“It must have been the work of Demons!”
Less than an hour after the arson case, the Ninth Saintess of Truth from Deya City explained the situation to the local citizens through the newspaper.
Following Truth’s instructions, Tia also laid all the blame for the incident on the Demons, directing public opinion in Deya City entirely toward the low-ranking Demons who had recently been relentlessly hunted by the Demon Hunters.
For a while, the crowd was furious, but those nobles who knew a bit of the truth chose collective silence.
At the same time, Tia had some doubts and asked Truth whether this was really done by Demons.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that the Hermit had a hand in this, but was also worried it might just be a coincidence, so she wanted confirmation.
In response, Truth just gave her a “you know” look, and Tia instantly understood.
Of course—someone like the Hermit would never bother to lie, so it must have something to do with Demons.
The Hermit must have used some kind of ability beyond her understanding, like Eye of Destiny Alteration, causing the Demons to just happen to burn down the homes of those two greedy Nobles.
Yes, that must be it!…
On the west side of Deya City, atop the elevated Observation Platform, Truth stood alone in a hooded cloak, gazing at the two burned-down residences in the distance.
The area around the homes was packed with onlookers, and law enforcers were maintaining order.
“I didn’t expect it to cause such a scene. I thought that Ariels would just sneak in at night and use her staff to smash the two’s skulls in, but in the end, she actually burned down their entire house. And as if that wasn’t enough, at least pretend to burn a few more people… Only two Nobles died in the fire, and all the other Servants and housekeepers survived. The motive is a bit too obvious, isn’t it?”
Truth was rather satisfied with Ariel’s efficiency, but the fact that only the two Nobles died and none of the Servants or housekeepers perished made the purpose too clear.
Even a child could tell this was murder.
But fortunately, the blame could be shifted to the Demons.
Truth had already instructed Tia to discreetly leak an exclusive rumor to the press, hinting that “certain Nobles collaborated with Demons to slander the Saintess but ended up betrayed by the Demons.”
In a few days, the news would likely be spreading wildly, embellished with every retelling.
“As for how those Nobles think, Truth can’t be bothered. Anyway, the message has been made perfectly clear.” Spreading her hands, Truth turned to leave.
But just then, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure on the opposite side of the street—a shock of fiery red hair with a hint of provocation, about 1.7 meters tall, B… There was no need to see her face to know it was Ariel.
At that moment, Ariel had already changed into a set of obviously expensive new clothes and was standing at the entrance of a furniture store, holding bundles and packages, giving instructions to several people in front of her, with several Servants standing behind her.
She looked every bit the young heiress out shopping.
Oh my? She just came out, and she’s already doing so well?!
Truth was astonished. She hadn’t expected Ariel to have such skills—it really didn’t show… So Truth blinked and instantly appeared beside Ariel, looking up at her with an expression full of curiosity.
“The velvet carpet must be white, and the set of wooden furniture I want must be made of Cloud Beam Wood. Remember, the entire set must be Cloud Beam Wood. If I find out you’ve used any other kind of wood to cut corners, I won’t pay a single coin!”
Ariel was choosing furniture exactly as Truth had requested, looking quite arrogant. The Shopkeeper at the entrance kept bowing and nodding.
“Wow.” Truth couldn’t help but marvel.
In her impression, Ariel was a little proud but easy to talk to— and the kind who’d burst into tears if you poked her.
But now, she radiated a kind of commanding aura, as if she’d become a completely different person.
“Hey, where did this kid come from? Don’t get so close to Lady Ariel!”
At this moment, one of Ariel’s Servants noticed Truth, who had appeared out of nowhere, and immediately stepped in front of her, trying to push her away. In broad daylight, someone in a hood?
No matter how you looked at it, she seemed like a thief!
“Kid?”
Ariel instinctively turned her face and happened to meet the red pupils under the hood.
She instantly shuddered all over, shoved the Servant aside for fear that Truth would get annoyed and make the Servant burst into a cloud of blood, then crouched down, hands on her knees, trembling as she said:
“You… why did you suddenly show up?”
“Just passing by, happened to see you, so I came over to take a look.”
Truth continued to look at Ariel with great interest, not bothering to hide the teasing in her eyes: “Not bad, you’ve only just been let out for a few hours and you’ve already become one of Deya City’s elites.”
“No… it’s not like that. I was just favored by a local Noble, who said all my expenses today are on him.”
“You’re being kept?”
“I am not!” Ariel hurriedly gritted her teeth to deny it. Kept?
How infuriating—how little must this person think of her to believe that a dignified Seventh Tier Cataclysm Mage would let herself be kept by some Noble from a border town?
“Actually! It’s because he saw my pow… er, my decent strength, that’s all…”
Ariel had originally wanted to boast about her Seventh Tier strength, but thinking of the gap between herself and Truth, she instantly wilted, not knowing what to say.
After obtaining the address of Mailun’s father, Earl Mayna, Ariel left the mist and immediately paid a visit.
At first, Earl Mayna thought she was a beggar, but upon discovering Ariel’s Seventh Tier strength, he instantly fell to his knees.
My goodness, to actually meet a Seventh Tier powerhouse in Deya City!
And this powerhouse had taken the initiative to visit, asking for a small favor—he’d never dared dream of this, thanks be to the Goddess of Life!
Just like the snake-oil wisdom from cheap novels, Mayna thought this was a test from a Seventh Tier bigshot to evaluate if he was worth recruiting, and would then offer him some opportunities.
After all, he couldn’t believe that a true Seventh Tier Mage would be interested in his wealth or other treasures— someone at that level could earn his annual income just by taking on a random task!
Besides, even if Ariel didn’t help Mayna, her mere presence in his manor would be enough to scare his rivals half to death.
So no matter what Ariel requested next, Mayna agreed to everything.
And Ariel only asked for a few sets of clothes and some expensive luxury furniture.
Though the cost of the furniture was a bit painful for Mayna, it was entirely worth it for the favor of a Seventh Tier powerhouse!
A Seventh Tier powerhouse! At the same time, Ariel suddenly realized—right, she was Seventh Tier!
In Deya City, where even Third Tier made you stand out, she could walk around like she owned the place.
There was no need to borrow money from low-level Nobles—just doing someone a favor would do!
These past days, Ariel had gotten used to being bullied by a certain King Class Demon, and just a few days ago, she’d even witnessed the Demon and Heavenfire Lord engaged in a Demon King’s Battle, their overwhelming power beyond her imagination.
It left Ariel feeling increasingly inferior, thinking that being Seventh Tier was like being just a nobody…
Yet, at the Seventh Tier, she’d already surpassed ninety percent of the adventurers in the world.
Only when she saw Earl Mayna’s flattering eyes did Ariel remember— she was not someone’s errand runner, but a noble Disaster-class Mage!
So Ariel immediately abandoned the idea of borrowing money, instantly becoming an honored guest at Mayna’s manor and enjoying everything for free.
When she went out, there was a private carriage and professional Servants at her beck and call. Completing Truth’s tasks became a breeze.
“This is the treatment a Seventh Tier deserves!”
Ariel was moved to tears. With Mayna’s help, her former pride returned at last.
Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long—a certain wicked Blood Demon suddenly appeared before her again, shattering her brief, beautiful experience as one of Deya City’s elite…