“Downright dirty… airheaded…”
Truth was completely baffled by this person named Eve.
In her worldview, did she believe that anyone cute was incapable of hurting others?
‘She’s another lolicon; she should go sit at the same table as Omili.’
Amidst the bickering between Marius and Eve, Truth slowly sat down on a nearby chair and quietly watched them try to outdo each other.
“Miss! If you keep this up, you won’t even be able to graduate. Besides, your family pulled many strings with the Church to allow you to be my assistant for this case involving the Saintess. Stop acting based on looks alone!”
“I understand all that, but the Ninth Saintess really is just too cute!”
“I told you, stop following your eyes—”
“What? Are you questioning the Goddess’s judgment in choosing people?! Do you really think the Ninth Saintess would do something so heartless and cruel!”
“No, how did the Goddess of Life even get dragged into this? That’s not the point…”
“The Saintesses are the Goddess’s spokeswomen on this earth! How is it not her business? To dare question a Saintess is to question the Goddess herself!”
“You!”
After a brief exchange of words, Marius, a Senior Inspector of the Church with five years of experience, actually found himself at a loss for words.
He never expected this girl to play the Goddess of Life card!
Faced with Eve’s difficult behavior, Marius could have responded solemnly with, “This is a necessary and bold hypothesis,” or used some professional terminology inspectors used when handling cases.
After all, seeking the truth from facts was the principle of all inspectors.
But it was not the principle of the Church.
As an old hand who had been through the mill for five years within the Church, Marius knew there was only one principle: “The Goddess of Life is above everything.”
Once that principle was invoked, all other rules ceased to be rules.
It made investigations significantly more difficult, and it was something every Church Inspector had to face in their career.
For instance, if a high-ranking member of the Church was caught for corruption, they might claim the Goddess told them to do it.
If asked for proof, they would pretend to be possessed by the Goddess, shouting about Blasphemy and whatnot. It was incredibly troublesome.
Fortunately, Senior Inspectors had many refined ways to deal with such issues.
Marius was an expert among them, which was why the Church had sent him to resolve the problem of the Ninth Saintess.
However, this situation was entirely different from those in the past, because Marius was facing the principle itself.
Therefore, the focus of the report regarding the Ninth Saintess was not whether she had actually done those things.
Rather, it was about how these Church Inspectors could handle a superior of the highest rank without offending her while still providing an explanation to all the members of the Church.
Luckily, compared to the calculating and shrewd old foxes in the Church’s upper management, the Saintesses were famous for being simple and kind.
When the report was received, the Church collectively believed that someone was taking advantage of the Saintess, and they had to drag the mastermind from the shadows!
“You are not allowed to doubt the Ninth Saintess!”
Eve pointed a finger at the overwhelmed Marius while she carefully sat on the chair next to Truth. She then leaned in slightly and sniffed with the tip of her nose.
‘It really is fragrant…’
“How could I possibly doubt the Holy Maiden?” Marius coughed lightly and bowed to Truth once more.
“I… I only wish to ask a few questions and gather some clues to clear the Saintess’s name. From beginning to end, I have never doubted her!”
……
A few minutes later, Tia, dressed in her Priest Robe, arrived at the Cathedral to complete her “daily prayer” Task.
Just like Truth, she did not actually have Faith in the Goddess of Life, but she had to keep up appearances.
She wondered why she didn’t see Truth today.
They had agreed to pray every day; had she given up after only a few days? Or had some sudden situation occurred?
Tia asked a few of the Disciples in the Cathedral. One of them simply pointed toward the back door.
“Two mysterious black-robed people followed the Holy Maiden inside.”
‘Mysterious black-robed people? Oh no, did she run into bad guys?!’ Tia was startled and immediately sprinted toward the back of the Cathedral, praying in her heart that nothing unfortunate had happened.
Otherwise, it would be such a hassle to clean up the corpses of those two mysterious people!
Furthermore, this was the Cathedral of the Goddess of Life. If the Goddess noticed what was happening inside, then Truth and the Hermit would be exposed.
After reaching the back and scanning the area, Tia heard soft voices coming from the lounge. Without hesitation, she pushed the door open and locked eyes with the three people inside.
The first thing she saw was Marius sitting directly across from Truth, holding a notebook and recording something. Truth sat in the center with her hands resting on her chubby thighs, looking very well-behaved. Tia breathed a sigh of relief.
‘I thought the two black-robed people would have been turned into pieces by now…’
But just as she relaxed, Tia suddenly knitted her brows. Beside Truth, a girl with short black hair was staring at Truth with a doting, silly smile. Her hands were constantly rising and falling, as if she wanted to touch Truth but lacked the courage.
‘This is bad. Did she run into a female pervert?!’
“Excuse me, and you are?” Marius was the first to break the silence, inquiring politely.
Tia did not answer directly. Instead, she walked straight to Truth, picked her up, and sat her on her own lap. Her intention was clear: she was asserting her dominance.
“I am the High Priest of Deya City, Tia. I am also the Saintess’s Teacher.”
“Pffft…”
Eve gave a silent, mocking sneer. ‘Hmph, I thought she was some important figure, but she’s just a border High Priest. And she claims to be the Saintess’s Teacher? Heh, I bet she uses that title as an excuse to touch the Holy Maiden all the time.’
Speaking of which, was the Ninth Saintess’s temper really that good? She was actually willing to let someone hold her like that. She had no dignity at all…
Within the Church, even the status of a junior inspector was higher than that of a border High Priest. After Marius introduced himself to Tia, he flashed his Inspector Badge and spoke solemnly.
“Miss Tia, we are currently conducting a very important investigation. Please do not interfere with us here.”
“No, I don’t feel safe leaving my Truth!”
“Your Permission level is not high enough to understand this matter, so please—”
“Let her stay. The Goddess’s Task for her is to protect and teach me. This is her duty,” Truth suddenly spoke, causing Marius to stop.
In principle, this matter could not be revealed to others, but the “principle” had just spoken.
“Very well. I shall continue with a few more questions. Do you know anything about the event the residents of Deya City call the Night of Assassination?”
“I know. A Demon did it.”
“Alright… fine, a Demon again. Next question. It is said that most of the Nobles who died during the Night of Assassination had friction with you. Is that true?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps the Demon knows.”
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