The girls’ figures quickly passed through the tavern door, disappearing into the dusk-filled streets.
At that moment, Sasha suddenly tapped the table with her finger and gave Xavier a meaningful look.
“Hey, President, look over there...”
Having worked with this young, newly appointed captain of the guard for over a year, Xavier immediately understood her intention. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but frown slightly.
He clearly saw several tall figures, who had originally been sitting in the corner, quickly get up and quietly follow the girls after they left.
Sasha grinned. “Hey, looks like someone’s in trouble... The security in Sacred Star City isn’t as good as you said, President.”
Xavier turned to look at the girl with the longbow on her back. “So, who do you mean by ‘someone’?”
“Hehe, who knows? Whoever the President thinks it is, that’s who it is. So, what should we do now? Should we intervene or just pretend we didn’t see anything and leave?”
After a brief contemplation, this excellent businessman, who had built a Merchant Guild of nearly a thousand people just after turning forty, made a decision.
“Of course, we can’t ignore it. Although I believe ordinary enemies might not be much trouble for that lady, it’s better to be safe than sorry. No need to show ourselves... Let’s go find the Knights Templar.”
...........................
Violet was being followed.
Perhaps the stalkers believed their stealth skills were exceptional and that ordinary people wouldn’t notice them. But honestly... they weren’t that good.
Even without deploying something like a cheating device, the keen perception and sense of smell of a certain dragon lady were enough to easily identify these suspicious characters.
In other words, those sneaky figures in the night were as conspicuous as if they had spotlights on their heads to Violet and her companions. Even Theresa could sense something was off.
Violet even got the feeling that the stalkers weren’t trying to hide at all... It was so blatant.
“Miss Dawn, are we being followed...?”
“Shh...”
Wearing the white fox mask and benefiting from the semi-divine artifact 【Dominion of the Fox Mask】, which gave her a new appearance and name, the priestess squeezed the hand of the green-haired girl and subtly shook her head.
Seeing this, Theresa quickly closed her mouth and pretended nothing had happened, understanding that Violet sometimes displayed a mischievous streak.
This action... in Miss Violet’s words, was probably called “fishing,” right?
Seeing that Theresa quickly understood her intent, the priestess nodded in satisfaction and signaled the other three girls with her eyes. They gradually moved away from the bustling night market towards a relatively quiet alley.
To be honest, being followed or stalked wasn’t new to Violet. During her travels with the young dragon girl in the Human United Kingdom, they often encountered similarly ill-intentioned individuals in smaller cities with poorer security.
The motives were usually simple: either money or lust. The priestess usually dealt with them easily, giving them a small punishment to serve as a warning. Unless they were stubborn, incorrigible, and extremely malicious, she typically spared their lives.
But the Holy Empire was different. It had been about half a month since they entered the country, and this was the first time Violet had encountered such a situation in this land that prized light and freedom, at least... in such a blatant manner.
First, unlike before, the “Miss Priestess Travel Group” had expanded to five members. With more people, including Leila and Rene, two white-winged people who were clearly not to be trifled with, anyone with some sense would know better than to target them.
Additionally, while the Holy Empire was more liberal and open, its security was more robust than what Violet had experienced in the Human United Kingdom or Azure Sky Kingdom. Instead of a conventional government, the Holy Empire had organizations called the “Knight Templar.”
As the name suggests, the Knights Templar were naturally composed of knights. However, not all knights were holy knights like Edwina. The term served as a general designation for the armed forces under the Temple.
They could be true professional holy knights, arbitrators skilled in physical purification, priests, holy spellcasters, or other varied roles. Essentially, any holy profession could be called a Knights Templar.
In simpler terms, the knights here were more akin to “police” on Earth.
Perhaps due to their religious education, Violet had to admit that most of the Knights Templar she had encountered so far were quite dedicated and had a strong sense of justice.
Unlike in the Human United Kingdom, where they were official military, they rarely displayed an aloof attitude when dealing with the populace in the Holy Empire. Within their capabilities, they took even trivial matters seriously, such as searching diligently for lost pets like cats and dogs. Yet, when confronting criminals, they were exceptionally brave and resolute, often risking their lives.
Truly worthy of the title “knights.”
Thanks to them, even in remote villages and towns within the Holy Empire, the public order was exceptionally good. Troublemakers without capabilities dared not cause trouble within the borders of the Holy Empire. It was no wonder Edwina always spoke of her homeland with such pride.
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
Therefore, Violet was curious why, in a large city like Sacred Star City, there would be audacious individuals unafraid to blatantly tail several delicate girls. Unless they were fools, they must be habitual offenders who were bold due to impunity.
As pedestrians gradually thinned out, Violet deliberately led the tailing party to a secluded area. Surprisingly, they continued to follow them unabashedly.
As they entered the dimly lit dead-end alley, with no bystanders in sight, the fox-masked lady abruptly turned around, waving her small hand.
“Caught you red-handed! Attack!”
“Understood!”
Almost simultaneously, the girl with green hair subtly gestured upwards, causing several thick vine-like tendrils, as thick as barrels, to abruptly shoot up from the ground, completely sealing off the only exit of the alley.
At the same time, two girls with snowy white wings leaped lightning-fast from both sides, charging towards the tall figures that seemed momentarily bewildered by the sudden change.
As a warrior who had reached the pinnacle of legendary training, Leila was even faster. In the blink of an eye, she moved to the enemy’s side, her spear-like shadows striking ruthlessly towards vital points on their legs.
Though the opponent’s identity was unknown and they weren’t immediately resorting to lethal force, they needed to disable them to prevent resistance or escape.
“Wow!”
Surprisingly, the opponent reacted without delay, emitting what seemed like a frantic exclamation before swiftly leaping from their spot.
Despite the awkwardness, they managed to evade Leila’s certain strike, flipping agilely mid-air and landing firmly on their feet once more. They then frantically shouted again.
“Don’t attack! It’s me, Miss!”