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Chapter 256: The First Meeting with the Followers of Light

Sasha’s entrance drew immediate attention from both parties.

They turned in unison, directing their gazes toward the two girls who had just entered the room.

As a familiar face, Miss Sasha was quickly dismissed, and soon their subtly watchful eyes settled on one particular White Fox Miss.

While the other side sized her up, Vilyric was also observing the one said to be the leader of the Church of the Light here.

She recognized Xavier, and it was impossible for him to have quickly become a high-ranking member of the Church of the Light, so her target was clear.

When the other’s appearance came into view, Vilyric felt a hint of surprise.

After all, such unique hair that resembled light and sapphire-colored eyes were enough to hint at her race.

It was said that the Light Tribe never joined the Church of the Goddess, yet a member of that race had chosen to become a “Follower of Light” and even reached such a high position?

Hmm… if this isn’t an isolated case, then perhaps what they avoided isn’t religion but a mere distaste for the Church of the Goddess?

But looking at it from the surface, Light Tribe and the Church of the Light do sound like a fitting match.

After a brief silence, it was the other side who broke the tension first.

Xavier and the Light Tribe youth in clergy robes stood up simultaneously, nodding pleasantly at the White Fox Miss.

“Greetings, I am Aland Light, a missionary of the Church of the Light. This is Mr. Xavier, a member of our church. It’s truly an honor to witness the legendary White Fox Saint, Miss Xī, who has made outstanding contributions in combating demons.”

“Hey, isn’t that peculiar title getting a bit too popular…?”

“Huh?”

Seeing the Light Tribe youth display a face of confusion, Miss Xī, who understood he didn’t intend to mock, dropped her urge to retort and nodded in formal response.

“Alright, alright… I’m Xī. Sorry for the intrusion.”

“Not at all, heh, Miss Xī, please take a seat.”

Without needing a reminder from Aland, the merchant standing opposite him promptly reacted, fetching two new tea cups from beneath the counter, topping them with hot tea, and headed over to clear a spot on the sofa for the esteemed guest.

Vilyric wasn’t shy either; after nodding and taking a seat, Sasha followed suit, and once again, it was that Light Tribe youth, Aland, who spoke first.

“I’ve been briefed on the general situation; forgive my abruptness, but shouldn’t Miss Xī currently be with the main force of the Saint Nation led by the Saint of Bright Light, combating the demon army invading from the west in the Province of Fran? Why have you suddenly arrived here in the heart of the Sanos Province with only a few companions?”

Oh? Straight to the point, huh?

This Aland seemed like a straightforward guy; communicating with such a person is the easiest as they usually don’t cloak their words in mystery.

The White Fox Miss, feeling a bit of fondness for him, also didn’t play coy, responding earnestly.

“First and foremost, I need to clarify that I have no formal or absolute connection with the Holy Empire or the Church of the Goddess. I don’t belong to the Church of the Goddess, nor do I have any obligation to assist them in combating demons.”

“Mister Aland, I am merely an outsider, a traveler with no roots, so please don’t assume I ought to be doing something right now or that I have any particular motives or missions.”

“Oh…?”

Exchanging glances with Xavier, the Light Tribe youth’s face once again bore a gleeful expression, feeling a sense of familiarity with the White Fox Miss.

“How interesting—Miss Xī’s way of doing things aligns strikingly with that of my Light Tribe; I’m sure we’ll get along splendidly…”

He gave a slight nod, not questioning the White Fox Girl’s unilateral statement, and continued.

“Now, let’s get down to the main matters at hand.”

“I’m already aware of the situation in the southern forest. I didn’t expect such a terrifying ritual to be hidden underground so close to us. If it weren’t for Miss Xī and your companions acting in time, it wouldn’t be long before a calamity reminiscent of the ‘Blood Calamity’ would occur here again. I am truly grateful.”

Aland bowed his head, placing his palm over the golden star on his clergy robe, and both Xavier and Sasha sitting beside him hurriedly offered the same gesture of respect to the White Fox Miss.

Though it might not seem so, they were indeed part of this settlement now, members of the Church of the Light.

Calmly accepting this gratitude, Vilyric picked up the steaming cup of tea in front of her and took a half sip while hiding behind her mask.

“No need for such formalities. Frankly, I didn’t come here with the intent to help you. I only intervened with those fellows because what they were doing piqued my interest.”

This essentially told the other side—“I, Miss Xī, am not the kind of saintly hero who rushes to aid whenever I see someone in trouble. If you’re thinking of treating us like free labor, it’d be best to keep that thought to yourself.”

Of course, some words had to be veiled a bit; outside of Sasha, the other two surely understood her implication.

In fact, Vilyric also wanted to remind them that there was bound to be more places with such rituals in the Sanos Province, just like during the formation of the barrier in the Holy St. Bergen Mountains, where a towering blood column emerged. The construction of the “Reverse Crucifix Blood” surely couldn’t rely solely on a single magic formation.

But this was a demon-ruled area, and what the Church of the Light could do was only maintain stability for the populace as much as possible. Trying to make them destroy the demonic rituals deep underground would be akin to sentencing them to death.

Saying this would be futile, so she opted to save her breath.

Indeed, Aland quickly nodded thoughtfully, and Xavier smiled as well.

“Miss Xī’s approach reminds me of a dignitary I met years ago… I’ve heard you have several companions residing in the settlement as well. May I be so bold as to ask about their relationship with you, Miss Xī?”

“A portion are just traveling together, and some are children a friend asked me to take care of. Of course, from a certain perspective, they can also be considered my friends.”

“I see, a friend asking for help…”

After nodding thoughtfully, Xavier yielded the conversational lead to Aland, the genuine higher-up of the Church of the Light.

The Light Tribe youth naturally picked up where he left off.

“So, let’s base our conversation on cooperation and mutual benefit. Miss Xī, regarding the encounter in the forest, we owe you a favor, so when you expressed not wanting to take action against that blood tree, we respected your wish and temporarily withdrew.”

“But honestly, with such a peculiar and aggressive plant, it’s hard for us, as the nearby residents, to ignore it for long. After all, we’ve already lost many innocents to its attacks.”

“Indeed, that tree may have temporarily lost its threat due to your presence, not actively attacking us, but you and your companions will leave here eventually. We can’t continuously adopt a passive approach risking potential chaos; I hope you can understand this.”

“Hmm…”

Expected words, for sure.

The Church of the Light might spare the blood tree for Xī’s sake and strength for the time being, but they wouldn’t do so indefinitely. That thing looked wrong on so many levels, with no possible defense for ordinary folks and most heroes below legend level.

In fact, if it weren’t for Xi Fu Lin’s request, Vilyric wouldn’t bother expending her energy on such a thankless task.

But since she decided to intervene, she had to frame her words carefully.

“I understand, but one thing you’ve been inaccurate about: those missing people in the forest, including the blood-drained search team members, were victims of the blood tribe colluding with demons, not the tree.”

“That tree didn’t intend to attack outsiders; it merely wanted to defend itself due to being provoked.”

 

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