“Sister, don’t go! Waaah…”
Aina hugged her leg, looking as if she had suffered some great grievance.
“I saw it all. Someone threatened Sister and wanted to make you leave the village. I don’t want that. If Sister leaves, what will Aina eat?”
Avira suddenly felt a bit wicked herself.
She even had the idea to tease her adorable little sister, just like those shameless elders, scaring her by saying she wouldn’t come back.
But as soon as she thought about what Aina would face in a few years, she fell silent.
Because she really would leave Aina one day, abandoning her in this house.
“Silly little sister, I won’t leave you. This time, we’re going to the Holy Church together.”
“To the Holy Church?”
“Yeah, it’s a place that worships angels. There are endless candies and tomato sauce every day~”
“But I don’t want tomato sauce. I only want Sister.” Aina pouted.
At that moment, Avira glanced behind her.
Karen stood fifty meters away, watching them with astonished eyes.
She shot Karen a terrifying glare, and the latter immediately understood. She had to take good care of Aina.
This was also the will of the Holy Sword.
In the past, Avira had sent Aina to live with her at the Holy Church to prevent any mishaps befalling her. Their sisterly bond hadn’t changed.
This was just a minor interlude.
“Mm, Sister isn’t leaving.” Avira continued to stroke Aina’s little head.
On the way back to the Holy Church, Karen transformed from a stern Blade of the Emperor God into a fawning maid who fussed over every detail. With just a single glance from Avira, she began revolving around Aina. In the carriage, aside from discussing the current state of the Holy Church and Avira’s future duties with Avira—which was basically just going through the motions—she would get out of the carriage in every town and city they passed to buy something for Aina.
Time fast-forwarded to the next day. They were now just a two-hour carriage ride from the Holy Church, having passed through a teleportation array.
The voice of the Holy Sword suddenly rang out: “Karen, one of the Emperor God’s Blades, vanished in the summer five years from now.”
“Vanished?”
“Yes. Currently, there are four members of the Blades, but they disappeared one after another over time, ceasing to exist.”
“Don’t speak in riddles. What was the reason?”
“Unknown.”
Avira snapped irritably, “Are you doing this on purpose, or do you really not know?”
“There is no relevant data in my storage. It’s a complete blank… No, it’s said that on the day the final Blade vanished, the sky turned crimson, like a blood disaster descending upon the earth.”
“What?!”
Avira hadn’t heard such a familiar setup in a long time. Ever since she drew the Holy Sword that time, she had encountered a certain red unknown entity, which had boldly declared its intent to take Avira’s life.
Avira suddenly recalled some details.
“Was the day the Blades vanished at night?”
“Yes, Saintess.”
“When I found you a few months ago, I fought that crimson thing. Do you have any leads?”
“None. I was merely sealed away, and I have no knowledge of the content from the penultimate seal either.”
“That’s a real headache.”
They passed through a forest path, where the Knight Order had already fully dispersed, leaving only Karen’s luxurious white carriage at the rear. Finally, the carriage arrived at the Divine Hall of the Holy Church.
White walls divided the garden into eight distinct areas, resembling a mysterious array at a glance. The air was pleasant, evoking the freshness of the grasslands. The Divine Hall seemed forever bathed in sunlight, shimmering with brilliant golden light.
After disembarking, Karen led the two sisters to the Residential District reserved for clergy. The walls neatly divided the orderly houses into sections, exuding a beauty of order and discipline.
It was a villa.
After introducing the house’s various special features, Karen handed Avira the keychain and a special Magic Stone. This seemed to be a second layer of security for identity verification, ensuring that those inside the house could rest easy even amid wartime chaos under the protection of the magic shield.
Then, Karen gave Avira a jade identity plaque and token, some black authority cards, and clergy robes and hats.
Aina was far happier than Avira.
“Sister, the hot water here can heat itself!”
“Sister, is this thing a fridge?”
“Wow, there are so many little dolls here!”
“These lights can be turned on and off so easily, so convenient~”
“Such a big bathroom. Sister, I can wash myself now~”
Avira toured the house with her sister a few times. Once Aina had played herself out, she patted her head.
“See, Sister didn’t lie to you, right? Isn’t this way better than the village?”
“Anywhere with Sister is good!”
Avira didn’t know how to respond and just smiled.
Time approached evening. She changed into the clergy robes and examined the pure white Saintess in the mirror.
A white veil and golden ornaments, a beautiful long robe with golden trim—everything exuded luxury and sanctity.
In short, Avira was now the Saintess.
This outfit had been specially prepared for the Saintess. They had reportedly sewn over a hundred identical sets in advance to ensure a perfect fit.
Avira left the keys at home with Aina and got a spare set from Karen before heading out.
She first wandered around the Divine Hall of the Holy Church twice. The Pope hadn’t returned yet, but the surrounding knights and solemn clergy bowed their heads in devout prostration upon seeing Avira… Did the Saintess really hold such high status in reality?
With some time to spare, Avira spread her wings and flew back to the village. She planned to pack some things Aina liked and bring them to the Holy Church.
According to the Holy Sword, these clergy would later become Aina’s devoted worshippers, obeying her every command without question. Entrusting things to them was reassuring.
The sky had turned orange at the horizon. As soon as she got home, Avira pushed open the slightly worn door and saw an unexpected guest…
“Your Majesty, the Demon King?!”
Avira suddenly remembered that she hadn’t gone to see the Demon King that morning.
But she hadn’t expected the Demon King to come looking for her!
“How did you know I live here?”
“I’ve tracked you before. You really didn’t notice. You harbor no hostility toward me… just like earlier.” Ophitia told the truth.
Avira felt a bit ashamed. Did that mean she would always be toyed with by this fool no matter where she was?!
“Why didn’t you come find me? And these clothes… You, you’ve joined the Holy Church? Why…”
The Demon King’s eyes were filled with unwillingness. She hung her head dejectedly, unsure where she had gone wrong.
But Avira just laughed. “I’m going undercover. Don’t worry, Your Majesty, the Demon King.”
“You’re deceiving me.”
“How could that be? I swear on my soul, Your Majesty, the Demon King~”
“Wuu…”
Seeing Ophitia turn her head with a flushed face, Avira knew that winning over this little Demon King was already a done deal.
“If you dare deceive me, one day I’ll turn you into one of my familiars.”
