Boss Lady, Come Here and Let Me Give You a Kiss

Li Cha is a new colleague at MI6, and Major Freya established a psychological clinic for him to run. This is no secret within the agency, which has naturally led to gossip. People whispered that the "iron tree has finally blossomed," and that Freya had finally been bewitched by a pretty face.

A doctor is, unsurprisingly, a high-income and respectable profession. While psychologists do exist in the Redwood Empire, they are extremely rare. A newcomer like Li Cha being a psychologist? That sounded like a joke. Yet, over the past half-month, the growing reputation of the Charlie Clinic and Dr. Li Cha has slapped those skeptics in the face.

Old Shook had just mentioned that many colleagues had been inquiring about Li Cha. What were they after? It certainly wasn't an investigation into him. The Charlie Clinic was established as a small intelligence outpost under the guise of medical practice—this was already noted in his file. Perhaps they had similar requests to those of Ram or Randolph, or perhaps their friends and relatives did. In any case, it has been proven that this new colleague possesses genuine talent. If Li Cha can continue to provide quality intelligence on a monthly basis, the Charlie Psychological Clinic will be considered a resounding success.

...

Old Shook's Tavern.
Inside the dwarf Shook's office.
The atmosphere among the three was a bit awkward.
Li Cha invited Mary to sit down before continuing his story about the Evil God.

"I have received many guests at my clinic lately. On one occasion..."
As he spoke, Li Cha took a hand-drawn map from his breast pocket and pointed to a spot marked with an 'X'.
"There is a problem here. A statue of an Evil God is hidden inside."

Shook asked, "Are you sure?"
Mary asked, "How do you know it's an Evil God statue?"
Li Cha replied, "I certainly wouldn't be sure; otherwise, I would have reported this directly to Freya."

He flipped the map over to reveal a hand-drawn sketch on the back. The artistry was highly unprofessional, exuding a sense of cheapness and crudity. However, upon closer inspection, one could still discern the silhouette of the statue and the strangely distorted, grotesque face upon it.

"This is the sigil of the Black Fog Church's Evil God!" Mary recognized it.
The Black Fog Church is one of the major cult organizations rooted in the Redwood Empire. Its followers claim that the God of Black Fog is the elder brother of the Goddess of Light, sitting enthroned above the black mist and holding supreme dominion over night, secrecy, and death.

Of course, no matter how lofty their claims, the Black Fog Church is most adept at pleasing their deity through blood sacrifice. In their most insane act, they sacrificed a small western city with a population one-third the size of Saint-An. After that incident, the Black Fog Church was placed on the Redwood Empire's S-rank wanted list.

An S-rank bounty: the head of a local bishop could be traded for the title of Baron, and the head of a Cardinal could elevate a commoner directly to an Imperial Count! Therefore, when Mary and Old Shook realized that the information Li Cha provided was indeed related to a cult—and the Black Fog Church at that—both were visibly excited.

Li Cha said, "I suspect the location on the map was once a stronghold of the Black Fog Church. This Evil God statue must have been left behind when they evacuated."
"Haha, the reason doesn't matter, Li Cha!" Old Shook stood on his chair and slapped Li Cha hard on the shoulder. "If all goes well, this should be a Relic of a Saint from the Black Fog Church. The power within it must have weakened, or you wouldn't have been able to get this information. But that doesn't matter. If we retrieve it and hand it over, it will be a major contribution. Li Cha, haha, you're new here, so you don't know: if our Section 6 can turn in a Relic of a Saint this year, not only will that previous business with Hutton be forgotten, but we'll also get top-tier pay for the next half-year while doing nothing but eating, drinking, and having fun!"

Li Cha asked, "It’s that powerful?"
Mary explained, "This item has immense research value. Many would be willing to pay a high price for it, including the Church of the Goddess of Light. Perhaps the Inquisition could use it to trade for something extraordinary from the Church of the Goddess of Light."

Old Shook added, "Oh, right, Li Cha, how did you find out about this?"
Li Cha answered, "It was one of my patients. Let me be clear: he doesn't have any urological diseases; he is perfectly normal. I was treating him for a standard psychological disorder."
Old Shook said, "OK, OK."
Li Cha continued, "I saw that he was in a delirious and pitiful state, so I cured him. He was very grateful, but since he had no money, he gave me this information."

An adventurer had accidentally stumbled into an unnamed cave while fleeing from a magical beast. He saw the [Relic of a Saint], but out of caution, he didn't touch it and fled back to the city at daybreak the next day.

Old Shook nodded, "It's fortunate he didn't touch it, or he would have been dead."
Li Cha was puzzled.
"A Relic of a Saint can be seen as a form of self-sacrifice by the cultists of the Black Fog Church."
The believers of the Black Fog Church sacrifice everything to their god before death, and their souls enter the statue of the God of Black Fog, imbuing it with power for their companions to use. It is a consumable item; the more it is used, the more ordinary it becomes. Conversely, the more souls injected into it, the more powerful its strength.

Li Cha asked, "So what happens if an ordinary person touches a [Relic of a Saint]?"
Old Shook replied, "It drains their soul, turning them into fuel for this wicked thing, and their body turns to ash."

"It's that intense?!"
"It is exactly that intense."
It seems it makes perfect sense that a [Relic of a Saint] is so valuable. Its very craftsmanship is worth studying. Li Cha then wondered, with the item being this dangerous, should he still go? ...

"Wait a minute!" Mary suddenly interjected. "You said the adventurer who saw the Relic of a Saint had gone mad, and you cured him?"
Li Cha said, "Yes."
Sergeant Mary stared directly into his eyes: "Are you sure?"
Li Cha asked the dwarf Shook, "Buddy, can I report her for workplace bullying?"
Then he noticed that not only Mary but also Old Shook had an unusually serious expression.

Li Cha spread his hands: "I told you both, I am a believer in the Goddess of Light. The man had problems because he saw cultist artifacts; I prayed to the Goddess to redeem this poor child, and he was cured. What is abnormal about that?"
"..."
"..."
Normal, my foot.

Finally, "Stay here and wait for me; I'm going out!"
After saying this, the dwarf Shook jumped off his stool and left.
Li Cha asked, "What did he go to do?"
Mary replied, "To see Major Freya."
"Because I can cure mental instability?"
"That's part of it, but the main reason is that Relic of a Saint."
Once again, Mary looked at Li Cha, her brows furrowed: "Are you really a psychologist?"
Hearing this, Li Cha smiled.
"What are you smiling at? I'm asking you a question!"
"Want to know?"
Li Cha stood up and leaned in: "If you want to know, let me have a kiss."
Mary: "!!!"
She knew this man was unreliable, but she hadn't expected Li Cha to dare make such an impudent request.
Yes, Li Cha dared to say it, and he dared to do it.
He leaned forward and bit down on those delicate, red lips.