Mills City, inside a magic item shop.
Anderi, wearing a black hood, weaved through the dazzling array of magic items.
Soon, his clouded eyes locked onto a batch of Flame Gems, and the corner of his mouth curled into an evil arc.
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was watching, he lightly tapped a Flame Gem with his fingertip.
Like rainfall, strange magical runes quickly filled the interior of the transparent Flame Gems, only to vanish without a trace the next instant.
“Come, come buy them, Flame Gems.”
“I can’t wait—I truly can’t wait to see your corpses…”
He muttered in a low voice as he exited the shop, the smile beneath his hood twisting into a look of madness.
……
Meanwhile, in the Saintess’ Resting Room.
Because of matters concerning Mills Academy, Nora had been visiting Selis more frequently.
Yet today, she noticed that the always-smiling Selis now had a shadow of gloom lingering between her brows.
“What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”
Selis gently pressed her hand to her chest, her voice trembling with unease:
“Lately, I’ve been restless, as if something major is about to happen.”
“It’s probably because you’ve been working too hard training the Order of Knights, right? What could happen now? Unless…the Abyssal Seal breaks ahead of time, and more uncontrollable Dungeons start appearing everywhere?”
Nora still remembered this matter.
The Abyssal Seal had been growing increasingly unstable lately.
The next stage would see even more Abyssal Magic seeping through the seal, polluting the world, spawning more Dungeons, and sending monsters into a frenzy.
During that stage, there would be much less the Rose Knights could do; more and more, the Empire’s strength would be needed.
“No, it’s not those things.”
Selis shook her head, cutting her off, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her dress. “It’s a closer threat, something that seems intimately connected to the Rose Knights.…”
“You’re overthinking things. Maybe you just need some rest.”
“No, unless I resolve it, I can’t rest.”
With that, Selis stood up and walked quickly toward the door.
“Eh? Where are you going?”
Nora hurriedly got up and grabbed her by the wrist.
“I’m going to seek the Goddess. Maybe She can give me an answer.”
“Wait!”
That sentence changed Nora’s expression at once. She rushed to block Selis, her voice tightening from anxiety:
“Seek the Goddess? But I thought—Saintesses at the Temple of Prophecy can’t actively communicate with the Goddess? Aren’t you supposed to wait for the Goddess to bestow oracles?”
“No, we Saintesses do have a way to actively reach the Goddess.”
“But…there’s a price, isn’t there?”
Nora remembered something and continued, “I read in a book once: if a Saintess wishes to speak with the Goddess, she must burn away her own life span. Is that true?”
Selis lowered her gaze, silently acknowledging this harsh truth.
“Even so, I have to do it.”
She lifted her pale face and forced a weak smile.
“Nora, you understand me. In my heart, they’re irreplaceable.”
With a gentle smile, Selis walked past her, heading off into the distance.
Staring at Selis’s determined departing figure, Nora stood silent for a moment. In the end, she did not try to stop her.
She understood—she could not stop her.
This seemingly delicate Saintess had always been willing to burn herself away to protect those she cherished.
She loved her, and it was precisely because of this.
……
When Selis returned from the Temple, she could barely stand. Supported by Nora, she summoned the Captain of the Order of Knights, Leanna.
“Lady Selis, what’s wrong?”
Leanna looked in confusion at Selis, whose face was ashen.
Saintess Selis reached out and tapped Leanna’s forehead. Golden magic transformed into butterflies, fluttering into her body.
Leanna touched her own forehead, but felt nothing unusual. Only when she looked at her palm did she find a new Golden Sun Mark.
“Is this Protective Magic? Why so suddenly…”
Nora couldn’t help but interject:
“Because Selis has been restless lately, she keeps feeling that you might be in danger. So she reached out to the Goddess and bestowed Protective Magic on you…mmph!”
Partway through, Selis covered Nora’s mouth with her hand.
Facing Leanna’s bewilderment, Selis forced a smile:
“Don’t listen to her nonsense. There’s no danger—these are just my wild imaginings.”
Before she finished speaking, she stumbled and nearly collapsed.
Nora held her thin shoulders, her voice choked with concern: “Selis! Stop acting recklessly. They should know what you’ve done for them!”
“…I just don’t want them to feel pressured.”
“But what about you? Communicating with the Goddess costs you your life! Don’t you care about yourself? Even if you don’t, I care. And they will care, too!”
Nora’s words left Selis hanging her head, falling silent.
In this moment, the holy girl looked just like a student being scolded, too timid to talk back to her mentor, Nora.
Yet words said unintentionally can hit straight to the heart.
Leanna stared in shock at the golden mark still glowing in her palm. “Her life span…?!”
Nora, eyes reddened, explained:
“She thought you all might be in danger, so she burned her life to reach the Goddess, and gave you Protective Magic.”
Leanna clenched the marked hand, her voice trembling: “Why would you do such a thing?”
“Because…I hope to see all of you safe.” Selis leaned weakly against Nora, her eyes lowered.
“We’re perfectly safe right now!” Leanna insisted anxiously.
“Aside from the Flame Gems we use in training—those might be a bit unstable, but even if they explode, they can’t hurt us at all. You’re underestimating our strength!”
Meilin, who had rushed over, echoed urgently, “Exactly! To sacrifice your life for such a small thing isn’t worth it!”
Selis’s pale lips curled faintly, but her gaze remained unfocused. “As long as you’re safe…that’s enough…”
Leanna had no words, only a deep, helpless ache in her heart.
In her eyes, Saintess Selis always worried needlessly.
No matter how many times they tried to talk her out of it, she would never change, and in the future, she would keep doing the same thing.
So, if they didn’t want her to worry, they had to grow stronger—quickly.
Only by becoming powerful enough could they stop this Saintess who always quietly sacrificed herself from burning away for them any longer.
She gazed at the mark in her palm, finally understanding the heavy weight behind this touch of gold.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed her hand to her chest:
“Rest assured. This protection you bought with your life…we will cherish it with our lives. As for everything else, you need not worry—we understand.”
Leanna’s voice was filled with determination.
As the Captain of the Rose Knights, she swore to herself that as long as the Abyssal Dragon had not yet broken its seal, she would never let the blessing that carried Saintess Selis’s devotion fade away!