Inside the Holy Land’s grand temple, Sophie knelt before the ancient divine statue in her pure white saintess robe. Her hands were pressed together as she offered a devout prayer.
Below the steps, a large crowd had gathered.
In addition to the Holy Land’s clergy, many powerful nobles from the Saint Luo Empire were present, including members of the imperial family.
“She really does resemble Sylvia. Just like before.”
Gustav gazed up at Sophie and narrowed his eyes, sighing inwardly.
Today was an extremely important day.
Thanks to Sophie’s outstanding performance in the human world recently—constantly saving the people from disasters and earning immense prestige—the Holy Land had decided to hold the promotion ceremony. Under the fervent calls of the public, Sophie, formerly a saintess candidate, would officially become the Saintess.
This decision immediately received support from all factions.
After all, no one was more suitable than Sophie at present.
Whether in bloodline, status, ability, or talent, she perfectly met every standard to become the Saintess.
Thus, the human world was about to welcome its second Saintess after Sylvia.
“Ha… Once Sophie becomes the Saintess, can we finally go back to sleep?” Mia stretched lazily and couldn’t help yawning.
“Mia, this is an important occasion. Watch your image!” Isher reminded her sternly. “Everyone is watching!”
Mia replied nonchalantly, “Isher, you’re too strict. The focus of the entire event is on Sophie, not us. There’s no need to be so tense. We’ve become insignificant now.”
“Even if you say that…”
Isher frowned.
She looked at Sophie’s sacred bearing and felt a trace of envy in her heart.
She had always worked hard and earnestly in order to become the true Saintess.
Unfortunately, effort could never match innate talent.
“Mia, even though you act like you don’t care, you’re actually quite unwilling, aren’t you?” Janice smiled faintly, as if she had seen right through her.
“Hey, Janice, don’t read my mind. That’s rude,” Mia said helplessly.
“I only sensed it passively. I didn’t actively read your thoughts. Your inner feelings were simply too strong,” Janice’s expression also grew complicated. “But honestly, who among us doesn’t feel the same? Who would have thought Sophie would break through to the Transcendent tier so suddenly. We were all so close to becoming the real Saintess—just a little short.”
“Yeah,” Mia sighed softly.
The other saintess candidates felt the same. While they felt unwilling, none of them refused to accept it.
After all, there was no controversy about Sophie taking this position.
“After today, we won’t be saintess candidates anymore. We’ll have to take on other positions,” Isher said. “Let’s cherish this time while we still can. The Demon King has already appeared. It’s very possible that the human world will soon face a new wave of crises.”
“Don’t worry. Even if the sky falls, the Pope and Sophie will hold it up,” Mia joked.
“She… didn’t come?” Ruby hugged her doll and looked around, but she couldn’t find any sign of Via.
After the incident in Kado City, Via had never appeared again. Even for her sister’s important ceremony, there was still no trace of her, as if she had vanished from the world.
“Look, it’s starting!” Nana said excitedly.
Everyone present fell silent and turned their full attention forward.
The ancient divine statue began to emit a faint glow, responding to Sophie’s prayer.
Then, a beam of light descended from the sky, accurately enveloping the red-haired girl. It looked exactly like a blessing from the heavens above.
Pure white feathers drifted down, landing on Sophie’s body. Everyone heard a distant, ethereal choir—the legendary angelic singing that was said to appear when the Saintess received divine recognition.
“Thank you for your blessing, O God,” Sophie slowly opened her eyes and spoke softly.
Although her appearance had not changed, everyone could sense that her aura had become even more holy. Simply looking at her directly inspired a feeling of reverence from the bottom of their hearts.
Seeing that the time was right, the Pope of the Holy Land, holding his staff, slowly ascended the steps with steady strides and arrived before Sophie.
Sophie rose slowly and bowed to Altes.
Altes took the golden crown from the tray held by the attendant beside him. In front of everyone’s eyes, he placed the crown belonging to the Saintess of humanity onto Sophie’s head.
“The great and almighty God has given His recognition. From this moment onward, Sophie Shirleyford shall be the new Saintess of our human race!” Altes announced to all.
For a moment, thunderous applause erupted inside the temple as the crowd cheered enthusiastically.
Just like in the past, they chanted Sophie’s name loudly.
Outside the temple, ceremonial cannons fired. In the fervent atmosphere, everyone celebrated the succession of the new Saintess.
A week had passed since Sophie became the Saintess of humanity.
After the ceremony ended, she had been traveling across the country, attending various events arranged by the Holy Land and meeting with nobles and commoners alike.
The succession of the new Saintess was like a powerful shot of encouragement for the entire human race.
Although the news of the Demon King’s return had once caused widespread panic, the fact that humanity once again had a Saintess gave everyone renewed belief that the future of the human race still held hope and was bright.
After many busy days, Sophie finally returned to the Holy Land and was summoned by the Pope.
“Sophie, how do you feel after becoming the Saintess? Are you adjusting well?” Altes asked with concern. “You don’t seem to have slept much these past days.”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Holiness. I do not feel tired. I am simply fulfilling my duties as the Saintess,” Sophie replied.
“Mm, very good.”
Altes was quite satisfied.
As expected, Sophie made for a very obedient Saintess. She was much easier to control than Sylvia. Even with such a heavy workload, she showed no complaints.
“Sophie, have you encountered any difficulties since becoming the Saintess? Is there anything the Holy Land can help you with?”
“There are no difficulties at the moment. However, Your Holiness, there is one matter.” Sophie paused. “You promised me before. I hope you will allow me to look through the records my mother left in the Holy Land, if possible.”
Altes fell silent.
He felt slightly displeased with Sophie’s request.
However, he did not show it openly. Since it was indeed a promise he had made, he chose to agree in order to keep Sophie stable.
“No problem, Sophie. You have now become the official Saintess and entered the core of our Holy Land. Your status is different from before, so you naturally have the right to access this information. I can arrange it for you immediately.”