“Please listen to me, Dean. Just hear me out!”
Suna now deeply regretted telling Vieno about Truth and the Hermit.
Vieno truly was trustworthy and did not have many hidden motives, but for some reason she had a strange obsession with the Hermit.
With no other choice, and unwilling to keep wasting time arguing with this purple-haired “big cat,” Suna spoke seriously.
“About the Hermit, the only thing I can tell you is to search for… Him… in the Mist. As for why I can’t tell you the Hermit’s exact location, I truly have my own difficulties. And honestly, it’s also for your own good.”
“Really?”
Vieno asked sincerely while glancing sideways at her Contract Beast, Little Cai. The colorful bird gave no reaction.
Good. That meant Suna was not lying this time.
“Really! When the time comes, you only need to try calling out inside the Mist. If the Hermit is willing to see you, then you will definitely meet Him!”
“Alright. Then I’ll leave right now!”
“I’m glad you understand… wait? Right now?!”
That very night, Vieno flew directly toward the Dea Plateau. Before leaving, she told Suna:
“From now on you’re my student. If you run into trouble outside, just report my name. For the next few days, you can read books and wait for me to come back.”
…
Early the next morning, in the northeastern area of the Dea Plateau, Truth stepped out of her personal tent.
The next update of the Mist was basically ready.
Now she only needed to wait for this boring Demon-Hunting Campaign to end before returning and focusing fully on running the Mist again.
To Truth, the Demon-Hunting Campaign was simply a limited-time event for convenient Adventurer Leveling.
However, besides leveling, she had also received a small extra surprise last night.
A small gift from the Goddess of Life: a special bracelet.
“I want a legendary weapon! Preferably a small knife I can hide on my body for self-defense.”
That had been Truth’s wish at the time.
As expected, the Goddess of Life rejected it.
“You have quite an appetite. It’s not impossible to give you one, but with your current body, touching a legendary weapon would have a ninety-nine percent chance of killing you instantly.”
The Goddess of Life treated Truth’s request as a joke. Under normal circumstances, if Truth used her low-rank body to touch a legendary weapon, it would basically be suicide.
“Stop mumbling and just give it to me!”
Truth, however, looked completely fearless.
If the Goddess of Life really allowed her to touch a legendary dagger, she would not even mind turning hostile afterward.
After all, once the weapon was in her hands, everything else could be discussed later.
“Enough. Be serious and make a realistic wish. Otherwise I won’t give you anything.”
“Let me think…”
First, equipment was unnecessary. Low-rank gear did not matter much whether she had it or not, and even if she received something, it would probably be Priest equipment.
As for everything else…
After thinking for a while, Truth finally made a very strange request.
“Goddess, could you remove the Saintess Blessing you gave me?”
“What?”
The Goddess of Life was stunned.
“Why? The blessing only benefits you and has no drawbacks. It is also the only clear sign of your identity as a Saintess. If it disappears, many people will have difficulty confirming who you are.”
Truth’s thinking often brought unexpected surprises to the Goddess of Life.
First she had wished for big sisters. Now she wanted to remove her Saintess Blessing.
The Saintess Mark on Truth’s hand and the Blessing called Life Saintess were both unique identifiers.
With those two marks, the Goddess of Life could locate and communicate with Truth at any time in case of danger, such as a demon attack.
Moreover, the Life Saintess Blessing enhanced affinity with the Element of Life. That was the biggest difference between a Saintess and an ordinary Priest.
Without that blessing, a Saintess would basically become an ordinary Priest.
“The main reason is…” Truth said, suddenly looking aggrieved.
“Since becoming a Saintess, everyone around me has started keeping their distance. Whenever they face me they become nervous. Even my close friends now speak to me with formal honorifics. It makes me very sad.”
“It feels like there is a thick and tragic wall between us.”
“And it’s not just my friends. When I went to the Adventurers’ Association for adventures, the association president immediately recognized me and gave me many privileges and conveniences. I feel very uncomfortable with that.”
“I may be a Saintess, but shouldn’t a Saintess serve as a symbol that helps others and inspires kindness? It shouldn’t mean standing above everyone and enjoying privileges. So…”
Ah. So that was it.
The Goddess of Life immediately understood.
She had thought it would be something complicated, but in the end Truth simply felt uncomfortable with the special treatment and admiration others showed her.
It seemed the Ninth Saintess was overly pure-hearted… aside from her fondness for big sisters.
“Perhaps I can give you a moderate solution,” the Goddess of Life said with a smile.
…
So when Truth woke up the next morning, a special golden bracelet engraved with the Life Saintess Mark had appeared on her left wrist.
She could remove the bracelet whenever she wanted.
And the bracelet contained both of the Saintess identifiers:
The Blessing Life Saintess and the Saintess Mark.
Yes. The Goddess of Life had placed both identifiers into this bracelet.
Now if Truth removed the bracelet and slightly disguised her appearance, no one outside would recognize her as a Saintess.
Of course, people who already knew Truth would still treat her as a Saintess. After all, most people recognized others by their faces.
But at least now Truth had a method to hide her identity.
This way, when she went adventuring, she would not receive special treatment.
To prevent accidents while the bracelet was removed, the Goddess of Life also added a function: if Truth temporarily took off the bracelet, the Goddess of Life would immediately receive a notification.
During the time the bracelet was removed, the Goddess of Life could not track Truth’s location.
And that was exactly what Truth wanted.
“Tsk. Just one more step and I’ll completely escape the Goddess of Life’s surveillance.”
Standing at the entrance of the tent, Truth touched the Saintess bracelet on her wrist and smiled slightly before quickly returning to her normal expression.
Because she sensed that the Goddess of Life was secretly watching her again.
Ever since Kavier reported Truth’s performance on the battlefield, the Goddess of Life had increased her surveillance significantly.
Just last night alone, she had secretly watched Truth four separate times.
If the Goddess of Life kept checking on her multiple times every day, Truth would have almost no time left for her sneaky activities.
What if one day she was stabbing someone with her claws and got caught in the act?
All her previous efforts to hide her identity would be wasted.
“Tsk. She’s so pure. The more I watch her, the more I like her.”
Inside the Divine Domain of the Eternal Forest, the Goddess of Life quietly admired Truth through the reflection on the surface of a pool.