Vieya pulled herself back from her scattered thoughts and returned to reality. The first thing she did was press a hand against the dragon egg, then swiftly store it inside the Golden City.
Only after finishing all of that did she stand up and look toward the lakeshore.
Dense silhouettes of people had already surrounded the entire lake. It was obvious—their target was Vieya on the small island at the center of the lake.
Footsteps approached from behind the encirclent.
The person who appeared before Vieya was none other than the captain of the Holy Lance Knights who had previously shown up in the small town of Ferantur—Miali. The female knight captain whom the town mayor had once judged as having had her brain “swollen by too much holy light.”
Naturally, the ones surrounding the lake were also knights under Miali’s command.
Captain Miali, surrounded by her knights at the center, cast an amplification spell on herself and cleared her throat.
“Miss Vieya, please don’t be afraid. We simply have a few things we’d like to ask you. It’s just that you kept running around, so we spent quite so ti looking for you.”
“Looking for ?” Vieya frowned. “But I don’t know you.”
“Ah—almost forgot. Then let introduce myself properly.”
Miali coughed once, then spoke in a devout tone.
“We are the Eighteenth Investigation Unit of the Holy Lance Knights, directly under the Church. By the will of the God of Light, we have co here to investigate the 【Desecration】 group.”
After hearing the explanation, Vieya’s brow not only failed to relax—it furrowed even deeper.
“I’ve never heard of any so-called Desecration group. So I’m sorry, but I can’t cooperate with you.”
“Oh, God of Light above, why does this monster girl talk so much nonsense?”
Miali looked at Vieya with pity.
“Co now. Return to the embrace of the God of Light, and co with us to the confessional to repent for your sins.”
“......”
Vieya fell silent for a mont. The next second, a holy sword appeared in her hand.
“Eh?”
On the opposite shore, Miali’s pupils shrank. In an instant, she recalled the infamous reputation associated with the monster girl before her—things like: the White Phantom that polluted holy swords, the short-tempered little nace, the evil street destroyer, the silent holy-sword killing maniac, the sli-class great succubus wandering the southern lands...
Of the five notorious titles she could recall off the top of her head, four were directly related to destruction and evil.
So when Vieya drew her sword, Miali imdiately panicked. Forgetting all about putting on airs and reciting prayers, she hurriedly raised both hands and shouted,
“Miss Vieya! We’re good people! You can’t attack! Let’s be peaceful—peaceful!”
“......”
What kind of doddering old knight was this?
Seeing Vieya remain silent, Miali continued to rally herself up, shouting across the lake with the help of the amplification spell,
“You’re a registered honorary cleric of the Church! I’m a knight captain of the Church! By rights, we’re colleagues working under the God of Light! Colleagues are friends—how could you hurt your friends?!”
Twisting logic and turning black into white—she was certainly skilled at that.
Vieya shook the water off the blade and then put the sword away into the Golden City. She wasn’t so deranged killing maniac—she wasn’t about to start swinging at the slightest disagreent.
She paused, then asked,
“If you have sothing to say, say it directly. I still have things to do tonight. I don’t have ti to play courtroom trial gas with you here.”
“Well, talking across such a big lake isn’t very convenient either.”
Miali secretly let out a sigh of relief. After thinking for a mont, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) she continued,
“Our knight order has a small town outpost not far from here. A few archbishops are also there. If you don’t mind, why don’t we go there to talk? Don’t worry, it’ll be quick—just a little while.”
......
Ferantur.
The full moon hung high in the sky, black crows perching atop withered branches.
At this mont, a squad of holy knights marched out of a forest path in perfect formation, their presence imposing and dignified.
Following behind their leader, the magic contained within their silver-white armor rippled like waves on water. From ti to ti, blue-green halos shimred across the mirror-smooth surfaces. Exquisite sword-and-scale patterns coiled along the edges of the armor, making them look like walking works of art. And the leader of this group of “artworks” was none other than Captain Miali, with Vieya walking calmly at her side.
“Captain Miali, you’re back from the search so quickly this ti?” a stationed knight asked.
“Oh, praise the God of Light. Our noble and exalted Miss Vieya has already co to join us. This has certainly saved us a great deal of effort.”
Miali waved her hand.
“Where are the bishops? Take us to them.”
The stationed knight nodded, made a few hand signals, and several other knights stepped out to take over his post. He then jogged ahead to lead the way.
Soon, they arrived at the town church, where they saw three bishops beneath a statue overgrown with weeds.
The one at the front looked to be around forty years old. He wore a thick beard beneath his chin, had handso features, and carried the air of a mature man. His slightly sunken nose and yellow-tinged skin marked him as a mixed-blood—descended from both western tribal people and northern nobility.
“His na is Andehi. He’s the overall person in charge of this operation, and among the three bishops, he holds the highest status—a cardinal.”
Miali explained this quietly to Vieya.
Vieya knew what a cardinal was. Bishops bearing the cardinal title held far greater authority, even possessing the right to directly participate in papal elections and core council etings.
But no matter how exalted, it ant little to Vieya. She was a sli who wouldn’t even flinch if the Pope himself stood in front of her.
“Honored Miss Vieya, we apologize for troubling you so late and asking you to cooperate with our work.”
Andehi drew the symbol of the sword and scales over his chest. His voice carried a kind of magic that forcibly cald those who heard it.
“This ti, we simply wish to ask you about the events that occurred in the Monster Forest so ti ago. As for the specific reasons, I trust that with your wisdom, you have already guessed them.”
Vieya nodded calmly, accepting the cardinal’s words of flattery.
“Then let us speak inside the church,” Andehi said, gesturing politely.
After Vieya walked ahead, Andehi turned back and instructed Miali,
“I’ll leave the guard outside to you. Don’t let anyone else co in and disturb us.”
“Understood. All is guided by the will of the God of Light.”
Miali spread her hands and accepted the duty of acting as a watchdog with a sense of pride.
......
Elven Royal Court, outside the sli-exclusive cottage.
After accompanying Elliti in magic practice for the entire afternoon, Jasmine dragged her exhausted body at a small run, leaving the maid Isabelle far behind.
‘Mom is really awful. She didn’t even co to see all afternoon.’
‘Huh... the lights aren’t on. Did Mom oversleep her afternoon nap?’
Jasmine pressed her lips together. Back when Mom hadn’t yet taken on that idle position as acting head of the magic academy, she often slept on the rooftop terrace from early morning until evening, then ate a single al at night before crawling back into her room to sleep soundly again.
‘Mom sleeps way too much... According to Sister Ruoye, that ans her body is too weak—her vital energy is insufficient. I should ask Sister Ruoye to prepare so supplents for Mom.’
“Mom, I’m back.”
Jasmine spoke softly as she gently pushed open the door. Then, she blinked her lively heterochromatic eyes.
The pitch-black room showed no sign of human presence. The bedding on the bed was neatly folded, exactly the sa as when she had left in the morning.
Standing in the doorway, Jasmine stared blankly and murmured,
“Mom, you’re gone again...”
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