Qiansitelin, desperately holding back her laughter, looked like she was in pain.
When Muxuan recalled how Gelifende’s gaze had constantly drifted back and forth between him and Qiansitelin as he saw them off, his expression flickering with something strange, Muxuan felt a sudden urge to find a hole to crawl into.
It was especially worse because Lusheqi had added a meaningful comment: “His Holiness is still young. You must exercise restraint!”
This was absolute character assassination!
‘Heaven knows if they’ve imagined some kind of grand battle happened between me and Qiansitelin…’
If Muxuan hadn’t managed to barely steady himself before Gelifende showed up, he would have been even more embarrassed.
“Your Highness, I wasn’t the one who initiated this, you know~”
Because of this, Muxuan’s complicated emotions had no outlet, leaving him feeling rather stifled.
Most importantly, now that they were alone, Qiansitelin had started calling him “Your Highness” exclusively!
It was as if she didn’t even see him as the Pope anymore…
He wanted to ask the Goddess for help, but remembering how cowardly the Goddess acted whenever she faced Qiansitelin, Muxuan was both speechless and discouraged from the idea.
At the very least, he had to wait until he was free and Qiansitelin wasn’t around before he could have a proper talk with the Goddess about his transformation into a girl.
The first time, he hadn’t thought of it, and the second time, he had been in such a rush to find Gelifende—plus, with Qiansitelin there, he simply had no chance to question the Goddess.
‘Damn it, I feel like my dignity as a man has nothing left in front of Qiansitelin!’
“Let’s go, quickly…”
Changing the subject, Muxuan suddenly accelerated after imbuing his legs with Lightforce.
He really didn’t want to be standing right now; his legs felt truly uncomfortable.
If it weren’t for the Crosier acting as a cane, he might have tripped several times already.
“Your Highness, I actually think this might be faster~”
Seeing Muxuan’s limping gait, Qiansitelin quickly moved behind him and scooped him up by the waist.
The moment his body felt weightless, Muxuan panicked.
‘Wait, I still look like a man right now! Where is my dignity if you carry me bridal style like this!’
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but ever after that incident in the Prison, Qiansitelin no longer seemed to resist his appearance as the Pope.
“Qiansitelin, put me down!”
They were not far from the settlement.
Muxuan didn’t want anyone to see him like this.
“But didn’t His Holiness want to get there quickly?”
Qiansitelin’s face still wore a smile.
Looking at Muxuan, who was clutching his Crosier in a fluster, she seemed to look through the Lightforce to see his bashful, feminine side.
“It’s not that urgent! Put me down quickly, I can walk on my own!”
“But Your Highness said not long ago that you couldn’t walk anymore~”
Qiansitelin said relentlessly.
“I can walk now! And don’t mention what happened earlier ever again!”
Being reminded of the previous incident made Muxuan feel a wave of frustration.
As the settlement drew closer, he began to struggle.
Fortunately, Qiansitelin still left Muxuan with some dignity.
Just before they were about to be seen by the guards, she loosened her arms and let him down.
“Ah—”
With a *thud*, Muxuan landed right on his backside.
He cried out in pain and looked at Qiansitelin, speechless.
“You could have been a bit more gentle!”
“Your Highness, you were the one who told me to put you down~”
“Tsk…”
Qiansitelin’s innocent act annoyed Muxuan to no end.
Knowing he couldn’t win a verbal argument with her, he simply shut his mouth, rubbed his rear and legs, and stood up using the Crosier for support.
Following behind him, Qiansitelin no longer smiled.
She narrowed her eyes, watching Muxuan’s back with a grave expression.
‘Goddess… what are you up to now…’
***
“His Holiness!”
“Praise the Light! Praise the Goddess!”
Upon Muxuan’s arrival, the knights at the gate immediately bowed respectfully, their eyes shining with devotion to the Light.
Muxuan nodded, feeling a bit dazed as he looked at the gate made of white iron and the surrounding walls, which were made of stone bricks piled two meters thick.
At the outpost, the stone materials excavated from the veins had mostly been transported back to the settlement.
Under Beikeze’s arrangements, the entire settlement had been completely transformed, and its boundaries had expanded significantly.
The current settlement could already be considered a small town.
It wasn’t that Muxuan was being biased; Beikeze had already sent another Bishop, escorted by Kamani, to the other side of the settlement to establish a new outpost.
In other words, the current settlement was surrounded by two outposts, making it the safest location.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Muxuan had chosen to consolidate the main settlement first.
The outposts faced the Black Mist directly; if they couldn’t stop The Strange within the mist, at least the settlement remained as a fallback.
Beikeze’s reasoning was simple: this was the starting point for the Church’s revival, and it held a special significance.
Walking slowly into the settlement and seeing the wide streets and the orderly buildings surrounding them, Muxuan felt a sense of disbelief.
He hadn’t expected Beikeze to have developed the settlement to this extent.
“It’s His Holiness!”
“His Holiness has returned!”
The people passing by also recognized Muxuan, cheering with fanatical expressions.
To them, His Holiness was their only hope!
If it weren’t for him, they would still be struggling in the Black Mist, perhaps dying at the hands of The Strange any day.
They hadn’t seen the Goddess; they had only seen the Pope perform miracles.
But they didn’t care if there was a Goddess or not.
Since the Pope had led them to a better life, if the Pope said they should have faith in the Goddess, they would do so without hesitation.
“His Holiness is quite popular~”
Perhaps because there were several women among the cheering crowd, Qiansitelin’s words seemed to carry a hint of jealousy.
Muxuan ignored her.
He frowned as he watched the crowd grow larger.
The road, which was originally quite wide, was now packed with people, and he didn’t even know which way to go…
“All right, everyone, quiet down. His Holiness has important matters to attend to. Please make way.”
Sensing Muxuan’s predicament, a knight on guard duty at the gate immediately stepped forward to disperse the crowd.
Afterward, the knight produced a map and handed it to Muxuan.
“His Holiness, this is the map of the settlement.”
After giving the knight an appreciative look, Muxuan slowly unfolded the map.
“His Holiness, this section is the completed residential area, and this part is the crop cultivation area… the Church is here. Archbishop Beikeze should be inside the Church right now.”
The knight quickly pointed out the regions on the map to explain them to Muxuan.
Muxuan nodded understandingly; the divisions were indeed clear and logical.
However, he looked at a large blank area on the map with some surprise.
The current population was nowhere near enough to fill the settlement after Beikeze’s expansion.
He hadn’t expected Beikeze to have expanded it by this much!