Volume 6, Chapter 51 – Calm Reflection

With the example of the arrest, the crowd quickly lost its edge. The overly decisive performance of the paladins made them dare not show any more dissatisfaction. And using the lingering authority from a moment ago, the paladins were able to quickly disperse the crowd through words and physical actions. Evelyn’s crisis was thus resolved.

For safety’s sake, Evelyn was escorted to the temple by the paladins. After a brief exchange of a few words, only Evelyn remained in the main hall of the temple.

“Tsk.”

Clicking her tongue at the frustration from before, Evelyn gripped the Staff of Divine Retribution in her hand tightly. Her red lips parted slightly, as if she were about to curse, but then she slowly closed them as if she had remembered something, leaving only the flames of anger flickering in her deep green eyes—she felt ashamed of her own powerlessness.

If there had been a table nearby, Evelyn would have surely slammed her fist on it by now. Anyone could see the atmosphere.

Taking deep breaths repeatedly until the feeling of something being stuck in her chest gradually dissipated, Evelyn finally calmed down. She rested her left hand on her forehead, and like someone who had overused their brain, gently pressed her temples with her thumb and middle finger.

Hah… staying here is just a waste of time. Without producing any actual results, I’ll only become more and more passive. At this point, it’s unrealistic to think about quietly leaving Mitters Bayer.

She could deceive the eyes of the soldiers, but she could not escape under the supervision of the entire city. She was now equivalent to the salvation in the eyes of the believers. No matter where she went, she would be watched by them. If she were to make any sneaky moves, she would surely be suspected at the first moment.

Is there no escape, even with wings…

A bitter taste filled her mouth, and the corners of Evelyn’s mouth curved into an ugly shape.

“I’ll go out through the secret passage.”

Going out might be risky, but staying in the temple was definitely waiting for death. Instead of a slow death, it was better to fight for a chance. The believers gathered at the gate were only a part of the residents of Mitters Bayer, not all of them. Moreover, with the warning from the paladins just now, no one would dare to lay a hand on her for the time being. There wouldn’t be a situation where she was surrounded as soon as she walked out of the temple. The current situation was actually much better than it looked.

Rеаd oո ΚаtReadіոɡСαfе

…

Following the underground secret passage, Evelyn soon arrived in the city district.

The streets were still bustling with activity. Apart from the occasional sight of a few people with their hands clasped together, praying towards the Tower of Ymir, everything was reassuring, as if the incident of the believers blocking the temple gate had never happened.

Evelyn patted her silver bangs, letting them cover her face. She lowered her head slightly to prevent others from recognizing her. Although her gorgeous white and gold priestess’s dress and the Staff of Divine Retribution in her hand had already exposed her identity, the act of lowering her head brought her a sense of psychological comfort, as if she wouldn’t be recognized this way.

First, find Yisi, and then, based on the clues gathered over the past few days, try to make some bait.

Thinking such things in her heart, Evelyn followed the route from her memory. However, she had only taken a few steps before someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder.

It was a believer who wanted to receive purification.

This is bad.

Although it was through her clothes, as long as the clothing was not too thick, the divine power would still be effective. The other party had very likely already discovered that his negative emotions had not been eliminated.

I have to stop him before he shouts.

Instantly emitting a dangerous aura, Evelyn turned around and, at the same time, swung the Staff of Divine Retribution like a spear towards the person standing behind her. However, the feedback from the divine staff was neither the feeling of hitting flesh nor the sharp pain of hitting the ground after missing, but of being caught, or rather, being held.

Reaⅾ оո ΚatReαԁіոgCafe

Subconsciously, Evelyn raised her line of sight.

The heart that had been in her throat suddenly dropped, and her tense body gradually relaxed.

“You… You always like to scare people from behind. If I had a sword or other sharp weapon in my hand, it wouldn’t have been a joke just now.”

“Eh.” Yisi unnaturally twirled the ends of her hair. “I just saw you looked preoccupied, so I came over to say hello. If the weapon in your hand wasn’t the Staff of Divine Retribution, you wouldn’t have just attacked without saying a word, right?”

The feeling of having survived a disaster made Evelyn unwilling to linger on this topic for too long. She withdrew the Staff of Divine Retribution and patted Yisi’s shoulder in a very friendly manner. After experiencing the near-fatal event in the morning, seeing Yisi now, Evelyn only felt exceptionally cordial, like a person who had been wandering for many years and had suddenly returned to their hometown.

“Let’s put these things aside for now. What are you doing here, Yisi? It’s as if you knew I would appear here.”

“A coincidence? Mmm, I can’t say it’s a coincidence. I originally planned to wait for you at the main gate of the central temple, but then I saw those believers trying to make things difficult for you. I was even thinking about whether to cause some weather change like making the earth shake or hailing from the sky to make that group of people go home. As it turned out, that paladin saved you, brought you back to the temple, and then I thought you definitely wouldn’t come out the front door again, so I took a stroll around the temple, and unexpectedly ran into you.”

Even so, it was too much of a coincidence, as if the Goddess had arranged it in secret.

No, Evelyn shook her head. It’s not as if things more coincidental than this have never happened in the world. It’s better not to think about miscellaneous things.

After a sigh, Evelyn gestured for Yisi to walk forward.

“You saw it, didn’t you? It was quite embarrassing. But please spare me the jokes about making the earth shake and hailing. Although I’m grateful for your sentiment, to be honest, I thought I was going to be sent to the gallows just now.”

Rеad οո KatReαdіոɡCаfе

“It was indeed tricky… If the problem of the divine power isn’t solved, continuing like this is just waiting for death. Do you have any ideas, Evelyn?”

“I wish I had the strength to blow up the Tower of Ymir.”

Evelyn shrugged, feigning ease.

Yisi was stunned for a moment. It wasn’t that she thought Evelyn was hinting that she knew who had destroyed the Tower of Ymir, but she was surprised that Evelyn was finally willing to tell her the truth. It had only been a week, yet Evelyn had already accepted her.

“Blow up the Tower of Ymir? Wasn’t it an oracle ceremony?”

Pleased with Yisi’s surprised expression, Evelyn revealed a sarcastic smile, half a step ahead of Yisi, and waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.

“Even if there was a mistake in the oracle ceremony, it’s impossible for all the magic light on the Tower of Ymir to disappear. That’s clearly the result of man-made destruction—remember to keep it a secret. The only people who know about this are me and Julius. If the news leaks out, the entire continent will be shaken. The existence of someone who can shake the Tower of Alexia… it’s not impossible for such an existence to build a kingdom overnight. It will create unrest among the people.”

“Mm, I know.”

“As for what to do next, besides subjugating those monsters that are threatening Mitters Bayer, I can’t think of any other way. The reason those believers feel uneasy, besides the Goddess taking back her grace, is the remaining monsters that are constantly doing evil and attacking humans. If I can rely on my own strength—or at least have the paladins subjugate them under my command, then I can shift the believers’ focus from my past divine power to my personal abilities.”

“Mm, that’s a good idea.”

Yisi’s nod made Evelyn frown.

Rеαԁ οո KаtRеadiոgСаfе

“What’s with that expression? It’s like a teacher commenting on a student’s work. It’s annoying.”

“It was a friend’s praise.”

“Hoh, a friend… let’s just say that’s the case.”

For some reason, Yisi had a feeling that Evelyn’s mood had improved a lot. It was just that she had fallen too far behind her. She quickly caught up with Evelyn.

“So are we going to look for those monsters next?”

“Of course. To say something that would get me branded as a heretic, I hope those monsters cause an even bigger commotion later. The more troublesome they are, the higher my prestige will be after I deal with them—” Evelyn’s index finger knuckle rested on her chin, and she lowered her head in thought. “Speaking of which, I summarized the locations where those monsters appeared yesterday and found that they always appear in places related to magic.”

As she spoke, Evelyn led Yisi to an alley, took out a map from the cleavage of her chest, and spread it on the wall—it faintly exuded Evelyn’s vanilla scent.

An unusually complex image, even comparable to the Omniscient Map, appeared before Yisi’s eyes. Every place where a monster had appeared had been marked with a blue mark by Evelyn, and all these marked places were buildings related to magic.

“To summarize the characteristics of these buildings, they can be roughly divided into three categories: alchemists’ shops, houses bought by adventurers, and warehouses for storing magic scrolls. Alchemists use magic cores, adventurers have magic weapons or items containing magic power, and I don’t need to say more about magic scrolls. All these places are related to magic. So I think if we send people to stake out the vicinity of these places that hide magic power, there’s a high probability of encountering them. Your guess a few days ago was correct, Yisi. The monsters were after the holy seals and weapons for their magic power.”

Pointing at the marks on the map, Evelyn looked into Yisi’s eyes with unusual seriousness.