“Not bad. But aren’t the Readers our enemies? Are you sure about doing business with people who profane your faith?” the Goddess of Life asked.
Here it came—a chance to show her compassion! As the Saintess of Life, Truth gave an answer fitting her identity and beliefs:
“There are historical issues between us that are hard to solve, but I believe we can still understand each other. Maybe the Readers just misunderstood you in some ways, Goddess, so I need to go to Wangsheng City personally and see things for myself. As long as I explain things clearly, I’m sure they’ll feel your love again!”
And while she was at it, she could talk about reparations. Why hadn’t she thought about asking for compensation before…?
That red dress was valuable, but not easy to convert to cash. If the folks in Wangsheng City found out their gift to the Saintess had been sold for money, it’d be a diplomatic disaster.
“I see. Well, do your best, and make sure you stay safe. I don’t want to lose you so soon,” the Goddess of Life replied, quite satisfied with Truth’s answer—exactly what she’d expected.
Only someone who hadn’t been ground down by society would come up with such an innocent idea.
The real conflict between Wangsheng City and the gods was always about interests.
Unless that was resolved, no amount of love or understanding would help, so Truth’s plan was impossible.
But the Goddess of Life didn’t want to stop her. Only by experiencing hardships would she grow.
As the Ninth Saintess, Truth was a key pillar for the church’s future—she needed careful cultivation.
The Goddess had checked Truth’s origins many times, even having Olivia prophesy, but there was nothing wrong with her—clean as could be.
As for faith, that was unquestionable. Being able to become a Priest and use healing magic proved the little one’s devotion.
The Priest class had long been monopolized by the Goddess of Life. Unless you inherited a unique family Skill Tree like Tia, you couldn’t be a Priest without believing in the Goddess.
“By the way, I have another question,” the Goddess of Life continued. “A few days ago, I noticed you were always in the Mist. What’s going on there?”
“Hm?”
Truth, still in a prayerful pose, tilted her head. She could actually monitor her whereabouts? Was it because of the Saintess Mark on her hand?
Truth could track Suna using the Hunting Mark, so the Goddess of Life could track her using the Saintess Mark.
Had her activities on Firelan Isle been exposed too? Probably not—if they had, the Goddess would have confronted her already.
Truth figured the Goddess could only see her current location, not her past actions, and every time she secretly checked, Truth just happened to be in the Mist.
Otherwise, she’d have asked how Truth got from the Mist to Firelan Isle so fast.
“It’s like this, Goddess. Deya City noticed changes in the Mist over a decade ago, and lately, those changes have grown even stronger. There are now dungeons suitable for new Adventurers. We don’t know why this is happening, but as the Mist attracts more new Adventurers, we want to use it to boost Deya City’s development.
So lately I’ve been hiding my identity, clearing dungeons and investigating the Mist. I’m almost a Second Tier Adventurer now. Also, I’ve been healing wounded Adventurers, and seeing their heartfelt smiles is really satisfying. Most of the Adventurers I healed said they’d pay their respects to you, Goddess, once they got back. I’m really happy about that!”
“The Mist’s changes are getting stronger?” The Goddess of Life immediately caught on, not probing further into other matters.
“That’s right. The border headlines these days are almost all about the Mist Dungeon,” Truth nodded, very satisfied with her quick, harmless lie.
After all, it was only a matter of time before people noticed the Mist’s changes, so she might as well use it as a distraction.
Sure enough, the Goddess soon launched into all sorts of questions about the Mist, ignoring everything else. Truth just played dumb.
Before long, after telling Truth she’d be assigned a task in a few days, the Goddess hurriedly ended the connection—obviously going to check the Mist herself.
Hmph, check all you want. You won’t find anything.
She’d written every change to the dungeon in the Update Announcement anyway—better to read that than try to inspect it herself.
As for the Mist Core, Truth had long set up illusions there. Unless your scouting skills were on par with her main character, you’d never notice a thing—let alone find the Cottage or the Dragon Egg.
“That’s settled. Time for a nap.”
Truth clapped her hands after finishing her prayer and rose from the cushion.
Saying it was to sleep, she actually just wanted to use her god’s-eye view to spy on the Goddess of Life and see what she’d do in the Mist.
But just as she was about to leave, she saw a massive, pitch-black crowd outside the cathedral:
“Uh?”
When did so many people show up?
“Look, the Saintess is looking at us!”
The believers outside the cathedral window hurriedly began to worship, while Tia, who had stayed by Truth’s side, was a bit confused:
“You’ve been praying for quite a while, haven’t you?”
“It’s because my love for the Goddess runs deep.”
“Mhm.”
So Truth was also the type who could lie with a straight face. Tia stared at Truth for a long moment, then continued:
“So, devout Saintess, how will you deal with the ever-growing number of believers outside? They’re about to block the roads and affect traffic.”
“Easy.” Truth walked slowly to the cathedral doors. Since she wasn’t wearing her Saintess robe today, she looked just like the girl next door. She stood at the entrance and smiled at the crowd:
“You can come in. There’s no need to keep your distance from me. From now on, I’ll be staying in the cathedral regularly. If you want to see me, you can come anytime.”
Truth made a “please” gesture, and the believers surged excitedly into the cathedral.
At last, they could be close to the Saintess—the very air around her was so sweet!
Unfortunately, only a little while later—before they’d even had their fill—Truth slipped away to the back of the cathedral to rest, using fatigue as an excuse.
“Eh? She’s leaving already? As expected of the Shut-in Saintess—just seeing her once is hard enough.”
“Today’s our lucky day. Even those bigshots rarely get to see the Saintess.”
“I haven’t seen enough yet…”
“Just come back tomorrow. Didn’t the Saintess say she’ll be staying here from now on?”
With Truth gone, most of the believers soon dispersed, and the cathedral returned to its usual quiet.
In the back of the cathedral, Truth, having finally gotten rid of Tia, at last had some time to herself.
She lay down on her not-so-comfortable little bed, closed her eyes in lazy contentment, and activated the Mist Authority’s god’s-eye view, making the whole Mist appear in her mind.
Time to spy on the Goddess of Life for a change—see what the Adventurers were up to in the dungeon, and keep building more punishment rooms.
Suddenly, a strange giggling sounded right by her ear, out of nowhere, startling Truth so much that she sat up straight.
Who was it?! Someone had gotten so close without her noticing!
Truth’s passive detection was already maxed out; except for higher-level experts using deliberate concealment, almost no one could approach her.
Yet now, someone was giggling right at her side?
The giggling rang out again. Was this a challenge?! Truth prepared to switch to her main body at a moment’s notice and turned to look.
Her expression slowly shifted from serious to speechless.
By her bed, the Ninth-Tier Elementalist Omili was squatting down, chin propped on her hands, beaming at her.
She’d used spatial teleportation to appear right by Truth’s side, and had been staring at her sleeping face, giggling foolishly.
Hehe, who’d have thought Truth slept just like a kitten, even covering her eyes with her arm, breathing so evenly and gently.
So adorable… Just want to reach out and pet her…
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