Mission in another world with my transformed best friend

The three entered a guest room that appeared to have been recently cleaned. Zhang Lan gestured for Ilya to sit down, then walked to the window and opened it. A gust of fresh night air rushed in, and the bright moonlight generously poured down, casting a holy beauty upon her (at least that's what Wang Kai thought).

"Holy Maiden, I was just..."

Zhang Lan waved her hand, a smile spreading across her face, indicating that no further explanation was needed.

“I know everything, you don’t need to repeat it again… First, let me ask you a question: do you know why you were appointed as the ‘captain’ among so many girls?”

Ilya shook her head.

"Because you weren't originally a slave; you were demoted to this status due to many uncontrollable circumstances. After I redeemed you girls, unsurprisingly, you were the first to escape 'slave' status. Similarly, your resistance to your unfair fate is the strongest; you're determined to survive even with the hatred for your parents. Initially, you did intend to rely on your own strength to take revenge, but why are you now choosing to ask Kyle for help?"

"I...I already said it, it's because he's very strong."

“There are so many powerful people. You just said that as long as you can afford the reward, you can ask anyone to help you take revenge. But your ‘reward’ probably isn’t enough.”

"Why isn't it enough? Isn't everything I have enough?"

As she spoke, Ilya glanced at Wang Kai beside her.

Upon seeing this, Wang Kai immediately avoided eye contact. After all, Zhang Lan was a local "big shot," and he had only just arrived and was not yet firmly established himself, so how could he dare to speak recklessly? He was still unclear about the underlying intentions behind her words.

"Of course, it's a simple arithmetic problem. You say you have two or three enemies, and their lives are all you have, but they can't offset your losses, right?"

"That's true, but they... after all, took my parents' lives, and the combined debts of my parents and me must be..."

"Shut up! If you treat the lives of your loved ones as bargaining chips, it only shows that you are an extremely cold-blooded executioner driven by blind revenge. Ilya, every life is unique in essence, and its value is immeasurable. Even a merchant in a slave market wouldn't think of exchanging a few lives for a few more.

Zhang Lan's tone suddenly became more forceful, causing Ilya to tremble violently again. She lowered her head and thought for a while, finally unable to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.

As a few glistening drops of liquid fell to the floor, Ilya's trembling intensified, and soft sobs quietly escaped her lips.

Wang Kai also felt that he had gone a little too far. He was about to say something when Zhang Lan walked up to Ilya, squatted down, and touched her head again, speaking softly.

"I've always had a vague feeling that you have a past that no one knows about, and it must be an extremely painful memory."

"But do you know what? The other dozen or so girls with you have similar tragic pasts to yours. Some were abandoned by their relatives, some were orphans after their hometowns were destroyed by monsters. Their pasts are even more tragic than yours!"

"After all, children your age should still be growing up under the protection of their parents. But fate has played a cruel trick on you, leaving you in such a state, living in such a lowly and humble status."

“Ilya, justice cannot be absent. The revenge for your parents' deaths can be sought, but extreme measures are unacceptable. Here’s what we’ll do: I promise you, if I have any leads on the enemies, I will inform the Imperial soldiers to capture them and bring them to trial…”

……

Ilya raised her head, her tear-filled eyes staring at Zhang Lan for a long time, before finally bursting into tears.

She quickly threw herself into Zhang Lan's arms, crying like a frightened child who had finally found no one to rely on. The catharsis she felt after revealing her secret and receiving a promise was also released through her tears, completely different from the "fake crying" she had shown when she threw herself into Masha's arms earlier...

……

"Okay, I understand. When you were hiding under the floorboards at home, you could only vaguely tell that there were three people. Through the gaps in the wooden planks, you could see that one of them was shirtless and had a tattoo on his shoulder?"

"Yes, I will never forget that tattoo!"

"Here's what we'll do. There's paper and pen over there on the table. Go over there and draw it down. I'll find some professionals to help you investigate."

"Thank you, Holy Maiden... Sister."

Ilya wiped away her tears, her reddened eyes ignited with hope, and she ran to a desk not far from the room, sat down, picked up paper and pen, and began to draw.

At this moment, Wang Kai quietly extended a thumbs-up to Zhang Lan. Upon seeing this, Zhang Lan gave him a faint glare, walked up to him, and whispered something.

What do you mean by that?

"As expected of the 'Sage of the World,' the title of combining wisdom and beauty is well-deserved. She not only dissuaded the other party from being stubborn but also won people's hearts. Not bad, not bad."

"Please don't use such an unpleasant word as 'bribery,' okay? I only did what I felt I should do at the moment. These girls still have a long way to go..."

Wang Kai didn't realize the meaning of the last sentence because he suddenly thought of the thing he cared about most before dinner: how to explain the misunderstanding about the "proposal" to Masha. He hurriedly asked in a low voice.

"What should I do? From dinner until now, Martha has been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding me, and I haven't had a chance to explain to her alone."

"That's your problem. My 'business consulting' doesn't cover these things. Figure it out yourself..."

Wang Kai scratched his head, glanced at Ilya who was intently drawing a pattern, and clapped his hands together.

"I've got it! Since she doesn't want to see me, why don't I write an explanation letter and you deliver it to her for me?"

“Martha can’t read many words.”

"Um, why don't you read it for me?"

"You might as well tell them yourself."

Wang Kai scratched his hair again, saw Ilya drawing and writing over there, and quietly walked over with a big smile on his face.

"Little sister Ilya, could I do you a favor..."

Ilya stopped what she was doing, saw Wang Kai's expression, her big eyes darted around a few times, and she replied.

"Sure, is that a request or a command?"

What request command?

"If it's a request, I'll have to consider it. But if it's an order, as long as you agree to take on the 'task' we had before, as a 'reward' for the initial stage of the task, this little thing will definitely be no problem!"

"Is that so?" Wang Kai pondered for a moment. Since Zhang Lan was already planning to help resolve this matter, as her "saintess's partner," he naturally made the same choice. He replied, "Then I... agree, oh dear..."

Zhang Lan "timely" walked over and kicked Wang Kai's calf, glared at him, sighed, and said.

"It seems that even a very basic world setting hasn't been figured out yet?"

"Ouch! Your kicking technique is getting more and more advanced, which isn't a good thing. And could you be a little gentler next time... By the way, what's the setting?"