Chapter 89: The Abandoned by God

“Information detection.”

Invisible waves flowed through the girl’s body, quickly returning the feedback Miss Vilyric needed.

Tilysha, who had been following Someone for a long time, naturally understood the meaning of such an action. After all, every time Miss Vilyric purposefully touched a target for a moment, she could quickly identify the person’s flaws or potential issues, which was quite incredible.

But considering the Priestess’s frequent displays of various forms of understanding, it didn’t seem too surprising. So, the girl was actually more concerned about…

“Miss Vilyric, is there any hope for her…?”

Glancing at the tense Tilysha, Vilyric merely chuckled.

“I say, little Tilysha, isn’t that question a bit unnecessary? I wouldn’t say I’m confident in everything, but in healing and saving lives, I surely have some confidence! Don’t forget, my profession is Priestess.”

“Uh? S-sorry…”

Withdrawing her hand from the girl’s forehead briefly, the Priestess did not rush to begin treatment. Instead, she cast her gaze over to the Little Dragon Daughter and the Blue-haired Girl present in the room and spoke again.

“Let me confirm, how did you two find her? Was there truly no one else around this girl at the time? Oh… even if it wasn’t a person, you understand what I mean, right?”

“…”

The two girls exchanged glances, and ultimately, it was Tilysha who was closer to the Priestess and somewhat more articulate who took the initiative to respond.

“Well, to say there was absolutely no one else… it’s not entirely true. This morning, Miss Xiao Guang and I set off from the Bright Hotel, and since Miss Vilyric didn’t specify where to investigate, and Leila and the others went to the Star Bear District to the east, we decided to head to the opposite direction, the Flying Star District in the west, hoping to try our luck.”

“I thought if there really were demons in the city, they would definitely be hiding in those dark corners that can’t see the light. We initially planned to go as far into the back alleys as possible, but shortly after leaving the city center, Miss Xiao Guang suddenly told me she smelled something strange.”

“Oh?”

Miss Vilyric directed an inquisitive glance towards the Little Dragon Daughter nearby, who nodded without hesitation.

“Yeah, do you still remember the things that mouse brought this morning? Actually, there are quite a few scents in this city similar to that thing. I didn’t pay much attention at first, but since you specifically mentioned it, I casually followed the scent and found the closest one.”

“So, following that scent, you eventually found this girl?”

Tilysha nodded slightly.

“Yes, this girl lives in a very remote area. I heard that nearby residents are locals who either don’t want to or can’t join the Church of the Goddess. Because they haven’t received financial aid from the church, their living conditions aren’t very good…”

“After inquiring around, we found out she was an abandoned child, raised in an orphanage under the name of the God. But around the age of seven or eight, during the first magical affinity test, she was found to have absolutely no affinity for light, not even the ability to use faith-based magic, which made her unsuitable to serve as a nun in the church, so she was sent away.”

“As an underage child, the temple would provide her with basic living assistance, and they also arranged for someone to look after her. However, I heard that guardian… had some issues, was very irresponsible, and treated this child coldly, taking much of the living assistance sent from the temple, leaving only the bare minimum, which led to her poor living conditions and constant illness since childhood.”

As Tilysha spoke, her expression became infused with a bit of pity and indignation. Perhaps this girl’s plight reminded her of her own parents who perished in the Abyss Tide; they were both children who lost their parents, inevitably sharing some empathy.

Miss Vilyric didn’t interrupt immediately, merely listening quietly to the Blue-haired Girl’s explanation.

“When we found this girl’s home, she was lying alone in bed and could barely move. I heard she had been ill for nearly three days, but that guardian never showed up. During this time, the neighbors around her were the ones helping to care for her and gave her some medicine, but her condition never improved.”

Hearing this, the Priestess finally couldn’t suppress her confusion.

“She’s been sick for so long; didn’t anyone try to take her to the temple for a check-up? If I’m not mistaken, the Church of the Goddess offers free treatment for followers and minors under fifteen, right?”

To this, Tilysha also appeared somewhat unable to comprehend, but quickly explained honestly.

“I asked those kind neighbors who were taking care of her, but strangely, whenever the topic came up, such as ‘Why not ask the temple for help?’ or ‘How did this child get sick?’ they would start stuttering and mumbling, unable to provide a clear answer.”

“And when we expressed the intention to take the girl for treatment, they seemed really unwilling. If it hadn’t been for Miss Xiao Guang being there, it probably would have been solely my effort…”

“Oh…?”

There’s something fishy going on.

From Tilysha’s description, several pieces of information could be inferred.

Those neighbors probably didn’t know that the girl’s “illness” was actually demonic transformation; otherwise, given the Holy Empire’s deep fear and aversion toward demons, they certainly wouldn’t dare to come into such close contact.

[If you’re sick, go to the temple] has almost become common knowledge in the Holy Kingdom, even if you’re not a follower of the Church of the Goddess, it only requires a not-so-expensive treatment fee. Their deliberate avoidance of this behavior must be unusual, perhaps… they were threatened or warned by someone, or there’s a slight chance they actually know about the demonic transformation, possibly even being those people…

Thinking this, the Priestess shook her head to clear her thoughts.

It wasn’t yet appropriate to jump to conclusions, but thankfully, all these questions could be answered by the individuals involved.

“What’s her name?”

The Blue-haired Girl answered without hesitation.

“Eudora, I heard this was the name the temple gave her previously.”

“Mm…”

The name isn’t too bad.

To save this girl’s life, the Priestess had two possible solutions.

Eudora’s current near-death state was fundamentally due to her frail constitution, unable to withstand the changes brought on by demonic transformation.

Just like those locals suffering from Dragon Blood Disease in Flame Dragon City in the United Kingdom, not everyone could easily accommodate the changes in their bloodline, especially the rise from a lower level to a higher, where only the fittest survive, unable to endure the transformation, the weak would be culled from the population—that is, death.

Thus, this led to two possible resolutions.

Eliminating the root cause of Eudora’s demonic transformation to stop this change, or… helping her evolve into a true demon.

It might seem like there’s no hesitation, if it were a priest or healer from the Holy Empire, they would probably choose the first treatment option without a second thought.

But from Miss Vilyric’s perspective, she didn’t necessarily view becoming a demon as an especially sinful or inherently wrong act. Not to mention, once the change from human to demon was completed, Eudora would undoubtedly gain far superior physical quality, strength, and longevity; aside from biases, it seemed like a golden opportunity.

Of course, within the environment of the Holy Empire, it would surely be quite difficult for her to continue living here after becoming a demon, there’s no doubt about that. Additionally, there was another crucial point—could the girl herself accept this change?

That was the reason for Miss Vilyric’s hesitation and reluctance to act immediately.

Such a chance would be a real pity to just throw away casually, but if she unilaterally made a life-changing decision for her, the Priestess felt it might be a bit inappropriate, hence why she was asking about Eudora’s past in detail.

“Tilysha, you just said she had no affinity for any light elements, not even able to practice faith-based magic, so she was expelled from the temple at a young age, and Eudora isn’t even a follower of the Church of the Goddess… is that correct?”

“That’s what her neighbors said. Is there a problem with that, Miss Vilyric?”

Shaking her head silently, the girl’s heart… had already made a decision.

She’s getting attached.

Race, at the end of the day, is merely a race.

If the child truly cannot accept it after waking up, then they can find a way to address it. The situation is special, so… let’s be a bit reckless this time.

   

---