Chapter 44: The Meddlesome Holy Knight Princess (Bonus Update)

Miss Edwina has been quite unlucky lately.

Ever since she was saved again by Miss Vilyric in the Forgotten Land and witnessed the awe-inspiring power of her and her companions, the devout Holy Knight Princess has been shaken.

She’s been pondering what all her hard work has been for.

She has struggled to survive in the undead lair and this bizarre world, while to others, it might simply be a leisurely game where with a raised hand, they could casually obliterate millions of undead.

Why does such a being exist in this world?

Why, when all creatures are granted the Goddess’s gaze, is there such a chasm between them?

What she considers her lifelong pursuit of superiority is merely akin to an ant to such beings.

Will she ever be able to reach their heels in her lifetime?

Creator, is the Goddess truly fair?

With the Forgotten City laid to waste by divine punishment, Edwina’s training plans naturally fell apart.

Although after experiencing that godly aura, combined with her previous training and her noble act of leaving the Forgotten Land to rescue the downtrodden, the Holy Knight Princess did manage to breakthrough her own strength and reach the Sky level…

But it felt entirely hollow.

To true powerhouses, she was simply an insect of a slightly different model.

Feeling a bit hopeless, Edwina traveled east and arrived at the capital city of the United Kingdom, the City of Courage, intending to take a griffon to return to the Holy City of Angels.

She no longer wanted to engage in any more meaningless training.

However, to her surprise, as soon as she arrived in the royal capital, she heard from the city guards and locals the shocking news that the current king, Anqiro Meikailande, was gravely ill and had passed away.

Though she had heard similar rumors on her way there, the Holy Knight Princess, feeling downcast at the time, didn’t pay them much mind, thinking it was just popular gossip.

Little did she know it was true! King Anqiro really was gone, and now the royal capital…

As one of the three major households of the Holy Empire, Edwina, the second daughter of the Cecilia family, naturally understood the current situation in the United Kingdom.

The princes were vying for the throne, eliminating rivals, and even sent the talented Fifth Princess to the western front to battle the Beastmen. However, that Princess Liliya seemed to have divine support, defeating the enemy forces and thus earning overwhelming support and fame back home.

Yet even so, when it comes to the throne, nobody would easily back down. The return of Princess Liliya’s victory would only further muddy the already murky waters of the royal capital.

At this moment, the only stabilizing force, the currently reigning king, had just happened to pass away…

Staying in the City of Courage was not an option; she had to leave quickly.

Even though Edwina had reached the Sky level as a Holy Knight, in this struggle for the throne amongst the world’s top five superpowers, getting caught up in it would make her nothing more than a speck of dust, easily crushed by a wheel.

Though a bit daft, she wasn’t actually foolish; if she were, her family and mentors wouldn’t let her out alone to train.

However, coincidentally, when the Holy Knight Princess made her way to the local griffon rental shop, she received another head-spinning piece of news.

【During the former king’s memorial, no one is allowed to ride mounts or fly over the royal city. Those who do will be regarded as illegal invaders and shot down without consideration for life or death.】

Thus, for at least the next month, she wouldn’t be able to leave the City of Courage unless Edwina wanted to take ten times longer to return over land through the River of Stars.

With no other choice, Edwina had to head back to her inn, planning to wait until the time was up before leaving, in the meantime aiming to minimize her outings to avoid getting caught in any strange incidents.

However, Miss Edwina is a devout Holy Knight.

On her way back, she encountered something she couldn’t just ignore.

The doctrines of the Holy Empire and the Church of the Goddess advocate for equal treatment of almost all intelligent beings, but there are exceptions.

First, the enemies of the Gods, demons from other worlds.

Any demon, regardless of form, strength, or friendliness, that dares to descend into this world must be exterminated by all followers of the Goddess.

This decree has existed since the Holy Empire was founded a thousand years ago, personally issued by the Goddess herself, with no room for disobedience.

They do not belong to this world; they are absolute outsiders, invaders. Those who dare summon demons will also be hated by the Goddess.

Secondly, the defiers of divine rules, undead who cling to existence against the laws of life and death.

The laws were established by the Gods for the better functioning of the world; undead or similar beings should not exist, as they disrupt balance and burden the world.

Thus, it is necessary for the Goddess’s followers to purify them and send them back where they belong.

There are others who are traditionally disrespectful or contemptuous toward the divine, such as vampires, beastmen, ancient blasphemers, and some high-level magical beasts, but these take lower priority, and the Goddess has not explicitly stated how to deal with them.

Therefore, as long as they do not instigate conflict or arrogantly intrude into the temples dedicated to the Gods, the Holy Empire typically won’t specifically target these races, choosing to let things be.

What Edwina felt was the second type.

The undead exuding a scent of decay.

Upon seeing them, that being dressed like an ordinary resident of the kingdom—albeit the faint scent of death was no match for Edwina, the Sky-level Holy Knight—was sneaking through a dark alley with a girl who looked about seven or eight, likely a resident of the City of Courage.

As a goddess’s follower and a knight by instinct, she instinctively drew her long sword and slashed at the man who felt a bit different from the undead but was definitely not a living person!

The opponent’s power wasn’t strong, probably only of gold quality, though they were desperately resisting, facing the completely countering Holy Knight Princess, they were disarmed in two strikes, and she sliced off their arm with one blow.

And then, they fled.

Due to needing to care for the unconscious girl, Edwina didn’t go on a relentless chase. Although purifying the deceased is an obligation for every follower of the Goddess, the teachings of the Goddess prioritize saving over killing.

Most importantly, after witnessing Vilyric’s overwhelming might, the Holy Knight Princess found herself questioning her own power and lost confidence.

In that moment, Edwina hesitated, not able to muster the courage to plunge into the darkness, ultimately missing her opportunity.

The little girl had merely been drugged and, using faith-based magic, Edwina woke her up and simply asked her a few questions, but the girl seemed completely unaware of what had happened; she had just accidentally gotten lost and was randomly abducted.

After bringing the little girl back to the bustling street and finding her parents, Edwina quietly slipped away as the girl joyfully ran back to her mother and father.

Honestly, she wasn’t in the mood to preach right now and hoped to avoid getting too entangled with troublesome matters.

Unfortunately, someone wasn’t about to let Miss Edwina, the meddler, off so easily.

Upon returning to her inn room and pushing the door open, the tall figure with dark blue hair, which should have been empty, appeared in front of the Holy Knight Princess’s eyes.

   

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