Volume 6, Chapter 33 – A Trap to Lure a God

“Sorry, I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

Following Calista’s departure, Fia also stood up. She nodded slightly to the others present and quickly left the wooden house.

Calista had already crossed the garden’s stone path and reached the gate. Fia caught up and grabbed Calista’s wrist.

“Hey, are you leaving just like that?”

Calista’s eyes darted away, her face showing reluctance at being detained.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I asked you to introduce me to the Holy Son of Cold Night, and this was the result. But I really can’t accept people who blindly believe in someone without seeing them with their own eyes. This is related to my personal experience; please forgive me.”

“That’s not what I wanted to say,” Fia frowned, releasing Calista and sighing helplessly. “I won’t blame you for something like this. You came to seek whether gods exist, and Nola has never seen her god with her own eyes, so it’s normal for your opinions to conflict. But you have your experience, and Nola has hers. Without the Goddess, there would be no current Nola, so Nola values the Goddess exceptionally. In a sense, you and Nola are no different; both parties just address the god differently.”

Calista’s reason for not believing in gods was that she hadn’t seen one. Although the other party had granted her a God-Given Weapon, there was also the possibility that the other party was simply someone much stronger than Calista. Calista didn’t want the other party to play god; she hoped the other party would either reveal their true form or cease contact with her.

And for Nola, it was actually similar. Nola always emphasized that the Goddess saved her life, which meant she might not care about the identity of a god, but rather that the “god” had helped her in her time of peril, enabling her to achieve what she had today. If the title “god” were changed to something else, there wouldn’t be the current conflict between the two—Calista had to see the other party to believe them, while Nola was fine as long as the other party helped her, regardless of whether they wore a veil.

However, Calista didn’t know these things, and she became unhappy.

“She and I are two different types of people; don’t lump me in with her. Saying she won’t allow others to slander her god, yet not even having seen the Goddess’s face herself—don’t you think that’s strange? What if the other party is a Darkborn, or even the enemy who killed her father? Wouldn’t she be completely played for a fool?”

“Calling them the enemy who killed her father is too extreme.”

Darkborn is a possibility though, Fia retorted in her mind. She nodded her chin forward and took the lead, with Calista following behind.

“What I wanted to say is, do you only have this one question? Risking crossing the Netherworld to seek an answer, only to be dismissed with a few words… It’s a bit too casual. Couldn’t you just write a letter?”

“What else is there to say?”

Calista rolled her eyes.

“Since I know other Holy Sons can’t see gods either, my doubts have been answered. Before leaving, others in the Eternal Daylight Mages suggested I could write a letter to ask, but who knows how long it takes to receive a reply to a letter sent in this world? The letter might also be lost on the way. Not to mention the Netherworld separates the Eternal Daylight Mages and Cold Night; normal mail delivery has to go all the way around the inner sea. Waiting for several years only to find the letter never reached the recipient… I can’t afford to wait. Besides, if the Holy Son of Cold Night answered saying she had seen a god, wouldn’t I still have to confirm it in person?”

“Did Calista just say ‘this world’? You aren’t from this world?”

Only outsiders would use “this world” to refer to the World Tree Continent. Native inhabitants wouldn’t use such a term for the world they lived in.

Calista’s steps froze, and her expression went blank. But she immediately recovered, showing Fia a perfunctory, bitter smile.

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“Haha… Your Highness must have misheard.”

“Do you think that’s likely? I don’t know what makes you hide your identity as a visitor from another world, but I don’t think there’s anything to hide. It’s fine to say it.” Fia lowered her head in thought, her gaze resting on her own well-proportioned calves wrapped in black silk stockings. “It seems the god choosing you wasn’t without reason, because you are someone from another world.”

“You didn’t think of capturing me for dissection? Your Highness looks like it’s only natural…”

Calista probably meant that because she was from another world, she would be targeted by people of this world and captured for dissection to see if she was different from the people of the World Tree Continent. Fia could think of this reason but didn’t quite understand it.

“Why would anyone want to dissect you? Aren’t we all the same?”

“Generally speaking, they would covet the soul and knowledge from another world, right? In the past, I accidentally exposed my identity and was sought out by necromancy magic casters, saying they wanted to see how my soul differed from a normal person’s.”

“Then aren’t you admitting now that you are indeed from another world? I’ll capture you as a test subject, you know?”

Fia teased, deliberately looking Calista up and down with a greedy gaze, as if assessing Calista’s value.

However, although Calista showed some fear, she still puffed out her chest and answered boldly.

“I believe Your Highness is not that kind of person.”

“I am that kind of person. Stripping Calista naked and throwing her into a pot…”

As she spoke, Fia feigned a pouncing motion toward Calista with both hands, but Calista remained unmoved—except for the sheer timidity in her eyes. Although there was a height difference, Calista knew she was the weaker party.

“I-I won’t be scared by such childish tricks.”

“Saying that with a trembling voice isn’t convincing at all. But I’m indeed not interested in people from another world. Or rather, I’ve seen plenty.”

Seeming to hear something very important, Calista suddenly beamed with joy, her eyes shining as she looked at Fia’s sapphire-blue eyes.

“You have companions? Where are they! Ah, speaking of which, Nola is also a Holy Son. Maybe she is too—”

“You’d better not get your hopes up. Nola is a native of this world. The people from other worlds I know are also mostly from different worlds. Speaking of which, what about Calista? Do you know the Human Alliance?”

“Never heard of it… So there are other worlds; I never thought of this possibility.” Calista murmured, pinching her chin. “I was born in a place called Earth. In terms of era, it was the early 21st century. There was no magic there; it was much more civilized than here. You definitely won’t believe it, but in my world, cars could run on the streets without horses, and people could soar freely in the sky without magic.”

Very close to the era of Laplace Demon?

Fia didn’t show her inner surprise. The time span between Calista’s era and Fia’s era was too vast, spanning hundreds of millions of years. She didn’t know what kind of person Calista was and couldn’t fully trust her just because they came from the same world. After all, Calista wasn’t alone; behind her stood the organization called the Eternal Daylight Mages. Betraying an acquaintance for the organization’s benefit would be all too easy. Fia wasn’t afraid of being betrayed, but she hated the feeling of betrayal.

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Unaware of Fia’s thoughts, Calista shrugged. Although her tone was full of ease, the strain in her eyes showed she was forcing herself to act fine. She started talking about her past on her own.

“Didn’t I say just now that I don’t believe in gods because of some past experiences? It doesn’t hurt to tell Your Highness.”

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t know. Don’t force yourself.”

As if unhappy, Calista raised an eyebrow.

“I finally mustered the courage to tell someone about the past, and you actually reject me. I only dared to bring it up because Your Highness didn’t care at all that I came from another world. But if Your Highness doesn’t want to listen, forget it. It’s nothing worth mentioning anyway. Roughly, after coming to this world and starting a new life, I decided to change my timid, shrinking violet personality and become a popular person. It went smoothly at first, but midway through, I encountered some mishaps, and my family was ruined.”

Didn’t you just spill it all out?

While Fia retorted in her mind, Calista continued to add.

“My adoptive parents were believers in God. Even when they were finally cheated out of everything by the priest, they were still begging for God’s forgiveness, hoping the priest would save them. No matter how I advised them that the priest was just cheating them of their money, they wouldn’t listen to me. In the end, they even thought I was possessed by demons, working desperately to give money to the church, hoping to buy the church’s attention and have the church save my soul.”

“In the end, it failed, of course. To avoid leaving loose ends, the priest casually pinned a crime on my parents. I fell under the priest’s name as an orphan. That was likely not a good thing, so I escaped on my own. Later, I heard from people in my hometown that my parents were shouting God’s name even as they were put on the stake, voluntarily confessing to God, completely unaware that they were just playthings of the church.”

Speaking of this, Calista pursed her lips and smiled bitterly at Fia.

“Pitiful and pathetic, right? That’s why I don’t believe in gods and have no good feelings for anything claiming to be a god. Fortunately, the still-young me was taken in by the Eternal Daylight Mages; otherwise, you wouldn’t see me now.”

During the time Calista was speaking, Fia and she had walked onto the streets of Brinkat City. Although not as prosperous as the largest city of the Fire Cat Tribe, it had more of a lived-in feel. Beastmen in short cloth clothes could be seen chatting on the roadside everywhere. The sounds of bargaining mixed with the rumble of carriage axles, plus the aroma of food wafting from the market, made one relax unconsciously.

Paying attention to dodge pedestrians on the street—beastmen’s eyes went straight upon seeing Calista, their legs unable to move. There were even scenes of people walking without looking ahead and crashing headfirst into oncoming pedestrians. Fia had to use [Telekinesis] to push away the beastmen blocking the way to barely move in a straight line.

In addition, there were scenes of beastman women dressed as wives pulling their husbands’ ears, cursing and dragging them aside, muttering that Calista was a Charm Cat spirit.

Stellacryst Beasts were truly popular among beastmen.

Of course, Fia didn’t forget the main topic. She comforted Calista.

“Shouldn’t that be the church’s responsibility? It was the church that deceived your parents.”

“Of course I know it’s the church’s responsibility, but gods truly exist, rather than being images fabricated by people. God grants power to the church but doesn’t supervise their spokespersons. Not only that, but they also give no response to the believers’ prayers, indulging the church’s wanton behavior. To ask me to believe in such a thing is wishful thinking.”

By the end, Calista’s voice carried intense hatred. However, she controlled her emotions well, neither clenching her fists nor venting on roadside objects. She was like a third person looking down on all this.

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It must be because too much time has passed, allowing Calista to face the past squarely, hence her calmness, Fia guessed. From this perspective, although Calista was weak, she was much more mature than Nola, despite both being Holy Sons.

“Then how did Calista’s god find Calista? Didn’t you tell her about this past and ask her to punish the church?”

“I didn’t even believe her identity as a god; how could I tell her about this past? Trusting others casually is what a childish kid does.” Calista curled her lips repeatedly. The light blue feathers on her ears opened slightly. The experienced Fia knew this was a sign of relaxation. It must be because she finally had someone to confide in, which improved her mood considerably. “As for how she found me, it was a simple dream visitation. The first and second times, I thought it was a dream. It wasn’t until the third time, when the God-Given Weapon appeared in the real world, that I realized it wasn’t a simple dream.”

Apart from the God-Given Weapon, it was very similar to the elf god calling her. The possibility that the other party was a god increased a bit.

While evaluating in her mind, Fia carefully threw out an important question.

“What about the other party’s name? Did she say what she was called?”

“No. Even if I asked, she would only answer that it wasn’t the time. That’s why I don’t believe her. It’s all vague stuff. Better to stand out directly and make a deal with me. That would be simpler and more straightforward, good for everyone.”

So no clues.

Fia was a bit disappointed; she thought she could learn the location of this god through Calista.

However, come to think of it, Calista’s attitude was too pragmatic. An ordinary person’s reaction to being visited by a god in a dream would definitely be ecstatic, wishing everyone knew they were the lucky child chosen by god. Calista only wanted to make a deal. Connecting this to the fact that the Eternal Daylight Mages was an organization that discarded gods, it was no wonder Calista described herself as a walking god. The “god” in her eyes should refer to a person with powerful strength.

Seeing Fia thinking, Calista bent over slightly, tilting her head to observe Fia’s face.

“Is Your Highness very interested in my god? With Your Highness’s strength, maybe we can cooperate. Find a way to capture that guy claiming to be a god, take off her hood, and see what exactly is playing god.”

“Can we? What if the other party is really a god?”

Fia’s eyes lit up. If Calista was willing to cooperate with her, she had no reason to refuse.

Calista waved her hand indifferently.

“I don’t believe in these things. There are no gods in this world. Does Your Highness believe?”

I believe, and I’ve even made contact.

Fia answered in her heart but didn’t say it out loud. She and Calista were just acquaintances who had helped each other, not at Nola’s level. Deicide was too crazy. Keeping silent was protection for herself and her family, as well as consideration for the listener. There were countries founded on religion on the World Tree Continent. Saying it out loud might attract unwanted attention. She wasn’t afraid of trouble—she could kill a group if one came—but not everyone had her strength.

Seeing Fia didn’t answer, Calista assumed Fia believed. She clicked her tongue in boredom.

“So, does Your Highness want to cooperate?”

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“If Calista invites me, I’d be happy to. But how do you plan to catch her?”

“Build a relationship with her first. Until she trusts me, then we’ll find a way to trick her out, or go to her place. If Your Highness isn’t interested, I’ll just ignore her from now on. But judging by Your Highness’s meaning, the answer should be the troublesome kind.”

Although she said this, Calista’s eyes were full of competitiveness and pugnacity, as if she absolutely had to drag the other party out.

This girl is also a troublesome person.

“I will communicate with her properly and obey her temporarily. How should we contact each other when the time is right? Let me say this first: if Your Highness deceives me, I will choose to ask the people of the Eternal Daylight Mages for help.”

Meaning she doesn’t fully trust me.

Although it lacks trust, this is the prudent approach of a wise person. She’s very qualified as a partner; intelligence is a necessary condition.

“The Eternal Daylight Mages is south of the Netherworld, right? Once I solve the matters in Cold Night, I’ll go to the Eternal Daylight Mages immediately.” Fia stopped and said seriously, “Do you want me to send you back now?”

“Don’t be so impatient. A god isn’t a child easy to fool. I want to rest in this city for a while, get some supplies, and then return. This matter needs long-term planning.”

Calista also stopped. A knowing smile appeared on her quirky, pretty face as she extended her right hand to Fia.

“This is the etiquette of my hometown. I hope we have a pleasant cooperation.”

“We certainly will.”

Fia knew what to do without Calista needing to say it explicitly. She also extended her right hand. Then, their hands clasped tightly together.

“…”

Although it was just a handshake, Fia suddenly felt an indescribable connection born between her and Calista. It seemed an invisible thread connected her to Calista, forging some kind of bond, causing a momentary flutter in her heart.

This must be the promise.

Without thinking too deeply, Fia bid farewell to Calista after leaving her contact information. Finally, she watched Calista disappear into the vast crowd.