The person who appeared in front of Fang Zheng was none other than the priestess Fina. Her attire was no different from before, and when Fina saw Fang Zheng, she smiled.

"I didn't expect to meet you here. What a fortuitous encounter..."

"Ah, well... it's really unexpected. So what are you doing here?"

"I……"

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, Fina's expression became a little strange. However, just when she was about to say something, she heard a series of footsteps, and then the man who had beaten the orc before strode over. He looked at Fina with a smile on his face, and then spoke.

"I'm sorry to have scared you, Miss Fina. Are you okay?"

"Ah, I'm fine... um... you really don't have to worry about it."

Facing the man's question, Fina hurriedly took a few steps back like a frightened bird, hid behind Fang Zheng, and then bowed her head respectfully to the man. Seeing Fina's action, the man frowned slightly, and then he looked at Fang Zheng and his group.

"They are..."

"They are my friends and we have fought side by side."

This time, before Fang Zheng could speak, Fina hurriedly replied.

"So, I'm sorry, Mr. Corliss, I, I have decided to ask them for help!"

"Is that so..."

After hearing Fina's answer, the man glanced at Fang Zheng and the others, then nodded with a smile.

"In that case, we'll see each other later."

After saying this, the man turned and left, leaving Fang Zheng and the others standing there in confusion.

What is going on here?

"…Can you explain it, Miss Fina?"

Although Fang Zheng had already guessed it roughly, he still turned his head to look at Fina beside him and asked, and Fina nodded a little embarrassedly.

"Of course...Mr. Fang Zheng, please follow me..."

Now that the excitement was over, the people outside the tavern dispersed, and Fina brought Fang Zheng and his group to a compartment on the second floor of the tavern and sat down, then she told them the whole story.

"Here's what happened. A few days ago, I passed by a village nearby while on tour, and I discovered that there were strange diseases and plagues there..."

"plague?"

Hearing this, Fang Zheng immediately raised his eyebrows.

"What kind of plague?"

"The patients will first have a fever, then their limbs will become weak, and then they will be unable to eat, and then they will die... More importantly, after death, they will transform into undead creatures. In fact, when I went to that town, the whole town was already in a panic. I tried to treat this plague, but it didn't work."

"Don't the local managers care? What about the church?"

“That’s where it gets weird.”

Facing Fang Zheng's question, Fina also frowned.

"At first, I wanted to talk to the village chief and the church administrator to see if there was anything I could do to help. But... they were all gone."

“…Gone?”

"That's right."

Fina nodded.

"The church is empty, and no one is in the village chief's house either. According to the villagers, they disappeared shortly after the plague. As for where they went, no one knows. I wanted to investigate, and found traces of cultists in the nearby mountains... I don't know which organization they belong to, but I'm sure there are a lot of them. I obviously can't defeat them alone."

"So you're planning on coming here to find help?"

"Yes, Dusk Moon City is the closest to that village, and now almost everyone in that village has been infected with this disease, and they can't even get out of bed. I used magic to temporarily stabilize their condition, but if it is not dealt with quickly, the situation will get worse. Right now there is no time to ask for help from other temples. I originally wanted to ask the lord of Dusk Moon City for help, but... he didn't even want to see me."

Having said that, Fina sighed helplessly.

"So I plan to hire a group of mercenaries to help me. Mr. Corliss just now... originally wanted to invite me to join his mercenary group, but I turned him down because I had to deal with this matter. Although Mr. Corliss seemed to be willing to help me, but..."

"If someone is too attentive, he is either a traitor or a thief, right?"

Facing Fang Zheng's words, Fina didn't say much, just nodded shyly. This was normal. After all, although Fina wasn't the kind of super beauty that would attract onlookers when walking on the street, she was still a very pretty girl. She must have seen this kind of thing a lot on her tours.

If Fang Zheng hadn't come, maybe Fina would have considered it a little, but now that Fang Zheng was here, Fina naturally didn't need to consider it. Compared to strange mercenaries with unknown backgrounds and suspicious motives, it was obviously more reassuring to have someone she knew and had fought side by side with.

"…So, can I ask for your help, Mr. Fang Zheng?"

"Of course not."

Facing Fina's request, Fang Zheng agreed without hesitation. The reason was simple. Dusk Moon City was the "task trigger location" that Fang Zheng had sensed through the prophecy spell. However, Fang Zheng had just met Fina here not long after entering the city... So all of this was due to the Steins;Gate, no, it was the guidance of the prophecy spell!

But before that...

"How did you recognize me?"

Fang Zheng thought that although his disguise was not particularly professional, it was not so bad that others could see through it at a glance.

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, Fina blushed this time. She lowered her head and grunted for a long time before finally uttering, "My nose is more sensitive..."

"Okay, I understand."

Fang Zheng decisively stopped the topic. He didn't want to ask Fina what her zodiac sign was, whether she was a dog...

Since the target has been determined, Fang Zheng and his group naturally don't need to do anything else. They go out of the city and into the mountains under the leadership of Fina, heading towards the village. During this time, Fang Zheng also introduced Kuang San and Hu Tao to Fina. Fina was obviously curious about these two girls. Both of them were of similar age, Hu Tao was cheerful and outgoing, and Fina was not the kind of person who was difficult to get close to. So soon, the two of them started talking and laughing together.

"This Miss Fina is really interesting."

Walking on the mountain road, looking at Kurumi and Fina who were chatting, Kuang San came to Fang Zheng, chuckled and spoke to him in a low voice.

"Could she be your target, Mr. Fang Zheng?"

"I don't have that idea."

Facing Kuang San's teasing, Fang Zheng waved his hands. Logically speaking, Fang Zheng didn't believe that there was pure friendship between men and women, but perhaps because the few times they met were all related to battles, Fang Zheng thought that rather than saying that Fina was the object of his fancy, it would be better to say that the two were more compatible combat partners. After all, Fina was smart and likable, and she didn't have the bad habits of being a bad teammate at all. Fighting with her didn't make people feel like they were holding back, which was quite comfortable.

But then again, they really are destined to be together...

While Fang Zheng and Kuang San were talking, the four of them had already walked into the deep mountains and old forests, and at the same time, thick fog appeared in front of them. Seeing this thick fog, Fina immediately stopped joking and became serious.

"It's right here, Mr. Fang Zheng."

As she spoke, Fina tightened her grip on the scepter in her hand.

"After passing through this thick fog, we will reach the village."