As the carriage passed through the gates of Sido territory, the wheels rolled over the iron tracks with a clanking sound. Lovene lifted the curtain and looked out the window.
Sido territory was built as a heavy iron fortress. The city walls were an iron-gray, their surfaces etched with rust and rain stains. Even the drainage grates along the streets were made of iron, their edges worn smooth and shiny from countless footsteps.
Thin iron chains hung from the eaves on both sides of the street, swaying slowly in the wind like some kind of suspended markers. Through the carriage window, she saw the commoners walking beneath these chains with steady paces.
Although the clothes of these commoners could not be described as luxurious, the materials and craftsmanship far surpassed those of the commoners in Oswell territory.
The owner of the territory, Count Ron, stood on the steps in front of the lord's manor, waiting for her.
He was a middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue long coat. A fine pattern of dark embroidery lined his cuffs, catching the sunlight with a subtle sheen that differed from the fabric, giving him a luxurious and grand appearance.
However, his left hand was covered in a black glove, looking somewhat like a prosthetic limb.
As Lovene stepped down from the carriage, he took a few steps forward to greet her, his boots coming to a halt just a short distance from where her carriage had stopped.
“Lady Saintess, I have looked forward to this day for so long. You have finally arrived.”
Lovene's gaze swept past Count Ron's shoulder to take in the outline of the building behind him before returning to him. She spoke plainly, “Count Ron, you are too kind. The church sent me here primarily for that holy relic...”
Count Ron smiled slightly.
“I know. After all, I was the one who spread the news of the holy relic.”
“May I ask why you did that, Count Ron?”
A holy relic was something left behind by a god, possessing incredible power. Since Count Ron possessed it, as long as he kept quiet, no one would ever know.
Making the holy relic public and even allowing others to fight for it was undoubtedly an extremely foolish move.
Unless he was forced to.
Count Ron did not answer Lovene. Instead, he made a gesture of invitation.
“Lady Saintess, please follow me.”
Exchanging a glance with Mia, Lovene followed Count Ron into his lord's manor. At the very top of the manor lay a small room protected by countless magic circles.
Inside the small room stood a golden pedestal, and upon it rested a staff.
The staff was made entirely of a dark metal, its surface etched with faint patterns that were barely visible under the light, as if embedded beneath the surface, appearing only at specific angles.
At the tip of the staff, there seemed to have once been a magnificent magic crystal, but it was now completely empty.
“This is the holy relic,” Count Ron introduced.
“It is said to be a staff once used by an outer god, possessing incredible power. However, as to what kind of power it holds, we have never used it—or rather, we lack the qualification to do so.”
Lovene nodded.
Indeed, things left behind by gods were generally unusable by ordinary people. Only those who had received recognition or possessed special abilities could wield them.
Thus, it was only natural that Count Ron could not use this staff.
However, Lovene found herself quite taken with it.
She had learned some magic now, but she lacked a suitable weapon. If she could use this staff as her own weapon, wouldn't that be perfect?
This was a holy relic! The power of weapons forged by humans could never compare to that of a holy relic!
Of course, she was just musing for now. After all, she didn't even know if she could use the staff.
“As long as you help me accomplish one task, I will give it to you.”
“What task?”
Count Ron spun the ring on his right hand, remembering something, and sighed.
“In recent weeks, my territory has suffered from contamination. Monsters are roaming within the domain, and many people have lost their lives. Therefore, I would like to ask you to investigate the contamination, and either purify it or contain it.”
Lovene lowered her head in thought. “Shouldn't this kind of matter be handled by the Heresy Inquisitors?”
“Of course, I have reached out to them as well,” Count Ron said in a steady voice. “Otherwise, why would there be a contest for the holy relic? Aside from you, Lady Saintess, there is actually another Saintess from the church currently investigating the contamination in the territory.”
“So that's how it is.”
As expected, she wasn't the only one who had come to vie for the holy relic.
Still, Count Ron's care for his people exceeded Lovene's expectations. In the current world, contamination plaguing a territory was a common occurrence.
Yet he was willing to offer a holy relic as a reward just to resolve this contamination. Such a heart was definitely rare among the lords of various territories.
“I won't say much more,” Count Ron stepped aside and smiled.
“I know that you do not possess the ability to contain contamination, Lady Saintess. Therefore, you might want to visit the bishop of the Church of the Morning Light in this territory. He may be able to provide you with a tool to contain it.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
Lovene nodded slightly.
After a brief farewell, Lovene and Mia boarded the carriage once more and headed to the Church of the Morning Light's cathedral in Sido territory.
Although the cathedral here was far from being as grand as the one in the Holy City, it had its own unique style. As she walked inside, the nuns dressed in black habits lowered their heads, bowing to her from a distance.
As the church's Saintess, Lovene's appearance had long since become known throughout the entire church.
The bishop of Sido territory's church was a robust old man. He found Lovene in the depths of the cathedral and immediately pushed an iron box on his desk toward her.
“Lady Saintess, this is a magic box.”
He introduced, “When you encounter a contamination source, have the Holy Knight beside you channel mana into it, and it will contain most contamination sources.”
Taking the magic box, Lovene gave a soft nod.
She had seen Clement contain a contamination source before. If she remembered correctly, he had used a similar object back then.
“I heard you have awakened the ability to purify contamination?”
After handing over the magic box, the bishop shifted the topic to another matter.
“Yes.”
Seeing Lovene admit to it, the bishop looked her up and down. His expression was a mix of satisfaction and a trace of regret as he spoke:
“What a pity. The ability to purify contamination is rare, even within the church.”
The Saintesses of the church often possessed special abilities, so he wasn't surprised that Lovene could purify contamination. He only felt it was a pity that such a rare ability had manifested in her.
If it had appeared in any other nun, they wouldn't need to awaken the Lord of the Morning Light, so they wouldn't die anytime soon. They could do so much for the church and even dedicate their entire lives to it.
What a great achievement that would be...
With her existence, the Church of the Morning Light might have marched toward an even more glorious future!
What a pity...
By his estimation, this Saintess probably had at most two years left before she would have to awaken the Lord of the Morning Light.
Tsk, tsk.
“Go. Our Church of the Morning Light is determined to obtain that holy relic,” the bishop said, waving his hand after composing himself. Then, his voice turned cold. “Of course, if we cannot obtain it, we wouldn't mind destroying it either.”
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