Chapter Seventy-Four: The Saintess and the Knight Who Annihilated the Cult

Looking at the two senior members of the Lotus of Fate Church, Link couldn’t help but regret using Remilia’s power of destiny. No matter what, he couldn’t believe that encountering the Saintess of Lotus of Fate here, just in time to play the hero rescuing the maiden, had nothing to do with the force of destiny. The degree of coincidence, narrative pull, and story-like progression was so strong it sent chills down his spine—a feeling as if the great god of fate was leading him by the nose.

Fortunately, Link knew this wasn’t anyone deliberately manipulating things, but rather the system’s enhancement of the power of destiny. Otherwise, he’d truly become paranoid.

He glanced at the two women and smiled, saying, “By the grace of the Father, so you are the Saintess and Knight of Lotus of Fate. It’s a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Neil Night, founder and Archbishop of the Father’s Church in Quinko Town, and the earthly representative of the great Father Link.”

“Father’s Church in Quinko Town? Father Link?” Sisley and Miline exchanged confused glances, then replied politely, “Ah, the Archbishop of the Father’s Church. Forgive us for not recognizing you.”

Seeing their reaction, Link realized they had never heard of the Father’s Church in Quinko Town, which was understandable. Beyond the Red Moon Province, countless churches claimed to worship the Father. Red Moon itself was just a middling province within the Kingdom of Stars—not the worst, but far from the best. The major provinces' churches looked down on those from Red Moon, and even the five great churches couldn’t stand out once they left its borders, let alone the newly risen Father’s Church.

After pondering, Link continued, “By the grace of the Father, may I ask what brings you here? Why are you being chased by the Baal Church? As far as I remember, there’s no conflict between your church and theirs. And both of you are important figures in Lotus of Fate—why are you alone, without escorts?”

Their expressions turned grim, anger and sorrow mingling. Sisley pressed her lips and spoke in a gloomy tone, “Archbishop Neil, to be frank, we have no escorts left. The Lotus of Fate Church no longer exists.”

“The Lotus of Fate no longer exists? Does that mean…” Link's face showed shock. Sisley’s eyes shimmered with grief and fury, so he adopted a concerned expression and asked, “Miss Sisley, could you explain more clearly?”

Sisley looked at Link, hesitated for a time, then recounted the situation. The Lotus of Fate Church had been annihilated by Baal Church; its leadership slaughtered, leaving only Sisley and Miline as survivors.

After hearing Sisley’s story, Link furrowed his brow, deep in thought. He couldn’t fathom why the Baal Church would act so ruthlessly. Though Baal was a cult, the Lotus of Fate Church enjoyed excellent relations with both cults and orthodox churches, and had no reason to provoke anyone. Such a move was certain to invite retaliation from other churches, regardless of alignment.

For Baal Church to risk becoming a pariah and wipe out Lotus of Fate was illogical. If their motive was envy of the church’s alchemical arts, they wouldn’t have killed its leaders. Clearly, their aim was not the alchemy.

Could it be… the Lotus of Fate acquired some treasure, or had irreconcilable conflict with Baal? Or perhaps Sisley wasn’t telling the whole truth?

Suspicious, Link discreetly consulted White Spirit and Shadow, his two magical beasts with keen intuition, who had been watching the women closely. If they were lying, it would be obvious—unless their acting could fool even the beasts’ instincts, which was impossible.

Soon, both beasts confirmed Sisley showed no signs of deception; what she said was almost certainly true. Link adopted an indignant expression and declared, “By the grace of the Father, how vile Baal Church is! The Father shall surely punish them.” He paused, then added, “But still, I wonder why Baal would attack your church. There seems to be no conflict of interest.”

“I’m not sure,” Sisley replied, “but recently I heard the archbishop mention they found a treasure, apparently related to Saint White Lotus, the founder of our church.”

“Saint White Lotus? Who is that?” Link admitted he’d never heard the name.

Sisley shook her head. “We’re not sure either. They say she was a great mage a thousand years ago, from the Eastern Cloud Empire beyond the clouds and mountains. She founded the original Lotus Temple, predecessor to our church, then suddenly disappeared. Some say she was sealed away, others that she died. But she was indeed a great mage, said to be a saint. Perhaps it was because the archbishop acquired her relic that Baal Church struck us down.” As she finished, her and Miline's faces grew bleak.

“A saint’s relic?” Link’s heart skipped a beat. That was extraordinary. What was a saint? To humanity, the greatest, most revered sages, regarded almost as gods. Any relic left by a saint could spark a frenzy of competition; countless factions had risen to power thanks to a saint’s relic, becoming forces impossible to ignore.

If it truly was a saint’s relic, Baal Church’s risk in attacking Lotus of Fate made sense. The Lotus of Fate had vast networks across the Kingdom of Stars and countless allies, but lacking strength, they were easily destroyed before help could arrive.

Indeed, only strength is the hard truth. Without the power to protect oneself, even the most prosperous facade will eventually be used as a stepping stone by others.

Link’s resolve to strengthen the Father’s Church grew firmer. He glanced playfully at Sisley and Miline—the master and servant were intriguing. One disclosed such a huge secret without hesitation, while the other remained indifferent, seemingly unaware of its significance. Did they not realize how dangerous it was to reveal such secrets to a stranger, even if he’d saved them? At least leave some caution!

He looked into their eyes and checked with his magical beasts again, confirming they showed no signs of lying or acting. Link mentally labeled them as ‘naive’—half of the tag for now, the rest pending evidence.

He smiled like a true priest and said, “By the grace of the Father, you need not grieve. Since Baal Church has committed such an outrage, they will surely be punished. Once their location is found, our Father’s Church will see to their destruction.”

The two women expressed genuine gratitude, thanking Link as if they truly believed his promise.

Link asked, “By the way, do you have plans for where to go now? With your church lost, you must need a place to rest.”

His fox’s tail was showing, but the women didn’t notice. Like Lingmeng, they were utterly guileless. It wasn’t surprising—aside from the larger, more populous churches, most saintesses and their knights had to remain pure and innocent to be worthy of the title ‘saint.’

Sisley exchanged a glance with Miline, then replied, “Archbishop Neil, to be honest, we intend to seek refuge with the Church of the Bright Moon. Their pontiff was an old friend of our archbishop, and we hope they will help us.”

“Oh, I see.” Link nodded, then frowned in confusion. “But that’s odd. Lotus of Fate is in Mohr Province, while Bright Moon’s headquarters are in Gale City. Why not go straight there? Why detour to this place? Was it to evade Baal Church’s pursuit?”

Sisley and Miline froze, then exchanged embarrassed looks. Sisley lowered her head, unable to meet Link’s gaze. Miline steeled herself and said awkwardly, “Archbishop Neil, to be honest, my mistress and I both have poor sense of direction, and the map we got was unclear, so…” Her voice grew quieter and finally she couldn’t finish, turning her head away.

Link could barely contain his laughter. Poor sense of direction, unclear map—in truth, they were simply hopeless at navigation.

Remarkable! This master and servant pair were truly one of a kind: not only naïve and trusting, but also hopelessly directionless—rivaling Lingmeng herself.

If he couldn’t hoodwink such gullible girls, he might as well give up being a priest.

At once, Link began to subtly mislead them, gently suggesting that the Church of the Bright Moon might not be as wonderful as they imagined. If they went there, they might not receive help, but rather be imprisoned.

His words were seventy percent true, thirty percent false. The Church of the Bright Moon had grown so much; surely they’d done shady things. Even Count Lothar had evidence in hand, though he hadn’t acted on it. Link could have Lothar produce it at any time.

The two naïve girls didn’t fully believe him, but were convinced enough to become hesitant. Link seized the opportunity to say that it was late, and their destination was far; if they truly wished to go, he would send someone to escort them to the Church of the Bright Moon in a few days.

They were both surprised and delighted, thanking Link profusely and clearly relieved. They knew well that, given their navigation skills, if they set off alone, they’d almost certainly get lost again.

Link immediately summoned White Spirit to carry the two women, while he himself rode Shadow back to Quinko Town. Though White Spirit could carry three, it would be cramped. Link didn’t mind, but Sisley and Aileen weren’t like Lingmeng, who could be bribed to ignore propriety. They would surely feel embarrassed or troubled, and Link had to preserve his image, so he let White Spirit carry the women, while he rode Shadow.

Shadow wasn’t as fast as White Spirit, but still rivaled a car, easily reaching speeds over a hundred kilometers per hour and able to sprint one hundred fifty kilometers at full power. Most importantly, its endurance was excellent, unaffected by terrain, making it a perfect land transport.

Thus, the three returned to Quinko Town riding their magical beasts. For Sisley and Aileen, experiencing flight for the first time, it was a mix of joy and amazement. Along the way, they exclaimed in delight, with none of the composure befitting a saintess and her knight—more like two inexperienced girls. In truth, they really were little different from novices, only possessing decent strength.