Volume 1 Chapter 590
by post_apiChapter 590: The Entrance Ticket
Lolth never expected that the reason the Director of the Heretic Tribunal had not appeared was…
Because he was in Hillenbrand Town.
And it seemed like she was the one who solved it herself…
She only wanted to give Maria Diana a good talking-to, so how did she end up back in Hillenbrand Town?
The only thing to be thankful for was that this news didn’t leak out.
Otherwise, she would probably get promoted and given a raise by the Demon King again…
Especially since her abilities were likely severely overestimated by the Demon King.
What if she got sent directly to the front lines…? What should she do then?
Even more so, Lolth had to consider one possibility…
That was, the Demon King already saw her as demi-god level, or sub-king level, among other combat powers.
What if, in future battles against the gods, she was called upon?
When Lolth thought of this, she started to sweat.
"This matter must be kept secret."
As for why the Director of the Heretic Tribunal was here…
Lolth probably understood.
Because everyone in The Church of Light, seeing the Heretic Tribunal’s director, basically assumed he had returned from a mission.
Even the members of the Heretic Tribunal thought so.
Clearly, this genuine director was out on a duty.
The nature of his duty was easy to guess.
He had appeared in Hillenbrand Town, and considering the reactions of the high-ranking members of The Church of Light upon seeing him with Dorothy…
In the central church, almost all high-ranking members of The Church of Light believed that Lolth had rescued the Lady of Light.
Therefore, the task assigned to this director should be easy to understand.
He was there to save the Lady of Light from the demon race.
This was likely the matter the pope had entrusted to him—after all, the pope had been training the Lady of Light as his successor.
Clearly, he had little time left, and various forces were ready to move.
So, it was not suitable for the Lady of Light to remain in a "captured" state in the demon realm.
Even if she did not become the pope in the end…
This was the Lady of Light!
Of course, Lolth knew that the director of the Heretic Tribunal also wanted to become the pope.
So…
It was unclear whether he truly wanted to save the Lady of Light or if he had other plans.
But seeing that troublesome thing tied up in the special interrogation room by Tina…
Lolth felt a headache coming on.
In a way, this could be considered a surprising gain, right?
"In short, Tina… please tell me how I appeared and how we fought… all of it in detail."
"Alright, Master Lolth!"
Tina immediately responded.
Then, Tina began to explain the events that happened not long ago.
Lolth trimmed away the parts of Tina’s description that were overly flattering about herself.
She also began to understand what happened when she arrived in Hillenbrand Town.
"Oh, is that so… I understand—what a joke!"
"So this Director of the Heretic Tribunal really did not plan to save the Lady of Light… they intended to kill her from the start!"
"Why did I end up fighting the angel of the Holy Light’s judgment directly?!"
"Why does the Eternal Scepter recognize me?!"
"What is that turtle…? Is she a demi-god from the Second Era?!"
Lolth felt like her head was spinning.
She originally thought that the director of the Heretic Tribunal was the biggest surprise after she got drunk…
She didn’t expect that the content Tina revealed would be even more shocking.
She actually ended up fighting with Kanor’s food supply… uh, no, pet… or should I say friend?
They had a fight.
And if we ignore Tina’s embellishments…
I actually lost to that turtle.
Originally, Lolth woke up at the end of that battle.
So, with Tina’s reminder, she finally remembered that fading memory.
Holding onto the sly and determined expression of the girl who fell into the sea.
"Naivee Bernice… what an amazing person, I wonder how she is now?"
Lolth rubbed her temples and asked softly.
She was a bit afraid that she might hurt that turtle.
After all…
That turtle transforming into a human form must have paid a hefty price.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be maintaining its turtle shape to move around… that can’t be its hobby, right?
"She slept for a long time. When she woke up, she was mostly fine, but every day she was chasing after Lord Kululu’s magical energy statue puppets, as if she were chasing a debt…"
Tina said this, and Lolth nodded in understanding.
She probably understood as well…
Most likely, there was some kind of deal between that turtle and Kululu.
At the same time, she continued to think.
"Hmm… Anyway, besides the series of events that happened since I came back, is there anything else?"
Lolth asked this, and Tina nodded.
She briefly introduced the development status of Hillenbrand Town.
The third phase of the project was basically completed, and everything was developing well and thriving…
The only thing that made Lolth a little concerned was…
"Wait a moment, you mean that group of South Sotua mercenaries… including her mother Qiong, have all joined us?!"
Whenever Lolth thought things couldn’t get any crazier, there was always something new in Tina’s report.
She felt like her head was about to explode.
Although, according to Tina, these people, after entering Hillenbrand Town, were all high-quality mercenaries.
Unlike the previous outlaws, they were generally very eager to blend into Hillenbrand Town…
Some joined the police station, some began driving magical beast vehicles, and some went to the factory to tighten magical screws…
In short, everyone had a bright future.
Lolth also understood that these people, having come out of the half-plane ruins and then facing rebellion, would certainly be thorns in the sides of both the royal family and the rebels of the United Kingdom of South Sotua; they could not stay in South Sotua any longer.
Even when she was at The Church of Light, she heard some rumors…
The crazy king of the United Kingdom of South Sotua was even planning to declare war on Seychelles…
Looking at it this way, they really have nowhere good to go.
With the advance of the Demon Army’s defense line on the entire western side of the continent, it was almost safe to say that there were crises everywhere…
But you couldn’t rely on the one person you shouldn’t trust, could you?
Although she said she saved everyone…
But why was she heading straight for the Demon Army’s territory?
Lolth vaguely felt that someone might be behind this…
But she couldn’t think of who it could be!
After all…
The true "master behind the scenes" was Kanor.
Even if Lolth thought very hard, she would never suspect her young disciple, who was only eight years old.
She knew Kanor was a genius, but in Lolth’s eyes, no matter how genius she was, she couldn’t be like this at the age of eight, right?
This couldn’t be explained by genius; it was simply extraordinary!
However…
Lolth did not know.
Her disciple was really no different from "extraordinary."
Meanwhile, within the Church of Light.
In a small church, an old pastor with white hair was warmly welcoming Kanor and Lalea.
"May the Holy Light shine upon your souls… My friends, the weather has turned cold, so try some hot ginger tea."
"If you wish to pilgrimage to the Holy Capital, now is the perfect time… Those great people are all in the Holy Capital!"
"When I was young, I also went there… But it can’t compare to your journey, since you see, this church is only a day and a half’s journey from the Holy Capital."
The old pastor said this with enthusiasm.
It’s strange to think that this was already near the borders of the Church of Light Holy Capital, where the Papal State met the Holy Lieto Empire.
Yet, there were very few large cities here; mostly, there were towns and villages.
The churches were not very big, and there were hardly any powerful pastors or Paladins.
In some settlements, there were only one or two pastors and a few hundred believers.
If you read the history of the church and the Holy Empire well, you could understand…
These towns and villages were originally formed from some "camps."
The last place where people stopped when entering the Papal State and the Holy Capital to worship was around this location.
After all, once you entered the border of the Papal State… all believers were protected.
To put it simply, when pilgrims arrived inside the Papal State, they did not need to bring their own water and food.
Because meals and accommodation were provided.
If you went to any resident’s home and explained your purpose, you would receive a warm welcome.
After all, the Papal State was rich in resources, and everyone lived happily and comfortably.
So, this was the last place where you needed to "camp."
Over time, a scattered village like this formed by agreement and tradition.
Just like the buffer zone between the Holy Empire and the Papal State, in every direction there were bustling, grand cities.
Only here, it was somewhat quiet and peaceful.
The place where Kanor had hung the bishop before was also one of these villages or towns.
Whether it was the Holy Empire or the Church of Light, it seemed they deliberately did not place any important or powerful people here.
That was why Kanor’s activities here started off a bit casually.
Just like she told Lalea before…
Once she avoided those hunting Paladins, in this land that had no bounty notices and showed peace to the people…
She would be completely safe.
Especially in this area.
She took a sip of the hot ginger tea presented by the old pastor and tasted some rough flavors.
"It’s really delicious."
Kanor complimented.
Lalea also pretended to take a sip.
And nodded a little.
"Ah—it’s not bad!"
With the two girls’ praise, the old pastor felt a bit proud.
"Right? Before I became a pastor, my family sold fried tea… If you like it, I can make some more."
The old pastor said this, stood up, and took the teapot, as if he was going to get more tea leaves.
Kanor watched his back and showed a look of regret.
"What a pity…"
Kanor sighed.
"What’s so pity?"
Lalea asked in a low voice.
Kanor looked at the hot ginger tea in her hands.
"It’s a pity he is a very good person… He can’t attack like before…"
As Kanor said this, Lalea showed a helpless look again.
She was used to the feelings shown by the eight-year-old girl, which were beyond her age.
"Why do you keep thinking about attacking others…? Although we have indeed attacked every church we came across on this journey… wait a minute?"
Lalea suddenly realized that something was not right.
Even after each attack, Kanor would change her identity and aura to continue operating under a different persona.
However, when you look at all the recent attacks on churches and bishops together, it is easy to conclude that there is a significant connection, and it might even be that these are intentional acts by two people!
Lalea’s expression became somewhat subtle.
"You didn’t do this on purpose, did you?"
As Kanor listened to Lalea, she looked up and pouted a little.
"I thought, with your cleverness, you would have figured it out even earlier."
Kanor said this, then gently shook her head.
"If I really wanted to hide, I wouldn’t have chosen such a flashy way to find out Master Lolth’s whereabouts from the very beginning."
As Kanor said this, Lalea recalled the journey they had taken…
Whether it was fighting or hanging someone up.
Indeed, they had tried their best to "hide" their identities.
However, Kanor did not do anything about the traces they left behind.
In fact, Kanor seemed to deliberately make every event very impressive.
If it were just an attack, there probably wouldn’t be so much attention!
The reason they were "chased" for so long each time was also closely related to how outrageous Kanor’s actions were.
Using strange methods to leave everyone with some psychological scars…
Hanging people up or throwing them naked into the busy streets…
What she did would definitely make the headlines if The Church of Light had a newspaper now, causing a great uproar.
"What is your purpose?"
Lalea couldn’t help but continue asking.
"It’s simply to attract attention," Kanor replied without hesitation, "Don’t you realize, Sister Lalea… the level we can reach is too low… And as the old pastor said, the big shots are all in the Holy Capital… they are all busy."
"Master Lolth appearing here must mean something big is going to happen… Regardless of her intentions, she will definitely become involved in a large event."
"Just finding the master has no meaning."
Kanor said, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"When I meet my master… I want to be in a state that allows me to enter…"
"I am not as strong as my master, who can hold a ‘high position’ in The Church of Light…"
"Then, I have no choice but to take another path."
"I just need to become threatening enough… and that’s it."
"The Church of Light also has enemies, and there is suspicion between its factions."
She said this while looking at Lalea, showing a relaxed and joyful smile.
"Once you enter the Papal State, you will realize…"
"Everything we have done before… can lead to a great change."
"This is just a ‘ticket’ to enter."