Ais Green, who had crossed over to another world, awakened the memories of his previous life as a transmigrator at the age of ten after being kicked in the head by a unicorn.
However, he didn’t get the standard treatment reserved for transmigrators. There were no bizarre quests forcing him into conflicts, and since this world wasn’t a game or a novel, there was a total lack of “main storyline” content to give Ais that foretold prophet experience.
Other than his unremarkable magical talent and a younger sister who didn’t like to act spoiled, Ais had almost nothing.
Yet, the poverty-stricken life of his previous existence, combined with the shoddy education from his money-grubbing parents in this one, instilled in him a deep fascination with wealth.
After using his little sister to scam a passing merchant and earning his very first pot of gold in this life, Ais felt a satisfaction wrap around his heart, filling up the emptiness within his soul.
Weighing the pouch of coins and glancing at his tearful little sister, he seemed to have found his goal after transmigration.
Just as Ais was searching through the Revised Kingdom Laws (Mother Goddess Church Edition) for legal ways to make money, he accidentally overheard his parents’ plan to sell off his sister to a noble.
Conveniently, the law included a clause strictly forbidding the abandonment of children in any form before adulthood.
So Ais immediately reported them, sending his parents straight to jail and starting a carefree, well-fed retirement life.
As a matter of course, he inherited the pitiful savings his parents left behind—everyone was quite happy with the outcome.
With that money, Ais paid for both him and his sister to enroll at the United Academy of the Capital.
After all, big cities meant more opportunities. While studying, Ais spent his spare time running “small businesses” on the black market, which gave him a deeper understanding of The Church’s role in this world.
In a land where true gods existed and divine authority reigned supreme, The Church, as the agents of divinity, naturally commanded the lion’s share of power.
Yet these clergymen were truly devout, uninterested in worldly power and riches, accepting only enough to maintain The Church’s operation. This simple structure left Ais surprised but also deeply intrigued.
As luck would have it, his sister was selected to work for The Church after graduation.
Taking this opportunity, Ais developed the Witch’s Potion to transform himself into a woman, simply because, within The Church, women stood closer to the divine.
From the very beginning, her sights were set on that lofty deity. From the moment she, under the forged identity of Ailaira Green, stepped into The Church as a nun, she was determined to use the name of the goddess to climb to the very heights of The Church; she wouldn’t even mind wearing the Pope’s Crown herself someday.
However, executing her plan took far more effort than she had anticipated. During this time, Ailaira truly committed every conceivable vice in order to gather support from all quarters.
She orchestrated a chance encounter to strike up a conversation with the kingdom’s Second Princess when she came to pray at The Church.
After successfully bewitching the naive Princess and getting her to shower her with gold coins, she rejected the Princess’s confession of love, citing the Church’s rule that clergy must not fall in love.
Then, because the unique materials required for the ceremony grew deep within the Elf Forest, an area humans could not enter, Ailaira used underground contacts to capture an elf girl undercover in the Royal Capital, tying her to her side after a mix of threats and bribes, and put her in charge of procuring the materials.
Last came her sister Vista.
At the time, Ailaira was still only a trainee Saintess, but Vista, already showing extraordinary talent in theology, had succeeded in becoming an official Saintess.
No sooner had Vista finished her investiture ceremony than Ailaira blocked her in her room, demanding she act as her shield.
So it was that this wicked “Miss Witch” spent five years completing the unprecedented Rite of Divine Audience.
As the ritual began, Ailaira seemed to see wealth rolling toward her in endless waves. Yet, when she actually met the deity called the Mother Goddess, she experienced the greatest failure of her life.
The very first oracle she heard, spoken aloud by the goddess herself, was:
“Call me mommy.”
The consequences of this failure were more than Ailaira could bear. She realized deeply just how small she was and how unpredictable a god could be. After all, who would have thought a goddess would want to keep her in the divine realm to birth a new race of humans!?
Not to mention, did she and the goddess even have the means for such a thing? To hit her with a “let’s raise you for breeding” right at their first meeting, even if you are a god, isn’t that going too far? Fortunately, her contingency plan allowed Ailaira to escape.
But from that day on, as long as she was within The Church’s domain, she would feel her soul being drawn up into the sky. Only when she left The Church’s reach did that sensation vanish.
To avoid becoming the goddess’s plaything, Ailaira could only pack her things, secretly move her assets, and, in Vista’s name, submit evidence, essentially blowing up her own identity to sever all ties with The Church.
Back to the present.
Ailaira, her expression complicated, watched the carriage slowly roll away from the Royal Capital where she had lived for eight years. Everything she had built was here, but now she would have to start over.
Across from her, Vista, seeing Ailaira silent for so long, assumed it was because that episode was too hard to speak of. She nodded stiffly. “It’s all right if you can’t say it, brother…”
Vista hesitated, lowering her head to hide the sorrow in her eyes. The sisters lapsed back into silence until the carriage reached the city gate; this was as far as Vista could escort her.
After opening the door, Vista glanced back at Ailaira, who was strolling contentedly behind. She wanted to say something several times but, in the end, all her words were reduced to a single farewell: “Take care on your journey, brother.”
“Wait a minute.” Ailaira spread her arms toward Vista, a sly smile on her lips. “Aren’t you going to give your only family member a farewell hug before I go?”
Upon hearing this, Vista’s snowy cheeks flushed a faint red, but she didn’t do as Ailaira asked. She simply took her sister’s hand in both of hers, shook it a few times, and then, face burning, hopped out of the carriage.
Her little sister was as shy and timid as ever, but Ailaira had already gotten what she wanted. Staring at the glowing panel that appeared before her, she read the following information:
[Vista Green]
[Species: Human (Pureblood)]
[Traits: Sacred Affinity (Extremely high fusion with demonic traits)]
[Status: Under great mental stress, shy, regretful, sad]
[Potential Value Assessment: 1. Divine Arts services/holy artifact crafting—greatly enhances effects of items imbued with divine aura. 2. “Holy” domain potions/core materials—body tissues can serve as catalyst containing potent sacred power.]
[Breeding/Nurturing Suggestions: Normal diet is sufficient. Subject is adept at suppressing emotions; prolonged suppression may lead to mental extremes and reduced productivity. Recommend using methods to soothe nerves in daily interactions.]
[Development Progress: 25%]
This so-called Species Appraisal system was something the goddess had forcibly implanted in her mind. Its main function was to analyze the “economic value” of a given species or individual and provide methods to optimize their growth, health, and output, along with insights into their potential traits.
After a few experiments, Ailaira discovered that as long as she could create something valuable based on the system’s advice, her development progress would increase, unlocking rewards.
Touching the data on the floating panel, Ailaira’s eyes turned playful. She never expected to finally get the system she’d once longed for but in such a manner.
In fact, the system seemed tailor-made for her; what’s more, it was set to activate automatically. Just a touch, and a data interface would pop up before her eyes.
“Not even an option to turn it off or ignore it? That perverted goddess…”
Ailaira looked up at the azure sky. The clusters of clouds painted an elegant scene, as if brushed across by an invisible hand. Narrowing her eyes against the blazing sun, she was forced to look away, sighing inwardly: To shove something like this into my body without my consent, oh lofty deity, what is it you really want from me?
Or perhaps—what do you want me to do for you?
But soon all such melancholy was left behind, ground beneath the carriage wheels. Ailaira carelessly dismissed the glowing panel from before her eyes, no longer concerned.
Now that she had been given this tool and couldn’t refuse it for the moment, she might as well make use of it, it suited her tastes, after all. And when the time came to pay the price for this gift, she could always default on her debt.
As the saying goes: I’ll accept the money, but you can take your intentions back.
The carriage rolled out of the gates of the Royal Capital, vanishing at the edge of the plains. Not until sunset did footsteps echo once more through the streets of the capital.
A golden-haired, blue-eyed girl in a splendid gown gathered up her skirts, kicked off her expensive crystal shoes, and ran barefoot for the city wall, trailed by a gaggle of frantic servants trying in vain to stop her.
She leaned on the edge of the wall, panting, gazing longingly across the boundless plains. But the one she missed had long since disappeared.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she bit her lower lip stubbornly, unwilling to let her servants see her fragile side. With a stubborn, aggrieved voice, she said, “You wouldn’t even say goodbye to me… In your eyes, what do I mean to you, anyway!”
“I’ll make you tell me that yourself!”
“In the name of Trinis Verlendel, Second Princess of the Verlendel Kingdom, I will personally bring you back, you heartless woman!”