Ami provided new information, making the girls realize that the mysterious organization’s murder spree against the Sirens was not only driven by possible revenge, but also by an attempt to sabotage the Ritual.
But that wasn’t their concern, so Celes quickly returned to the main topic, hoping Ami would let them tag along to meet and communicate with the Sirens.
Ami gladly agreed, not even mentioning payment.
Fish seek fish, shrimp seek shrimp—since he was just an apprentice at a Workshop, the people he contacted were naturally not big shots, but other Runners like himself.
As long as he delivered the goods to the fish stall, his job was done.
A Small Fishman came out from the back, eyeing everyone warily, then glancing around before carefully accepting the Snake Skin Bag.
After counting the goods, it muttered:
“Damn heretics, trying in vain to disrupt our God’s descent—it’s all useless. When the Prophecy of the Stars’ Return is fulfilled, He will once again rule this world.”
“The final payment is 10 Pearl Oysters, thank you.”
After collecting the payment, Ami translated for the girls: “What it just said basically means that the tribe is furious about the murders, venting a bit, and saying the Ritual will invite their God to avenge them. You can just treat it as cursing.”
Well, since their people were killed in broad daylight, cursing is pretty normal. In fact, it was rather polite.
Celes frowned.
“It just mentioned descent…”
“They say that every year, and every year nothing happens.”
Ami waved his hand dismissively.
“Gods and ghosts, let them say whatever. Anyway, the money and goods are settled.”
“So, the Prophecy of the Stars’ Return refers to…”
“No idea. It’s always this time every year, but nothing special happens with the stars. Sometimes, because of the weather, it’s totally different. I remember one Festival Night when there were no clouds and the stars were bright, but the same day the next year, it was so cloudy you couldn’t see a single star.”
So basically, it’s just to scare people, huh.
After hearing this, Leah looked down even more on their so-called God.
“When something like this happens, the Faithful can only comfort themselves with harsh words. What’s the point of worshipping a God like that? Just look at the great Goddess of Light—once, an Extreme Organization stirred up trouble in the Kingdom, sneaked into a Faithful gathering in the square, and turned their blades on the people there.”
She puffed out her impressive chest, speaking with pride.
“That day, over a thousand Bright Faithful prayed together, and the Blessing of Light poured down from the sky like a waterfall, turning the attack into a complete joke.”
They were swinging their blades over there, while we were healing over here.
Guess what?
Not a single one of us died!
Celes wanted Ami’s help to find out if there were any Sirens of real status around here.
For diplomacy, after all, you needed an actual counterpart.
“No need to ask them—I know. Their higher-ups are the Sirens who oversee the Ritual, like Priests of the Sea Monster from storybooks. But no one knows where they are. Usually, they just send Runners to buy things.”
Ami brought both good news and bad news.
Celes was unwilling to give up.
“What about gifts? We can offer them lots of Pearl Oysters.”
“No idea, I have no connections.”
Since that was the case, there was no other way.
Before leaving, she gave Ami two Pearl Oysters as payment for his help.
“Thank you, big sisters! Thank you all!”
Ami returned to the Workshop, while the girls went to the Teahouse across the street to discuss their next steps.
“If anyone in this city can contact the Siren Priests, it would be Governor Kelu.”
Celes picked up the teapot and poured for the others.
“I’m planning to go back and talk to him again.”
“Sounds reasonable~”
“I think we’re not efficient enough acting together,” Leah suggested.
“Since Zero is working on her own, we can split up too. I want to try preaching.”
“That makes sense too~”
Vina clapped her small hands.
“Then let’s try that first. I’ll go ask around at the nearby Workshops and shops.”
“Very good idea~”
“Stop echoing!”
Leah glared with her beautiful eyes.
“Speak properly—what’s your opinion?”
Ella, still maintaining her soft and gentle persona, was caught and awkwardly rubbed her little hands.
“I’ll go with Vina for now. Later, I’ll check if you need any help.”
A good girl is like a brick—she goes wherever she’s needed.
After finishing their tea, the group split up.
Celes went to the Governor’s Mansion to find Kru, Leah found a place to set up a stage for preaching, and Vina took Ella to nearby shops.
That was the plan, but the little witch hadn’t walked far before she stopped and looked at the pink-haired thunder girl.
“Spit it out. I saw you winking at me in the Market just now.”
As expected of a genius magician—her perception and insight are top-notch.
Ella came up beside her and spoke softly, “After hearing your conversation earlier, I realized things are looking grim…”
“What? Speak up!”
“I said things are looking grim! The Sea Monster Tribe’s God is problematic. With the Theocracy system, it’s impossible to communicate with them normally. So, a Religious War might be the only option.”
Vina folded her arms.
“But you said before, we don’t have the Kingdom Army’s support. War would be hard to fight.”
It’s not that we can’t win, but it would be hard to achieve our goals.
Ella pretended to hesitate, wanting to speak but holding back, then finally said with uncertainty, “Actually, maybe not.”
“Hmm?”
Vina was stunned for a few seconds.
“Can you conjure an army out of thin air?”
“You know, I’m the Demon King’s sister. When he was in power, I handled a lot of things. In fact, we have a contingency plan, designed to help him make a comeback if he ever lost control of the Demon Race—mainly to guard against a Coup d’état or similar events.”
After all, she herself had come to power through a Coup d’état, so as the saying goes, if you take that path, you have to be wary of others following.
The little witch blinked, signaling that she was listening. Go on.
Ella took a breath and continued, “The plan is to contact some loyal subordinates and have them gather enough people to operate in the border regions of the Demon Territory, building up strength. To achieve that, we spread them out across the Demon Territory years ago. And the nearest Demon Territory to here—”
She raised her slender finger, pointing east, where a range of not-so-high but continuous mountains stretched.
“On the other side of those mountains, I might be able to find an army willing to help me.”
The little witch was well-known in the Royal City, but even for someone like her, Ella’s words left her stunned for a long time.
Then she suddenly burst out laughing.
“Good, good, good! Wonderful! Bringing the Demon Race army to fight the heretical cult—this is going to be so much fun!”
Knew you’d say that.
Ella was delighted inside, but outwardly she looked reluctant.
“If there was any other way, I wouldn’t do this. Besides, I don’t even know when I can get over there…”
“No worries—find a chance to go tomorrow. I’ll cover for you.”
Vina grabbed her hand.
“You must succeed!”
She wanted to see this so badly.