harleyscars Page 51
Page 51
"Let me tell you, there are only a few situations where this level of anomaly appears... One is the birth of a saintess, but we are usually notified of this in advance."
"Such sudden anomalies can only occur when an archbishop or the Pope passes away, or when the sacred relics or the saint herself suffer severe damage!"
"His Holiness the Pope is still traveling within the kingdom and hasn't returned yet, but I've seen Archbishop Hope perfectly well; he's still in the church making Lena dolls during the day!!"
"Then, there's only one possibility left..." A chilly night wind blew by, and many people's voices trembled.
"Following the Mino Hero, even the Saintess... has left us?"
"Uh...they're not dead yet, are they?"
The crowd gradually became restless. Even with the paladins and clerics trying to calm them down, the atmosphere of unease and panic continued to spread, and it looked like it was about to reach a certain threshold.
At that moment, the doors of the church finally opened.
The crowd perked up, glancing nervously toward the church doors, where Archbishop Hope strode out with a broad smile.
"It's Archbishop Hope, he's not dead..."
"If it's not Archbishop Hope, then it must be Saint Lena—"
Feeling the disappointed looks in the eyes of many, Hope's face twitched involuntarily.
So you're actually quite unhappy that I'm not dead... I'll cry, I really will cry!
See through a group of believers in ten seconds!
"quiet."
Hope's gentle voice, accompanied by holy light, enveloped the entire square. As the most senior clergyman of the Holy Church, his long-standing prestige finally brought a brief period of peace to the people of the entire western district.
After a long pause, someone in the crowd raised their hand:
"Archbishop Hope, what exactly is going on with the strange phenomena at the Holy Church tonight... Could it be that Saintess Lena has met with some misfortune? After the Mino Warrior, has she also been severely injured and returned to the Holy Church?"
"This is a misunderstanding."
Hope said with a smile, pausing slightly to deliberately add a touch of curiosity:
"I'm also surprised. Why don't you try to think about it from a positive perspective... With the goddess's blessing, wouldn't a miracle happen?"
"But even the Mino Warrior has already..."
Seeing Hope's calm demeanor, the crowd's momentum gradually subsided, and a doubt involuntarily arose in their hearts: Could it be that they really have PTSD?
But the visions in the church do not lie.
The man wanted to press for more details, but Archbishop Hope gently stepped aside. At the doorway, an elegant and dignified young woman emerged, escorted by paladins.
A commotion arose in the crowd:
"My God! It's Princess Kalia?!"
"Why is she here?"
The sound spread like waves, and astonishment appeared in the eyes of the crowd in the square. They never expected that the person who walked out of the Holy Church was not Saint Lena, but the jewel of the kingdom, Princess Kalia!
Why is she here? No… Horror flashed in the eyes of countless people: Could it be that the strange phenomenon just now was caused by Kalia!
The only explanation is that the church was built in the center of a wide, well-connected square, with no secret passages or doors, and could only be entered through the main entrance... And from the moment the phenomenon occurred, residents from the surrounding area had already come to the square, which only means one thing: the person in the church tonight is Princess Kalia.
"Could it be... could it be that Princess Kalia has also become a saint?"
Some believers began to speak with joy.
But soon everyone shook their heads. Unlike Prince Ota, Princess Kalia had been physically weak since childhood and had never cultivated the power of the Holy System. This was common knowledge in the capital, not to mention that there had always only been one Holy Maiden in the Holy Church.
"Not the saintess." Under everyone's stunned gaze, Hope announced:
"Princess Kalia is a goddess."
"A true goddess!"
Chapter 70: Mature Mino will be tortured on his own.
"goddess?!"
The crowd erupted in an uproar.
A series of surprised and uncertain gazes fell on the beautiful and charming princess in front of the church... Although Princess Kalia, as a member of the royal family, was still somewhat naive, her charming face and elegant and dignified temperament had won her a large number of loyal followers in the capital.
Even so, how could the frail and sickly Princess Kalia possibly be associated with that supreme goddess?
"Now that things have come to this, there's no need to hide it anymore."
Archbishop Hope slowly opened his eyes at that moment, his gaze carrying a faint wisdom... He subtly wiped the cold sweat from his palms, mentally rehearsed his lie, and then uttered the lie he had just concocted:
"What do you consider to be royalty?"
……
Bright moonlight streamed through the iron bars of the window, quietly bathing the soft bed.
"The moonlight is exceptionally bright tonight."
Mino stood by the window, somewhat nostalgic, and said, "The last time I saw such a bright moon was when I became a hero."
Artotai, curled up in the corner, yawned lazily: "My lord, isn't that obvious—"
"Moon, moon, how could it not be bright?"
Mino turned his head and realized that what he said made a lot of sense, and he was speechless.
He originally intended to use this opportunity to introduce the rumor that "the goddess established a connection with the world through moonlight," to indirectly illustrate how unprecedented and unparalleled he was when he awakened as a hero, and then casually show off a bit—but Altotai killed the conversation with a single sentence. In this respect, it should really learn from him.
"Speaking of which, my lord, you actually have the mood to admire the moon here... The demons have probably already launched their attack on Saintess Lena tonight, aren't you worried?"
In the corner, Altottai was still grumbling to himself.
“You’re not perceptive enough, Altottai,” Mino said confidently, waving his finger.
"If the demons' plan has succeeded, then these demons will not remain stationed in the Demon King's city, but will instead mobilize in full force to lead the Demon King's army to attack the front lines where their fighting strength is weak."
"But we haven't heard a sound yet. What does that mean? — It means their plan didn't succeed at all! And it couldn't possibly have succeeded!"
At this point, Mino proudly raised her head:
"After all, I've been the one stirring up trouble for the demons' plans from beginning to end!"
"Look at Prince Ota and Chief Lak now, have they run into any trouble?" Moonlight shone on Mino's aloof face, his words carrying a hint of arrogance:
"With our combined efforts from within and without, how can the demons possibly disrupt the human front?!"
"All I see is you just giving things away for free," Altothai retorted, squinting.
"Superficial! So superficial!" Mino exclaimed in anguish.
"You holy swords only need to stand by and interrogate, shout encouragement, while we heroes have much more to consider... If the information I provide is even slightly more or less, it will not achieve such a perfect effect, do you understand?! Do you understand what it means to play hard to get?"
"Besides, everything I've done is to lower the demons' guard... so that we'll have more opportunities to escape the Demon King's city!"
Ignoring the crumbling holy sword in the corner, Mino took out the cell key, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Tonight, these demons are focused on Lena, which is a good opportunity for me to further explore the Demon King's castle!"
Having learned from his previous experience, Mino did not summon the Demon King's Castle Key, which had a random debuff. He decided to first figure out the structure of all the rooms on all floors of the Demon King's Castle and obtain the most basic information before proceeding.
Mino tiptoed out of the cell and made her way to the stairwell with practiced ease.
He looked up at the spiral staircase and remembered that he had only explored the basics on his previous two visits. This time, he wasn't in a hurry and decided to explore the upper floors first.
With that thought in mind, he lifted his foot and started walking up.
Unexpectedly, the staircase narrowed as it went up, making the entire space gradually cramped, as if you had reached the top of a tower.
Mino stopped walking and stepped onto the last step.
Unexpectedly, going up again led directly to the top floor, a small space resembling an observation deck, which was brightly lit by the moonlight. However, there were no telescopes or similar items on the top floor; instead, there was a marble platform in the center.
There was a book on the table.
"So, this is your room?" Mino walked up, looked at the book on the table, and shook her head slightly, feeling a bit annoyed.
I thought I was going to unlock a new area, but it turned out I just checked off a scenic spot.
On the stone platform, an old, yellowed book, seemingly made of parchment, moved without wind... Its dark cover gleamed with an obsidian-like luster, and countless tiny, star-like dark runes flickered on it, radiating a strong magical power.
"Isn't this... Heh, this seems to be our first meeting since you came to the Demon King's Castle?"
As the pages were turned, the book suddenly made a sound on its own.
“However, calling it a room isn’t quite accurate. We book demons don’t need to sleep—I’m used to staying here mainly so that it’s easier to exercise my demonic powers.”
The Book Demon Swell gently turned the pages of his body. There was another thing he naturally wouldn't say: the abundant moonlight helped him recover his power.
Even though Mino was trapped in the Demon King's castle, he did not intend to let the other party easily figure out his situation.
"Fine." Mino shrugged indifferently.
"Speaking of which, you don't seem surprised at all that I walked out of the prison cell and appeared before you?"
Mino discovered a blind spot: neither Fim, Clytina, nor even Swell seemed surprised when they saw him outside the cell.
Of course, cough cough, Kleinera's incident was an accident.
“What’s so strange?” Swell’s voice was a little strange: “As a prisoner, Lord Mino, you also have the right to go outside for fresh air... Just ask, and we can release you at any time.”
"After all, you've lost your power and can't leave the Demon King's castle... and most of the important rooms in the Demon King's castle are locked, so you can't get in."
"Huh?" Mino was stunned.
He recalled his previous two encounters with the two demons. At that time, Fim did not raise any questions. Well, being quiet was one reason... More likely, she thought it was Kleinna who had released her.
When Kleinna saw him, she was too busy getting dressed to say much... It seems she thought Fim had let her out?
Mino opened her mouth wide and gripped the cell key tightly in her hand.
So... this was just a freebie?!
"Why didn't anyone tell me such important information?!" Mino exclaimed, her eyes wide.
“This is common sense in the prisoner community—” Swell said innocently. “Even if we provide entertainment and reading material… what kind of human can stay in a small room and survive without ever going out to socialize?”
“Is that still a human?”
"You scold again?!"