As soon as Aisia returned from the Sanctuary of the Life Goddess and stepped into the church, she saw Rachel sniffling in front of Truth, tears welling up in her eyes:
“It really isn’t allowed…”
What? What’s going on? Aisia glanced at Truth and saw that she was just smiling gently, saying nothing more.
So she had no choice but to walk over to Tia and ask what had happened.
“Rachel was caught spreading rumors about Truth. Now Truth is making her apologize, but for some reason, she started crying,” Tia replied, while the people around them looked equally confused.
What’s wrong with this girl? Spreading rumors about the Saintess is a serious crime, yet the Saintess is only asking for a simple apology—and Rachel is crying?
The Saintess has already been very gentle, hasn’t she?
Gentle? Not at all!
Rachel immediately withdrew the compliment she’d given Truth earlier and began trembling in panic. She knew very well that what she’d done was a grave offense.
Plus, she had a small grudge with Truth before, so now that she was being retaliated against, she thought it was only fair.
Maybe kneeling or something… Rachel hurriedly thought it over. Truth would definitely not accept anything else, but kneeling…
Normally, a Saintess wouldn’t punish someone that harshly, but the Saintess in front of her was Truth—and she wouldn’t hesitate even for a moment.
Oh Goddess, why did you choose such a stubborn and ruthless Saintess?!
However, the nobles around them saw things from a different perspective:
“It seems our Saintess isn’t as harsh as the rumors say. She’s just like the other Saintesses.”
The nobles who hadn’t left the church exchanged knowing glances after seeing this scene. With Rachel’s help, they thought they had figured out Truth’s personality.
She was kind-hearted but immature!
To those in power, provocation from subordinates usually demanded a harsh punishment, but Truth only scared off the rumor-monger. Even if it were a friend, the punishment shouldn’t be this lenient, right?
At least half a year of imprisonment would be expected.
Just as the old foxes in the Royal Capital had said, the Saintess was especially easy to deal with.
If that’s the case… then even smuggling or tax evasion won’t be a problem anymore.
If caught, just sincerely apologize and repent before the Saintess, and she’ll surely forgive us, right?
Then we can continue smuggling and evading taxes as usual.
“Thanks to the Saintess, we can live comfortably,” the nobles quietly began to give thanks to Truth. Before she built her advisor group, they needed to take advantage while they could…
Huh? Why did my Faith Points suddenly increase by so much?
A massive, dense stream of “Received faith from XXX” notifications suddenly popped up before Truth’s eyes.
What’s going on? Do followers spontaneously gather to worship me? But I haven’t even done anything yet…
Could it be because I generously forgave Rachel? Truth glanced at the nobles nearby who weren’t helping her find materials and saw them wearing expectant expressions.
Are they hoping I’ll bring benefits to Deya City in the future? But the more she looked, the more nauseated she felt.
She almost wanted to snap, “Go to hell,” but she had to maintain the Saintess’s reputation to gain more Faith Power.
Still, compared to Faith Power, Truth wanted to see if Rachel dared to kneel in front of everyone.
Hurry up and kneel, everyone’s waiting!
“Rachel, Truth, what’s going on between you two right now?”
At that moment, Aisia, who hadn’t figured out the situation with Tia, decided to quietly ask the two of them, interrupting the standoff where Truth smiled and waited for Rachel to apologize.
“Um… I’m waiting for Rachel to apologize?” Truth answered casually. After all, Rachel was the one embarrassed for not wanting to take off her clothes.
Are you sure it’s just an apology? Aisia looked again at Rachel, who seemed ready to burst into tears. If it were just an apology, Rachel should have done it already. Or is she just too proud?
Seriously, Truth only asked for an apology. That’s already the best outcome you could hope for!
Rachel just stared at Aisia, speechless. What could she say? That Truth was forcing her to apologize? Nobody would believe that!
And since Truth hadn’t brought it up herself, a normal apology wouldn’t be accepted easily anyway.
In the end, Rachel would still be guilty of spreading rumors.
“Can you two continue this later? This concerns the Goddess, and I have urgent matters to discuss with Truth. Could you step aside with me for a moment?” Aisia asked Truth.
“The Goddess? Alright.”
Forget it. Wasting time here with Rachel was pointless, and there were other things to handle.
Since it was her first day as Saintess, Truth decided to let her off for now. She stepped forward and gently wiped the tears from Rachel’s eyes:
“It’s just an apology. Why are you crying? Alright, I won’t force you. Just acknowledge your mistake and don’t do this again, okay?”
After saying that, Truth and Aisia headed toward the carriage, leaving Aisia standing there, stunned and unable to calm down for a long time.
Huh? Did I hear that right? Did Truth just say that?
She actually… forgave me?
Wasn’t she supposed to humiliate me in front of everyone and threaten me with the death penalty to force me to do humiliating things?
Why is she suddenly so easy to get along with? Is this her true personality, or did becoming the Saintess change her?
Is she just trying to scare me again…? But no matter what, Truth did let me off. For a moment, Rachel’s impression of the mischievous Truth softened just a bit.
The nobles around them had a “I knew it” look on their faces. Indeed, she’s gentle and magnanimous.
In that case, maybe they could try proposing some slightly radical demands at tonight’s council meeting…
A little later, by Aisia’s carriage, Truth followed Aisia inside and counted the time. It seemed like the moment had come.
“Alright, I’ve given Rachel a two-minute reprieve. Now we can continue dealing with her,” Truth said, waving her small hand toward Aisia.
“Aisia, could you find a time to send Rachel off to the frontier? I don’t want to see her here anymore.”
“The frontier? But this is the frontier.”
“Then send her to the other side of the frontier. The more dangerous, the better. Say she needs it for training because she lacks experience.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What’s not good about it? That’s the true test by fire! I’m doing this for her own good. Besides, isn’t she someone the Goddess values? She won’t die easily.”
Rachel also had the Blessing of the Goddess of Life, but her profession wasn’t suited for the Saintess.
That makes sense… Aisia thought for a moment and agreed that Truth had a point.
“Alright then… By the way, have you started assembling your advisor group? Otherwise, it will be hard to deal with the local bigwigs. They’re a bunch of old foxes, and Saintesses have a hard time handling them.”
Aisia recalled when she had been repairing the drainage system in the third ring of the Royal Capital.
A large group had blocked the work, using all sorts of ridiculous excuses to complain and demand money.
That had been difficult for Aisia. If she helped them, they asked for ten gold coins each.
If she didn’t, the Sixth Saintess would definitely be in trouble.
If things escalated and Faith Power decreased, the Goddess would blame her.
So Aisia had held an overnight meeting with her trusted aides and decided to hire someone who had long operated in the black market to handle the repair work, citing the Saintess’s more important duties.
That night, the man and his crew quietly visited the troublemakers with steel pipes, and the next day, the repairs proceeded smoothly because those troublemakers had broken legs.
So an advisor group was very important.
But Truth was too lazy to form one. She sprawled across Aisia’s bed, arms and legs spread wide:
“Doesn’t matter. I can handle those small fries by myself. Making them obey is easy. I have plenty of ways.”
And the nobles’ expressions earlier, so blatantly written all over their faces—that they thought I’m easy to deal with…
“Huh? Aisia, where did you get that magic staff by your bed?”
Suddenly, Truth’s peripheral vision caught a staff placed in the corner by Aisia.
It looked extraordinary, the shaft inscribed with wild golden runes, and even the gem atop was a fierce, exquisite Celestial Fire Gem.
It really suits Suna!
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