Chapter 43: The Saintess’s Edict

Belinda followed Vice President Milet briskly through the garden to the side hall where she lived.

Inside, two pointed hat mages nodded in greeting, then led the two into the underground stone chamber.

In the center of the cramped stone room, a burlap sack was placed.

Belinda looked back at Micaite in confusion.

The vice president’s originally weathered and dark face was now flushed with embarrassment.

He snapped, “What’s going on? Didn’t I tell you to invite the Silverfang Mage? What’s with this sack?”

“Vice President, Uluru is inside the sack.”

The deputy beside him explained.

“Didn’t I send him an invitation to attend the Golden Wand Award ceremony? Why did you—”

Milet, aware of the presence of the Princess, struggled to suppress the urge to pull out his staff and smash a Thunderbolt Spell on the deputy.

“Didn’t you say ‘please’?”

A deputy scratched his head.

“Didn’t you also say that even if goblins were invited to meetings in the future, they’d only be worthy of being stuffed into a sack?”

Another deputy reminded.

Milet immediately protested loudly, “When did I ever say something like that?!”

He pointed at the sack and shouted, “Idiots! Is our Magic Association a den of forest bandits or something?!

Hurry and untie him!”

The two hurried to loosen the bindings.

Milet explained to Belinda, “After the whereabouts of Gold Tooth Grubb became a mystery, his student, this Silverfang Uluru, became the one with the deepest research on Dream Magic today.”

“Archmage Milet, regarding the discrimination against goblins or orcs in the Magic Association, I hope it never happens again.”

Belinda warned seriously.

Milet lowered his head, nodding repeatedly, not even daring to meet Belinda’s eyes.

“The Empire allocates a large amount of funding for your operations every year. Yet, because of racial prejudice, you’ve made the Empire suffer losses several times. Such things must not happen again.”

Belinda gently patted Milet’s shoulder, speaking softly.

She clearly remembered seeing in the reports that several potions developed by goblin mages had been submitted to the Magic Association first, but due to prejudice over their origins, had been long delayed in approval.

On the contrary, it was the Goblin Magic Association that proactively discovered and contacted major merchant groups, making a fortune by selling the potions.

The era of the Demon King is gone.

Now, all forces are striving to build facilities and develop their strength.

Money plays an important role.

Yet the Magic Association remains aloof, treating those money-making inventions and potions as nothing.

Milet nodded in reply, “Yes, Your Highness.”

On the other side, Uluru was finally freed from the sack.

His green skin was smudged with dirt, and his pointed ears drooped weakly.

The glasses he had bought to make an impression at the Magic Association’s award ceremony were now broken, making him look especially pitiful.

“Mr. Silverfang, I apologize for what happened due to some misunderstanding.”

Belinda crouched down to comfort him.

“Rest assured, you will become the most honored guest of the Magic Association.”

“Uluru, this is our Princess, hurry and pay your respects.”

Milet urged from the side.

“Hmph, Princess, not Empress. On this trip…you’ll have to pay for damages. My glasses are broken.”

Uluru gritted his silver teeth, shooting a sharp look through the broken glasses.

“Six hundred Gold Tack, a personal gift from me.”

Belinda was generous.

Hearing the sum, Milet nearly collapsed, but upon hearing it was a personal gift, he straightened his knees.

“About attending the award ceremony—was it to lure me here, or is there truly an award for me?”

Uluru rubbed his chin.

At just a meter tall, his face revealed a shrewd expression.

“There is indeed a Nomination Award for you, and Her Highness also has matters she needs your help with.”

Milet explained politely.

“Nomination Award?”

Uluru seemed to ponder.

“We can set up a special award for you and present a Golden Award alongside the others. This also shows that the doors of the Magic Association are open to mages of all races. Of course, this will require your cooperation.”

Belinda added.

Before Milet could answer, Uluru suddenly dropped to his knees.

He cried out, “The Princess’s wisdom reaches from the Extreme Northern Icefield to the Eternal Tranquil Sea!

Meeting you today is truly a blessing of the one true deity and a manifestation of my ancestors’ spirit—my life is complete!”

Belinda was a little bewildered.

Wasn’t this the same person bargaining over compensation just now?

Milet said in a low voice, “Your Highness, goblins are… like this.”

She nodded and continued, “There are still some matters that require—”

“Your needs are Uluru’s direction.

I guarantee to complete the task!”

Uluru responded immediately.

Belinda thought of that scoundrel who ate a poisoned cake and committed suicide to escape in a dream, and a smile tugged at her lips.

“Good, very good.”

***

The moment her words fell, Li Qiuchen, far away at the Oak Barrel Tavern, felt a chill down his back, as if locked onto by a cold gaze.

He instinctively turned to look behind him…

At that moment, everyone was gathered around Tide, singing joyfully.

Tide was still singing loudly, “The Dream’s Second Gate opens, and the Pope sits on the Holy Throne, troubled. Ah, great Pope His Excellency, is there anything I can do for you? Wealth is but dung, beauties are mere bones. What I seek is the order followed by all beings, the will of the gods obeyed by all things.”

Kaili walked back in from outside and sat down again.

She glanced secretly at Li Qiuchen.

The boy still looked calm, but who knew what pain he was suppressing inside?

What did the shattering of the Source of Mana mean?

For a mage, it was too cruel.

But to avoid feeling guilty, he had to pretend to be indifferent.

She could not just stand by!

She was obliged to help him, to help this ‘righteous one’ inspired by her.

“Are you all going to Phoenix City-State tomorrow?”

Kaili asked the group.

“Mm, I’m going to escort Young Master Kairui to enroll at the Magic Academy, then find Brother Ned.”

Naili replied.

“Cousin Qiuchen and the others are going to help the town with some matters.”

Are they already eager to leave here?

Kaili’s heart grew heavier.

“Kairui, you finally came to your senses!”

Aili shouted, “You can’t learn anything from this fake mage anyway. If you need a tutor, I can recommend one for you—a Qi Bing Mage named Lumin, a Titled Mage and very powerful!”

Lumin got a title?

Li Qiuchen was slightly surprised, recalling that cold female mage who always carried seven or eight canteens at her waist, a madwoman charging down the path of single-element magic.

Everyone thought that single-element couldn’t go far, but she didn’t think so.

Qi Bing really suited her style.

Li Qiuchen thought silently.

“I’ll go with you.”

Kaili suddenly spoke.

Everyone exchanged looks.

Naili reminded her, “Miss Kaili, the crisis at Blackwater Town has been resolved. Your contract…”

“Qiuchen’s injury is also my responsibility. I will make sure he fully recovers.”

Kaili declared.

Aili was the first to protest.

“Cousin, what nonsense are you talking about? If he can’t be cured, are you going to take care of him forever? How will you take care of him?”

“Aili, that’s enough.”

Kaili slammed the table, stopping her questioning.

She turned to the others, “Besides, the journey to Phoenix City-State isn’t safe. Although the Last Dark Dynasty has been ended, remnants still cause trouble. Plus, there have been restless orcs nearby. At the very least, I will escort you all to Phoenix City-State.”

“Cousin, you’re being mean to me too.”

Before anyone else could reply, Aili pointed at her in anger.

“Kid, aren’t you going to tell your parents?”

Jocelyn’s cheeks were flushed, teasing the adorable Little Loli Mage.

“I—”

Aili only felt a strange sense of grievance.

She was speaking for her cousin, but ended up being scolded herself.

That attention-seeking guy couldn’t use any magic, yet everyone respected and gathered around him instead of her.

“You can put up with this? If it were me, I’d snap my wand and fight her barehanded!”

Jocelyn continued to egg the little loli on.

“Hmph! I’ll tell Dad. I’ll tell him everything—you’ll see.”

Aili’s eyes filled with tears, and she turned and ran out.

“Aili.”

This time it was Kaili’s turn to chase after her.

But as she stood up, she coughed, her body clearly not fully recovered.

Kairui said, “I’ll go after her. Miss Kaili, please rest for a while.”

Kaili’s gaze swept the room and finally landed on Li Qiuchen.

Tide’s song had reached the second verse.

“Grubb forged a dream for the Pope—a world of solemn dignity. All beings followed the Holy Edict, matters proceeded by the code, and the gods issued Divine Decrees within the dream: All to praise the Pope’s deeds.”

At this, Tide stopped singing.

Everyone shouted, “Pope His Excellency, are you satisfied?”

Tide took a sip of beer, cleared his throat, and continued.

“From then on, the Pope never left the dream. The masses were ungoverned. Even as Chief Bishops fled, the Pope remained obsessed within the dream. Heretics stormed into the Radiant Hall.”

“Grubb tried to awaken the Pope, But the man clung to the will of the gods—quick, let the gods continue to praise me. Ah, my great and holy Pope, you died in the brilliance, on the hall. Grubb sighed as he left, Unable to tell if the Pope loved the Force of Order Or the Divine Decree bestowed by the gods.”

Tide’s song slowly faded in the tavern, the line, “Is it love for the Force of Order, or for the Divine Decree of the gods?” lingered in the ears of the attentive.

For Saintess Reina, who had just finished dealing with church matters, this question had never been so clear—Order itself was the embodiment of the will of the gods.

***

The Priest arranging the Magic Array.

She rose and walked among the altars.

A true Holy Decree of the Saintess was about to descend from her hands.

She summoned those working nearby.

“How is the Magic Array arrangement coming?”

Reina looked at the complex patterns on the ground.

A Saint Palace Priest knelt on both knees and performed a holy salute.

“Saintess, through the tireless efforts of sixteen colleagues, it is about eighty percent complete.”

Reina’s ice-blue eyes swept over the dust-covered but spirited Priests in the distance.

She shook her head.

“Take care of your health.”

“For the Saint Palace, all is as it should be.”

The Priest saluted again.

Reina sighed lightly.

“Without a healthy body, how can one serve the Saint Palace for long? Is it worth harming yourself for a single task?”

“By the Holy Edict.”

The Priest bowed his head.

“Once this Magic Array is completed, what will its effects be?”

Reina asked.

“As you requested, it will flash in the dream at a fixed frequency, then scan for matching frequencies at Saint Palaces across the land, gradually pinpointing the dreamer’s location. The longer you interact with the target in the dream, the more precisely the array will lock on.”

The Priest reported truthfully.

Reina nodded in approval.

Under her golden eyelashes, a pair of blue eyes as deep as a pool seemed full of anticipation for catching a certain heretic.

She suddenly remembered—the first time she harbored ill will towards Allen, it was a mere accident.

While resting in the tent, Belinda had pushed him in and then kissed him heavily.

She was praying, beseeching the goddess for mercy and blessings for everyone in the team.

Yet there they were, kissing fiercely, indulging in passion and pleasure.

Clearly she was still there, the Demon King had yet to be defeated—how could they fall so far?

Her initial hatred had been directed at Belinda, but she quickly rejected it.

Why hate Belinda?

Could it be that she liked someone like Allen?

No—it was Allen!

She remembered that year when she left, staring at him as he remained silent.

The source of all chaos and tragedy clearly began with him.

Again and again, in every cycle, in every chaos.

It had to end.

Reina came out of her memories and walked slowly across the altar.

Night had deepened, the moon hung high, and the gathering at the Oak Barrel Tavern continued.

The joyful singing showed no sign of stopping.