The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

An Effort to Please (Part 1)

***Somewhere in Chersea...***

"You called for me, Your Holiness?"

The Saint of the Flame, Seirna Stephanie, stepped from the shadows of a dark, empty alley to meet the man she was waiting for. Wearing her usual black mourning dress, the overseer saint greeted her old-time spymaster, the former prince of Amaranth, Umberto Benicci. "It's been a while, Umberto."

"Indeed. I was surprised to receive a letter from you," the spymaster laughed. "I thought you have forgotten about me."

"We have made a lot of conspiracies together for me to conveniently throw you away," Seirna replied, pausing for a bit, as if she remembered something. "At least, I'm different from my former master, the Lord Gaius."

"Former master...?" Umberto raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long story, Umberto. Now, I'm just a 'master-less' saint."

The spymaster thought it was odd, but decided not to ask her about it. It was not his business, anyway; as long as he's compensated for his work, he had no concerns for the personal lives of his 'clients'.

"Good answer," Seirna grinned. "I'm glad you're still the old Umberto; practical and efficient."

"In any case, Your Holiness, what do you need from me?" he asked. "I'm sure you did not call me here just to chit-chat."

"Right...you got elves under you?"

The spymaster shook his head, but added, "With proper funds, we can always hire some. There are a lot of elves settling in various Chersean kingdoms lately, after rumors of a revolution in the Elf Saint's tree palace. Hmm...now that I mentioned it, you must know something about that, Your Holiness?"

"The Elf Saint has lost control of her people," the Saint of the Flame confirmed. "But, she's alive, and is hiding here with the otherworlder."

"Heh, that man sure is something. I heard he was made into an imperial duke last time; now, I learn that his hands were all over the events in Cherwoods."

Seirna was silent. She just hovered near Umberto, seemed to wait for him to say anything else.

Then it dawned on the spymaster. "Wait, don't tell me..."

From the other end of the alley came a shadow. Umberto had no time to pull out his pistol, before the newcomer revealed himself. "It's nice meeting you again, Sir Umberto Benicci! Who would've thought we would come this far regarding our 'working' relationship?"

"Kuro of Arles..." was all that the spymaster could mutter. While he decided not to pull his weapon, he never let his guard down.

"Ah, no worries," the duke of Maverny reassured him. "I'm not here to fight or kill you. I'm here because Her Holiness the Lady Seirna Stephanie recommended you to me."

Umberto threw a glare at the Saint of the Flame; he surely didn't expect the twist of events.

"Hey, I thought you said before that you wanted to be friends with him?"

"I said if we're in different circumstances, we might be friends."

"Isn't this a different situation now? Look, I'm working with the otherworlder just to protect the Lady Hinwe," she explained. "You know me; I believe standards are there to put order in everything. Now, if the Elf Saint is killed when she shouldn't, the timeline would be wrecked, right?"

"Yes," Kuro added. "And we're cooperating so that the Lady Hinwe would avoid a tragic fate."

The spymaster, though he was still wary, asked, "So, what can I do then?"