Get Ahead of the Fallen Heroine and Make the Bull-Headed Man the Victim

Chapter 114. The Crass Old Father Noah

Noah was the first to step into the village, and upon arrival, he gazed around with keen interest, as if everything was a fresh marvel to him.

Contemplating his own tangled emotions, it irked Clotilde to see Noah so cheerful, prompting her to voice her discontent:

“Aren’t you the self-proclaimed observer of humanity? Why are you so fascinated by the scenery?”

“I am observing humanity, of course! Human culture, customs, architecture—these are all worthy subjects of study. In fact, they are far more significant than mere humans themselves, wouldn’t you agree? Or do you think, dear nun, that merely watching you is sufficient?”

As Noah surveyed the village’s buildings and facilities, he turned his gaze back to Clotilde, who was now under the scrutiny of his mocking smile.

That vile grin made her skin crawl.

She instinctively wanted to retort against Noah’s nonsense, but noticing the villagers’ glances, she ultimately adopted a nun’s composure, offering a faint smile as if to convey calmness:

“Sir, you truly have a penchant for jest, but do temper it, won’t you? The goddess is always watching you.”

“Oh? Where? I see no one.”

Noah feigned searching for someone, glancing around exaggeratedly.

If it were anyone else, Clotilde might have thought him genuinely oblivious, but with Noah, she felt only mockery.

“The goddess resides in the heavens, of course she sees all that happens on the ground. Please, do not act this way. I can manage, but if other believers witness this, they may deem you irreverent!”

Clotilde suppressed her anger, maintaining the facade of a dutiful nun listening to a troublesome believer, though her smile betrayed her growing impatience.

“Ha! Irreverent? The goddess herself has not cast down divine punishment upon me, yet the faithful intend to act first? I’d say it is they who are irreverent, wouldn’t you?”

“…I beg you, can you please be quiet?”

Clotilde, on the verge of losing her composure, had clenched her hands—previously resting on her lap—so tightly that they trembled with suppressed fury.

Her smile, needless to say, was stiff and forced.

Any discerning eye could see she was struggling to maintain it.

In response, Noah merely shrugged, as if to say, ‘Since the nun has pleaded, I shall remain silent for a while,’ and resumed his observation of the surroundings.

As Clotilde felt a wave of relief wash over her, a deep sense of helplessness surged within.

She really shouldn’t have engaged Noah in conversation; he remained unscathed while she was left feeling disgruntled.

Indeed, it was best to ignore Noah and report the commission directly.

With such thoughts, the nun passed by Noah, who then followed her like an uninvited guest to meet the village chief.

The chief was the kind of amiable old man one often encounters, surprised by Noah’s arrival but saying little, tacitly accepting Noah as a companion of Clotilde.

When he heard of Clotilde’s successful hunt of the pig beast, he harbored no doubts, choosing instead to believe without question.

This feeling of trust, so freely given, made Clotilde, who had endured immense mental torment at Noah’s hands, feel as if she were being purified.

Indeed, Noah was a rare breed; most people in this world were still friendly.

Having vanquished the pig beasts that occasionally raided their cattle and sheep, the warm-hearted chief invited Clotilde and Noah to stay for dinner. Clotilde wished to politely decline but found herself unable to resist the chief’s insistence, ultimately agreeing out of sheer helplessness.

She sipped some tea, and soon after, the chief prepared a room for her to rest.

Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the earlier battle, or perhaps the effects of the potion, but as soon as she lay down, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over her.

No, wait, something felt off; it shouldn’t be this easy to fall asleep… Could it be…?

From noble mtl dot com

Desperately trying to open her eyes, they refused to obey, closing instead. Clotilde felt as if she had drunk herself into a stupor, lying down only to find she could not rise again.

She did not dream; her slumber was deep.

Yet, conversely, she awoke with startling swiftness.

About four hours later, she stirred from her sleep.

And the first thing she did, of course, was to use magic to break the spell cast upon her.

“How despicable to drug me! I have nothing worth stealing!”

Propping herself up in bed, Clotilde cast her purification spell while muttering angrily to herself.

She felt furious at the chief for having done this to her.

“…No, you are indeed quite worth stealing, dear nun.”

At that moment, a leisurely young voice echoed in her ear.

Startled, Clotilde turned to the source of the voice.

There sat Noah, legs crossed in a chair in the corner of the room, engrossed in a book, as if he had been there for quite some time.

The thick tome in his hands had already seen many pages turned.

“You mean to say they intended to do that to my body!? Aren’t they supposed to be believers?!”

Though surprised by Noah’s sudden presence, she quickly realized he had been there all along; it was her own distraction that had kept her from noticing him at first.

Thus, Clotilde was not astonished by Noah’s presence but rather by the chief’s actions.

“Humans, you see, are creatures capable of lying without a flicker of emotion, dear nun. Do you see a single church in this village, even one room of it?”

Without lifting his gaze, Noah flipped through the pages, casually responding to Clotilde’s question.

Unlike his earlier brutish demeanor, Noah now appeared filled with reason, like a sage who saw through all.

“This… indeed, I haven’t seen one… but, but.”

With Noah’s words, she too began to find the absence of a church rather suspicious.

She had originally thought it was due to the remoteness of the place, but now it seemed that was not the case.

Yet she still found it hard to believe that the village chief was behind this; she felt her vigilance shouldn’t have been so lacking.

Could it be that with her magic stripped away, even her instincts had dulled?

How, how could this be…

“However, let me share some good news with you, Sister. After you fell asleep, I spotted a suspicious figure nearby, and it wasn’t the village chief. Most likely, someone used him to drug you. This is your fault for being so careless; it’s truly embarrassing, Sister, almost like you were played by an ordinary person.”

Ignoring the somewhat melancholic Sister, Noah suddenly snapped the book shut with a loud ‘thud,’ drawing her gaze while he lifted his head to reveal a rather mocking smile.

“Ugh…”

She instinctively wanted to retort, but Clotilde ultimately couldn’t find the words, slowly lowering her head and letting out a sound of frustration.

Because she knew Noah was right; she had indeed been careless this time.

She had nearly faced humiliation.

“Hmph, remember this feeling of regret well. To avoid feeling this way again in the future, a slip-up here and there can be forgiven, but if there’s a third time, then you’ll truly be an irredeemable fool.”

At that moment, Noah’s further taunts reached her ears, making the already uncomfortable Sister feel even worse.

What is this man? Can’t he say something nice?

…Huh? Wait a minute, what does that mean?

Noah had been reading in the corner of the room, but had he actually been guarding her all along?

Suddenly realizing this, the Sister’s previously grim expression shifted to one of disbelief and surprise.

Her? Protected by Noah!?

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PS. Third update! Another one around midnight.