Inside the Shrine.
Ilena and Lisi were the first to react, rushing forward to open the doors.
Zorg was still wearing his long robe and mask. Standing beside him was a tall woman dressed in a deep blue, mid-length skirt. She revealed a slender, snowy-white arm and a pair of rounded, straight legs.
Paris leaned in and wrapped her arm around Zorg’s neck as if no one else were there, acting with a very familiar and intimate air. However, Zorg ducked his neck slightly, appearing as though he did not particularly enjoy this kind of contact. But considering she was a warm, old friend he hadn’t seen in a long time, he found it difficult to say anything.
Ilena bowed to the two of them with a smile on her face.
“Welcome, you two.”
Paris nodded politely, then released her grip on Zorg’s neck. With a quick movement, she appeared right beside Ilena. She stood directly in front of her, separated by only 10 centimeters.
She leaned down slightly, bringing herself level with Ilena, whose height only reached her chest. With a curious and somewhat strange expression, she looked at the Bang Bao Shi in Ilena’s hands. She seemed completely oblivious to how ambiguous her movements and posture appeared.
“What is this thing? I’ve never seen it before.”
Ilena was startled and silently took a step back. “This is something Your Highness uses to counter the Procreation Demon God’s Propagation Alienation Curse. It can significantly alleviate the issue, or even solve it at the source.”
As Ilena explained, she couldn’t help but think to herself, ‘Is this Ocean Pope a bit too familiar?’
She didn’t seem to have any sense of propriety at all. Ilena secretly glanced back and forth between Zorg and Paris, suddenly noticing the rather awkward and inappropriate way they were standing together.
Ilena’s expression shifted slightly as she averted her gaze.
‘Could this… could this be the twisted humor of the strong…’
Ilena sighed inwardly but didn’t dwell on it. It was perfect that the Ocean Pope, Paris, had come to the Fertility Church of her own accord. Moreover, Your Highness had mentioned trying to recruit several other churches to manufacture Bang Bao Shi together. Then, they would begin spreading it between the Two Great Empires.
Ilena hesitated for a moment, still unable to display the item to Paris as openly as Lu Ming did. Thus, she let out a couple of light chuckles.
“I’m actually not very familiar with this item myself. Bishop Naya has been deeply instructed by Your Highness. Come, Bishop Naya, give Pope Paris a proper introduction.”
“Eh?”
Suddenly called upon, Naya’s face turned red with a mix of confusion and irritation. She looked at the grinning Ilena, wishing she could throw her onto the bed in Lu Ming’s Courtyard right then and there.
“No, no, no! Naya’s knowledge is shallow. Sister Ilena’s learning is much deeper. After all, Sister Ilena was Your Highness’s first favored believer!”
Naya pushed Ilena forward, her mind full of mischievous ideas, using slang that only Ilena and Ili could understand.
Paris remained leaned over, her shapely waist swaying slightly. She didn’t quite understand what the two of them were doing. Since neither of them was willing to speak, she figured she would just take it and see for herself. That would make it easier to understand the principles behind it anyway.
“Then, Bishop Ilena, I’ll take a look myself.”
With those words, Paris reached out. She snatched the item from Ilena’s hands while the latter was still busy pushing and shoving with Naya.
Just as she was about to tear open the packaging, Ilena and Naya both reacted instantly. They stopped their bickering and shared a look. With perfect unspoken coordination, they lunged at Paris to seize the item back.
“This item is not suitable for public display!”
“Pope Paris, stop!”
As they shouted, they both slammed their shoulders into Paris. In the process, they successfully snatched the item back.
However, Paris was hit by the combined force of two Half-gods who weren’t controlling their strength at all. Her body was sent flying backward with tremendous force, slamming right into Zorg.
Taking him with her, she flew straight out of the Fertility Church. They didn’t stop until they smashed through a perimeter wall and landed heavily in the dirt.
***
Seeing this scene, Ilena and Naya were instantly stunned. Ignoring the item for a moment, they tossed it behind them and sprinted toward the direction where Paris and Zorg had flown.
“Pope Paris, I didn’t do it on purpose! It’s all because of this idiot Naya!”
“That’s not true! It’s clearly because Sister Ilena used too much force!”
Passing through the cloud of dust, the two of them saw Paris and Zorg crashed into the ground. Paris was sprawled on top of Zorg in a rather disheveled and dazed state.
“Pope Paris, are you all right?!”
Paris coughed twice and stood up, unceremoniously stepping on Zorg’s stomach to get her footing.
“I’m fine, but… could you two please control your strength a little?” Paris joked. “If I were to die at your hands, His Lord wouldn’t be coming here to discuss matters with Your Highness Ymir — he’d be coming to demand an execution.”
“We are truly sorry. Since Your Highness hasn’t given us any training in this area, we…”
Ilena and Naya lowered their heads in guilt.
The thick-skinned Paris sighed inwardly. She didn’t intend to hold a grudge against these two literal airheads. She only gave Zorg a strange, backward glare.
‘This guy… he’s actually hiding a steel pipe in his robe. After all these years, he’s still so bad.’
‘He nearly broke my waist…’
“Hey, you jerk, why aren’t you getting up yet? How much longer are you going to sit there?”
Zorg, who had remained silent, looked at Paris with a slightly complex expression for some reason. As if he were contemplating something, he carefully scanned her entire body — especially her waist and those long, jade-like legs.
“It’s nothing. You go on up first. I’m going to stay here for a bit.”
Paris casually brushed the dust off her clothes. “We haven’t seen each other in 30 years, and you’ve only gotten weirder, you jerk.”
With that, her figure turned into a flash of blue light and vanished.
***
Back in the Shrine.
Lisi looked at the box that had fallen into her hands. Under Irene’s curious gaze, she tore open the packaging.
“Is this the solution that Your Highness mentioned? It doesn’t look like anything special,” Irene said softly, her tone tinged with a hint of jealous envy.
Lisi smiled slightly and rubbed her cheek against Irene’s pretty face. Then, squinting her eyes, she placed the Bang Bao Shi between her ring and middle fingers, slowly unrolling it.
Seeing the item reveal its full form, Irene suddenly understood. her deep blue, melancholic eyes widened.
“This…?”
Lisi used her other hand to cover Irene’s mouth. Then, she leaned close to Irene’s ear, her lips gently grazing the earlobe.
“Sister, do you… want to try it…?”
As she spoke, she curled those two fingers under Irene’s shy gaze.
Irene retreated in a fit of embarrassed rage. The tingling sensation from her ear made her feel very uncomfortable. Yet, there was also a sense of longing she had never felt before.
“Lisi, you…”
Irene wanted to refuse, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, she bit her lip, looking deeply conflicted. Then, she took two pieces out of the box and hid them away.
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