Chapter 14: The Witch’s Faith

Zhou Qingqing, lying on the sofa, suddenly put on an air of indifference.

It was clear she had given up hope for her future.

A disaster-level existence like that had actually appeared right next to a Beginner Village.

Instead of saying it appeared next to the Beginner Village, it would be more accurate to ask why the Beginner Village was built next to a Hell Dungeon.

The more Zhou Qingqing thought about it, the angrier she became.

‘I should have gone to one of the other borders.’

At the same time, she fantasized that if she were at the Northwest Border, she could at least feast her eyes on the cute, young Elves.

Petite, adorable Elves with pointed ears, blonde hair, and blue eyes snuggling in her arms — that would have been true bliss.

“Why did it have to be the most dangerous border?!”

[Map…]

Zhou Qingqing looked at the map provided by the System and her own location.

The words [Land of Desire] looked as if they were embossed in gold.

Although its current area was small compared to how it appeared in the game, it was right there on the border.

However, Zhou Qingqing knew that in a few short years, it would occupy one-fifth of The Holy See’s territory until the Saintess herself stepped in.

And she would become nothing more than a sacrifice in the meantime.

“No, I can’t take this. I need to write a transfer order right now and get myself out of here…”

Zhou Qingqing didn’t care about anything else; she just wanted to save her own life.

After all, in the game, if one accidentally fell into the range of the [Land of Desire], they wouldn’t necessarily die.

Instead, she had always sensed that she would endure an experience far more terrifying than death.

For example, being “educated” by four or five delicate-looking succubi with their thick, powerful tails.

Or perhaps being bullied in turns by succubi with harmless, young faces.

With her looks, she definitely wouldn’t meet a good end.

[Why not consider a conquest…]

[Lillian: Favorability 0%]

“Are you joking? Conquering the Desire Witch? I couldn’t even finish that while playing as the Saintess in the game. With my current status, how could I possibly —”

Zhou Qingqing stopped mid-sentence, suddenly sensing something was wrong.

She whipped her head around, only to see the System Panel flash and vanish without a trace.

“You spoke just now, didn’t you?!”

As if she had discovered a surprise, Zhou Qingqing angrily questioned the panel in front of her.

But no matter how she asked, there was no response.

“I know you can talk! You just asked me a question!”

[…]

Zhou Qingqing tried questioning it for a long time, but the other party remained silent.

If she hadn’t experienced it herself just now, she would have almost thought she was hallucinating.

“Fine, if you won’t talk, then don’t. Since you want to pretend to be an NPC, I’m not interested in prying into your business…”

“But asking me to conquer the Desire Witch… such an impossible thing could never succeed…”

Conquering the Desire Witch, Lillian, was arguably the most difficult route.

Despite being a succubus, she maintained a frigid demeanor, claiming she only pursued the purest peace.

Yet, every time the conversation reached a point where a conquest seemed successful, the moment Zhou Qingqing expressed her feelings, Lillian would cold-bloodedly snort and shift her friendly attitude to an icy glare.

“Are you also trying to use me? Just like that woman!”

“Use you? I never thought that! I’m just expressing my feelings, please calm down!”

***

Zhou Qingqing truly had no confidence in completing a task she had failed in the game.

Back then, she had tried every method, even using favorability-boosting items, and it still ended in failure.

She had no idea where the problem lay.

In the end, Zhou Qingqing had simply categorized the Desire Witch as a character that was absolutely impossible to conquer, believing the scenario existed only to make her life difficult.

“So, that kind of thing is impossible. I’d be better off finding a way to leave this church…”

[But, this isn’t a game…]

***

While Zhou Qingqing was still agonizing over the Desire Witch, Bai Shuang was facing her own major problem.

The weak and helpless Half-Witch sat on a chair, surrounded by four or five ordinary Nuns.

All the surrounding Nuns had removed the black veils that usually covered their eyes.

Since they didn’t have to face the Central Nun, they had no need for the eye coverings.

Several Nuns stood in a circle, whispering and discussing her.

They pointed and exchanged quiet observations from time to time, as if they were looking at a rare animal.

“Is she really a Witch?”

“According to the Master, she can only be considered a Half-Witch…”

“Hiss, it’s just like the books say. Witches are truly beautiful…”

“Will she kill us if she gets angry?”

***

Facing the crowd’s scrutiny, Bai Shuang could only sit honestly in the chair without saying a word.

Her heart, which had slowly begun to relax, became tense again, perhaps due to her shyness.

It might also have been because of the Nuns’ previous expressions of disgust toward her.

But now, because of a single word from that beautiful sister, the hostility of the surrounding Nuns seemed much less obvious.

Instead, there was a trace of fear, just as she was afraid of them.

They were afraid of her because she was a Witch.

Bai Shuang was extremely nervous, keeping her head low while her thumbs nervously twiddled.

‘I’ve only been away from Sister Zhou for a few minutes, but I already miss her…’

Just as Bai Shuang didn’t know what to do, a sharp voice interrupted the discussion.

The Little Nun who had brought her there stepped in front of the crowd, placed her hands on her hips, and spoke.

“This is the Master’s important experimental subject. The Master has guaranteed she won’t hurt anyone…”

“Besides, why are you all crowded here? Don’t you have worship services to attend?!”

After the Little Nun appeared and scolded them, the Nuns remembered their duties.

Some headed to the Confession Hall, and others to the Worship Hall.

Only a few remained in place.

One of the Nuns looked timidly at Bai Shuang and, after a moment of hesitation, spoke to the Little Nun.

“Even if the Master says it’s for an experiment, she is still a Witch. Shouldn’t we make separate arrangements…”

“Hmm, the Master didn’t mention that…”

The Nuns looked at each other, appearing at a loss for a moment.

Another Nun seemed to have an idea and raised her hand.

“If there’s nowhere to put her, why not arrange for her to join us in prayer?”

When the Little Nun said this, she noticed everyone’s gaze immediately converge on her.

She had only gotten halfway through her thought before she slowly withdrew her hand.

“Uh, never mind. Pretend I didn’t say anything…”

“Having a Witch join in prayer? What goes on in that head of yours?!”

Faced with this absurd suggestion, one of the Nuns mocked her mercilessly.

However, before she could finish speaking, she realized something was wrong.

She turned her head and found that the Little Nun who had been in charge was actually wearing a thoughtful expression.

The Little Nun slowly raised her head and glanced at Bai Shuang, who was sitting in the chair wearing a Nun’s habit.

It was already quite abnormal for a Witch to wear a habit, but after thinking it over, the Master must have had her reasons for doing so.

The Little Nun slowly turned her head toward the few Nuns remaining and spoke.

“Going to prayer… it should fit the Master’s plan.”

“Ah, but she’s a Witch!”

“But… there are no rules in The Holy See stating that a Witch cannot pray…”

In an instant, the entire church fell into an eerie silence.

At that moment, a sense of curiosity seemed to rise in everyone’s hearts.

It was true; The Holy See had never explicitly forbidden a Witch from praying.

The Nuns couldn’t help but feel curious about what would happen if a Witch prayed to the Goddess.

The three Little Nuns looked at each other, seemingly reaching a silent understanding.

“Making a Witch believe in the Goddess… no one has ever done that before.”

“True. If it succeeds…”

“If we expand the flock, the Goddess will surely be merciful…”