Sophie looked at the beautiful little face behind her, which was practically screaming “Are there more cookies? Are there more cookies?” then looked at Modi, who was kneeling before her with such piety that he seemed ready to crack the floor with his forehead.
She finally couldn't help herself. She leaned toward Miaoyue and whispered, “If you don't understand what they're saying, why not just pass these matters on to the True Moon Goddess? Didn't that old broad love micromanaging the mortal world from the divine realm?”
The New Moon Sect of five hundred years ago hadn't been founded by Miaoyue.
Back then, every orthodox religion on the Red Moon continent had its own corresponding deity. The New Moon Sect hadn't originally worshipped this silly moon who forgot everything the moment she ate a cookie; they worshipped the ancient True God who presided over the moon and stars.
According to Sophie’s experience with the game, that original Moon Goddess was no pushover.
Whether it was the appointment of bishops, the length of a Saintess’s skirt, the ratio of fillings in festival mooncakes, or exactly how many silver engravings should be on the neck of a holy water bottle, she had wanted to reach down from the divine realm and tweak every little detail herself.
Her level of micromanagement had been truly appalling.
“The True Moon Goddess...”
Miaoyue thought seriously for a moment.
“Oh, her.”
She tilted her head.
“I can't get in touch with her anymore.”
Sophie: “?”
“The True Gods haven't been reachable for centuries,” Miaoyue said. “At first, everyone panicked.”
“And then?”
“Then, the Archbishop at the time said we couldn't let the believers know that the gods were unreachable. Otherwise, the church would fall into chaos, the believers would be terrified, and the many people who relied on the New Moon’s protection wouldn't know what to do.”
Miaoyue looked down and took a small bite of a cookie.
“He said that at the time, I was the most senior Saintess in the New Moon Sect, the one with the highest mana, the one closest to the moon, and the owner of the Destined Crown.”
“So, he wanted me to temporarily act on behalf of the Moon Goddess.”
“I told him I didn't know how.”
“He said it didn't matter. I didn't have to appear in the mortal world; I just had to stay on the moon.”
“I told him I didn't understand the prayers.”
“He said it didn't matter. A deity doesn't need to respond to every word anyway.”
“I said I wanted to wait for my teacher to come back.”
“He said it didn't matter. The moon was always a symbol of waiting.”
“I really didn't understand. I was just a Saintess, how did they end up choosing me to be the Moon Goddess? I told them they should find someone more capable.”
“But the old man just said the bishops had already decided—you're going to be the Moon Goddess.”
“As a Saintess, I had to obey the joint orders of the Archbishop and the bishops.”
Miaoyue looked up.
“So I helped out for a bit.”
“Somehow, now everyone just calls me the Moon Goddess.”
“So, my Saintess... are there more cookies?”
Sophie pondered this as she handed over another cookie.
The Moon Goddess began eating mindlessly.
The True Gods were unreachable?
That had been mentioned before.
But why?
“Ahem... Saintess, could you please ask the Moon Goddess...” Modi said cautiously.
Sophie’s train of thought was interrupted, so she decided not to dwell on it.
She held up a finger and wagged it gently in front of Modi.
“Bishop, you are too impatient.”
Sophie’s voice became ethereal and profound as she slightly tilted her chin up.
“A deity’s scale of time is entirely different from a mortal’s. When the Heavenly Mother descends, she sees the tides of change across all things, yet you insist on shoving these mundane trifles, stained with the stench of money and blood, into her ears.”
“Secular church affairs should be decided by the Archbishop and the Bishop Council. Also, how long has it been since you offered secular sweets to the Moon Goddess?”
Sophie asked sternly.
She had realized it ever since Little Yue started asking for cookies nonstop.
The Moon Goddess was truly hungry.
Although Little Yue enjoyed food, she was never a greedy person.
And today, she had already asked for cookies several times.
Miaoyue stopped chewing.
She looked at Sophie with wide eyes.
For some reason, this silver-haired Saintess’s figure suddenly seemed to grow much taller.
Modi was stunned.
“Swee... Sweets?”
It was as if he had heard something more difficult to comprehend than “immediately execute the remnants of Elizabeth’s faction.”
Sophie narrowed her eyes slightly.
“What? Does the Bishop find this strange?”
“The moon waxes and wanes, and the heart knows both bitterness and sweetness. Mortals pray to the moon for protection, yet you aren't even willing to offer a bit of sweetness? Do you expect the Goddess to listen to you read ledgers for three hours on an empty stomach?”
Miaoyue nodded vigorously.
Modi’s face went pale, and he hurriedly pressed his forehead to the ground.
“Forgive me, Saintess! Forgive me, Goddess! We were foolish... we did not know... we did not know this was the divine will!”
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