Chapter 431 - 203: Anna

"Ah, Miss Anna. It’s a pleasure."

Sean smiled and gave a simple self-introduction.

"My name is Sean, and this is Elise, my fri—"

"Girlfriend."

Elise chimed in with a sweet smile, politely complimenting the young woman. "Miss Anna, you’re so beautiful. I’m sure I’m not the first person to say that, and I won’t be the last."

Anna’s gaze shifted from Sean to Elise. She gave a slight smile. "Thank you."

As she spoke, her hands were placed "properly" at her waist, and she gave a subtle tilt of her head and dip of her body, as if in response to Elise’s compliment. The effect was heightened by her white gloves, exquisite makeup, and a dress that looked exceptionally elegant and clearly expensive. This posture, combined with her naturally expressed humility, was both graceful and proper, giving her a truly unique aura.

Just moments before, her expression had been on the cold side, yet she was now conversing politely. It was a contradiction. But it was precisely this contradiction that created a subtle psychological contrast. One moment, you’d think Anna was difficult to get along with; the next, you’d feel she wasn’t completely unapproachable. She was lofty yet down-to-earth. This perfectly calibrated coolness made it impossible to dislike her.

Grace and substance...

’She must be the young lady of some noble family,’ Sean thought.

And a high-ranking one, at that.

As someone who had been a great noble during the Era of Polymath, Sean knew this circle well.

Often, the higher the nobility, the more courteous, elegant, and humble they were.

At least on the surface.

The fact that she could pass Gomez’s Mind Magic screening and appear in Blake City meant this young woman was one of them. In other words, besides the Blazing Angel Family, there were other great noble families whose hearts were still with the Holy Sanctuary. This was good news.

It seemed the situation for "Holy Temple Remnants" like them wasn’t as isolated and helpless as he had imagined.

This caused the look in Sean’s eyes to soften as he gazed at the young woman.

Anna was already beautiful and pleasing to his eye, but now, she was even more so.

Elise, however, wasn’t thinking about all that. She enthusiastically took Anna’s hand, blinking her eyes. "This is my first time on a mission, too! I’ll be in your care, Miss Anna."

Anna just smiled.

But hidden in her eyes was a flicker of imperceptible coldness.

’You certainly will need some guidance.’

"Shall we get going, then?" Sean said. "We can talk more on the way."

Anna nodded slightly. "Alright."

Before leaving the city, the three of them followed protocol, drinking a Forgetfulness Potion and returning the portraits of the missing people to the Guard.

Compared to last time, aside from him, Teacher Tony, and the others who had assassinated the Saintess, there weren’t many new faces in the album. This was enough to show that most of the missions issued by the church were relatively safe for Wizards.

As for Chris...

Sean had made a special trip to the Back Street yesterday.

In fact, the main reason he went out was to find the grocery store owner named Hoyev on the Back Street.

Sean hadn’t forgotten that it was Hoyev who had saved Chris in the beginning.

Unfortunately, the grocery store was still closed.

Hoyev, who had left to restock his inventory several months ago, still hadn’t returned.

There was nothing Sean could do about it. He would just have to come back and check again next time.

「On the surface.」

「Outside the villa.」

Just like last time, Lauden had already arranged for a car to be prepared for them.

The difference was that this time it was a sedan. It was solid black, and one look was enough to tell it was a significant upgrade from the van-like business vehicle they had before. Clearly, his own status had improved.

Or perhaps Lauden’s authority had been elevated.

"It really is all about connections, no matter where you are..."

Sean lamented.

He pulled open the car door, preparing to get into the passenger seat.

"Aren’t you driving?" Anna asked.

Sean answered honestly, "I don’t know how."

Elise sighed and said, "I told this guy to get his driver’s license ages ago, but he refuses. He’s always saying he’s too busy. Every time we go out, I have to drive, making me, his girlfriend, feel more like his personal chauffeur."

She sounded like a wife complaining about her husband to a friend.

Sean: "..."

’Woman, are you getting a little too into character?’

Anna suddenly spoke up. "Then you should sit in the back."

Sean: "Huh?"

Elise: "?"

’Wait a minute.’

’Was my claim on him not obvious enough?’

’I literally just said Sean was my boyfriend the moment we met, and now Anna is asking him to sit in the back with her...’

’The nerve!’

Anna offered her reasoning, "You have to drive. If something happens on the road, I can better protect him if he’s in the backseat."

Elise was about to retort, ’Does Miss Anna have a thing for protecting other people’s boyfriends?’

But then she heard Anna continue, "We’re teammates now, aren’t we?"

Elise: "..."

’So asking Sean to sit in the back with you is for the team’s safety, is it?’

’You think I’m buying that?’

But Sean thought it was believable.

’With Elise’s flirtatious personality, she’d probably take any chance she got on the road—like at a red light—to grope his thigh in the passenger seat. And he wouldn’t be able to fight back easily. Elise had been teasing him nonstop these past two days. With Elvire gone, this woman was outrageously bold. This was the perfect opportunity to knock Elise down a peg and reassert his own position.’

So, Sean said, "Alright, I’ll sit in the back."

He pulled open the back door and got in.

And he deliberately shot Elise a smug look.

Elise: "?"

"Fine, fine, fine."

She couldn’t exactly drag Sean back out by force, so all she could do was say in a passive-aggressive, sour tone, "And some people claim they aren’t scumbags. But what happens?"

"The moment they see another pretty girl, they leave their own ’wife’ out in the cold."