With Anqi, the Saintess of the Hidden Sea Church, firmly backing her, the Sister Superior ultimately couldn’t do anything to Valo.
After all, while the Sister Superior’s line of reasoning was quite impressive, with her good daughter Anqi as a shield, Valo could plant her hands on her hips and deliver the classic villain’s retort from detective shows.
“What evidence do you have!?”
Not everyone can be Conan, making the culprit dramatically kneel and start with “I can’t forgive her.”
Clearly, the Sister Superior had no evidence—from the scene, only the apprentice nun Emma, who had stayed behind at the residence, was unlucky enough to be stabbed and nearly lost her life.
Anqi, who was with Valo, was completely unharmed.
So, trying to forcefully label her as an accomplice to the culprit would be rather far-fetched and tinged with personal bias.
In the end, after returning to the residence and watching Anqi treat the trembling Emma, the Sister Superior reluctantly concluded the matter—an unknown Blood Tribe member attempted to attack the Saintess, failed, mistakenly injured the apprentice nun Emma, and then fled.
Given the danger to the Saintess, the handover of the Holy Relic with the Elves must also be moved up! Tonight, the Sister Superior will protect the Saintess throughout the night.
As for this, Valo was more than happy—especially tonight, she truly did not dare to sleep with Anqi.
The next day, early morning.
Before the sun had risen, when the horizon was still just the pale light of dawn, the process for handing over the Holy Relic began in the small chapel of this Hidden Sea Church branch.
The ones who discovered this Holy Relic and decided to entrust it to the Hidden Sea Church for safekeeping were the Elves—within the game’s Alliance faction, a civilization second only in influence to the Havoc Empire.
The Elven lands were precisely the birthplace of Valo’s “filial daughter,” Kaika. The black-haired Kaika stood out immediately compared to these Elves with their gold or silver hair, clearly different and hiding secrets.
Valo wasn’t foolish enough to stupidly share Kaika’s existence with these Elves. Plus, being a bit sleep-deprived, she just yawned her way through the whole thing, playing dead alongside Emma.
After all, the formal pleasantries weren’t her job.
“Saintess, this is the Holy Relic we discovered not long ago.”
Upon seeing Valo’s Demon Clan identity, the Elves’ expressions were a bit strange, but they didn’t say much, probably thinking it was normal for there to be a Demon Clan professor at the Clock Tower?
They soon took the Holy Relic out of a rather large black box.
“After performing a simple prophecy upon it, Her Majesty indicated that this Holy Relic must be entrusted to you for handling. It seems there is someone around you capable of activating this relic.”
Saying this, they carefully placed the circular Holy Relic on the table.
Emma, beside Valo, saw it and stupidly blurted out: “Wow! Isn’t this Holy Relic just a dinner plate?”
The next moment, Valo’s hand clamped over the dumb dog’s mouth: ‘Stupid dog, you talk too much! You just caused trouble yesterday, can’t you keep a low profile under the Sister Superior’s watch today—that shout just now sounded like it came from someone who was stabbed through the chest and nearly died just last night?’
Fortunately, no one paid attention—everyone’s focus was on the Holy Relic.
“For those unable to activate it, it probably really is just a silver dinner plate,” the lead Elf woman, quite talkative, said. “According to the inscriptions, its name as a Holy Relic is [King’s Vessel].”
“Along with the inscriptions are some engraved symbols. We initially speculate they are something like an activation code. Unfortunately, even the most learned sages among the Elves cannot decipher them.”
“So, it’s better to entrust it to the Hidden Sea Church and wait for the destined one.”
Doesn’t this scene feel a bit familiar?
That’s right, a similar scene plays out in every isekai novel!
The Elves said their Queen’s prophecy indicated that someone around Saintess Anqi could activate the [King’s Vessel]?
Valo, currently hiding behind Anqi, revealed a KAMI smile: ‘That’s right, it’s me!’
From the moment Emma’s shout let her clearly see what this “single-pull Holy Relic” from the retrieval mission was, Valo had been completely confident she could conquer this relic—the [King’s Vessel].
The “password behind the Holy Relic’s inscriptions” the Elf women spoke of, in the game’s setting, was actually just some common-sense answers for players like her.
For example: What is the price of the shirt?
For example: How much for the big hammer, how much for the small hammer?
So classic, so formulaic, so clichéd, so mainstream.
It was like hitting the jackpot on a single pull.
And unlike before, where even if she saw a Holy Relic she could only sneak around to find a chance to conquer it, this time Valo didn’t even need to hide it.
Her considerate little snuggle bug would deliver the opportunity to her.
“I, on behalf of the Hidden Sea Church, formally accept this Holy Relic.”
Using her elegant and proper signature Saintess smile, Anqi carefully received the Holy Relic. With just a glance towards Valo, she understood her thoughts and gave Valo a “beg me” hint.
Then, under Valo’s eager, pleading gaze, she naturally gave an order.
“Mother, could you please put it safely in your luggage for now?”
The gist of this statement was: ‘I see you seem very interested in this Holy Relic, Mother. You can take a good look at it on the way back.’
Wow, wow, wow! Is this the benefit of saving Anqi’s life and preserving her status as Saintess?
So magnificent, the great hand of Haye-Qi! She was just worrying about how to conquer this Holy Relic under the Sister Superior’s watchful eye!
Pleased, Valo immediately puffed out her non-existent chest and retorted to the Elves who looked taken aback.
“I’m the mother Anqi acknowledges. Do you have a problem with that?”
Did she look like she wasn’t motherly enough?
Reject loli mother shame!
Later.
The Elves, having completed the Holy Relic handover, departed by airship as arranged by the Sister Superior.
Anqi suggested “going to play by the sea one more time”—when she said this, the girl’s look at Valo was like an eagle spotting a chicken.
‘Last time we had a conflict she was so affectionate, what does Anqi want to do this time?’
But it was firmly vetoed by the Sister Superior with an unusually resolute attitude: The Saintess’s current situation is extremely dangerous; they must depart for the return journey immediately.
On this point, the Sister Superior would not budge.
She also stated that on the way back, Valo needed to ride in the same carriage with her, in case of emergencies. It practically had “loyal knight” written all over her face.
As for this… Valo had not a single objection: ‘Thank you, Sister Superior, for saving my life—at this stage, Anqi’s wicked thoughts and impulses towards me haven’t cooled down yet. If I had to share a carriage with this Saintess daughter on the way back…’
‘Would my legs still be usable for walking by the time we got home?’
Besides, right now she only wanted to study and conquer the newly acquired Holy Relic, the [King’s Vessel].
No one, understood, the uses of Holy Relics, better than her, let alone this particular relic…
It was a perfect divine tool that could help her trigger more of the prerequisites for entering the [Magneto Ending]!
And so.
Everyone packed their luggage and then set off for the Imperial Capital by carriage at the fastest speed possible.
Now, under the bright sun, on the wide, smooth central road.
Emma and the Church’s Saintess were riding in the carriage traveling at the back.
The “gloriously wounded” Emma cautiously watched the Skywing Race Saintess Anqi before her, who, despite knowing her Blood Tribe identity, was still using healing magic to re-examine her.
There was no perfunctory act, nor did she stuff any holy light bombs into her body during the treatment.
She was genuinely helping her repair the wound with the premise of “leaving no scar”!
Coupled with the fact that the Saintess’s current state was no different from usual, showing no signs of Blood Source Curse erosion…
This led Emma to a definite conclusion: The Demon King had graciously made the Saintess her Kin and had control over Saintess Anqi!
As expected of the Demon King! Achieving what countless Demons wouldn’t even dare to think about with such ease!
Having been on edge all night, worried about being settled by the Saintess, Emma suddenly felt she was back in the game.
Looking at the Skywing woman before her who had withdrawn her hand, Emma straightened her posture, putting on an air of seniority.
“Anqi, the Demon King… subdued you yesterday, right?”
“Yes~ I am now Mother’s Kin.”
The Saintess elegantly adjusted her sitting posture and answered with a smile.
‘Heh heh~ So you’ve come to this day too?’
Emma felt quite proud—mentioning the Demon King’s achievements, even if she was just a Blood Tribe minion ordered around by the Demon King, made her puff out her chest with pride.
She intended to use this opportunity to put some pressure on the Saintess before her, to let her know: ‘I am the senior among the Demon King’s subordinates, your senior!’
From now on, she would address her as Saintess on the surface, but in private, the Saintess would have to show her some respect.
Saintess?
Little An!
“I must remind you, Saintess Anqi, don’t think that just because the Demon King’s grace has temporarily restored your normalcy, you can take the chance to resist!”
“The effect of the Blood Source Curse isn’t just about the grace suppressing the curse’s erosion. The Demon King can control the… inside your body at any time…”
However, before she could finish, Emma realized: the scene before her seemed a bit different from what she imagined?
“Classmate Emma, out of consideration that you are also Mother’s subordinate, I will kindly remind you of a few points.”
“Huh?”
‘Even though this Saintess should have been subdued by the Demon King, why, why does she dare to be so disrespectful to me, her senior!?’
“If you don’t want to be caught, punished, and expelled by the Sister Superior, it’s best if your address for me remains ‘Saintess’ at all times. Me becoming Mother’s Kin, and you being able to disrespectfully call me by name…”
The Saintess smiled, the pressure palpable. “Hehe~ doesn’t seem to be related, does it?”
“Eek!”
Emma’s bravado instantly vanished!
“And then: I did become Mother’s Kin, but as far as I know… you aren’t Mother’s Kin, are you?”
“Please don’t put on airs as a senior. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee that one night, I might whisper some bad things about you to Mother by the pillow.”
Emma immediately went into a crouching, defensive posture, hugging her head.
“Finally, as Mother’s Kin, and also as part of my duty as Saintess, I am very interested to know about your connection with your master from when you had the Blood Source Curse—the Blood Ancestor.”
“Why did she send you to infiltrate the Empire? What was your mission? Why did you then pledge allegiance to Mother? On what grounds can you make me believe you won’t betray Mother again in the future? Don’t think that questions you could gloss over with Mother can be easily hidden from me~”
“The journey back is still long, Classmate Emma. No need to rush. Answer me properly, one by one, okay?”
“Wahh… I-I’m sorry!”
Emma’s plea for mercy was already tinged with sobs: ‘Why is it that after the Demon King controlled the Church’s Saintess, my situation and status have gotten even worse!?’