Chapter 29: The Price of Blessings

“What’s wrong, Boss! Where did I go wrong this time?”

“Haha, no, no, I just think this perspective really fits your personal style~”

Seeing the Black-haired Girl laugh and shake her head repeatedly, Queen Anies couldn’t help but smile as well, the atmosphere that had been serious during the priest ceremony suddenly felt much lighter.

It’s not surprising that Le Qiao Qiao thinks this way; rather, it’s the common view most people have about the elusive God — an omnipotent ruler, a benevolent existence that protects its followers selflessly like a mother, while being unaware of the price attached to those blessings.

In fact, very few gods would actively respond to someone who prays to them without a reason; to them, it holds no significance and offers no value.

With such a vast number of believers, to the gods, mere mortals with short lives are almost like fleeting smoke. How many wishful thinkers are constantly asking? If every believer had to be responded to, wouldn’t that be an impossible task?

Moreover, the power of faith an individual can offer is worlds apart from the divine power required by the gods to respond to prayers. Such a losing deal is something no god would willingly engage in unless under specific circumstances.

So the key, the absolute key, lies in the offerings.

As expected, Hong Yan quickly chimed in.

“Your Majesty must have paid some irrefutable compensation to the God for this assistance, but if I may say so, the manifestation of that god’s power felt rather strange and ominous… Can we really trust them?”

If this kind of doubt were heard by other merfolk of the Emerald Sea Region, they’d likely feel offended, some might even explode with anger. After all, although the Sea Goddess Vail doesn’t have a complete sect, she is indeed the most renowned deity of the ocean.

It’s said that sailors before setting off can conduct a small ceremony, offering prayers and offerings to the Sea Goddess for a notable reduction in the chances of encountering harsh weather and storms. But if they show disrespect to the goddess, or even curse or slander her in public, they might face various accidents at sea, and the probability of shipwrecks would subsequently rise.

Of course, some believe this is merely survivor’s bias or that some unknown factors are at play, exaggerating the effects and there’s no direct evidence linking faith in the Sea Goddess Vail to the rate of maritime accidents.

However, regardless, believing in a deity doesn’t require much in terms of cost; even if it’s just superstition, occasionally praying to the goddess when nothing else is going on can at least offer psychological comfort. Thus, over time, the worshippers of Goddess Vail at sea have become quite common, even in the East Sea Pearl.

But it seems the Queen before us is not one of them.

“Hong Yan, Miss… right? You seem very rational and have keen observation skills. Yes, while we borrowed… its power to find Nitira, it doesn’t mean that it is an ally of my clan…”

After a moment of contemplation, Anies whispered at a volume only the four of us could hear.

“If I were to put it bluntly, it felt more like a simple transaction, not even a partnership. If it weren’t for certain special reasons, I would never have easily offered devotion and sacrifice to it.”

“In the end, this was just a test.”

Upon hearing this, the Priestess understood right away.

It appears Queen Anies is not particularly friendly toward the manifested entity, perhaps even wary and disgusted, and she just referred to it as “it,” which seems to imply something…

It seems this queen knows something and knows quite a bit.

Before anyone could continue discussing further, the Old Longbei, leader of the three-finned tribe, had finished examining the patients, or rather, the dozen or so merfolk used as a kind of sacrificial offering, and approached Queen Anies with a bit of excitement.

“Your Majesty, I have good news.”

“Yes, Old Longbei, how are they faring?”

The old merman nodded repeatedly, joy almost spilling over.

“Just as Your Majesty predicted, these children are no longer emitting [pollution]. All indicators are rapidly improving; they should fully recover after some more rest. These are the first cases of recovery.”

Hearing this, the queen didn’t seem surprised at all, merely nodding slightly without showing much emotion.

“That’s good… You must continue to closely monitor their conditions, especially their mental state. Even if they seem fully recovered, we need to maintain at least a month of observation. Report anything that happens immediately, understood?”

“Yes, old man will comply.”

The old merman nodded respectfully but then hesitated, wanting to say something more.

“Uh, Your Majesty…”

“What else is there?”

“Oh… I just wanted to consult Your Majesty. There are still over a thousand tribe members on the islands, who returned from the front lines and are suffering from varying degrees of pollution. Since we’ve confirmed we can indeed heal the pollution through sacrifices to the Sea Goddess Vail, should we consider promoting this method?”

“No.”

“U-uh…?”

Anies rejected this almost without hesitation, surprising the old merman.

Seeing Old Longbei’s puzzled expression, the queen sighed gently and explained helplessly.

“Old Longbei, I know you are a noble and compassionate healer and don’t want to see your kin suffer, but this healing method is somewhat too… presumptuous. Think of it this way: the Sea Goddess Vail helped us find Nitira, and also cured our people. This series of blessings is already a tremendous boon.”

“One or two times might be fine, but if we keep offering prayers for help without restraint, what would the goddess think? If we anger her with such endless greed, wouldn’t that be counterproductive?”

“This…”

The old merman’s expression froze as he realized, a few beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead in fear, and he nodded repeatedly in respect.

“Indeed, indeed… Your Majesty, you have great foresight; I was presumptive and thought too simply. But… if we cannot completely rely on the Sea Goddess, how will we heal those still suffering?”

The queen seemed to have a plan ready, quickly responding.

“We’ll continue with the original method for now, temporarily alleviate the symptoms, and discuss it again after the observation period of these ten or so tribe members is over. During this time, it’s going to be tough on you, Old Longbei.”

“Well… it seems there’s no other choice. Sigh, I shall take my leave.”

With a sigh and a slight bow, the old merman turned back to his work of tending to the patients, and only then did Queen Anies have time to continue the previous topic.

“Miss Vilyric, do you think those tribe members have truly recovered?”

Suddenly asked, the Black-haired Girl simply shrugged.

“Who knows? At least there’s no apparent issue on the surface.”

“I see…”

Seeing Vilyric adopt a stance of not wanting to delve deeper, Anies didn’t press or get angry and quickly shifted the topic.

“Anyway, now that we’ve pinpointed Nitira’s location, it’s time to take action… But yes, it seems to be right there, hehe, looks like he can’t wait.”

“It appears Your Majesty already knows the reason and location of Nitira’s disappearance?”

The merfolk queen nodded slightly, a deep and wise glint flashing in her beautiful eyes, almost imperceptibly.

“Of course I do. After all, the same thing happened to her father a few years ago.”

   

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