Chapter 4: As an Ordinary Human, Lin Wei Was Terrified

Chapter 4: As an Ordinary Human, Lin Wei Was Terrified

Two hours later.

Veya lay curled up on the sofa, utterly spent, her voice trembling with exhaustion.

Her face—always so cold and pure—was now flushed, the blush lending her an unexpected allure. Even her golden eyes, usually sharp and clear, had softened with a languid, dreamy haze. She looked like a fallen goddess, her sanctity only adding to her charm.

“Mmm, looks like my relaxation technique worked wonders,” Lin Wei said, standing off to the side, admiring his handiwork with unconcealed pride.

That should settle the score for the way she acted all high and mighty after we got home today.

Hmph. She always has to let her guard down before showing her true self.

Honestly, this woman can be so difficult sometimes.

“Go to hell...” Veya glared at him from the sofa, her cheeks still bright red. She tried to muster her usual icy tone, but right now, there was a softness to her voice—a gentle charm she would never let slip under normal circumstances.

But every single time, he insists on making me lose my composure before he lets it go.

How is this supposed to be married life? Isn’t he just bullying me on purpose?

“But you looked like you were having a pretty good time just now,” Lin Wei teased.

He scratched his head and muttered under his breath, “You were even cuter when you were begging for mercy...”

He didn’t even finish the thought before Veya, her face blazing with embarrassment, lunged forward and bit down—hard—on his wrist, which happened to be within reach.

“Hey, hey, hey... Not so hard! That actually hurts, you know!”

Not that it really did any damage, of course. For Lin Wei, this kind of retaliation was hardly worth mentioning.

He simply let her vent her embarrassment however she liked.

Once she’d had enough, he gently rubbed her still-warm, rosy cheek. Then, scooping the sulking Veya into his arms, he coaxed her in a softer tone.

“So... how long does my beautiful Veya get to stay on vacation this time?”

The Holy Church’s cleanup work never followed a set schedule. Demon invasions, evil god disasters, heretic uprisings—such things didn’t exactly stick to a nine-to-five routine.

In cases like this, the length of her time off depended entirely on the Holy Church’s whim.

“One day,” Veya replied flatly.

Lin Wei nearly had a heart attack on the spot—he almost wanted to storm the cathedral and throttle the Pope himself.

He stared at his wife in disbelief. Even if this was just a contract marriage, the treatment was so inhuman he could feel his past life’s workplace PTSD flaring up.

“Just one day?!”

“Mhm. I’ve been investigating the disappearance of the subjugation squad lately,” Veya replied listlessly, letting herself rest in his arms as she took a quiet, steadying breath.

“The Holy Church discovered that the expedition led by the renowned adventurer Weiss didn’t meet its end in the Brook City-State as we first thought, but somewhere else. And all the relics found in the goblin tribe’s lair were actually planted there after the fact.”

“Right now, the entire Holy Church is running around trying to get to the bottom of this. Unless there’s a major breakthrough, I probably won’t get any real time off.”

These details were technically classified the Holy Church secrets. But since it was Lin Wei, she didn’t mind sharing a little. After all, he was just an ordinary human.

“Do you have any idea who might’ve done it?” Lin Wei—former Demon Lord, now ‘ordinary human’ asked, trying to sound casual, though his nerves were obvious.

“The Pope suspects the Demon Lord. The subjugation squad was made up of elite adventurers. Who else could wipe them out so quietly if not the Demon Lord?”

“To lose an entire squad just three months after leaving the border... Even high-ranking demons aren’t that powerful!”

“Hm? Why do you look so nervous?”

At that moment, Veya seemed to notice Lin Wei’s anxious expression. She shot him a smug glance, her voice turning lazy and teasing.

“But don’t worry. Now that we’re married, of course I’ll protect you. If word got out that I became a widow, that would just be too embarrassing.”

Well, thanks for that. I really am pretty scared.

Scared that when the Holy Church comes knocking, I won’t be able to resist wiping them out.

Seriously, though, the Holy Church’s investigators are a lot sharper than I gave them credit for!

All these years, Lin Wei had been careful—painstakingly so—to avoid the Holy Church’s suspicion and the trouble that would inevitably follow. Every time he dealt with an subjugation squad, he took extra precautions, learning from every past mistake. Yet even with all that, they’d still managed to pick up on some tiny clue. The Holy Church’s investigative skills were downright supernatural!

Looks like next time I have to handle a subjugation squad, I’ll need to refine my process even more. Maybe I should stage a proper battle—find or fake an opponent of equal strength, leave behind convincing signs of a struggle, and let the Holy Church chase their tails for a while.

He forced a smile and looked at Veya, trying to sound cheerful. “Well, thank you, my beautiful Miss Veya.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering, Lin Wei suggested, “Since you only get one day off, how about we go to Lotai tomorrow and pick up some things for winter?”

By now, his wife’s eyelids had begun to droop. Nestled in his arms, she murmured softly, her consciousness already slipping away.

“Tomorrow... The Holy Church has something big planned in Lotai. That’s the only reason I rushed back...”

She gripped Lin Wei’s hand, the last of her façade fading away, leaving her looking so fragile and defenseless. Yet her words were earnest, almost solemn.

“Stay home, all right? I’ll protect you... Wait for me to come back before we go shopping... I’m so tired.”

With that, her breathing slowed, deep and even. She didn’t move again.

So there’s something major happening in Lotai tomorrow—that’s why she came back in such a hurry.

Even if it was a contract marriage, and even if Veya usually kept her distance and acted cold, at moments like this...

She’s just too adorable!

Lin Wei’s face flushed red, and he had to admit—even his heart skipped a beat seeing her like this.

“She’s really asleep?”

He waved his hand in front of her, but there wasn’t the slightest reaction. Watching her steady, peaceful breathing, Lin Wei scratched his head and couldn’t help mumbling to himself.

Ever since they got married, Veya’s workload had only grown heavier—anyone could see it. With disasters erupting all over the world, the pressure on the Holy Church had reached a breaking point.

As far as he could remember, she hadn’t looked well-rested even once during her recent trips home. And now, after finally making it back, she couldn’t even go shopping because of some unexpected incident.

“She was actually looking forward to shopping with me for winter, too,” he grumbled. “I even caught her secretly checking out the latest fashion trends, picking out matching outfits and everything.”

“Hmm... so there’s something big happening in Lotai.”

Lotai was the nearest trade city to Aurens Town—famous across the borderlands. It was less than ten kilometers away; even by carriage, it would only take half an hour.

If he really stayed home tomorrow like she asked, who knew when she’d be able to come back again? Honestly, he felt partly responsible for how overworked she was.

“What a mess.”

“Well then... guess I’ll just do a bit of nighttime exercise to warm up.”

Sure, he was worried about drawing the Holy Church’s suspicion, but some things just couldn’t be helped. He couldn’t spend his whole life pretending to be powerless, after all.

Glancing at Veya, now deeply and thoroughly asleep—

Lin Wei gently laid Veya down on the sofa, making sure she was comfortable before heading outside.

A faint glow began to gather at his fingertips. In just a few moments, the light twisted and wove itself into a complex, arcane magic circle, which silently dissolved into the surrounding air—leaving not a trace behind.

In the same instant, Lin Wei himself vanished from sight.

The next moment, his figure streaked upward like a shooting star, piercing through the clouds as he sped toward Lotai at top speed.