C3 Mission Upgrade

"Ahem, I didn't mean it like that. Head to your room, take off your pants, and find something to tie around yourself. Once I've cut a hole for you, you can change into that. How does that sound? Otherwise, I can go out and see if any clothing stores are still open and bring you back a dress," Egerton explained earnestly, eager to prove his innocence and offering a viable alternative.

"No, there's no need. These pants aren't that tight. We can go tomorrow," Lankro murmured softly.

"You haven't wrapped your tail around yourself, have you?" Egerton observed Lankro's waist, noticing an irregular twist.

"...Yes," Lankro nodded, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Knock, knock, knock! Just then, a knocking sound came from the door.

"Go into the room first; I'll check who it is." Egerton signaled Lankro to be silent before heading to the door.

Once Lankro was safely in the room, Egerton opened the door.

"Haag, what brings you here in the dead of night?" The visitor was Haag, the patrolling soldier from Hayne Lane. Egerton had been living on Hayne Lane for nearly two months, and although they hadn't interacted much, they were on friendly terms.

"Why are you awake at this hour? If I don't come to you, who else would I look for?" Haag grumbled, yawning profusely.

"You came specifically to see me?" Egerton's heart lurched. He instinctively wanted to react but restrained himself.

Even though Haag was just a Class 1 Light Magician with modest power, he was a public servant of the Starmoon Duchy. Any incident involving him could lead to significant complications, even if Egerton felt confident in covering his tracks.

Besides, Haag's proactive visit suggested that someone behind the scenes might already be aware of something. Eliminating such a figurehead would serve no purpose.

"Relax, relax, you're all wound up. Viscount Hagen's slave has bolted, probably to our Hayne Lane. As a patrolman, it's my duty to put in the extra hours. These nobles lose their property and then expect us to clean up their mess. Unbelievable," Haag grumbled with clear annoyance.

"What does Viscount Hagen's slave look like? Is it a man or a woman?" Egerton asked, feigning astonishment.

"Considering how worked up the old pervert is, what do you think? I heard it's a high-class Catwoman smuggled in from the Rosdawn Duchy. She escaped before he could even lay a finger on her. The old pervert was so furious he killed the guards transporting her," Haag replied, his face alight with excitement.

"Talk all you want, but why the excitement? You've even splashed saliva on my face. Do you really think you'll be lucky enough to stumble upon the Catwoman and have her all to yourself?" Egerton said, his smile tinged with sarcasm.

"Better to drop it. Viscount Hagen is a lunatic. If he can't find his slave, he won't rest. Last time he lost a cat, he turned the whole street upside down more than a dozen times. With this Catwoman, I bet he'll be at it for months. I might even have to come back here a few more times," Haag said, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand.

"Scram, I don't want you here. Imagine I find the Catwoman and am enjoying my time with her. What am I supposed to do if you barge in?" Egerton joked with mock irritation.

"Well, we'd share the enjoyment, of course. Otherwise, I might just let the secret out, and where would that leave you?" Haag said with a lecherous grin, oblivious to the solitary, trembling figure just a few feet away.

"Attention, attention. The temporary mission to protect Lankro has been upgraded. The mission reward is grade A, the difficulty is grade C, and acceptance is mandatory. You have ten days to persuade Viscount Hagen to abandon his search for Lankro, or face a penalty of one gold coin," the voice in Egerton's head announced.

Having sent Haag on his way, Egerton was about to check on Lankro when the voice echoed in his mind again.

The final sentence infuriated him to the point where he was on the verge of spewing curses.

"Come on, big brother, you can't do me dirty like that. I've only got 25 silver coins to my name, and you're hitting me with a deduction of one gold coin!"

Consider this: on the Sylvian Continent, even an Earl's annual family income is a mere gold coin. The Starmoon Duchy's yearly revenue totals only 2000 gold coins. So for this blasted mission to dock a whole gold coin is downright outrageous.

"Well, if it's a mandatory mission, then so be it. It's Level C difficulty; it shouldn't be insurmountable. Hold on, doesn't Viscount Hagen have a Class 4 powerhouse under him? And they rate this mission as Level C?" Egerton recalled the details and immediately sensed something amiss.

Despite possessing keener insight and combat skills than the average person, Egerton's current strength was squarely at Class 2. No matter how formidable he was, he could at best hold his own against a Class 3 Believer. Trying to go toe-to-toe with a Class 4 was tantamount to signing his own death warrant.

"Let it go. There's still ten days left. Finding an ordinary believer shouldn't be too hard, right?" Egerton mused.

His power came from completing missions within the missionary system. Finish the mission, and his strength would increase.

Conversely, if he failed to complete the mission, no amount of training would enable him to break through to Class 3.

The prerequisite for advancing to Class 3 was acquiring an ordinary believer.

The missionary system categorized believers into four levels: the lowest being the Serpent Believer, who only needed to recite the sect's doctrine once to qualify. Following that were the ordinary believer, the Devout Believer, and the True Believer.

Setting aside the True Believer for a moment, an ordinary believer is the most prevalent on the Sylvian Continent. They don't need to be overly devout; just holding the concept of a deity in their heart and reciting the doctrine once every seven days qualifies them as an ordinary believer.

Yet, in the Sylvian Continent, since believers can receive divine force from their chosen deities, becoming empowered experts of their respective Classes, most believers, including ordinary ones, tend to shy away from pledging faith to unknown gods.

The Church of Egerton, despite its ability to channel divine force, lacked a proper church to hold true ceremonies. Essentially, they were no different from the other snakehead sects. Finding an ordinary believer was certainly no easy feat.

Lost in thought, Egerton was preparing to step out and see if he could infiltrate Baron Hagen's mansion with his current abilities to complete the accursed mandatory mission. That's when he noticed Lankro emerging from the room, her expression a complex tapestry of emotions.

"Get some sleep. My room and bed are yours for now. I need to step out for a bit—just don't wander off, okay?"

Before Egerton could respond, a sweet-scented breeze wafted by, and he felt two soft forms press against his back as delicate hands encircled his waist. Lankro had unexpectedly embraced him from behind.

"What's the matter? Has my charm skyrocketed so much that she's fallen for me in mere minutes, ready to throw herself into my arms?" Egerton was utterly bewildered.

"Please, please don't tell them where I am!"

Lankro's voice, laced with desperation, scattered Egerton's wild thoughts, and a sly grin spread across his face.

It was all a misunderstanding, but this could work to his advantage.

"I might agree to keep your secret, but in return, I'd like you to agree to a reasonable condition," Egerton proposed, smiling.

"...Okay." After a brief silence, Lankro released her hold on Egerton, her voice ethereal yet earnest.

"Alright, then I'll just say it. As long as you—wait, what on earth are you doing undressing?"

Egerton nodded, pleased, and was about to explain to Lankro that everything would be alright if she agreed to join his sect and worship his deity. However, he was met with the sight of Lankro shedding her garments.

Her bare skin was so luminous that Egerton had to avert his gaze immediately.

"Do you prefer wearing clothes?" Lankro asked, momentarily taken aback, her face draining of color.

"What are you talking about? That's not what I meant. Can you please put your clothes back on?" Egerton nearly exclaimed.

What a sacred thing this was supposed to be. How did it inexplicably turn into a transaction of the flesh?

"Do you despise me for having been a slave, for being unclean?" Lankro could feel Egerton's agitation and asked, puzzled.

"Those people never laid a hand on me. They claimed that only by remaining untouched could they fetch a higher price!" Lankro tried to explain, seemingly desperate to convince Egerton of her purity.

"No, please put on your clothes first. I have something important to discuss with you!"

Egerton had assumed Lankro was already dressed, but upon turning around, he was met with the same blindingly enticing sight, which nearly drove him mad.

Damn it, it's no wonder she ended up trafficked into slavery. With such intelligence and thought processes, she's truly in a league of her own.

"..."

"Are you dressed yet?"

"..."

"Will you speak? Have you become mute?"

"..." Amidst the silence, the sound of a tear drop could be heard.

Egerton turned to see that she was still undressed, now curled up and crying.

"Stand up!" Disregarding the captivating view, Egerton approached Lankro and commanded sternly.

"If you don't stand up right now, I'll go tell the patrol guard that you're with me."

When Lankro showed no sign of movement, Egerton's voice grew harsher.

Finally reacting to his words, Lankro lifted her head and stood up, her sobs continuing.

Suppressing the primal desires stirring within him, Egerton quickly dressed Lankro in her shirt and yanked up her trousers, putting an end to the provocative display.

"There, I've helped you dress, so stop thinking that I'm repulsed by you. And even if I were, there's no need for tears. I'm not anyone significant to you, am I?" Egerton said, looking at Lankro's tear-streaked face with resignation.

"Let me be clear. I want you to join my sect and become a believer. If you accept this condition, I promise not to disclose your whereabouts. You're the first true believer of my sect, and I certainly wouldn't betray you, right?" Knowing that a normal conversation with Lankro was out of the question under these circumstances, Egerton got straight to the point.