Betiliana’s excited expression satisfied Aililan.
When dealing with subordinates, you must wield an iron fist, but also dispense favors.
Back in the days of Atester’s corruption, Aililan executed every corrupt official she caught.
She was clear in rewards and punishments, and when there were benefits, she truly gave them.
So why did no one object?
Because everyone knew that following the Saintess meant promotions and titles were well within reach.
Nine hours later.
Theresa’s onboarding was finally complete.
The position assigned by the Investigation Bureau was Special Advisor.
Theresa changed into the bureau’s standard uniform.
“Very handsome, very nice looking.” Aililan praised.
“Really?” Theresa’s face flushed slightly.
“I’m the Saintess. Would I lie to you?”
“If only I could see it.”
“I’ll think of a way for you in the future.”
“Actually, you don’t have to trouble yourself. I think it’s fine as is.”
“Will you be able to adapt to the work? If it’s too much, you don’t have to force yourself.”
“No, I can definitely do it.”
A resolute expression appeared on Theresa’s face.
“Miss Aililan may not know—having a decent, easy job that earns respect is something someone like me, who lived in the slums, could only dream of.”
“If I hadn’t met you, I’d still be struggling in the slums. I will always be grateful to you.”
Theresa firmly believed.
If angels existed.
Then that person must be Saintess Aililan, who pulled her out of the mud.
Aililan smiled and encouraged her, “Then work hard. My dream is to turn Atester into a World City of Desire.”
Theresa nodded solemnly. “I will definitely work hard and help you realize that wish.”
As the two left the Investigation Bureau, a burning gaze swept over them.
Fina Nisi’s eyes were almost red with envy.
Whether it was Aililan’s holiness or Theresa’s beauty and uniform, she was salivating over them.
“How infuriating.”
“One is a Saintess who increasingly shows her holy demeanor, whose governance ability is among the top of all Saintesses in history—lofty and untouchable. The more she is like this, the harder she is for me to obtain.”
“And the other might be connected to the Seven Regents. This is utterly terrible.”
She could see them.
But she couldn’t taste them.
Aililan walked over and gave a polite smile. “Grandmaster Fina Nisi, you look pale. Did you not sleep well last night?”
Fina Nisi forced a smile. “Thank you for your concern, Saintess. I’m fine.”
Aililan shook her head and said earnestly, “That won’t do. Grandmaster Fina Nisi is the pillar of my forces. I’m counting on you to help me break the Orc King’s Court.”
Fina Nisi: “I’ll do my best.”
Aililan smiled and continued, “If you find it too much, you don’t have to push yourself. After all, the Orcs are poor. Even if we capture their capital, there won’t be much loot—just a few blonde- or white-haired beast-eared girls born from human women captured long ago. I hear the Half-Orc Queen is a rare beauty. When the time comes, I’ll reward her to whoever makes the greatest contribution.”
Fina Nisi’s eyes widened, her gaze burning. “Saintess, spreading the glory of the Church is something we must do without hesitation. I will be the first to break the Orc King’s City.”
Aililan nodded with satisfaction.
This was the way to handle this blonde Feng Aotian.
As for beast-eared girls and queens—could anything that suited Orc aesthetics really look good?
The truly beautiful beast-eared girls in the game were in the slave market, but Aililan had already cracked down on Atester’s slave market. She had no idea where to find them.
After returning.
Aililan began her vacation.
All decrees took time to implement. It wasn’t like she gave an order today and saw results tomorrow.
So, apart from major decisions that required the Saintess herself to oversee, she delegated much of the administrative work to her subordinates.
After all, if she had to do everything herself, what was the point of having people under her?
She had searched far and wide and trained so many talents—only to have them all sit around as decorations?
Thus, Aililan spent more time developing her Virtue Divine Power.
She started with various toxins—things she could already immunize and purify using her Divine Power.
Then, after considerable effort, she found a Plague Mage.
It wasn’t that mages were rare in this world, but under the Church’s rule, cultivating the Church’s Faith Rituals was clearly more promising than learning magic.
That didn’t mean no one else practiced magic elsewhere.
“Your Highness the Saintess, plague magic is rather sinister. Please be careful. Some powerful plagues are incurable even to us.”
The Plague Mage warned.
If anything happened to the Saintess, he would be the first to suffer.
They chose a location deep in the mountains far from the city, just in case the plague spread—that would be a disaster.
Aililan nodded.
The Plague Mage chanted a spell.
Soon, a strange black light spread, crawling like insects onto a condemned criminal.
At a visible speed, bumps appeared on the criminal’s body.
After a moment.
The bumps developed into pustules.
The criminal’s flesh began to ulcerate, and a foul odor spread.
“Saintess, be careful.”
Yarandale was worried.
“I’m fine.”
Aililan observed first.
It was said that advanced plague magic—even forbidden-level plague magic—could manifest as a mist or a massive rainstorm. If you got caught in it, you were in trouble.
But the Church’s Radiant Power could suppress and even cure it.
Aililan pondered, “Rather than a cure, isn’t it more like the Church’s powerful healing ability keeps the patient alive long enough for them to pull through on their own?”
She stopped thinking about that and began to deploy her Virtue Divine Power.
A sacred radiance enveloped the criminal, clashing with the plague virus.
She could clearly feel that her Virtue Divine Power strongly rejected the unclean plague.
Like cold water and cold oil in a pot—once the temperature rose, they began to repel each other.
“Interesting.”
Aililan maintained her Divine Power.
When the Virtue Divine Power adapted to the plague, it no longer drove it away. Instead, like hot water and hot oil in the pot, they became clearly separated.
On the criminal’s body, the effect was that the plague no longer spread, and even the plague that had entered earlier was expelled.
“I think I understand a little.”
To use Virtue Divine Power, the prerequisite was observability.
Just like with poison—first, her Divine Power observed it, which allowed purification.
So, whatever is observable is considered unclean?
Everything can be defined as unclean by Virtue Divine Power, then purified.
What about physical blades and swords?
Doesn’t that count as unclean too?