Volume 7, Chapter 50 – Conspiracy and Search

A narrow underground passage, lit only by a faint flame.

It was so crowded that two people would have to turn sideways to pass. A slightly taller person would have to bend over to enter this area. If one listened closely, a strange rustling sound could be heard echoing through the subterranean tunnel, like the sound of a silkworm chewing on mulberry leaves, or perhaps the tip of a pen scratching across paper. Following the sound to its source, one could quickly discover what was making the noise.

—An Excavator.

In the world of demons, the Excavator’s status was equivalent to a carriage in the human world. Their bodies were milky-white, shaped like the lampreys of Earth. They possessed a massive size and extraordinary digging abilities, and could also carry demons in their stomachs, transporting them underground. In any war, the appearance of an Excavator meant that city walls and magic cannons were no longer reliable. Demons could use them to sneak behind enemy lines, have the advance team in the Excavator’s stomach open a path, and then a large number of subsequent demons could infiltrate through the tunnels left behind. It was an exceptionally troublesome monster.

And now, in this passage, an Excavator was opening its mouth full of fine teeth, devouring the surrounding soil bit by bit, expanding the abnormally narrow tunnel.

Crunch, crunch.

Ignoring the Excavator’s presence, a young man, shrouded in a black robe and lagging behind it, said in a low voice.

“How much longer?”

“We can begin at any time, Lord Bishop.”

“Is that so,” a smile finally appeared on the man’s tense face. “Begin after we leave. We don’t have much time.”

“Yes, Lord Bishop.”

Bowing to the Bishop, the respondent quickly ran towards the Excavator. The young man, called Bishop, held the abnormally thick book.

The Gospel.

“The Revelation plan cannot proceed without an angel. Although I don’t know why acting according to the Gospel did not yield results, as long as we do as it says, there will be no mistakes. Perhaps that letter was just one part of the Gospel’s plan…”

Instead of directly telling him the process and the result, the Gospel in his hands would only tell him what to do at the present moment. It would neither explain the reason nor inform him of the next step. But even so, the Bishop had reason to believe that the letter sent to the angel was not in vain. The reason the Gospel had him send the letter was perhaps to disturb the God-Forged Angel’s heart, or perhaps it was a move of courtesy before resorting to force. The Gospel would not be wrong; two hundred years had already proven this.

As for what the Bishop and his men were doing now, it was, as the Gospel said, to construct a connection between the ninth floor of the labyrinth and the Water Tree, to allow the lake near the Water Tree to flood into the labyrinth beneath Gota.

“To force the angel to submit… If the angel does not agree to our terms, we will let the disaster continue. Although this will damage the angel’s trust in the Divine Religion, as long as she joins us, she will one day understand the reason…”

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As if trying to convince himself, the young Bishop muttered to himself. But then, as if remembering something, his brows furrowed tightly.

“But the Holy Gospel said that the current angel was guided by it to enter the human realm a thousand years ago, and her mission is to find the hero and help them stop the war. Logically, she should have sought us out, who possess both the Gospel and the hero, instead of staying in this barren land… Has she forgotten her mission? Did her magic circuits malfunction due to the long period of sealing? No, perhaps this is also a part of fate, to allow the angel to mature. Guided by the Gospel, and for the sake of the Gospel. Only in this way can the thousand-year cycle be joined together.”

“Lord Bishop, everything is ready. Please return to the surface.”

“Yes.” His subordinate’s words made the Bishop look up. He closed the Gospel and nodded slightly. “Let’s go.”

No matter what happens, one must believe in the Gospel. This was the most central tenet of the Divine Religion’s doctrine.

If it weren’t for the Gospel, he would have lost his life, not just a leg.

Placing the Gospel into his storage magic, the Bishop, shrouded in his black robe, limped out of the underground.

◇

Half a month had passed since their first visit to the Sea of Sunset Flowers.

During this time, the group had been immersed in the labyrinth almost every day. And because they had a suitable resting area in the Sea of Sunset Flowers, from the midway point, they had stopped returning to the surface to rest and had simply lived in the labyrinth, hunting monsters continuously.

At first, Yisi would still stay by her companions’ side to protect them. But after a while, she discovered that the Charleses were even more responsible in their protective duties than she was. She had a tendency to be overprotective. For example, when Mary couldn’t react in time and was about to be attacked by a monster, she couldn’t help but drive the monster away for her. But in reality, Mary’s reaction speed was much faster than she had imagined, and her teammates could also support her in the shortest possible time. This resulted in a situation where her good intentions had a negative effect, not only preventing her companions from gaining experience but also ruining the experience of hunting monsters.

With the Charleses, however, this situation did not occur. A monster’s intuition is much keener than a human’s, something that levels cannot make up for. The Charleses could often make the optimal decision at the most appropriate time, neither affecting Camilla’s group from gaining experience nor allowing them to get injured through negligence. So, later on, Yisi simply stopped following behind her companions and left the task of protection to the Charleses. In the eyes of most adventurers, Yisi’s group’s behavior was quite strange. Although they commanded monsters that could help them in battle, they never let the monsters help them when they were actually fighting.

So, during this period, the now-idle Yisi spent her days traveling between Alvier, Mitters Bayer, and Celtic City to pass the time. She had also tried to level up by hunting monsters, but whether it was because people from other worlds couldn’t gain experience, or because the required experience was too much, after a year and a half in this world, Yisi’s experience bar hadn’t even increased by 0.01%. So, Yisi had naturally given up on leveling up.

Now, Yisi, having changed her clothes in the temple, tidied her twin-tails in the mirror.

“My lord, are you going out today as well? Although I know you have many worldly affairs to attend to, you have not participated in a single hunt in this half a month. If this continues, you will be left further and further behind by your family.”

Standing behind Yisi, Laxy, who was holding her coat, took a step forward. Strikingly, she was now wearing a long maid’s dress with a frilly apron. Paired with her usual serious expression and her very fine figure, she perfectly matched Yisi’s image of a maid.

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As for why Laxy was wearing a maid’s dress, it had started with a coincidence.

Laxy’s storage magic did not contain many personal items. In addition, the gold coins she used were no longer in circulation, and she lacked a change of clothes—angels also sweat. Not changing her clothes was detrimental to the image of a God-Forged Angel. So, Laxy had found the person in Yisi’s group whose figure was closest to hers, which was Refina, and had borrowed a set of clothes.

Interestingly, the vast majority of Refina’s clothes were maid outfits. Thus, Yisi had seen what Laxy looked like in a maid’s dress. Then, out of personal interest, Yisi had specially modified Refina’s short maid skirt into a long one that better suited Laxy’s character. After asking for Laxy’s opinion, she had a large number of clothes custom-made for her.

For Laxy, the maid’s dress was easy to wear, and the black and white color scheme gave an impression of orderliness. The conservative and durable nature of the long skirt was also to her liking. So, in non-combat situations, the maid’s dress replaced her formal attire and became her daily wear.

Although the maid behind her had a rather pushy feeling, it somehow gave a sense of “this is how it should be”, a perfect fit.

Yisi sighed helplessly.

“Even though I’ve already taken you from Gota to Alvier and Mitters Bayer, you still say that, Laxy.”

“In the Age of Gods when angels lived, items with a teleportation function, while precious, were not uncommon. As long as stone monuments with positioning and teleportation abilities were set up along the way, angels could quickly travel between all corners of the continent. My lord, although items are a part of one’s strength, one’s own level and combat skills are the most fundamental things. Neither the monsters you command nor the items you possess can speak to your own level.”

Here we go again.

Yisi waved her hand.

“Alright, alright. Then we’ll train after we get back today. I just so happen to want to ask you for some combat tips, Laxy.”

If their levels were the same, Yisi would be no match for Laxy. Even Edith would be slightly inferior. That was the difference in technical skill.

Completely not expecting Yisi to agree, Laxy, who had been preparing to sigh, was stunned for a moment, and then a look of joy appeared on her face.

“Really? My lord, are you really willing to train one-on-one with me?”

“Really. But it’ll have to wait until today’s business is done.”

“Understood. I look forward to your performance.” In a voice that Yisi couldn’t hear, while making a gesture of wiping away tears, Laxy lamented in a low voice, “…This is wonderful, Lady Trino. My lord has finally been moved by me.”

A moment later, Yisi, having finished dressing, walked out of the room with Laxy.

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“Good morning, Cardinal Yisi.”

An apprentice nun carrying a change of clothes passed by. Upon seeing Yisi, she quickly stopped and placed the laundry basket at her feet.

Yisi nodded. This was the girl named Amy, one of the seven child guides she had bought from the labyrinth entrance. After she had bought their freedom, they had been working as miscellaneous hands in the temple, doing things like laundry and boiling water.

“Are you going to do the laundry, Amy?”

“Yes.”

“Um… this might be a bit abrupt, but are you getting used to life in the temple? If you don’t like it, I can introduce you to another job.”

“Eh? N-no! I love it here! I can eat my fill, there’s clean water to drink, and I don’t have to go into the labyrinth to lure scary monsters. Even now, we all feel like we’re dreaming.”

“Is that so…” She didn’t seem to be forcing herself. Yisi returned a smile to Amy. “Then work hard. Strive to become an official nun and be recommended by the head priest to work in the Holy City.”

“Yes! I will work hard my whole life to be able to serve you, Cardinal Yisi!”

No, no, you don’t have to work that hard. As long as you feel you’ve worked hard enough, that’s fine.

Considering that saying this might dampen Amy’s resolve, Yisi just patted her on the head. Amy lowered her head in embarrassment and then asked cautiously.

“Are you going out, Cardinal Yisi?”

“Yes. I’m going to deliver a weapon to Dominic, and while I’m at it, I’m going to check out the Water Tree.”

In this half a month, she had finished forging the Crimson Gold-grade magic weapon she had promised in exchange for Laxy. She was going to check the Water Tree for the Source of Mana. While Camilla’s group was leveling up, she had turned the entire labyrinth upside down and had not found anything that could be the Source of Mana. So, the only remaining place in Gota that could possibly hide it was the Water Tree, the entity that stood several kilometers outside the city and provided water for half of the Marquisate of Taris.

“Then I will go and inform the older sister nuns, so they can prepare dinner for you.”

“Thank you.”

After replying with a smile, Yisi and Laxy left the temple.

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Just like half a month ago, there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky of Gota, and the air was so dry it felt like her throat was about to emit smoke. Even the slightest breeze could kick up yellow sand in the streets. To make matters worse, it was now early summer, compared to the late spring before, and the wasteland had become even hotter. Yisi could only move forward holding a parasol.

“Allow me, my lord.”

Laxy prepared to take the parasol from Yisi’s hand.

“Is it alright? You’re a God-Forged Angel, Laxy. If you do such a servant’s job, won’t it damage the image of an angel?”

“It is an angel’s duty to help their master. If even something as simple as holding a parasol has to be done by my lord herself, others will only see angels as arrogant and unapproachable.”

“I see. Then I’ll leave it to you, Laxy.”

After handing the parasol to Laxy, Yisi slowed her pace slightly. When Camilla held the parasol, although she would tilt it in her direction, Camilla was either wearing a magic robe or a noble’s dress, so she didn’t have any particularly strong feelings. Now, with the very responsible Laxy, who was dressed as a maid, holding the parasol for her, Yisi couldn’t help but feel like she had truly become a young lady. It was as if she were in an anime, walking through a garden with her personal maid. Even her posture unconsciously became more elegant.

“My lord, are you not going to Alvier to see the Blood Clan Queen, Andrea, today? If you went to Mitters Bayer to see Evelyn yesterday, then today should be Alvier.”

For some reason, Yisi felt that Laxy’s statement was very strange.

It makes me sound like I’m two-timing. I go to Alvier and Mitters Bayer not just for fun, but also to read magic books and to help the two of them with official duties and interpersonal relationships. Evelyn had previously proposed to transport the talented people she had cultivated among the Blood Clan to the church and hoped that Andrea would agree. For most of this half a month, I’ve been doing coordination work.

And as the final result of the negotiations, Evelyn could only take away the non-purebloods who were willing to develop in the human world. At the same time, for every person she took, she had to pay the Blood Clan a large amount of living supplies to alleviate the pressure after their civil war.

“No, I told Andrea the day before yesterday that I wouldn’t be going to Alvier today. Besides, the matter between Andrea and Evelyn has been resolved. More importantly, we should focus on our purpose for coming to Gota.”

“Purpose? Wasn’t it to level up your family? The labyrinth is indeed a good place for that.”

“No, it’s to find something called the Source of Mana. Since you lived in the Age of Gods, Laxy, have you ever heard of the Source of Mana?”

“The Source of Mana?”

Laxy’s voice rose an octave.