

 

“Hello, I am Violet, nice to meet you.”

 

Seeing the fair hand extended by the black-haired girl in an unusual proactive manner, Edwina was momentarily stunned, then hastily wiped her hand under her armor and shook it with her.

 

“Thank you for saving me and my companions!”

 

Well, look at this polite young lady, she’s much more polite than a certain greasy uncle who doesn’t understand gratitude and is constantly trying to gather information and get closer.

 

Seizing this opportunity, Violet, leaving behind Francis, who looked somewhat displeased because he had been ignored, directly asked the Holy Knight Miss Edwina.

 

“Miss Edwina, can you please tell me what happened earlier and why you were being chased by that big guy?”

 

“Well, of course! It’s like this…”

 

So, without any ulterior motives, Miss Edwina recounted her team’s experiences before meeting Violet and the others. In contrast to Violet, who was pretending to be a young lady, Edwina was a genuine heiress from a prominent family who had ventured out on her own for the first time. Prior to this, the young knight had always been diligently training under the guidance of her teacher in the Angel City where she had grown up.

 

Her belief in the Goddess can be described as pure and unwavering, which is why her progress in strength has been remarkably fast. At the young age of seventeen, she became a fearless knight equivalent to a high-level Earth-level warrior.

 

In order to further improve herself and strengthen her spirit and will, she registered as an adventurer at her teacher’s recommendation and embarked on a journey.

 

When she reached Flame Dragon City, Edwina happened to see the mission to investigate Fallen Dragon Valley on the guild’s bulletin board and coincidentally encountered Francis and his companions, who were troubled by the lack of a healer due to some unexpected circumstances.

 

Upon learning that Francis and the others also intended to take on this commission, Edwina, who wanted to help the local people, immediately volunteered to join this group, and they “clicked” with each other.

 

After making adequate preparations, they delved deep into Fallen Dragon Valley to begin their investigation.