“And so what?” Qingshamu spread her small hands, speaking coldly, “You treat me like this, and you think I’ll let my people join the Church? Let me make it clear—whatever you want to do with those people, it’s none of my business.”
The White-robed Priest ignored her words, already busy unfurling his magic scroll across the table.
A faint green magical energy slowly began to rise; this was the unique magic of priests, [Healing Light], which had no offensive power and couldn’t form a magical shield, but could heal others.
The White-robed Priest was using the church’s Prophecy Spell—this mysterious ritual was how they found those gifted to become Heroes.
The Healing Light enveloped the entire small manor courtyard, and the two people hiding in the shadows were forced to reveal themselves.
Then, all the light converged upon one of them…
“?!” Qingshamu stared in disbelief.
Because the one upon whom the Healing Light gathered was none other than Heiqi Long.
Blackie was still gnawing on a chicken leg, completely unaware of what was happening, her face full of indifference.
Qingshamu had anticipated the beginning, but she couldn’t predict this outcome.
She had thought the prophecy would point to her daughter, that her daughter would take over her affairs—after all, her daughter at least had half Human Race blood.
But Blackie was a pure-blooded demon, not a drop of human blood in her veins, and yet the Church’s prophecy had chosen a half-blood dragon as the Hero?
“Haha.” Qingshamu couldn’t help but laugh, as if seeing through all the dust of the world—everything was a joke turned upside down.
“How is this possible? Hero candidates are usually children—why is she already grown? Miss Qingshamu, who is this child?” the Purple Bishop inquired.
“She’s my disciple,” Qingshamu replied casually. “Now you’ve even picked the Hero from my own house. How amusing.”
“Miss Qingshamu, our Church is establishing a new academy and recruiting all kinds of instructors. We sincerely invite you to join us as our Swordsman Instructor. The benefits are generous—it’s also our way of making up for our previous mistakes.” The Purple Bishop hurriedly added.
“New academy?” Qingshamu couldn’t help a shadow flicker through her heart at these words.
“Yes, it’s called [Saint Lisha Academy]. We’ve found a good location within the Chaos Mountains and have been secretly building it for quite some time. We hope to train talented young adventurers from all walks of life,” the Purple Bishop explained.
“An academy built inside the Chaos Mountains? Heh, are you doing this to avoid the Central Church’s watchful eyes? Are you planning a rebellion?” Qingshamu asked.
“Of course not. Each has its own rules and regulations—the Local Church has its rules, and the Central Church has its stance. We’re all here to serve the Goddess,” the Purple Bishop replied evasively.
“Building an academy in the wilderness—unheard of! How can you guarantee the academy’s safety? The magical beasts never rest. Are you going to make the students guard the city every day?” Qingshamu asked.
“If we dare build an academy in the wild, it’s because we have the means to protect it,” the Holy Knight Captain replied.
“And what means is that? Unless you spell it out, I won’t believe you. I’ve already been tricked once,” Qingshamu said calmly.
The Holy Knight Captain, the Purple Bishop, and the White-robed Priest exchanged glances. Finally, the Purple Bishop could only nod.
“It’s the Holy Sword. It can deploy a vast barrier of holy magic, covering the entire Saint Lisha Academy. Ordinary magical beasts could never break through our defenses,” the Holy Knight Captain explained.
“……” On the surface, Qingshamu remained calm, but inside she was gleaming with delight—it had come so easily.
She’d been thinking about returning to the Demon Domain to look for the Hero’s Sword, but now that the Church’s Holy Sword had appeared, she could simply go and seize it.
And these old guys were even inviting her in as an instructor— what a stroke of luck!
“The Holy Sword? I thought it was just a fictional legend,” Qingshamu kept up the skepticism.
“Does it really exist? And even if it does, would the Central Church really allow you to bring such a holy artifact into the wilderness for your own use?”
“Because there’s more than one Holy Sword. The Central Church has theirs, and our Local Church has ours. They use theirs to guard the Capital Cathedral, and we’re using ours to establish Saint Lisha Academy,” the Purple Bishop explained.
“You want to send the new Hero to study at Saint Lisha Academy?” Qingshamu asked.
“That’s right,” the Purple Bishop nodded.
“Qingshamu, you studied swordsmanship at our Church’s Knights Academy before,” the Holy Knight Captain added.
“I didn’t get this kind of treatment back then—so many people begging me to enroll, and when I did, I was bullied by all the noble students.” Qingshamu laughed at herself.
“Your assurances mean nothing to me. I won’t allow such things to happen again. And I’m not interested in being just a Swordsman Instructor—I don’t want to work for you; I want a higher position,” Qingshamu said coldly.
“…What position do you want?” the Purple Bishop asked.
“I want to be the Training Director, in charge of discipline,” Qingshamu declared.
“Whatever you want—you can have any position, as long as your disciple is willing to become the Hero. Otherwise, the Human Race will face the Divine Retribution Calamity,” the Purple Bishop agreed without hesitation.
“I also need a Degree. I have another young disciple,” Qingshamu said.
“No problem. We’ll prepare it for you—even if you bring ten more disciples,” the Holy Knight Captain said.
“And I want a separate Dormitory Building. I won’t live with strangers—I’m not interested in your little friend games,” Qingshamu added.
“We’ll arrange a private Dormitory Building for you, even bigger than this place,” the Purple Bishop promised.
The negotiations were going a bit too smoothly. For a moment, Qingshamu didn’t even know what more to ask for.
“Then tomorrow, we’ll come to take you to Saint Lisha Academy,” the Purple Bishop rose and took his leave.
A large crowd grandly left the small manor, though in truth they’d left plenty of Church Knights behind to watch and prevent any escape.
Qingshamu and her two companions quickly gathered to discuss matters.
“School again? I don’t want to go to school.” For once, the usually calm White Feather Dove was throwing a tantrum.
“School is great,” Heiqi Long was still grinning.
“Hmph, just you wait.” White Feather Dove sneered in disdain.
For her younger sister had never actually gone to classes— her whole Divine Demon Student life had been spent acting as muscle for the Red Dragon, never once sitting through a lesson.
Now at last, there was a chance for Blackie to experience what she’d missed.
With her personality, White Feather Dove was eager to see what would happen if Blackie had to attend classes.
If she could behave herself for even a single day, I’d call it a loss!