Is the term 'fencing' not appropriate enough?
Or is it perhaps too appropriate?
Syl looked at the two blushing girls in front of her, feeling as though she had said something wrong.
Is this level of innuendo not allowed?
To prevent her 'high-speed' talk from damaging her image, Syl said with a feigned innocent expression:
"Didn't your mentors teach you?"
"My mentor told me not to get close to men. They all have a sharp sword beneath them, and they love to use it to stab the people they like, or to stab people by force... so I don't like men at all."
After saying this, Syl blinked her big eyes and looked at the two girls, trying to act cute to get away with it.
Perhaps because Syl's pure appearance was too deceptive, Jane and May believed her explanation almost instantly.
"Cough... Little Syl, it's not like that... Forget it, just keep understanding it that way."
Jane originally wanted to give Syl a lesson in common sense, but then it occurred to her that she didn't like men much either, so why bother explaining for them?
So, Jane planned to let Syl continue with this misunderstanding. Let Little Syl treat all men as weirdos who want to use their lower-body spikes on everyone they see; it would be safer that way.
"So Jane, do you want to stop that Frank from continuing to force his workers to fence with him?" Syl asked with a serious face.
"Yes," Jane seemed to have started adapting to Syl's terminology, even finding Syl's simplicity somewhat adorable. Jane continued, "Not all men like fencing, Little Syl. Forcing someone to do anything is wrong."
With a whinny from the horses at the front of the carriage, May leaned her head out the window to take a look and said, "Your Highness Jane, we've arrived at the restaurant."
"Alright, let's go eat first, Little Syl." Jane naturally reached across Syl's seat, opened the carriage door, jumped down, and then turned around to offer her right hand to Syl. "Give me your hand."
Although Syl wanted to say, "I can get down by myself," she didn't say it after seeing Jane's pure and sunny gaze.
"Thank you." Syl reached out her hand and stepped down from the carriage with Jane's support.
"You're welcome, we're friends." Jane smiled, let go of her hand, and walked straight toward the restaurant. Just before entering, she looked back at Syl, seemingly signaling for her to follow.
"Are we friends just like that..." Syl sighed silently in her heart, but she followed anyway.
To be honest, her concept of friends had become somewhat blurred. Earlier, she had felt a vague sense of closeness toward Silma, but with the interference of various whispers, Syl's emotions had become increasingly cold.
Good social interaction is certainly a good remedy for psychological pressure, and Syl didn't mind making a friend she could talk to, so she didn't reject Jane's kindness.
Jane seemed to be a regular here. As soon as she walked over, the staff standing at the door greeted her, smiling as they led Jane and Syl to a relatively quiet spot inside.
Syl looked at the interior decoration. There were familiar circular emblems everywhere. After thinking about it, she realized it was the same mark on Jane's cloak.
"Is this restaurant run by your church?"
While waiting for their food, Syl asked curiously.
Jane seemed in the mood to talk and shook her head with a smile. "No, it's a shop opened by a believer. Many members of the Church of the Goddess of Justice choose to dine here."
"The atmosphere seems quite nice," Syl chatted with a smile.
Then, the two of them talked about things they encountered in their respective churches. Jane kept complaining to Syl like an aggrieved young girl about how harsh her church's bishop was to her, and then expressed envy for Syl's treatment at the Church of the Goddess of Hope.
After all, the level of respect Syl received at the Church of the Goddess of Hope was definitely top-tier; she was, after all, the Saintess they had waited hundreds of years for.
By the time the steaming saran noodles arrived, May walked in from outside, holding a newspaper in her hand.
"Your Highness Jane, look at this." May's expression looked a bit tense as she handed the newspaper to Jane and suggested, "Maybe we should wait a while before coming to the Ivisa District... let Wisdom's people finish their investigation first."
Jane didn't speak but took the newspaper and read it seriously, reciting as she went: "No. 24 Orthogonal Alley, Ivisa South District... a male corpse dressed in a joker's outfit? There are also carvings next to it..."
Hearing this, Syl, who had been happily twirling a clump of noodles with her fork in front of Jane, raised her head and looked toward Jane with curiosity.
"What happened, Jane?" Although she knew the Joker's affair might make the daily news, Syl didn't expect it to be so fast.
An express printing? Was the newspaper office run by the Church of Generosity and Wisdom? How could they print an extra edition so quickly?
"Yes, it seems a supervisor at a certain factory was assassinated... but he wasn't a good person in life; he was scum who trafficked people... the main thing is the killer might be related to the blood sacrifice from a few days ago." At this point, Jane paused and looked at Syl, asking, "Do you know about the blood sacrifice?"
"I know, I saw yesterday's news." Syl nodded honestly.
"That's good. The people from Wisdom said in the newspaper that the same person seems to have appeared in both cases."
"Is it that person with green hair?"
"Yes, the clues are clearer today. It's a woman."
"Oh... I hope they catch the killer soon." Syl shrunk her neck slightly, looking a bit frightened.
"Why? I think she did well," Jane shook her head, disagreeing with Syl. "She only carried out a judgment that conforms to common sense; it's just that the final verdict was a bit heavy."
Hearing Jane's take, Syl's mind couldn't quite process it.
Shouldn't the Saintess of Justice uphold the concept of legal justice? The Joker practically tortured a man to death.
Syl looked at Jane and asked curiously, "You think she is just?"
"Why wouldn't she be?" Jane countered. "She interrupted an evil god's blood sacrifice and eliminated a piece of scum who preyed on the poor. Aside from the extrajudicial nature of it, I can't think of anything she did wrong."
Syl followed up, "Are you going to pass that kind of judgment on Frank too?"
"What's wrong with that?" Jane said as if it were natural. "Carrying out correct judgment and sentencing for improper evil deeds—that is true justice."
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?"
"That is also justice."
"Your church's explanation of justice is pretty cool, I like it." Syl raised an eyebrow. She appreciated this way of handling things by the Church of the Goddess of Justice. Although it might not be 'humane,' it was certainly satisfying.
Jane would definitely have a lot in common with the Joker.
"It seems my eye for people has always been good," Jane put down the newspaper and looked at Syl with a smile. "How about it? Interested in coming to the Church of the Goddess of Justice to develop your career? I'll cover for you—mmph—"
"Your Highness Jane..." May reached out and stuffed a spoonful of saran noodles into Jane's mouth. She looked at Syl apologetically, "Pardon me, Your Excellency Sil·Saint, please forgive Her Highness Jane's words."