“This feels like a dungeon crawl or something.”
After overcoming obstacle after obstacle, Samimi and Niubao finally reached the main gate of the prince’s palace.
They straight-up stole the Giant Whale Knights’ carriage, cracked the reins, and sped away.
There were simply too many people in the royal capital with whom Samimi had bad blood. She was already lucky to only run into her mother and younger sister. Thank goodness the rest of the Hero’s Party hadn’t appeared.
Actually, among the Hero’s Party, the Pure White Knight Fabiana was one of the more agreeable members. She just had a sharp tongue and a temper, that’s all.
Even after Samimi slapped her face and stepped on her armor, Fabiana held it in. If it had been anyone else, things would’ve gone very differently.
That was because Fabiana was bound by a code of conduct known as the “Knight’s Oath.” Sure, she played some dirty tricks, but she wasn’t someone who did truly evil things.
Samimi had previously mentioned that aside from her and Fabiana, the other three members of the Hero’s Party were all illegitimate daughters, resulting in twisted and repressed personalities—perfect examples of dogs that bite without barking.
“Niubao, go rest inside the carriage for a bit.” Samimi nudged Niubao into the cabin.
Poor Niubao had just eaten, then got knocked around twice and puked it all up in the flowerbed. She ended up starving again.
Even the lunchbox Samimi had packed and brought was lost in the scuffle. No midnight snacks for her. Poor little Niubao.
“I wanna sit outside too.”
But Niubao didn’t want to be alone. She climbed onto the open-air driver’s seat next to Samimi, wanting to enjoy the breeze together.
She then asked innocently, “Miss Nun, is the Knight Lady not coming home with us?”
“She has her own home and her own knight order. We don’t need to worry about her,” Samimi smiled.
“Okay.” Niubao nodded.
“From now on, you’ll use this sword. You probably can’t get used to the Demon-Slaying Blade—it’s not made for ordinary people.” Samimi handed the Golden Knight Sword to Niubao and took back her own large demon-slaying blade.
Niubao trained in the Diarmuid-style sword and shield technique, which focused on single-handed weapons. The demon-slaying blade was a giant two-handed katana—not a good match. She wouldn’t be able to wield it effectively.
“Really? I can keep it?” Niubao’s eyes sparkled.
Aside from eating, she rarely asked for things. But right now, she looked absolutely thrilled with the sword.
The most awkward part? The custom-made golden sword was engraved with “Fabiana Diarmuid” and even had her birthday on it.
On the other side of the blade was a cringe-worthy line straight out of a teenage fantasy:
“Please protect this pure white sky.”
“If I don’t give it to you, then who—ah, crap! Almost crashed—no more chatting, let me focus.” Samimi ruffled Niubao’s hair and narrowly avoided flipping the cart.
At last, the two made it safely out of the capital and returned overnight to their cozy hometown—Sweetmelon Town.
Thus came the end of the Knight King’s baronial promotion banquet, an event that had shocked the entire royal capital.
From this moment on, the title “Knight King” would no longer carry a mocking undertone of “king among knights.”
Because his rank was no longer knight—but baron.
Baron may not be a high title, but pairing a dragon’s skeleton with a strong alliance with the rising Third Prince, Shaya Diarmuid had paved himself a smooth path in court.
He also donated the precious remains of a half-demon to the Holy Church—an enormous favor.
The person entrusted with receiving these remains was none other than the Saintess’s successor, Sashafa.
“Lady Saintess, I’ve returned.”
Sashafa rushed back to the Galis Cathedral Complex, completing her mission, and immediately went to report to her mentor, Saintess Machima.
Saintess Machima sat silently on the front bench of the Saintess Chapel. As always, only her sacred silhouette could be seen—not her face. A mysterious presence cloaked her form.
“Lady Saintess, I ran into Samimi… I sparred with her a little. She actually fought me to a draw. She’s using some evil-looking rose-colored flying sword magic—it’s infuriating!”
“So here’s what happened… and then this… and that…”
Sashafa, not daring to look the Saintess directly, knelt beside her on one knee in reverence and gave a full report of the encounter.
Except… she lied about the outcome, saying it was a draw.
But really, it was a draw! Samimi didn’t stomp on her or anything! That totally counted!
Sashafa comforted herself with that logic.
“Child, you must stop trying to compete with your sister,” Saintess Machima spoke with serene, frosty grace. “Even if she’s just a country nun now, she’s still one of the Church. In-fighting among clergy is strictly forbidden.”
“I understand. I was wrong,” Sashafa bowed deeply in apology.
“Sashafa, you must diligently refine your mastery of the Holy Sand. The future of the Church lies with you. If you can wield Holy Sand with true skill, none shall be your equal,” Machima said warmly. “Not even your sister.”
“Yes! Then I shall go train. I won’t disturb you any longer,” Sashafa rose, now filled with renewed energy thanks to her mentor’s encouragement. She turned and left to resume her meditation and practice.
Especially that final sentence—it gave Sashafa great confidence, because at this moment, she had one singular wish:
To defeat the arrogant atonement nun Samimi—in front of everyone, so the whole world would see that she was stronger than her sister!
But…
Saintess Machima had lied.
After Sashafa left, the saintess braced herself against the bench, her legs trembling. She barely managed to stand and hurried back to her personal quarters.
Her room resembled a miniature library, filled with ancient texts and secret manuscripts of the Church.
There, she pulled out the sacred heirloom passed down from the previous Saintess—the Book of Prophecies.
She flipped to the final prophecy—a drawing of a young female cleric wielding a flying sword, locked in battle against a massive half-dragon, half-human monster.
The image foretold an upcoming calamity for humankind, and helped the Church recognize the shape of its true enemy in advance.
It also clearly identified the savior: the girl with the flying sword was the key to humanity’s survival.
Sashafa’s Holy Sand talent and her Holy Blade skills were indeed a perfect match for the figure in the prophecy.
However—
One section of the drawing was colored.
In fact, it was the only colored section in the entire prophetic book.
The flying sword wielded by the young priestess had been painted with a stroke of deep crimson.
So when Sashafa had mentioned that Samimi—aside from her healing powers—used a rose-colored magical flying sword…
Saintess Machima instantly realized:
She had identified the wrong savior!
It was over!
She had just banished the real savior to some countryside post as a lowly village priest!