After fully receiving 372 points of Faith, Truth finally returned to the chapel.
The believers, having received the blessings they sought, began to disperse one after another.
They knew that Truth did not yet possess the true power of a Saintess; only after tomorrow’s Divine Selection Ceremony would she be able to wield the genuine “Blessing.”
But as everyone knows, Saintesses are kind-hearted and eager to help others.
So first, they would voice their wishes aloud, and when the time came, they could visit the chapel to meet the Saintess and pitifully morally coerce her with words like:
“Saintess, why won’t you bless me? Am I not worthy of your love?”
These were all practical little tricks left behind by predecessors.
A newly appointed Saintess needed to quickly win the hearts of the people, and since she was still thin-skinned, maybe just a little bit of subtle PUA would lead to financial freedom?
Meanwhile, on the balcony of a building not far from the Life Goddess Chapel—where the entire chapel view was perfectly visible—two brown-haired men dressed in black formalwear witnessed the entire process of Truth blessing the believers.
What stood out most about these two men was the sun emblem emblazoned on their chests.
“This new Saintess just appointed—how is she? Is she easy to get along with? Is she worth us pulling into our circle?”
“I can only say the Goddess’s taste is impeccable. She always picks people with distinct personalities, and small-statured ones, no less. How many has that been now… the sixth?”
“Forget that for now. I just carefully observed Saintess Truth’s expressions and movements. She seems to really enjoy watching the believers’ confused faces. Probably the type who’s not too difficult to get along with—someone who likes a bit of amusement.”
“Then she’s probably quite easygoing. You just need to cater to her quirks. Let’s try to win her over. Once she’s ours, our Sun City will have three Saintesses. Let’s see if Rebirth City dares to act cocky then!”
“After the Divine Selection Ceremony, send someone to contact her first. Then there’s the Fourth Young Master’s matter. We haven’t explored Deya City thoroughly yet, so as usual, let’s search around. Otherwise, the Madam will nag again.”
“Also, watch out for assassins from Rebirth City. This city is weird—the number of low-level demons is way too high.”
After exchanging these few words, the two men from the Sun Family disappeared from the balcony. About two hours later, two carriages passed below the balcony, the one in front being fully black—the carriage belonging to Suna.
“Why is the city so lively today? I saw so many outsiders along the way. Could they all be refugees from the neighboring city?” Anderson peered through the small window of the carriage, observing the diverse crowd on the street.
“Outsiders coming to beg in our Deya City? This is a great opportunity. The black market will definitely be bustling for a while. I need to hustle and make money before the dragon egg sales money gets cleaned up.”
“Who flees wearing such fancy clothes? From the look of it, these are rich folks here for some event,” Regg replied.
“That’s even better—more gold to loot! So, what kind of event are they attending?”
“Most likely Truth’s Divine Selection Ceremony tomorrow.”
“Oh, Divine Selection… what?!”
Anderson turned back, unable to believe what Regg said. Did he hear right? The Divine Selection Ceremony?
You mean the priestess lady who both robbed our carriage and took orders from us on the black market is going to become a Saintess tomorrow?!
Regg nodded seriously, but Anderson still had doubts.
When the two carriages passed through the bustling crowd and stopped at the main gate of the Suho Manor, servants inside the manor came out to help Suna and the others unload the numerous copies of loot.
“How do you want to split these materials, Miss?” Anderson asked as he stepped down from the carriage, noticing Suna’s sullen mood during the entire ride.
He was familiar with the rule that the loot after an adventure was to be shared equally, but Suna shook her head listlessly.
“You two divide them. I don’t need the money.”
At that moment, the carriage behind them also stirred. Suna’s father, Duke Suho, wobbled down the carriage steps with the help of the servants.
“This is a curse—why is nothing peaceful anywhere? And why has my luck been so terrible lately…”
Previously, his daughter had adamantly warned him that Deya City would be unstable soon and that it would be best to take shelter next door.
So Suho immediately packed up and headed to Watchtower Fort, but before any trouble arrived in Deya City, Watchtower Fort rebelled first.
Suho had no choice but to return to Deya City. Luckily, Suna and the others were nearby, so they came back together. Surely, misfortune has its limits, right?
Between demons and rebellions, can it really be peaceful the moment he returns?
“Your Grace, you’ve finally come back. The manor has been overrun with demons these days, and we can’t even sleep peacefully. The adventurers we hired to help slay demons are useless—not a single one caught. We don’t know what to do anymore.”
“What? More demons?!”
It seemed Deya City truly was far from peaceful.
The newly appointed steward promptly reported to Duke Suho about the events during his absence—such as the emergence of a new backup Hero and new Saintess, the opening of the Deya underground labyrinth, and the demon outbreak.
“The news about the new Saintess is something every Sylvian knows, but who is this backup Hero?” Since the announcement of the new Saintess overshadowed the news of the backup Hero, Suho still didn’t know who it was.
“It’s Regg.”
Suna replied softly. The next moment, Anderson immediately turned to look at Regg, who was still on the carriage, his shock at Truth becoming a Saintess growing even greater.
No way, you too?!
At least Truth becoming Saintess could be explained by her willingness to save others, but Regg… what does he have to do with being a Hero? Is he even qualified?!
Fine, fine, playing like this, huh? Regg’s background is suspicious enough, and since everyone’s involved in the black market, how did he suddenly go legit?
Suho was equally incredulous but, after confirmation from several servants, he immediately twirled his mustache and climbed onto the carriage where Regg was.
“Hero, please come into my manor quickly!”
“She’s only a backup Hero, you know. If you really want to win someone over, you’d better try Truth,” Suna murmured, holding her face.
“Why win over Truth? Is she more important than the Hero? Has she become a Saintess or something?”
“Yes, tomorrow is her Divine Selection Ceremony. Sigh…”
Suna sighed, anger flaring at the thought of the Fire Emblem being taken away. The future had been gradually brightening, but now she’d have to negotiate with demons again.
Knock! Suho suddenly tapped Suna’s head.
“Ah!”
“Ungrateful daughter! Why don’t you hurry up and greet Truth now? Such an important relationship—you’ve forgotten all the social skills I taught you?”
“Yes, yes…”
Being pushed by her father to go make a deal with demons, Suna slouched and listlessly descended the carriage to head toward the Life Goddess Chapel.
Along the way, she had already heard the news about the Saintess giving blessings.
Half an hour later, near the chapel, Suna found Tia, who was still handling the fire dragon situation.
Since the fire dragon had been lingering near Deya City, Tia wanted Aisia’s guards to deal with it.
“We still have to wait a bit. That colleague of mine at the same rank is still working at Watchtower Fort. Without him, it’s hard for me alone to defeat the fire dragon,” the Rank 8 guard told Tia, then added, “But don’t worry too much. Dragons are smart creatures; as long as they sense the Goddess’s aura, they won’t cause trouble.”
“I hope that fire dragon is as smart as you say… Huh? Suna, what are you doing here?” Tia noticed Suna quietly standing nearby.
“I’m looking for Truth. Not sure if she’s free.”
“Of course she is. If it’s you, she’ll definitely see you. She’s in the chapel right now. Remember to enter from the back door—the front is packed with fervent believers.”
Suna circled around and slipped into the chapel through the back door. Soon, in the central hall, she found Truth resting against a chair, eyes closed.
Sunlight shone on her holy Saintess robes, sparkling gently, and even the silver-white tips of her hair glimmered with dazzling light—truly captivating.
“Truth?”
Suna quietly stepped forward and gently poked Truth’s cheek. Could she be exhausted?
But barely two pokes in, Truth suddenly opened her blood-red eyes…
As the sunset dimmed, Rachel arrived at Aisia’s carriage and softly knocked on the compartment door.
“Saintess, it’s me.”
“Come in.”
Rachel pushed the door open and entered, her brow furrowing slightly as she saw various intimate clothes scattered on the floor, along with strange little trinkets—a brush, and some beast ear accessories from the Northern Territories.
On the bed, the Sixth Saintess Aisia held a brush soaked with ink in her mouth, using another brush to write something on the inside of her thigh, her clothes in disarray.
“Saintess, what are you doing?” Since Aisia was facing away, Rachel didn’t notice the several “正” characters freshly painted on her leg.
“Don’t bother me, I’m doing something very important. If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Alright.” Rachel took a deep breath and said, “Saintess, you’ve noticed it, haven’t you? The strange things about Truth!”
Tonight, Rachel had come to sow discord. Although she didn’t yet know what secret Truth harbored, that didn’t matter.
What mattered was confirming that the relationship between the two Saintesses was far from harmonious—after all, they had even fought inside the chapel.
Plus, the Sixth Saintess was easy to deceive. Now, Rachel just needed to say a few guiding words, and turning them against each other would be a piece of cake.