Chapter 64: Saint Child’s Masquerade: Lies, Leashes, and the Archbishop’s Smile

“I…”

Joey looked at the little bat representing Aiki.

Just as he was about to speak, he bit his tongue…

‘Wait…’

‘I can’t…’

‘If I tell Aiki my power has disappeared…’

‘I might get dealt with then and there…’

‘That’s not right either…’

‘If I don’t come clean, I’m going to be dealt with next week anyway…’

‘Aiki confessed to me before…’

‘Can I trust her for once…’

‘Getting handled by Aiki… is better than getting handled by some random old lady I don’t even know….’

Joey’s small brain whirled for a moment…

“I…”

“I haven’t… lost my power at all…”

Joey said with a strained smile, his eyes darting awkwardly to the side.

“Be… becoming the Saint Child… is all according to my plan…”

“Oh! So that’s how it is!! As expected of Joey! That’s the guy I set my sights on!!!”

The lively little Chiyang bat hopped up and down as she spoke.

Meanwhile, Aiki’s little bat stared at Joey with her cold, beady eyes…

Stare…

Joey gulped, whistling as if nothing were wrong.

Stare…

Joey’s breathing grew heavy, and a few drops of sweat trickled down…

Stare…

“Stop staring at me! I told you, this is… my… my plan!”

The protagonist’s face turned bright red as he puffed out his cheeks.

“Oh… then what is the Young Master’s plan? Aiki would very much like to hear it…”

Aiki nodded with a cold face and followed up with a question.

Gulp!

Joey raised an eyebrow awkwardly…

“My… my business… is none of your concern…”

“I told you, you’re just a little servant…”

‘Dammit! Why do I feel so guilty saying the words “little servant” right now…’

“Little servant! I am the Demon King. Why should I explain my plans to you…”

Plan…

A spark of inspiration suddenly flashed through Joey’s mind…

Then he raised an eyebrow, his expression turning wicked…

‘Anyway, only Zilan and the Magic Sword know about my empty reserves…’

Joey breathed a sigh of relief and resumed his Demon King persona.

“In short, you’ll know in five days…”

“Just cooperate with me. I’ll tell you your missions when the time comes…”

“…”

The Aiki bat looked at Joey coldly for a moment, then nodded and said, “Then call for us at any time, Young Master. If you activate your Magic, I will sense it immediately.”

Tsk…

‘She’s mentioning Magic again…’

‘Where am I supposed to get Magic right now…’

The boy curled his lip and said, “You brainless idiot…”

“I’m currently in the Church Dormitory. If I activate my Magic, the people from the Order of the Church would sense it in an instant…”

“So you know why I don’t use Magic now, right? It’s because it’s more interesting this way, of course…”

‘That’s a lie…’

Saying these words against his conscience made Joey’s palms sweat profusely…

“Every night at this time, summon these two little bats here to report the situation to me…”

At this point, Joey suddenly thought of something and asked, “But… how did you know I became the Saint Child?”

Aiki responded, “Teacher Kail revealed it to us.”

“Kail…”

The boy frowned, thinking for a moment…

“No time to think about her now… There are still many parts of my plan to execute.”

“Then we won’t disturb you any longer. Please contact us at any time if you have any orders,” the Aiki bat said with a nod.

“Wait…”

Just then, Joey remembered something and said, “You…”

“Contact Arya with a Crystal Stone later and have her invent something…”

“Hmm? What kind of thing?”

The Aiki bat asked, tilting her head.

“Invent a shock device that can shock Zixuan 100 times a day, and then install it on her tonight…”

Joey’s expression became visibly annoyed as he spoke.

“…”

The Aiki bat broke into a cold sweat.

Although she didn’t know the reason, she still complied.

“I understand, Young Master…”

With that, the Aiki and Chiyang bats returned to their normal bat states.

They rubbed against Joey affectionately before obediently returning outside the window, standing guard like two little security guards.

‘That damn Zixuan…’

‘It’s all her fault…’

‘I acted cute around Seia for so long just so she would fall into my grand Retreat Arc plot…’

‘And yet, that bastard Zixuan completely derailed my magnificent plan!!!’

Joey gritted his teeth and cursed in his heart…

‘If there’s a way to make that bastard Zixuan grow Magic Pellets, I’ll definitely have Arya make a device so that every time Zixuan breathes, the Magic Pellets get hit!!!’

***

On the other side…

Aiki and Chiyang sat on their beds in the Dormitory…

Chiyang breathed a sigh of relief.

She lay on the bed, wagging her large tail.

“Phew… As expected, Joey has his own plan… No wonder he seemed so composed…”

Aiki looked at Chiyang with a cold face and said, “Composed? Hearing a word like that from your mouth feels quite out of place…”

“I’ve been in school for one month, after all…”

Chiyang said, baring her shark-like teeth.

“I’m bound to have some growth…”

“Joey even praised me before, saying I’m not as much of an idiot as I used to be…”

“Is that a compliment…”

Aiki frowned and said, “Besides… the Young Master didn’t seem composed to me…”

“Eh?”

Chiyang rolled over on the bed, flattening her full chest as she tapped her slightly red soles, looking at Aiki.

“I’m saying you shouldn’t worry so much…”

“You’ve known Joey for so long…”

“You have to trust him…”

Aiki’s gaze was complicated.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “It’s precisely because I’ve known him for so long…”

“That it’s worrying…”

‘I wonder if I need to take safety precautions before being slept with by the Pope…’

‘Otherwise, it might be very unhygienic…’

‘But that old geezer is so old…’

‘Maybe he’ll just die right on top of me…’

‘What a perfect plan…’

‘Haha…’

Joey already had an expression of total resignation, lying spread-eagled on the bed.

‘Plan my foot…’

‘I’m about to be physically examined soon…’

‘Why am I still acting like I’ve got everything under control…’

He felt the values from his previous life gradually fading away…

And…

Even without the values of his previous life…

He didn’t want to be handled by some random old lady he didn’t know!!!

Who would be willing to let anything happen with an old lady!!!

Joey rubbed his head in frustration, then turned to look at his nightstand…

‘If… it really comes to that…’

‘I might have to use it then…’

The Magic Sword…

***

The next day…

On Zilan’s bedside table sat a Magic Crystal encased in various gears and devices.

The Magic Crystal received a signal, and a series of numbers appeared in its center according to the sunlight.

5:30 AM

Then, the gears outside the Magic Crystal began to turn slowly, emitting the sound of steam.

Sssshhh!!!

Zilan was awakened by the sound.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up.

She looked at the Magic Crystal Alarm Clock with a look of annoyance, then got up to tidy her room and herself.

Zilan’s room was simple and plain, containing only a bed, a desk, a chair, and a bookshelf filled with Sacred Texts.

She washed up expressionlessly, then changed into her Cardinal Robes…

Every movement was smooth and practiced…

Zilan’s personality was the same; she performed every single task with meticulous care.

She put on her glasses but saw a smudge appear on her mirror…

The sight of the smudge instantly made Zilan irritable.

She quickly grabbed a tissue and rubbed it repeatedly, finally folding the tissue neatly before throwing it into the trash can.

Then, Zilan faced her mirror and put on a gentle smile.

Carrying that gentle smile, she arrived at the Church Cafeteria.

The Church Cafeteria was empty….

“Good morning, Archbishop Zilan. You are the first one here again today.”

A cafeteria worker smiled and greeted Zilan.

Zilan nodded gently as usual and took the two portions of food prepared by the worker…

However, the worker’s hands were clumsy, and they accidentally spilled some food onto Zilan.

“Ah!!! Archbishop Zilan! I am so sorry!!!”

Seeing the white Ecclesiastic Robes stained, the worker apologized profusely, grabbing a tissue to wipe it off for her.

Zilan’s gentle smile stiffened.

Her gaze gradually turned cold as she glared at the worker for a moment…

Then, she forced the smile back onto her face.

“It is a small matter, not worth mentioning…”

“I will just go back and change. Do not worry. Please prepare two more portions of food for me…”

“Ah…”

The worker nodded and prepared two more portions for Archbishop Zilan for free, even adding some extra snacks before handing them to her.

“May the Goddess bless you…”

Zilan nodded gently and walked away at a measured pace.

“Archbishop Zilan is truly gentle…”

The worker breathed a sigh of relief.

“No wonder she could become an Archbishop; she is so broad-minded…”

But the moment she turned around, Zilan’s expression turned icy.

She tightened her grip on the two portions of food and walked toward Joey’s room…