"This should be the place, right?" Anna asked while staring at the village in the distance. She couldn't see how this place was a village. Unlike any other village they had seen, this village was guarded by a tall wooden wall, protecting them in all directions.
There was even a ditch outside the wall filled with water that would hinder anything from coming in. There was only one gate leading to the village and a wooden bridge that connected it.
There were a few huge tents outside the village, which was probably their destination.
"Reinforcing the village here?" Noel narrowed his eyes.
"That's probably it. A wall and a ditch are the basic after all."
"Will that even work? I mean, the monsters near this place often find Advanced Level or even Peak Level Demons, right?"
"True. If those demons attack this village without the help of the army, they'll be useless." Anna agreed with Noel, seeing this reinforcement had no purpose.
Suddenly, a mature and gentle voice echoed in their ears, answering their doubt. "It's not as useless as you two thought. Their primary purpose is to keep the village outside Demon's sights, mostly for Low Level and Mid Level Demons. Although there are Advanced Level and Peak Level Demons around here, the majority of the demons that are roaming around are the Low and Mid Level Demons.
"So, by covering the village with a wooden wall, those demons wouldn't think there was a village in this place. And with the ditch filled with water, the demons would think this place was a lake or something, not going to bother to enter it."
"!!!" Noel and Anna hurriedly turned around because they couldn't feel this presence at all. To their surprise, the one next to them was a woman. And only Anna would recognize her in this life.
Clara raised her eyebrows and looked at her. "Do you know me?"
"Ah?!" Anna forgot that her knowledge came from her previous life. There was no way she didn't know Clara, considering Noel had grown up in this place. However, the current Anna shouldn't know Clara at all. Hence, she had to bluff. "I have heard about your achievement in the past.
Although I don't know your face, there is no reason for a powerful Spirit Grandmaster like you to appear in this place for no reason."
"So, there is only one person that fits your description?"
Clara stared at Anna for a while as if judging her answer. In the end, she dropped the matter and said, "Well, you are right. I'm Clara, the Captain of the Demon Relief Squad. I heard both of you from the report Shale sent here."
Noel hurriedly handed her the recommendation letter. "Captain Clara, this is the recommendation letter."
Clara looked at Noel like Anna before accepting the letter.
She opened it to confirm the content of the letter and said, "I see. This is a surprise for the commander to get involved in this. But I guess that's for a reason. Despite her outburst, Anna Stargaze is calm enough to handle the problem. She is also knowledgeable and resourceful.
"Noel might not have enough information and knowledge, but he can adapt to all situations. The example is him giving me the letter."
"!!!" Noel and Anna's hearts skipped a beat, realizing she was assessing her this whole time.
"That's good enough for now. I welcome you to my Demon Relief Squad. I don't have many rules personally, but I just want you to understand three things.
"First, never think yourself above the others, whether it's toward other knights in our squad or toward the people. If I find you flaunting your identity as a noble, I'll immediately report you to the headquarter to expel you from my place.
"Second, our job as a Demon Relief Squad is to help people in all kinds of forms. So, you can't complain about your work. Instead, you should learn how to do it properly.
"Last but not least, you are bound to work together with other knights. If it's with the same Demon Relief Squad, treat them gently. If it's with other squads, make sure they don't look down on our Demon Relief Squad. I permit violence. If they don't change their way, the violence must not be enough."
Noel was dumbfounded when hearing the third one. The first two were truly the essence of the Demon Relief Squad, so Clara's explanation was quite good. But he never expected Clara to permit the use of violence against other squads.
Her kind face felt like it was just a calm but cold face. Her soothing tone sent a chill down his spine. He even wondered which one was the real Clara.
"Do you understand those three rules?" Clara asked.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Noel and Anna hurriedly answered.
"Good. I welcome you to my Demon Relief Squad. Follow me." Clara walked toward a tent to introduce them to their groups.
But when they came in, the six people inside the room suddenly trembled as if death just came in.
"!!!" All of them hurriedly turned their bodies around, staring at Clara. They were already long enough in this squad to know Clara. Despite having no change in her expression or demeanor, they could clearly see Clara was pissed.
'Did they do something they shouldn't?' Stella thought while gulping down. She tried to find an answer by glancing at the others.
'They must be Noel and Anna… They just came here, so what kind of mistake could they make?'
'They just came here?'
Something clicked in their mind as they greeted Clara. "Captain Clara."
"This is Noel Ardagan and Anna Stargaze. They'll be with us from now on, so please treat them kindly."
Clara walked to her seat and explained, "Noel will go to group A, and Anna will be with group B."
"Ah! We're not going to be together?" Anna asked.
"No. You might want to be together with your partner, but there's no guarantee in the future that you won't have your partner on your side. So, you have to do it with what you currently have. By separating both of you, I believe you can grow further."
"I understand." Anna nodded.
"Good. I'll let them explain all the work to you."