One hour later, at the city gate of Deya City, an utterly ordinary carriage slowly drove into the city, bound for the Church of the Goddess of Life.
At the Ninth Saintess’s request, Di Lun entered Deya City with great discretion, bringing only a few important subordinates and his daughter.
The journey was smooth and unobstructed all the way, and no one knew they had arrived.
Along the way, Di Lisha secretly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and curiously took in everything in Deya City.
This was her first time in the city of a hostile nation.
Since childhood, she had known that the prosperity of the Sylvia Kingdom far surpassed that of Wangsheng City.
If one were to really make a comparison, Wangsheng City could barely measure up to just one of the three great cities: the Sylvia royal capital, Sun City, or Bluewater Bay.
And the Sylvia Kingdom had more than just those three cities…
So Di Lisha had come to Deya City from the very start with the mindset of “acknowledging the gap between herself and the other side.”
But as it turned out, this Deya City was… so poor!
“Father, why do we have to hold a meeting in such a poor countryside? Are they slighting us? I thought Deya City was supposed to be the most prosperous place on the entire Dea Plateau.”
Di Lisha complained to Di Lun with resentment.
After all, she had dressed up in her most splendid attire following the highest no-regrets standards, but now it was hard to say whether Deya City even had a ball.
After getting off the carriage, she’d probably have to worry about her skirt being stained by horse manure on the road!
Di Lun, however, didn’t complain much. He just smiled and shook his head.
“Deya City is indeed the most prosperous place on the entire Dea Plateau.”
“Huh?”
“That’s the truth. For centuries, due to the existence of the Mist of Calamity, the Sylvia Kingdom never dared to develop the plateau region. It’s only now, after confirming that the threat of the Mist no longer exists and that a Saintess was born here, that the Dea Plateau’s development has truly begun.”
“Still, there’s no need to be this shabby… when receiving us…”
“What are you thinking? Are we going to ask them to hold a grand welcome ceremony for our arrival? Forget those useless thoughts, Di Lisha. Our most important task this time is to meet the Ninth Saintess. Nothing else matters!”
“Yes, Father…”
Soon, as the Church of the Goddess of Life came into view, the carriage stopped at the church entrance under the guidance of several Demon Hunters.
Di Lun and the others got off the carriage and met the eyes of the Demon Hunters who came forward.
Most of the Demon Hunters bore battle scars of all sizes, and as a whole they exuded a killing aura.
This made Di Lun curious: who had these Demon Hunters just been fighting? Demons?
But he soon got his answer, because in the distance he saw several Blasphemers, bound tightly and tossed into a corner…
“Are you the guests of Chief Priest Kashan?”
A Demon Hunter came up to Di Lun and asked.
After Di Lun nodded, the Demon Hunter immediately led the way into the church.
Di Lisha, holding up her skirt, followed nervously at the very back of the group, not daring to observe the Demon Hunters around her too closely.
Since childhood, Di Lisha had often heard reports like “So-and-so was killed by Demon Hunters after infiltrating the Dea Plateau.”
Like the other citizens of Wangsheng City, Di Lisha believed that the Demon Hunters were a terrifying legion that specialized in hunting Demons and Blasphemers.
“Walk faster. Don’t let those prisoners recognize our identities! Right now, only the Ninth Saintess and her people know who we are. If we’re exposed now, it will definitely cause unnecessary trouble!”
Di Lun quietly reminded his subordinates and Di Lisha, then quickly stepped into the sacred Church of the Goddess of Life.
Although her first impression of Deya City wasn’t good, Di Lisha was still somewhat awed after stepping into the Church of the Goddess of Life, because this was the first time she had entered a building with such a strong religious atmosphere.
The vividly colored stained-glass windows, the neatly arranged pews and marble pillars, and the most conspicuous giant statue of the Goddess of Life in the center all exuded solemnity, sanctity, and a certain order.
It was completely unlike the evil place described in the books of her childhood, a place used to brainwash people and imprison free souls…
“Welcome, everyone, for traveling such a long distance. The Saintess has been waiting in the meeting room in the back for quite some time.”
After seeing Di Lun and the others, Chief Priest Kashan welcomed them with the most standard Priest Etiquette.
The newcomers then fixed curious gazes upon Kashan, sizing her up.
Di Lisha’s eyes also lit up, because this was the first time she had seen a real Priest!
For a long time, the Priest profession had been monopolized by the Church of the Goddess of Life.
As a result, Wangsheng City, which was hostile to the Church of the Goddess of Life, had no Priests at all; the only healing profession was the Elemental Priest.
This had also given rise to Wangsheng City’s highly developed medical system.
‘Such an elegant outfit…’
Di Lisha eyed Kashan’s Priest Robe and marveled. She never expected real Priests to look like this!
In simple terms, Di Lisha’s understanding of Priests was that they were a single healing profession with no offensive power.
And the real Priest Robe was so elegant and proper—not revealing in the least!
How infuriating! If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would have been kept in the dark forever!
Over in Wangsheng City, in order to smear the Church of the Goddess of Life, the ladies in the red-light district would wear modified Priest Robes to attract customers, forcibly equating Priests with .
As a result, the reputation of Priests in Wangsheng City had never been good…
But in front of a truly elegant and dignified Priest, all that smearing was futile!
Set off by the Church of the Goddess of Life, Kashan gave people a sacred and gentle feeling—something Di Lun and the others could hardly experience back in Wangsheng City.
“Please follow me.”
Kashan led everyone toward the back of the church and arrived at the door of a lounge that had been temporarily converted into a meeting room.
“The Saintess is inside. Please, go in.”
“Miss Kashan, aren’t you coming in as well?” Di Lun asked curiously.
“No. The Saintess said this is a private meeting between her and you. No unrelated personnel are allowed in.”
“I see…” Di Lun seemed thoughtful. The next second, he secretly shot Di Lisha a look and said:
“Then Di Lisha, you wait outside here as well.”
“Yes, Father.”
Di Lisha nodded slightly, showing no dissatisfaction with that.
Finally, as the meeting room door closed, only Kashan and Di Lisha remained outside.
Kashan led Di Lisha to a nearby bench to sit down and brewed two cups of black tea to treat her.
Although the quality of the black tea wasn’t great, after passing through Kashan’s hands, Di Lisha could surprisingly sense a gentle flavor in it?
So were all Priests so gentle and elegant? Or was Kashan just an exception?
“Hello, young lady.” Kashan asked gently:
“Can you tell me your name? And while you’re at it, where are you from, and how did you come to know the Saintess?”
“Um… Didn’t the Saintess explain our origins to you?” Di Lisha was slightly taken aback.
“No, she didn’t. The Saintess didn’t tell me anything. She only said that important guests would be coming.”
“I see… Then, then let’s wait until the Saintess comes out on her own before we talk about it. Our identities are a bit special… Oh, right, my name is Di Lisha.”
Di Lisha gave a slight bow to Kashan.
“Then, Di Lisha, I’d like to ask you—since you didn’t go into the meeting room with your father, that means this meeting has nothing to do with you, right? So what was your purpose in coming with your father?”
‘Here it comes!’
Di Lisha’s heart tightened.
Just now, Father’s look had signaled for her to stay outside and keep Kashan company, then try to pry as much information as possible about the Ninth Saintess from her.
From here on, she had to be cautious in both asking and answering!
Immediately after, Di Lisha revealed an innocent, brilliant smile.
“Because I’ve admired the Saintess for a very long time! There are no Saintesses in my country, and I grew up listening to the stories of the Goddess of Life. So when I learned that Father was going to meet the Ninth Saintess this time, I pestered him relentlessly until he brought me along. I’ve always wanted to be good friends with a Saintess!”
Di Lisha gave the answer most fitting for her age. Kashan was also taken aback.
“This… this isn’t quite appropriate, is it?”
“Huh? We can’t be friends?!”
Di Lisha suddenly grew tense. So it was true that a Saintess wasn’t someone just anyone could come into direct contact with…
“No, of course you can be friends. But I want to give you a piece of advice…” Kashan said quietly to Di Lisha.
“You must be very careful that the Saintess doesn’t toy with your feelings!”
“What?!”