When the moonlight bathed the entire city of Dea, Aisha finally stepped out of her carriage and made her way to the Church of the Goddess of Life.
Just now, Rachel had told her many things about Truth, but none of it made sense. Wasn’t that girl’s hostility way too obvious?
She claimed that the secret of Truth was simply ancient knowledge obtained inside the labyrinth, but then Rachel said that knowledge might be cursed and could affect one’s mind!
She also said there was a powerful predecessor hidden within Truth, and Rachel warned that this predecessor might have ill intentions, constantly manipulating Truth, so they had to be cautious!
“But the Goddess herself appointed her as the Saintess, so there probably isn’t a problem, right?”
“You never know, even if you’re confident. Among us demon hunters, there’s a method called ‘bold assumption.’ Maybe Truth is hiding some world-shattering secret that even the Goddess can’t detect?”
“That seems unlikely…”
“Exactly why it’s called a ‘bold assumption’! You shouldn’t trust everything Truth says. She’s very likely lying to you. Don’t believe me? I have a few tricks to show you…”
Rachel suggested several little “tests” to Aisha to “verify” Truth, most of which were underhanded moves meant to trip her up during the Divine Selection ceremony.
She claimed these were to uncover Truth’s secret and see if she was lying, but the real goal was to make Truth lose face during the ceremony and fall from grace among the followers!
Once Truth’s reputation took a hit, Rachel could seize the opportunity to twist public opinion and clear her own name from the accusations made by the Ninth Saintess.
Now, it was up to Aisha whether she agreed to this plan.
After some thought, Aisha nodded slightly, finding some sense in it.
It was indeed necessary to observe Truth closely, though not by using Rachel’s sneaky methods to sabotage her.
The Saintesses would never turn on each other. Since the first Saintess was born, they had all helped and supported one another.
Aisha only wanted to see what she lacked compared to Truth that prevented her from directly channeling the power of faith.
Was it that she had too few strokes of the “正” character or that she wore too many layers?
So, Aisha casually agreed to Rachel’s little tricks, letting her handle it herself. Who knew? Maybe Rachel really could uncover a shocking secret about Truth.
As for the Divine Selection ceremony, there was no need to worry—with Aisha overseeing things, nothing could possibly go wrong…
“Eh? Did I forget something important… Ah, right, I forgot to explain all the procedures of tomorrow’s Divine Selection ceremony to Truth!”
Aisha had been so absorbed in researching how to directly channel faith’s power that she completely forgot about this major matter. If Truth didn’t know the procedures tomorrow, it would be a big problem.
After Rachel left, Aisha immediately went to the church to find Truth.
After exchanging a few words with Tia, Aisha found Truth strolling under the moonlight in the garden on the church’s left side.
One had to admit, that silver-white hair really suited the moonlight.
Aisha even considered dyeing her own hair like Truth’s, but unfortunately, her blue hair had already become a trademark among the followers—something she couldn’t change lightly.
Still, why did Truth’s eyes seem so deep tonight? They didn’t look as pink as usual, probably because of the night. Never mind.
“Truth!” Aisha waved to her, and Truth immediately looked over with a greeting, seeming quite pleased.
Huh? Why was Truth holding a rope in her hand? Was she walking a dog?
Aisha slowly approached Truth, calling out over the neatly trimmed one-meter-tall grass:
“What are you doing out here so late? Tia has been inside the church fending off those noble guests’ banquet invitations for you, but you’ve refused to show up. Now they all think you’re being arrogant; some even say you’re a socially anxious Saintess.”
“I don’t care what they think. Rather than flatter each other, I’d rather spend more time with my little dog. Right, Nana?”
Truth tugged the rope with her right hand, lightly kicking her dog’s backside, and Aisha heard a yip like a little puppy’s cry:
“Wuwu!”
Aisha’s eyes lit up—so it was a puppy!
Because of the grass in between, Aisha couldn’t see Nana.
“Um, can I pet your Nana?”
“Of course.” Truth happily agreed and even lifted her hand as if to hand the leash over. Aisha quickly stepped around the grass to get closer.
The next moment, the dog suddenly barked fiercely:
“Woof! Woof! Woof woof!”
“Eh?”
Aisha was startled by the sudden barking. Truth kicked Nana again:
“Naughty dog, don’t be rude to others!”
No way, even this puppy didn’t like me? Aisha froze in place. Though Nana was quiet now, if she took one step forward, she could hear the dog’s low growl.
The dog wasn’t very friendly to her… Was she really the type of person animals hated?
When adventuring, Aisha had noticed various small animals disliked her. Cats that were gentle and cute in others’ hands would jump and claw wildly at her.
Even horses would buck her off, and during monster hunts, the hatred of animal-type bosses always stuck to her like glue—completely ridiculous!
So even Truth’s puppy hated her? She hadn’t even seen it before, and just smelling her was enough to make it dislike her?
Better not pet the dog after all. Aisha’s face fell as she decided to return to the church and wait for Truth to bring Nana over before discussing serious matters.
But just as she turned to head back, the sound of water dripping repeatedly onto the ground echoed nearby, accompanied by a faint scent of urine, making Aisha glance at Truth in confusion:
“What’s that sound?”
“Ah, I gave Nana too much water before we left, so she peed right in the grass. Seriously, now her skirt and thighs are all dirty. I’ll have to teach her a lesson when we get back.”
“Does she wear clothes? It seems you treat her well, Truth. As for teaching lessons, there’s no need—she’s just a dog. Think of it as fertilizing the plants.”
“Wuwuwu…”
The puppy whimpered from the grass, clearly eager to move on to the next spot. Aisha reminded Truth repeatedly to come find her inside the church before leaving.
The park was left quiet again with only Truth and little Nana. Truth continued walking the leash as she strolled lazily, her face full of joy, but Nana was completely exhausted, sprawled on the ground and refusing to move no matter how much Truth pulled.
Most likely, Aisha had scared her. Really, how could she be so easily stressed?
“Already worn out? We’ve only been walking a little.” Truth crouched to stroke Nana’s head, but the dog just stayed down until Truth softly said:
“If you don’t get up soon, I’ll take you to the central plaza. Dea City has temporarily lifted the curfew for the Divine Selection ceremony. It’s packed with people and very lively.”
“Yip!”
Nana was instantly startled and scrambled to her feet. Truth squinted and smiled slightly; her blood-red eyes looked even colder under the moonlight… yet pleased.
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