Witch’s Night: Chapter 62 Even Short People Have Dignity!
The situation seemed a bit chaotic. The two “Guineveres” stared at each other in surprise, and Luo Yan, caught in the middle, didn’t know whether she should continue sitting there.
His Holiness didn’t dare to say anything, while Wen Su, the City Lord of Dragon City, who followed closely behind, watched this suddenly interesting Holy Communion with amusement.
His gaze lingered on the center of attention, the mysterious girl who had appeared in both the Yan City war and the Lannister incident.
To understand the current situation, we have to rewind a few minutes.
When Guinevere suggested that Luo Yan sit in a special location, Luo Yan hadn’t objected and seemed unfazed on the surface.
But on Guinevere’s side, the situation was a bit more complicated.
Shadow, completely transformed into a shadow, could communicate with Guinevere through thoughts without being noticed by others, not even by the highly perceptive Luo Yan.
Otherwise, how could she hide from the even more perceptive Illusion?
As Guinevere carried Luo Yan upstairs, Shadow’s incessant chatter never stopped, and Guinevere, who seemed taciturn, had also been communicating with Shadow.
“Tsk, why is Miss Luo Yan talking to people from Dawn, quickly go over and take her away, it’ll be troublesome if they start fighting… Wait, that’s not how you carry someone!”
“Well, she doesn’t seem to object, but this is the first time I’ve seen her so flustered… kind of cute?”
“Tsk, the distance between her eyebrows seems to have decreased by 0.3 centimeters. She looks a little unhappy, you should apologize to her.”
“By the way, always pay attention to Miss Luo Yan’s location. The ability she possesses can make us lose track of her instantly, and it’s very troublesome to break through.”
“Just have her stay in one place and not move around? That suggestion works too. I feel like she might resist a bit… Well, as long as she agrees, it’s fine.”
“…No, Guinevere, why… did you bring her to this spot? Even if it’s the only seat in the entire hall, it won’t do! Have you even read the scriptures?!”
“Ah, forget it, since she’s already sitting there, just leave it.”
This was the situation after Shadow and Guinevere brought Luo Yan to the second floor of the church. It was basically Shadow instructing Guinevere on how to receive Luo Yan… although the execution wasn’t very good.
Arranging a fixed location for Luo Yan was Guinevere’s idea, mainly to prevent Luo Yan from wandering around, lest a situation similar to the Lannister incident occur.
But what Shadow hadn’t expected was that Guinevere actually brought Luo Yan to a… very special location.
—The small stool in the very center of the Holy Communion hall on the second floor of the church.
This inconspicuous, small wooden stool was somewhat dilapidated, its worn condition showing its age, and it was difficult to associate it with anything valuable.
But this was the Saint’s seat.
Holy Communion originated from the time Noah was founded. The Saint, pitying the suffering of her followers, distributed the most precious food in the Endless Wasteland to everyone, along with the Saints.
Whether rich or poor, ugly or beautiful, the Saint gave everyone the chance to survive equally.
And at that time, she sat on this small stool.
Although the form and meaning of Holy Communion had changed a lot now, this small stool was preserved, becoming a witness to that barbaric era.
Although the Saint had been dead for hundreds, even thousands of years, and even the oldest of the Twelve Saints hadn’t met her, except for Mister Nine, who had recently passed away, the Saint seemed to have no connection to this era.
But the Saint was still the Saint. Her seat remaining here meant that some fundamental aspects of Holy Communion hadn’t changed.
All guests attending Holy Communion prayed around the Saint’s relics (of course, this small stool was also a replica), praying for more hope for humanity’s future.
But now, someone was sitting on the Saint’s relic.
Luo Yan looked slightly innocent. She had simply sat in this spot as instructed by Guinevere, and then she felt countless gazes directed at her.
This level of attention made her “Envy” distortion field completely ineffective. After all, it wasn’t true invisibility, but just diverting attention, and to prevent “Envy” from going out of control, this diversion was limited.
The current situation far exceeded this limit.
Shadow hadn’t anticipated this situation; it was Guinevere’s doing, but she didn’t feel anything about it.
As one of the Twelve Saints, although Shadow hadn’t met the Saint, her understanding of the Saint still surpassed that of most humans. So she only felt respect, but it wasn’t to the point of deification.
In her opinion, this was just a seat, a seat where the Saint once sat, nothing special.
However, in the eyes of the Noah Church clergy, this small stool was already an embodiment of the Saint, and anyone sitting on it was an act of blasphemy.
But because of Guinevere’s presence, they could only be angry but not speak up.
His Holiness, who arrived later, was also stunned at the doorway because of Guinevere’s presence and Luo Yan sitting in the Saint’s seat.
As for Illusion, before Chris called out “Guinevere,” no one had even noticed her.
Shadow, attached to Guinevere’s shadow, stared at Illusion in shock. Only she knew that Illusion’s current appearance was her true form, a little girl who looked only about ten years old.
For some reason, Illusion couldn’t grow up, as if cursed, her appearance remaining at around ten years old, and even her mentality seemed to be affected.
Only when using phantoms could Illusion slightly change her personality, which was also one of the reasons she was so attached to “personas.”
“The same name?”
Guinevere thought to herself, looking curiously at the little girl with an indifferent expression, not at all childish like her age, through her helmet.
“No, this is actually your name…” Shadow said, having a headache,
“She’s the Fourth Saint, Illusion. As everyone knows, she has a habit of role-playing, but she’s terrible at naming, so the names she chooses are basically those she’s seen or has an impression of…”
In other words, the names Illusion chose for her personas all had prototypes.
As a member of the Twelve Saints, the people she interacted with the most were naturally the Holy Knights, so the names of her phantoms were usually those of Holy Knights… and mostly Knight-Captains.
If they weren’t Knight-Captains, it would be difficult for Illusion to have an impression of them.
“Ah?” Guinevere was confused. “What do you mean?”
“In short, that’s the situation. I can’t explain it clearly, only those who understand will understand, and those who don’t… don’t need to understand…”
Shadow quickly made up a story, confusing Guinevere’s small head, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
She accidentally revealed Illusion’s embarrassing past, although it wasn’t a big deal… but Shadow still felt a little guilty.
Illusion, encountering someone with the exact same name as her persona for the first time, frowned slightly, seemingly troubled.
How could there be such a coincidence?
Having the same name as someone else wasn’t a good thing, just like the current situation. When someone called “Guinevere,” she would turn her head, only to find that they were calling someone else.
How awkward.
So, Illusion pondered for a moment and whispered,
“I’ve changed my name.”
“Hmm?”
His Holiness Aslanmode VII didn’t react immediately.
“From now on, please call me… Cecilia.” Illusion nodded seriously. “I am Cecilia, nice to meet you.”
Aslanmode VII: “…”
He turned slightly to look at Miss Cecilia, who was hiding behind Luo Yan not far away, then at Miss Cecilia Illusion beside him, marveling at how Saint Illusion chose names.
Specifically targeting acquaintances?
Because they spent some time together on the Lifeline, the name “Cecilia” was also imprinted in Illusion’s mind.
If she changed a few more times, she might even use “Luo Yan.”
Just as Illusion was confidently preparing to use her new name, she suddenly realized why she used her true body’s appearance to come to Holy Communion today, and she immediately deflated.
“Alright,” Illusion’s tone was somewhat disappointed, “Cecilia is also dead.”
She had to attend Holy Communion today as “Illusion,” the Saint, not as anyone else.
Helplessly, Illusion could only tearfully destroy the 100,000-word character setting she wrote for this phantom.
Aslanmode VII: “???”
His Holiness couldn’t keep up with the Saint’s train of thought at all, and he froze at the doorway for a while, only recovering when the clergy inside came to greet him.
At the same time, Illusion also walked directly towards Luo Yan.
The commotion on the second floor of the church was hard to ignore now. Whether it was Luo Yan sitting in the Saint’s seat under the guidance of the Holy Knight, or Illusion’s appearance, or His Holiness’s unusual behavior, all indicated that this Holy Communion had started with a tense atmosphere.
“I am Illusion, the Fourth Saint,” Illusion walked up to Luo Yan and said indifferently, “This is our second meeting, Miss Luo Yan.”
The second time, not including Elise.
“…”
Luo Yan glanced at Guinevere beside her, who remained silent and motionless in her armor, and asked uncertainly,
“Are you the Saint?”
“Yes.”
Illusion nodded.
Along with Luo Yan, Anna and Cecilia also looked at Guinevere beside them.
If this was the Fourth Saint, Illusion, then… who was this one?
Seemingly noticing these strange gazes, Guinevere said sullenly,
“I’ve already said, I am not a Saint.”
“…The Saint herself often says that too.”
“I don’t!” Illusion immediately retorted. “I never deny being a Saint. To me, being one of the Twelve Saints is a responsibility and an honor, and I will never abandon it for any reason.”
Shadow & Luo Yan & His Holiness & Everyone: “Do you even believe that yourself?”
This complicated misunderstanding was finally cleared up a bit, but it was precisely because of this slightly comical scene that the distance between the Saint and everyone seemed to have shortened.
For many people, including the clergy of the Noah Church, this was the first time they had seen a Saint. Their anticipation was mixed with apprehension and nervousness, imagining what kind of beings the Twelve Saints who saved humanity were.
With the passage of time, within the Noah Church, the Twelve Saints had almost reached the same level as the Saint herself, gradually deified, becoming legendary figures only found in stories.
So, seeing Illusion’s appearance, everyone’s nervousness eased a bit.
However…
A clergyman, glancing at Luo Yan sitting in the Saint’s seat, mustered up the courage to walk over and whisper,
“Saint Illusion, this is the holy seat left by the Saint. Letting an outsider sit on it…”
“Holy seat?” Illusion was stunned. “What holy seat?”
There shouldn’t be such a term as “holy seat” in the scriptures she personally compiled, right?
After all, the Saint rarely sat down; she spent her days pacing within the white temple, working to save the future of humanity.
But Illusion quickly realized, seeing where Luo Yan was sitting, and the innocent expression on the silver-haired girl’s face.
“Uh, this is actually just because the Saint was short, and it wasn’t convenient for her to stand on tiptoe when distributing food, so the Saints at that time dragged over a small stool from the construction site next door for her to stand on.”
Illusion blinked. If she remembered correctly, this should be the story from the original version of the scriptures.
As for the scriptures she later compiled, she felt that standing on a stool was disrespectful to the Saint’s dignity, so she changed it to sitting.
It wasn’t the Saint’s fault that she was short! Even short people had dignity! Short people’s lives mattered!
Scriptures, after all, were just modified versions based on certain facts.
Illusion, who was in charge of the new scriptures, felt that many parts of the old version were too stiff, not dramatic enough, and some parts were too casual, easily leading to misunderstandings.
So Illusion meticulously compiled a new version of the scriptures, 3.6 million words long, which had been passed down in the Noah Church to this day.
“So, should I continue sitting here?”
Luo Yan blinked, staring at Illusion.
“As long as you don’t mind that it’s a footstool,” Illusion paused and then added, “But the original footstool was probably chopped up and burned as firewood, this should just be a replica… right?”
The sound of countless clergymen’s hearts breaking seemed to echo through the hall. They discovered that the existence they had always believed in seemed to be… a bit different?
Even Aslanmode VII couldn’t stand it anymore. This Saint was even better at exposing shortcomings than Saint Shadow… oh no, it was mainly because Saint Shadow knew less, so she didn’t expose much.
To be precise, as expected of Saints Illusion and Shadow, rumored to be two sides of the same coin, their ability to undermine each other was unmatched…
