“Huh?” Jessica's sudden betrayal left not only the church but also everyone from the Special Service dumbfounded. Atticus frowned and asked, “What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to shield this guy?!”
Jessica replied, “It is not shielding him. I have already made my reasons very clear. Continuing to fight is utterly pointless.”
Archbishop Pantheon also frowned and said, “But we cannot just let this criminal walk away from here scot-free without any punishment!”
“Of course he will receive the punishment he deserves, but that punishment should be decided by His Majesty the King, not you,” Jessica said. “Church of the Earth, although we are very grateful for your timely appearance and help, this is ultimately an internal affair of the Kingdom of Tarapaca. You have no right to interfere.”
At those words, neither the Archbishop nor Atticus spoke. They merely stared solemnly at Jessica, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense and volatile.
“This... this is...” The members of the Special Service were completely bewildered by this sudden turn of events. However, no matter what, the Mobile Squad and Jessica were their superiors in rank. If a conflict arose, it was only logical and proper for them to side with the Mobile Squad.
The official extraordinaries of the Special Service either wore helpless expressions or looked apologetic as they distanced themselves from the members of the church.
Just like that, the two groups that had originally gathered together gradually split apart, as if separated by an invisible wall.
It was no exaggeration to say that if the situation continued to deteriorate, a conflict could break out between the two sides, and a physical clash was not out of the question.
Counting Freya, the church side had only three Rank Four extraordinaries, with a total strength of no more than fifty people. On the other hand, the Special Service had greater numbers and a full two Rank Five experts. If a fight broke out, the church would undoubtedly face certain defeat.
However, even if the Special Service won, the consequences would be extremely severe. Imagine what would happen once the branches of the Church of the Earth in other cities learned that the church in Auxerre had clashed with the authorities and its members had been completely slaughtered.
Not to mention, there was also a Saintess of the church personally chosen by the deity among them.
If things went south, it was not impossible for a civil war to break out in the Kingdom of Tarapaca as a result.
Just then, Freya spoke up. “Let it be, then. I hope His Majesty the King will give this guy a punishment fitting of this disaster.”
With that, she turned around and walked away. “Do not just stand there. Let us go. A third of the city is currently on fire. The sooner we set out, the more people we can save.”
“This...” Atticus shot one final glance at Jerome and Jessica before turning around with a look of deep displeasure to follow Freya. The members of the church left the scene with her.
Seeing this, Jessica couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Jerome, watching Freya's receding, petite figure, also remarked, “This young Saintess is certainly not simple either.”
Jessica cut him off irritably. “Cut the crap and come with me!”
As for Freya, she naturally had no intention of just swallowing this insult. It was just that fighting right now brought her absolutely no benefit. She might even die here, which would render her Earth Pathway save slot completely useless.
Thus, her current plan was to hold out for a few more days. Once the Church of the Earth finished preparing the ritual, she would advance to Rank Five, immediately terminate the simulation, and start over.
Just like that, both the Church of the Earth and the Special Service launched rescue operations. The fire raged for a full day and night, and the rescue efforts lasted for three days. The casualties and property damage caused by this disaster were immeasurably massive, plunging the entire city into a state of profound depression and grief.
On the evening of the fifth day, Nolan came to the Church of the Earth to find Freya. He said, “Just yesterday, Jerome successfully persuaded several nobles to go with him to see His Majesty the King. But as it turned out, he seems to have failed. He could not convince His Majesty to change his mind, and who knows if that madman will do something even more insane in the future.”
Freya was currently sitting on a chair, her legs together, with her toes hovering about three or four centimeters off the ground. She gently swung her lower legs, keeping her head lowered the entire time. Her attention seemed entirely focused on her fair, bare feet, and her face showed no trace of emotion. “Did you come all this way just to tell me this?”
Nolan sighed. “Well... I felt you had the right to know the follow-up. Also... among the three cities General Jerome mentioned that might be annexed by the Pentagram Alliance, one of them happens to be Jessica's hometown. That is probably why she made that decision at the very last moment...”
Freya still did not look up. She curled her toes slightly, rubbing the toe ring she wore.
Nolan continued, “After Captain Jessica escorted Jerome away, the Special Service cleaned up the battlefield. The potion warehouse on Sanheng Street was blown up, and we did not find anything useful there. However, at Jerome's residence, we found the complete blueprint of the occult array that burned the city, a large quantity of unused spirituality crystals, and four bottles of War Pathway potions.”
“In the coming days, His Majesty the King will personally hold a trial for Jerome. I will hand these items over. They should serve as strong evidence, and I hope His Majesty will hand down the punishment he deserves.”
Hearing this, Freya looked up for the first time, a trace of confusion in her voice. “Four bottles of War Pathway potions?”
Nolan replied, “Yes. Is something wrong?”
Freya asked, “Could you give those potions to me?”
“Huh?” Nolan was completely taken aback. He had not expected Freya to suddenly make such a request. After a moment of thought, he said, “I suppose... it should be fine?”
It was no exaggeration to say that the entire Special Service of Auxerre felt indebted to the church right now. Furthermore, these four War Pathway potions were not critical evidence. It wouldn't hurt to give them to Freya.
The method of advancement for the War Pathway was slaughter. If it were anyone else, Nolan might have to think twice, but since it was the Church of the Earth, they would certainly never go around killing innocents. He could be absolutely at ease!
Still, Nolan asked, “May I ask what you plan to do with these potions?”
Freya thought about it but could not come up with a suitable excuse. Thus, she pursed her lips and said in a downcast tone, “Is that not allowed?”
Nolan: “...”
After a brief pause, he said, “Alright, I will go back and ask. Since it is only four bottles of potions, there shouldn't be any problem.”
Having finished that topic, Nolan pulled out a bag and handed it to Freya. “And there is this—the new custom attire for the Church of the Earth. I have already inspected it. It is very beautiful, meets the standards, and has no issues.”
It was worth mentioning that the person who had previously represented the Special Service to protest to the Church of the Earth about the clothes being too revealing was also Nolan.
...
Time flew by, and the scheduled day for the promotion ritual quickly arrived. Because of the recent citywide fire and the Church of the Earth's heroic efforts to extinguish it, the number of attendees at this gathering was several times larger than originally planned. Fortunately, the venue was a spacious open square; otherwise, it would have been bursting at the seams.
Every commoner wore an expression of survival and immense gratitude. Watching this scene, Pantheon couldn't help but smile. He was not enjoying their gratitude for his own sake, but rather rejoicing that he had been able to help so many people.
But immediately after, a drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. For no other reason than that these people were simply too enthusiastic!
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so very much!”
“If not for you, I would probably have died in that great fire.”
“This is a small gift I prepared. Please, you must accept it!”
“Where is Her Holiness? Why haven't I seen her? I prepared a gift for her too.”
Miscellaneous gifts of all kinds quickly filled Pantheon's hands, yet the guests kept stuffing more into his arms. Pantheon felt his head throbbing. Backing away, he said, “It is about time! I will go and call Her Holiness right now.”
He then fled the scene and returned to the cathedral. Freya was currently standing quietly in front of the three divine statues, her eyes closed, lost in thought.
Gently placing all the gifts in his arms onto the floor, Pantheon said, “Her Holiness, we may begin.”
The promotion ritual from Rank Four to Rank Five for the Path of Life was: in a gathering of at least five hundred people, make everyone feel heartfelt gratitude toward you, and finally drink the potion amidst everyone's blessings.
The original plan was for the Church of the Earth to perform a massive series of good deeds and attribute them all to Freya so everyone would feel grateful to her. However, plans could not keep up with changes. During this period, Freya had been actively fighting the fire, truly leading the members of the Church of the Earth to save countless commoners.
“Understood,” Freya nodded, turning to walk out of the cathedral.
Once back in the square, Pantheon shouted loudly, “Everyone! The Church of the Earth is hosting this gathering today and inviting all of you here to mourn.”
“We mourn all those who unfortunately lost their lives in this disaster. They might have been your parents, wives, husbands, or friends. But we cannot remain immersed in past grief forever. Surely, our loved ones who perished in the fire would not want us to remain dispirited either!”
“No matter what, life must go on! We must look up, look forward, and continue to live our lives to the fullest. This is the greatest respect we can show to the deceased!”
“Thus, this gathering is also a celebration—to celebrate that everyone here can still see tomorrow's sun!”
“Finally, thank the Heavenly Father, thank the Earth God, thank the Mother Goddess! And thank Her Holiness! I declare that the gathering has officially begun. Please enjoy all the food and wine here to your heart's content!” As Pantheon spoke, he stepped aside, allowing Freya, who was behind him, to appear before everyone.
By now, Freya had changed into the custom “Saintess attire” she had designed. She wore a chiffon dress of overlapping white and pale green on her upper body, leaving her delicate, beautiful collarbones and fair shoulders exposed.
The dress reached roughly mid-thigh. As the hem gently fluttered in the breeze, one could catch a faint glimpse of a white ribbon garter tied around her right thigh. Her exposed forearms, calves, and ankles were also wrapped with several white ribbon bows. These small decorations made Freya look incredibly pure and elegant.
As for her feet, she was naturally barefoot. The ring on the second toe of her right foot glinted faintly under the moonlight, drawing quite a bit of attention.
Finally, she had not styled her hair into anything complex, keeping it as a simple, long, straight white style. A white flower sat upon her forehead, and a white, hollowed-out mesh “eyepatch” covered her eyes.
After all, the original intent behind Freya's outfit was to cosplay Columbina from Genshin Impact. While she might not look one hundred percent identical now, she was at least fifty percent there.
Well... there was nothing that could be done about that. After all, due to the lack of technology in this era, many things simply could not be crafted. For instance, there should have been six white pigeon feather hair ornaments on the back of her head, but the old woman at the tailor shop had racked her brains and still failed to make them.
Honestly, the reason she could achieve even fifty percent similarity was because 【Columbina】's outfit was relatively simple, consisting mainly of a dress and a large amount of white ribbon.
Since she couldn't make the white pigeon feather hair ornaments, Freya used her own ability to create a pure white flower to wear on her head. It was worth mentioning that this white flower was the “special companion plant” she had obtained upon her promotion to Rank Four. Pantheon had mentioned back then that every extraordinary of the Path of Life had a unique “Companion Plant.”
However, even now, Freya had no idea what special effects this white flower possessed.
Returning to the present, everyone who saw Freya after her entrance couldn't help but daze. There was no other reason than that she looked incredibly beautiful. Just looking at her gave off a holy sensation, making her truly seem like an angel descending to earth.
“Thank the Church of the Earth!”
“Thank Her Holiness!”
Following the last words Pantheon had shouted, all the commoners present began to chant. It was no exaggeration to say that at this very moment, Freya's Rank Four to Five promotion ritual was already complete. She could easily leave right now, find a quiet place, and drink the potion.
However, she did not do so. Instead, she slowly walked into the crowd to enjoy this post-disaster gathering with everyone.
She responded to everyone who spoke to her, thanked everyone who gave her a gift, laughed and chatted with the crowd, and ate the prepared food.
As the night grew deeper and everyone left full and satisfied, the gathering came to an end. Only then did Freya return to the Church of the Earth and take out the Rank Five potion.
...
Rate on N.U.
