“Is it still in time if I go back to get my magic shuttle from Sakazaka?” asked Samimi.
“No way, there’s no time. I’m here to take you to the initiation ceremony.” Qiqi Zhu grabbed Samimi’s arm to stop her from running away, dragging her forward as they entered the maze-like Church Sewers.
“I just helped the kingdom seal the Blood Demon King. Why do I now have to deal with the Immortal King again?” Samimi already had a headache.
“Kunyan Society is an organization that maintains the seal,” said Qiqi Zhu.
“Then why didn’t you just tell me straight up I was here to fight the Immortal King?” Samimi’s head hurt even more.
Qiqi Zhu started acting dumb.
“I just wanted to help Makima investigate the Fang Huang Death Corps, so how did things end up getting more and more complicated? What’s the problem here? Why do I always end up getting into trouble?” grumbled Samimi.
“How can you talk like that? I’m helping you! Once you formally join the Holy Word Society, you’ll have enough backing to deal with those people above ground. If you want to become Pope, you can just become Pope,” said Qiqi Zhu.
Samimi felt that what she said made sense, and had no way to refute it.
But still, as the saying goes, this is the kind of friendship that puts you in a spot everywhere you go. Nevertheless, she really was helping her, and Samimi couldn’t find a reason to suspect her motives.
“So, you’re from the Holy Word Society. That means what you said earlier about Saintess Makima being a candidate for Kunyan Society isn’t a joke, but the truth, right?” asked Samimi.
“She was originally Kunyan Society’s representative above ground, but she’s already out of control. The Holy Word Society can no longer control Saintess Makima; she has her own will now. Still, everyone in the Holy Word Society has their own opinions, so in the end, no one can do anything about the Saintess,” answered Qiqi Zhu.
“Classic church organization structure. In any case, no one’s really of one mind,” Samimi reached out her little hand.
The two of them walked through the underground sewers. Fortunately, Qiqi Zhu had a spell to purify the air, so it was impossible to imagine how bad the smell really was. Well, Samimi didn’t want to know—she’d rather never smell it.
“Tell me about the personnel of the Holy Word Society,” asked Samimi again.
“Kunyan Society has twenty-four members, called the [Twenty-Four Saintesses of Sakazaka],” said Qiqi Zhu.
“Why does that sound like you’re forming some sort of idol group?” Samimi teased.
“They’re divided into upper four—four leaders; middle ten—ten core members; and lower ten, which is a variable number of reserve members. So we’re not strictly twenty-four people. In the strict sense, there are only fourteen official members. The rest are reserves. And you’re going to be a reserve member. By the way, right now there aren’t even ten reserves. The Holy Word Society is lacking successors, which is why I’m in such a rush to bring you in,” explained Qiqi Zhu.
“So few people?” Samimi asked in surprise.
“The four leaders’ power is on par with Saintess Makima. The ten official members are all top-tier Kunyan spellcasters. This is a force strong enough to destroy a nation. What do you think?” said Qiqi Zhu.
“And you? Don’t tell me you’re just a reserve? Before, you told me your poison element would get you expelled from Kunyan Society immediately. Looks like the Holy Word Society doesn’t care about what kind of magic you have,” Samimi questioned.
“I’m an outsider. This is the highest position I could climb to. But since we’re short on people, we don’t really distinguish between reserves and official members anymore. Once you join the Holy Word Society, you’re a full member,” explained Qiqi Zhu.
“So, you want to climb even higher? Why not just become Pope yourself?” Samimi (萨米米) joked.
After half a day, the two passed through countless winding sewage channels and finally arrived at a small underground chapel. There was a visible field of magic purifying the air all around.
Samimi and Qiqi Zhu walked through the field and no longer needed to maintain their own purification spell.
But Samimi didn’t even have any sarcastic comments, which was unlike her usual style, because she felt the presence of a powerful being. There was definitely a great expert in this small underground chapel, so she needed to stay serious.
“Huff—” Someone pushed the door open and entered.
Inside the chapel were already three female clergy members in distinct attire, waiting for a long time.
The most frightening part was that all three had the same white hair. Although they looked like mass-produced white-haired beauties, the fact remained—they were White-Haired Saintesses. Born a head above others. Even if not the main character, they were at least supporting cast.
To say they were beautiful girls wouldn’t be quite right; they were simply beautiful women.
They were no longer of the age to be called girls, but rather the ripe fruit of maturity.
At the far left stood a Heavy Armored Female Knight clad in pitch-black armor, coldly sizing up Samimi, hugging a Black Sword. Her aura and the air of a hitman overlapped.
On the right, at the far end, was a noble-looking cleric with a rainy aura. She didn’t even glance at Samimi and Qiqi Zhu, but you could see the corners of her mouth curled in a disdainful smile, making the atmosphere inside even more tense.
Lastly, in front of the female statue stood a valiant female warrior in a white outfit reminiscent of Qiqi Zhu’s own attire. At her side stood a gleaming White Silver Spear, magical light swirling faintly around it.
This person must be the leader here—her authority was clearly a notch above the rest.
She was likely one of the four leaders of Kunyan Society, as Qiqi Zhu had described.
At the same time, Samimi noticed another detail—their spear, black sword, and rain-hued staff were all [sacred magical weapons].
Just like her own flute-staff, they could be used to cast magic or to deal physical blows.
“Gun Saintess, this is the child I mentioned…” Qiqi Zhu, for once, spoke solemnly.
But before she finished, the so-called Gun Saintess stopped her from saying more and chose to personally size up Samimi, looking her up and down.
“So, you’re Makima’s traitorous disciple?” The Tree Saintess spoke up, making Samimi instantly tense.
Samimi had no idea how to respond, and looked angrily at Qiqi Zhu, wondering how she was being introduced.
“You really do look a lot like Makima, naturally rebellious. I suppose you’re not convinced by any of us here, are you?” The Gun Saintess pressed further.
“You’re called a Saintess too? I hate Saintesses the most,” said Samimi bluntly.
Not holding back at all, she froze the room with that line. No one spoke.
“This is [Gun Saintess], that one is [Blade Saintess], and this is [Tree Saintess]. Everyone in the Holy Word Society goes by the title of Saintess. It’s because Saintess Makima took our code names to the surface,” Qiqi Zhu whispered to her.
So it turned out, Samimi had just insulted every person present in one sentence—no wonder the room went cold.
“If I join you, I won’t have to be called Saintess too, will I?” Samimi asked in doubt.
“Yes, I’ve already picked out your code name for you. Since you’re so good at fire magic, you’ll be called [Flame Saintess],” Qiqi Zhu whispered.
“How old-fashioned.” Samimi grumbled.