Chapter 60: The Triumvirate

“The Holy Empire typically refers to this group as the ‘Cursed Ones,’ and it should be rather exclusive, right? So why are we suddenly talking about them?”

The old man with his eyes covered by a black cloth stroked his beard, quietly “watching” the treasure auction below while responding off-topic.

“Naturally, it is connected. Miss Xī, do you know where the ‘Divinely Favored’ actually comes from and why they face exclusion in the Holy Country?”

To the question she clearly didn’t understand, Vilyric could only obediently shake her head.

The Oracle, seemingly not expecting her to answer, took the initiative to explain.

“Firstly, according to the Church’s doctrine, the Light Goddess is regarded as the supreme deity, surpassing all other gods, absolute and unique in omnipotence. Therefore, if the powers of the ‘Divinely Favored’ are indeed bestowed by a deity, they can only originate from the Light Goddess.”

“However, the doctrine also states that the Light Goddess is a deity of equality. She cannot favor specific individuals and bestow them powers unattainable by others, leaving only envy behind. The true blessing from the goddess must be a power accessible and usable by anyone, like faith-based magic.”

“Hence, the ‘Divinely Favored’ are not divinely favored at all but rather cursed—evil powers cursed by demons for betraying the teachings of the goddess. That is the origin of the name ‘Cursed Ones.'”

“Uh…?”

After hearing the Oracle’s explanation, Miss White Fox fell silent for a while before finally blurting out a response.

“That’s a bit ridiculous, isn’t it? To put it simply, isn’t it just jealousy of their talent? Who says being divinely favored must be from the Light Goddess?”

“Hehe…”

Seemingly uninterested in delving deeper into the topic, the Oracle broadly explained the situation of the ‘Divinely Favored’ in the Holy Kingdom before shifting back, as if asking another question.

“As Miss Xī mentioned, if the power of the ‘Divinely Favored’ does not come from the Light Goddess and the demon curse is nonsense, then where do they truly come from?”

“Oh… oh…”

Upon hearing something intriguing, Miss Fox immediately held her breath, waiting for the Oracle to continue, but unexpectedly, the old man simply revealed a mischievous smile and casually said.

“You see, that’s the secret of heaven—secrets cannot be leaked, so I don’t know either~”

“…?”

Hey! You’ve been talking all this time, and it turns out you’re just telling jokes!?

For some reason, Vilyric suddenly felt an impulse to jump up and punch that old face, which looked all sage-like.

Fortunately, she held back.

Indeed, she shouldn’t have expected anything from this godly mumbo jumbo old man; it was truly infuriating…

Somewhat speechless, the girl turned her gaze back to the ongoing treasure sale below, still not completely giving up on monitoring the situation while chatting with the Oracle.

Although the later auction hadn’t featured any of her astonishing bids, overall, the quality of the Lingyin Merchant Association’s items was indeed quite impressive, even more than at the Kingdom of Azure’s fragrance auction.

That makes sense, after all, the latter was simply the Wing Emperor having a leisurely day, randomly sending his underlings to sell off useless or incomprehensible things from the treasury for cash—there couldn’t possibly be any real treasures. But the Lingyin Merchant Association specialized in this area, so the quality of their goods was naturally not comparable.

So far, although she hadn’t seen any real spirit tools, there were one or two pieces of equipment very close to that level, and buying these was far more cost-effective than any ‘Map of Ten Thousand Miles.’ In fact, competition down there was indeed particularly fierce.

After watching for a while, Vilyric turned her gaze back.

“Speaking of which, you mentioned that collaborator earlier. Why haven’t they shown up yet? It’s almost halfway through.”

At her words, the Oracle lightly tapped the ancient wooden abacus in his hand, pondering for a moment.

“Well, calculating the time, they should be on their way… oh… isn’t that them coming in?”

As the old man spoke, Vilyric also seemed to catch on to something and raised an eyebrow, turning to look at the entrance they came from. After a few seconds, a graceful figure in a white gown finally appeared at the entrance of the second-floor VIP area.

It was a young girl with nearly identical features to Edwina, her long hair resembling translucent golden crystal, adorned with numerous colorful gems, creating a circular and lavish crown with an almost transparent quality. The neckline of her gown, supported by waves, subtly revealed a valley, while a golden holy emblem with six wings reflected an unusual glow under the magical lights.

The girl appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen, the age full of youthful vigor for girls. However, this golden-haired young lady, who gently pushed the door open, exuded no trace of the naivety typical of her age. Instead, she displayed a poised demeanor and exceptional elegance in every gesture.

The most crucial aspect was her aura.

She gave off a radiance that felt like light.

To describe it with a somewhat cheesy lyric, the moment she stepped in, it felt like a beam of light illuminating the earth, but in reality, the girl didn’t shine like some Miss White Bird everywhere; it was merely a feeling, or rather, an illusion.

A pure light that was transparent and flawless, capable of warming the heart.

But Miss Vilyric, who was used to the big waves of life, certainly wouldn’t be directly intimidated by such a grand entrance. The Oracle, sitting beside her, clearly recognized the girl as well. Although he seemingly couldn’t see anything, he instantly and accurately detected the girl’s position and smiled, nodding in her direction.

“Apologies for the wait, Princess Yuna; please take a seat.”

The girl’s gentle, spring-like pale blue eyes lightly brushed over the masked Miss White Fox and the old man. A flicker of surprise passed through her gem-like clear gaze as she elegantly approached the two. As a courtesy, Vilyric and the Oracle promptly stood up, with the latter taking the initiative to introduce the girl.

“Miss Xī, this is the other esteemed guest I mentioned earlier, also the largest partner of our Lingyin Merchant Association within the Holy Empire. With your insight and wisdom, I believe you can guess her identity without much effort on my part, right?”

Before Vilyric could speak, the pure girl with waves of golden hair, naturally sparkling like crystal, smiled and lightly interrupted the old man’s inquiry.

“Mr. Oracle, isn’t it a bit rude to make the guest guess upon first meeting? Praise the goddess, I am Yuna Summerfield, the head of the Summerfield Family. I’ve come at the invitation of the Lingyin Merchant Association to co-host this auction.”

Saying that, Yuna smiled playfully but elegantly.

“Of course, calling it a collaboration is merely providing them with a venue for the auction. It’s a pleasure to meet you; I hope to have your guidance… Miss Xī~”

   

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