Volume 3, Chapter 32 – The Banquet

Translator Note

1 chapter unlocked

At night, in the center of Sky Dome and inside the guest house, the welcome banquet was about to begin. This was a grand banquet where envoys from all major powers would be present.

The Ashurmos Church was naturally no exception. To participate in the evening banquet, Nick specifically ordered an exquisite gown worth tens of thousands of Primestone Coins and hired professional stylists to come to Mengxi’s bedroom. This banquet was a significant diplomatic occasion, and as the Chosen Maiden who represented the Ashurmos Church’s prestige, she naturally had to be meticulously dressed to avoid losing face for the church. For this reason, although Miss Mengxi was reluctant in every way, she had been pinned down in her room by a group of Ashurmos Church’s female attendants several hours ago to begin the ‘great undertaking’…

Inside Mengxi’s room, like many other female attendants, Bai Yanluo, wearing a blue backless dress, immediately had her eyes light up with an excited expression upon seeing the graceful silver-haired girl. Clapping her hands together, Bai Yanluo excitedly approached the silver-haired girl and took her tender little hands.

“Wow, Mengxi, you look so beautiful after just a bit of dressing up!”

The silver-haired girl before Bai Yanluo wore a plain white V-neck evening gown outlined with gold patterns. Silver-white threads were used to embroider delicate and powerful branches on the fabric, while azure threads depicted blooming snow lotuses that extended from the hem to the waist. A pure black wide belt tightened around her slender waist, highlighting her graceful figure and giving an impression of elegance without losing a sense of luxury. Over it, she wore an exquisite gauze robe bearing the crest of the Ashurmos Church, and every movement the silver-haired girl made gave the gauze a shimmering, flowing quality.

Mengxi’s hairstyle had also been slightly modified. Her beautiful long silver-white hair was tied into a long braid with the rest coiled behind her head, perfectly showcasing the beauty of her snowy-white swan neck.

The thin, long bangs over her forehead were neatly arranged, and her willow-leaf eyebrows were drawn in charcoal black, further accentuating her fair and delicate skin. Her pretty face, after being applied with pink rouge, appeared even more rosy-white, and a light touch of red lipstick on her lips added a hint of maturity to her innocent, beautiful, and holy countenance.

She could already be called a peerless beauty, but after such meticulous dressing, she was soul-stirring and breathtakingly beautiful. Even Bai Yanluo, who had spent a long time with Mengxi, could not help but stare blankly for a few seconds.

“Wow, I feel like standing next to you will make me fade into the background~” Bai Yanluo said playfully.

Though her eyes were full of admiration, there was not a hint of jealousy. Instead, a strong sense of achievement quickly occupied Bai Yanluo’s face. After all, she had personally helped design this beautiful gown for Mengxi.

“Thank you, Sister Bai. This is really beautiful, and I like it too. But… won’t this be too conspicuous?”

Rеαⅾ on ΚαtRеаԁіnɡСαfе

Mengxi, who naturally disliked being the center of attention, could not help but show a trace of concern. At this, Bai Yanluo patted her chest and said enthusiastically:

“It’s fine, it’s better to be conspicuous! Let those guys see for themselves the Saintess of our Ashurmos Church!”

Such a hard-earned masterpiece had to be properly displayed and shown off. The smile on Bai Yanluo’s face became increasingly smug.

Mengxi let out a helpless sigh. “Sigh, the problem is that if I do this, won’t I be targeted by a lot of people? I don’t like that…”

Seeming to see through Mengxi’s worries, Bai Yanluo patted Mengxi’s shoulder and said in an encouraging tone: “Oh, Mengxi, you don’t have to worry about that! With me here, those guys won’t dare to keep hitting on you~”

“Uh, is that so?” Mengxi could not help but show a suspicious expression.

As for Bai Yanluo, she enthusiastically patted her chest and stated, “It’s a small matter! With me here, Mengxi, you just need to relax!”

Mengxi: …

“Since you put it that way, Sister Bai… alright then…”

As it turned out, it was not alright at all!

Inside the magnificently decorated and brightly lit grand banquet hall filled with a luxurious atmosphere, Miss Mengxi was immediately surrounded by countless people shortly after entering with Archbishop Nick.

“Miss Mengxi, I am Condori, the second prince of the Karomu Kingdom. May I have the honor of meeting you?”

Rеаԁ οn KаtReаԁіոgCаfе

“Miss Chosen Maiden, is it true that you really defeated the Cult Leader of the Divine Punishment Holy Church?”

“Miss Mengxi, rumors say you have an indescribable relationship with His Majesty Xue Tian’ao. Is this true?”

“Miss Mengxi, the moonlight is beautiful tonight. I wonder if I might invite you to view it with me?”

…

Facing this group of people clamoring in front of her, Miss Mengxi’s face gradually darkened.

‘Sister Bai! Can you please be a bit more reliable!’ she roared inwardly.

Mengxi glanced out of the corner of her eye toward the closed doors not far away. That was the area where the empire provided special services for distinguished guests, including activities like gambling.

Clearly, after noticing the casino, Bai Yanluo had ‘protected’ Mengxi for a mere thirty seconds before slipping away from Archbishop Nick’s sight and scurrying into the gambling den. Without the protection of Bai Yanluo’s powerful aura, a large number of people with designs on Mengxi swarmed to her side.

Mengxi, who already loathed such tedious socializing, felt a fire of frustration building within her.

“Forgive me, everyone, I must excuse myself to use the restroom.”

With that, Mengxi seized the opportunity to immediately break through the crowd and found Archbishop Nick.

“Archbishop, Sister Bai has gone to gamble again.”

Rеad οո ΚαtRеadiոgCаfе

To gain some peace and quiet, Mengxi decisively chose to tell on her.

The result was exactly as Mengxi expected. Upon hearing the news, Archbishop Nick’s expression changed instantly. After all, a Heavenly Apostle of the church being addicted to gambling was detrimental to the church’s image. Thus, he temporarily halted his conversation with the leaders of the Holy Tower and stormed into the small casino, grabbing Bai Yanluo by the ear…

A few minutes later, Miss Bai Yanluo stood beside Mengxi with her arms crossed, her mouth pouting in a grievance as she occasionally shot complaining glances at the silver-haired girl who looked as if none of this concerned her.

“Honestly! You’re so mean, Mengxi, actually telling on me! I was just about to win big!”

“Sigh…” Mengxi shook her head helplessly. “Please, Sister Bai, you say that every time, and then you lose everything…”

“This time was different, I really could have won!”

“Fine, fine, whatever you say…”

Mengxi helplessly dealt with Bai Yanluo’s complaints. However, dealing with her complaints was much better than facing that group of annoying people.

With Bai Yanluo back at Mengxi’s side and radiating a ‘do not approach’ aura, basically no one dared to come close except for a few nobles of the Red Lotus Leaf Empire who were relatively familiar with her. After all, although Bai Yanluo was just a talkative, silly older sister in Mengxi’s eyes, this Heavenly Apostle was viewed as a shrew by outsiders.

Consequently, those people could only go to Archbishop Nick to curry favor.

With no one bothering her, Mengxi held a glass of wine and leaned against the windowsill with Bai Yanluo, silently observing the guests and the representatives of the major powers who were arriving one after another.

Nobles of the Red Lotus Leaf, the ambassador of the Lomary Federation, the president of the Adventurers Guild, the Dragon Clan Envoy…

Reаⅾ oո КαtRеadіngCаfe

There were also heads of massive commercial families, and even a Sage from the Holy Tower had come.

An eighth tier Sage, who normally wouldn’t attend such events, had actually appeared in person this time.

Seeming to feel Mengxi’s gaze, the white-haired man dressed as a high-level mage who was communicating with Archbishop Nick slowly turned his head and gave Mengxi a kind smile. In response, Mengxi naturally returned a polite smile. Smile aside, Mengxi instinctively wanted to keep her distance from these magic fanatics who were constantly pursuing truth and obsessed with experiments.

The people from the Holy Tower were here, but the Red Moon Tower, which was also a holy land for mages, didn’t seem to have sent anyone. Hmm…

‘Xue Tian’ao really has quite a bit of influence,’ Mengxi mused to herself.

It made sense, though. After all, he was the Chosen Son of prophecy and had even accomplished the feat of ‘defeating’ Inferno. It was normal for him to attract the attention of so many powerful figures. Of course, among these people, there were likely many who were eyeing Inferno.

?!

However, just as Mengxi was thinking, the main doors of the banquet hall opened again. As the welcoming attendant spoke, Mengxi’s pupils suddenly shrank.

“Representative of the Sadik Empire, Yu Blackrose, has arrived.”

Mengxi: Hmm? The Blackrose Family? And… Yu?

Author Note

Although the new cover isn’t completely finished, I couldn’t resist posting it for you all to see, hehe~