Chapter 29: Streets of Holy Star City

The message sent to Edwina came from her and Fleidetrika’s mother, the current head of the Cecelia Family, Jacqueline Cecelia. Although the specifics were not made very clear in the message, with her older sister’s life and death in question, Edwina, who had always been close to her, could no longer continue her leisurely travels.

Furthermore, she had been considering temporarily returning to her homeland soon, so she immediately explained her situation to the Priestess and expressed her intention to take her leave. Naturally, Miss Vilyric couldn’t stop her either; to save time, she entrusted the Holy Knight with a pair of artificially improved flying wings and had Little Dragon Daughter personally escort her to the border of the Holy Kingdom.

As for the details afterward, Miss Vilyric was not particularly clear at the moment. There was no stable means of real-time communication between her and Edwina. However, before departing, they agreed on a plan: Edwina would head to the holy capital first to meet their mother and mentor, seek information about Fleidetrika and the demons, and formulate a strategy, while the Priestess would travel east to finally converge in the City of Angels.

The demon invasion of the eastern Holy Kingdom was neither insignificant nor entirely daunting. Although it seemed like the Holy Empire had suffered a setback, the foundation of the world’s strongest nation was still there. The faith of the Church of the Goddess had deep roots nourished over centuries. It was, in fact, unrealistic for a group of demons, whose origins were unknown, to do much against the Holy Kingdom.

Thus, Miss Vilyric was not in a hurry. She was not a fire fighter, after all; it was unreasonable to rush to help whenever there was trouble.

Moreover, to be honest, while the Holy Kingdom was particularly proactive about anything related to demons, standing from a bystander’s perspective, the Priestess did not necessarily view demons as embodiments of pure evil. After all, the Gatekeeper, Min Chen, held half-demon blood; was he some kind of ruthless villain?

Power was merely power; a race did not define everything. Ignoring nuances and applying a black-and-white mentality was the most foolish behavior.

Holy Star City, where they were currently located, was not a border city of the Holy Empire in the west, but there was still a considerable distance to the City of Angels and the even more distant eastern Holy Kingdom. Miss Vilyric planned to set off the next day, passing through three small towns, and head towards Mingguang City, deeper into the heart of the Holy Kingdom, which was about a thousand kilometers away in a straight line.

Mingguang City was a necessary stop on their journey — the largest city in the western Holy Empire, resonating with the City of Angels in the east.

And… the headquarters of the Lingyin Merchant Association was also there.

“Three hundred years ago, the founder’s name is unknown, identity unclear, and reason a mystery… What on earth happened here?”

“Lady Vilyric, what are you mumbling about?”

A crisp voice interrupted the Priestess’s reverie. She turned and lightly tapped the white-haired girl on the head, her voice carrying a trace of reproach from beneath the mask.

“I told you already, in this situation, call me Xī. Don’t think I’m just playing around; the current plan hasn’t unfolded yet, and if others find out, it could be quite troublesome.”

“Wah… I’m sorry, Miss Xī…”

The chastised Miss Renée cradled her head, looking pitiful and aggrieved. Seeing her like this, Miss Vilyric couldn’t say much more and merely shook her head in resignation, casually pointing to a nearby barbecue stall.

“Come on, let’s grab something to eat. You’ve been wandering around for a while, you must be hungry, right?”

“Oh! Now that you mention it, I am!”

It was just past mid-morning, and since they were leaving tomorrow, Miss Vilyric was idly strolling through the streets of Holy Star City with Renée, picking up some essentials for their journey.

By the way, because everyone left at the same time, various unspeakable troubles occasionally arose. Moreover, Miss Vilyric aimed to reduce the fixed image of their five-member group in the eyes of outsiders, hence the Priestess typically only brought along 1-2 companions for errands. Today, it just happened to be Renée.

This little girl, while looking strikingly similar to her sister Leila in appearance and physique, had an entirely different personality. If the latter appeared reserved, steady, and resilient, Renée looked lively but was actually quite timid, somewhat soft in nature, a bit lazy, and easily tempted.

In less critical situations, she often slacked off, leaving her sister to handle the issues on her behalf. The distinction in personalities was clearly reflected in their chosen professions.

Also, Renée had a bit of a sweet tooth. Unlike the Priestess’s fondness for sweets, this soft and adorable girl had an extraordinary liking for spicy barbecue. She could hardly resist them whenever she went out, almost becoming her signature trait.

The only time this habit was somewhat curbed was when she was with Miss Vilyric; her sister Leila had no way to deal with her.

“Boss, boss! Give me ten skewers of lamb!”

She called out with excitement in the somewhat clumsy common language as she salivated at the sight of the skewers sizzling with a rich meaty aroma.

Then, the girl with the white fox mask lightly tapped her head again.

“Do you think you can finish all that? We have lunch later, come on… Boss, just give her 5 skewers, no too spicy, make it a bit milder.”

“Eh…?”

“Alright! Please wait a moment, ladies!”

The owner of the barbecue stall was a hefty-looking middle-aged man, appearing somewhat intimidating, but he was actually friendly and quite familiar. After taking the order, he promptly laughed and pulled over five large skewers of lamb, brushed with oil, and placed them on the flaming grill to cook quickly.

There were a few other customers, of various odd races, also waiting for their food at the stall. They stood quietly in their own sections without bothering each other, simply waiting patiently.

Perhaps because Miss Vilyric and Renée were the newest customers, and maybe due to the former’s unique priestess attire and little fox mask, along with Renée’s curled white wings, they caught the attention of the barbecue stall owner, who initiated casual conversation with them.

“You two don’t look like you’re from our Holy Kingdom. Winged people with white wings are quite rare. I remember they’re more common in the south. Are you here visiting Holy Star City?”

Considering the owner prepared the meatiest skewers for them, Miss White Fox responded to the enthusiastic uncle under her mask with a slight smile.

“Yes, the customs and culture of the Holy Empire are indeed fascinating and quite different from other places.”

Hearing this, the owner instantly beamed with pride.

“Of course! After all, our Holy Kingdom is blessed by the Goddess. The Light Goddess is all-powerful and ensures that those who believe in her live peacefully, free from illness and disaster! Hahaha!”

   

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