“My head feels so heavy…”
When Suna woke up, clutching her head and staggering, she found herself surrounded by endless darkness and silence.
She only remembered being knocked out and taken away by some strange force, and then suddenly appearing here.
Before she could figure out what was going on, a faint glow slowly appeared above her head.
The light gradually expanded into a huge purple vertical eye, which slowly opened and stared at Suna.
Its piercing gaze seemed to want to see through all her secrets.
Such a dense demonic aura, and the oppressive pressure was on par with the Dark Demon that had once descended upon her home!
And that uniquely large eye… Suna hesitated for a moment, then immediately recognized the demon before her—
Chaos Demon Soros from the Bottom of the Chaotic Abyss!
Coupled with the surrounding darkness, Soros must have used some kind of magic to strip away her vision.
This place was almost certainly the Bottom of the Chaotic Abyss in the north.
“Analysis, or death worse than living.”
Suddenly, Soros’ voice echoed directly inside Suna’s mind, making her shiver all over. Analysis? Analysis of what?!
The next moment, a strange projection appeared before Suna, and what it displayed was ridiculous—common ancient characters:
【Treasure】
Huh? Could it be that this Chaos Demon only captured her to make her… explain ancient characters?
“Analyze.”
Soros spoke again, devoid of emotion. It was too lazy to waste words on such a low-level life, so it directly released a powerful oppressive aura that nearly suffocated Suna.
She had no choice but to hurriedly say, “These… these two characters should be synonyms for ‘treasure’…”
No sooner had she spoken than the ancient characters in front of her shifted to 【Scout】, then after analysis came 【I】, followed by 【Embarrassed】…
“Um… that means to detect or search.”
“I? Usually means oneself.”
“Embarrassed? I honestly don’t know what that means.”…
After asking about several ancient characters in succession, finally, the words she had analyzed before formed a sentence:
【Treasure, your secret scouting of me looks truly embarrassing】
This left Suna a bit perplexed. She crouched on the ground, clutching her knees, and began to guess the meaning of this sentence with all her might.
She guessed for several minutes while Soros quietly observed her.
This girl’s adaptability was pretty strong; she wasn’t very scared of him.
Usually, humans he captured would either cry or wet themselves, completely incapable of negotiation.
But this girl only seemed slightly frightened.
Soros had a vague feeling that Suna was somewhat extraordinary.
Finally, after about five minutes, Suna roughly interpreted the sentence’s meaning:
“Treasure, after I found and secretly took it, it was placed in a black place called ‘Embarrassed.’” Hmm… something like that…”
……
Sunset, Deya City, atop a magnificent castle in the city center.
Truth, still dressed in a blue gown, was looking out through the window at the streets below.
The residents on the streets all wore confused expressions, while Demon Hunters clad in silver-white light armor held their weapons as they constantly rushed through every corner of the city.
“Not again, another demon?”
“Are we going to have another lockdown?” the residents complained one after another.
Earlier, after receiving Truth’s permission, the Demon Hunters had issued a notice saying demons were rampaging in the city and demanded everyone pause their celebrations and stay home for safety.
Then the Demon Hunters began searching the city.
The residents hadn’t expected demon hunts so soon after the God Chosen ceremony ended.
Unlike the last lockdown when demons were rarely seen, this time, sounds of fighting demons could be heard from many parts of the city.
“So the demon hunting season is about to begin.”
Truth recalled the tasks the Goddess of Life had assigned her, one of which was assisting the Demon Hunters in their demon hunts.
Such a hassle… she thought she’d first see if she could gain any benefit, and if not, then let Tia help out.
“Saintess, everyone is here. The council can begin.”
At this moment, Lyman, president of Deya Bank, bowed beside Truth.
Behind him, a huge conference table seating more than twenty people was already filled, except for the most prominent seat, reserved for the Ninth Saintess.
“Begin the council.”
Truth waved her hand and took her seat, secretly checking the Shadow Space to make sure no one was spying, then briefly scanned the people around her.
Hmph… besides Suna and herself, she didn’t seem to recognize anyone else.
“Speak. What do you want to know?” Without greetings or formalities, Truth cut straight to the heart of the meeting, making the nobles somewhat uncomfortable.
After some whispered murmurs, a noble with light green curly hair was the first to speak.
He had just gifted the “Red Serpent Fang” at the church today, so he had some confidence to be the first to speak:
“Saintess, could you share how you intend to lead Deya City to prosperity? After all, it concerns all our futures and development strategies.”
“That’s simple,” Truth said, lifting a delicate hand to point outside the window.
“See the mist on the horizon? We rely on it. Use the mountain’s resources if you’re near the mountain, use the water if near the water. From now on, all development in Deya City will center on the Mist.”
Truth understood that under her management, the Mist would gradually attract more adventurers.
Once the city’s supporting infrastructure was complete, the endless stream of adventurers would become a huge consumer base.
The Mist was the key; Deya City’s development was secondary.
But the nobles disagreed. Voices of doubt immediately arose:
“Saintess, your decision seems rather childish. Have you truly understood our Deya City?”
“Exactly. How can we develop relying on the Mist? Though it bears the name of Disaster, everyone knows the Mist will disappear someday. Its gradual shrinking over hundreds of years is proof!”
“Even if the Mist doesn’t vanish, treasures within are scarce. Now even first-tier newbie adventurers are starting to dislike it. Also, we know the Mist has undergone some change recently, but we don’t know if it’s good or bad. So we mustn’t decide recklessly!”…
Hmph, I thought the Saintess would have some brilliant plan, but this proposal is just amateurish—no need to worry!
Listening to their seemingly reasonable doubts, Truth tapped the table with a knowing smile:
“Then, what brilliant ideas do you have?”
Good! That’s exactly what I was waiting for!
Most of these easily manipulated young nobles had already secretly coordinated.
They immediately pulled out various prepared documents and began orderly speeches, though order only lasted a moment:
“In recent years, Deya City has lost much of its young workforce. They’d rather become mercenaries in Wangsheng City than stay here farming, causing our grain output to plummet.”
“Therefore, I propose increasing land taxes for suburban residents so we can afford to import grain from the south, and also motivate them to work harder.”
“Duke Col’s proposal makes sense. Also, several black markets in the eastern district have been stealing private property. Even Earl Suho’s advanced healing potions were stolen. These are no ordinary civilians—we must strike hard and strengthen curfews!”
“My turn, my turn! Recently, the Law Enforcement Bureau’s expenses have been too high. The enforcement officers are useless, and the military always has to come to clean up their mess. I propose—”
“Get lost!”
Before the previous speaker could finish, Director of the Law Enforcement Bureau Koster immediately retorted:
“Cut the act! Don’t think I don’t know what you old foxes are up to, trying to take my Bureau’s funds to cover your empty coffers, huh?”
“Hey, Director Koster, watch your words. Don’t swear in front of the Saintess, and don’t make baseless accusations…”
“Saintess, I hereby accuse Deya Bank president Lyman of embezzling public funds for years!” Koster directly reported him on the spot.
“You!”…
“Saintess, please ignore them and hear my proposal first. I suggest adding a window tax for every household in the city—”
The conference table erupted into chaos, nearly everyone eager to present their proposals and have Truth sign off on them immediately, while a small number argued among themselves.
Truth merely smiled disdainfully.
Even a three-year-old could sense their greed—raising taxes and cutting expenses were all about their own interests.
They must really think I’m a fool.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
After gently tapping the table three times to restore order, Truth leisurely replied:
“If I told you I wouldn’t accept any of your proposals, but instead would lift the curfew, reduce taxes, and audit some accounts that haven’t been checked in years, what would you do?”
The room fell silent, no one dared speak for a long while.
Heh… so the Saintess is the type to come in and shake things up, and one who truly cares for the common people.
Well, that figures—after all, she’s a Saintess! everyone thought.
But there was one question: besides relying on the Goddess of Life, what power does the Ninth Saintess have to make us obey?
No think tank, no deterrence—aren’t we going to just nod on the surface and ignore her behind her back?
Tsk, tsk, for us old foxes, dealing with superiors like this is easy, let alone a Saintess who hasn’t even grown her first whiskers!
Finally, renowned investor Antonio broke the silence, questioning:
“So, Saintess, are you specifically targeting a few of us here?”
Antonio guessed that perhaps the Saintess had some special method to keep them in line and was singling out some to make an example.
But Truth quickly answered.
She straightened her back, leaned slightly forward, squinting as she memorized everyone present:
“Eh, I’m not targeting just a few of you. What I mean is, I’m going to deal with every one of you here!”