Decoy and Bait?

[*3rd person POV*]

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In the middle of the forest, a woman carrying a staff in her hand could be seen rushing towards civilization. She had a heartbroken expression and tears continued to roll down her face with each step.

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It was Tulip, who was currently moving towards the Kingdom Of Thornhaven where the adventure guild was present. Although the Kingdom Of Blackstone was in complete control of the world, They couldn't just take over all of the kingdoms.

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Taking over all of them would just end up with every single citizen rebelling against the government, Which would cause problems for even the Kingdom Of Blackstone which was currently the biggest and strongest kingdom. In order to prevent such rebellion all of the kingdoms were forced to create an "alliance" under the leadership of Blackstone.

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Tulip finally arrived at the giant gates that served as the only entry into the kingdom, There were all kinds of people like demi-Humans and other species that were waiting in the queue.

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There was another queue for the carts which were usually for the merchants, However, they were all outsiders and needed to queue for checking.

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Tulip who was already a citizen and an adventurer could easily walk through the gates by just showing her guild card. She walked towards the gate with a sad expression.

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"Show us your guild card ma'am" One of the new guards asked while putting a hand in front of her to stop her from walking however an older guard who was standing behind him just shook his head.

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He noticed her devasted expression and due to his experience, he knew there was only one occasion where adventurers would make such a face.

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"Let her go young man" He said while putting his hand on his shoulder, The young man was about to question him but looking at his serious face he understood.

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"You are free to go ma'am" He said realizing what had happened.

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Tulip continued to walk but her face had a small smirk as if laughing in her mind towards the people that were falling for her trick, The more people that fell for her tricks the more pleased her Liege would be.

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'I can't wait to help master completely capture this kingdom~' She thought to herself as she walked towards the massive building that stood out in the entire kingdom.

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She walked towards the gates and entered it while running through making the doors slam against the walls gaining everyone's attention towards her as she dramatically collapsed and passed out in front of everyone.

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A few other adventurers rushed towards her to help her out and she was soon lifted up and taken to another room to wait for her to wake up.

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[*Tulip POV*]

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I kept my eyes closed for around 10 minutes and finally opened them when I felt a presence standing beside my bed, It was the healer of the guild who was a retired adventurer and now only worked outside of dungeons.

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She had a priestess outfit on just like Tyga however her outfit had several badges on her shoulder showing her superior rank, She was a B-ranker.

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"What happened dear?" She asked with a gentle voice while patting my head with her hands in a soothing way. However, it was nowhere close to the soothing feeling that my liege made me feel.

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But right now I needed to pretend, I looked up at her as tears started to fall down my eyes again. "Ou-Our party was killed! O-Only I managed to survive! The-they sacrificed themselves to kill the boss and save me!"

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I clutched onto her outfit while burying my head in her chest, My hands were trembling and I could see she was biting on the bait. She started to hold me tightly and tried to calm me down.

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She suspected nothing

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[*3rd person POV*]

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The two embraced each other as the older woman tried to calm her down, However, she failed to notice the slight smirk that the woman had when she had buried her face into her chest.

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"It's not your fault dear" She said, Afterall it was normal for people in this situation to blame themselves the most and the woman didn't want her to end up on that never-ending path of suffering.

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"Bu-But if I was just a little stronger we could have all survived!" The woman said with a pain-filled voice which made the old empathetic woman feel her heart clench in her chest.

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"No honey, It's not your fault! Right now I recommend you to take a few days off, What happened has happened and cannot be changed! Right now you are not okay!" She tried to convince the little girl.

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Due to her several decades of experience, she had seen several people in the same situation, She had seen many youngsters who had a lot of potential however their own guilt led them to a path of self-destruction.

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Maybe it was because of her kind nature or because of her job as a priestess, She felt responsible for not being able to guide the young ones.

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She felt like it was her duty to guide this girl away from the cruel fate that she was destined for.

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However, at that moment Tulip was laughing at the situation in her mind, All this time she had been following the exact orders of her master and everything he said was taking place.

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He had told her how people would react if she acted a certain way and just like he said everyone was reacting the same way. She felt her respect towards her master grow as she continued to play the victim.

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"I will, After I complete the last wish from Tyga" She whispered while looking at her clenched fist with determination, The older woman became curious and worried.

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"What do you mean?" She asked, She didn't want the girl to suffer any more than she already has.

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"Tyga wanted her priestess uniform to be returned to the church" She answered looking up at the older woman who was touched by this fake wish.

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Even in the face of her death, she didn't ask for anything for herself but rather she wanted to honor the church, The older woman was almost brought to tears by the level of devotion shown by the deceased priestess.

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If only she knew it was all fake, "Such a pure soul, I will make sure her uniform returns to the church" She said with a stern expression, She was serious about this request.

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Just like that the conversation ended and the priestess left the room, Leaving behind the "heartbroken" adventurer who started to laugh as soon as she left.

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Just like her master wanted she had planted a bait in the church, Although she didn't know why her master wanted the attention of the church towards his dungeon. She trusted his judgement and decided to follow it without any questions.

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Meanwhile, back on the outside where the priestess was walking through the streets back toward her church, She had a thoughtful expression on her face as she contemplated her next actions.

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[*Priestess POV*]

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I walked back towards my office while thinking about how I should deal with the situation, In order for someone to leave the dungeon they had to kill the boss monster and because she had made it out alive it meant the others managed to kill the boss.

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They died at the same time as they defeated the boss, It means that the dungeon is currently without any master and is merely just a graveyard for the warriors that fought in it.

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[*3rd person POV*]

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She walked into the church and quickly went towards her office where a few young priests and priestesses were standing, Which were her personal disciples working directly under her.

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"Good afternoon teacher" They all greeted their teacher while bowing their head slightly to show respect, The woman nodded and moved past them to take a seat on her chair.

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"Listen disciples, I have a mission for you. I need three of you to go and collect something for me from within a dead dungeon. D-rankers should be enough" She said with her commanding voice which made the group look towards each other.

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In just a matter of seconds, three people walked forward while the rest dispersed for their training showing the discipline they had.

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She looked towards the three and handed them a piece of paper which had the location of the dungeon and looked at them with a serious expression.

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"You need to retrieve the uniform of a fallen priestess, this was her last wish and we must honor it" She said to make sure they understood the severity of the situation.

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They took the paper and nodded back at the teacher, They had sympathy in their eyes at the news of their fellow student being killed however this was the norm of society.

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Anyone could lose their life at any time, However, all they could do was honor them after their death.

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"It's already quite late, You can go tomorrow" She said as her final order before dispersing the rest of the students too.

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After all, If they left now they would return by nighttime when the monsters were most active. She didn't want to take that risk.