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Chapter 265: The Erased Existence

Fleidetrika rested her chin on her smooth palm, pondering the question with a questioning answer.

“Miss Xī, how much do you know about the Light Tribe?”

“…I know a little?”

“?”

Although she shot a glance at Miss White Fox, as if to ask, “Is that really all you know? You’re not just messing with me, are you?” Fleidetrika had to give up when she couldn’t see the other person’s expression and speculated instead.

“Actually, there’s a saying circulating among the citizens of the Holy Nation that the Light Tribe is a race born from the 【Source of Light】, purer than our divine lineage… truly the legacy of light.”

“If this is true, then the Light Tribe should be the most devoted followers of the Goddess, rather than being so distanced from the Church as they are now.”

“In fact, historically, the Light Tribe has held high positions within the Church. While these records have become fuzzy for some reason, I am certain that the Light Tribe was once a part of the Church and played a significant role in establishing the Holy Empire.”

A hint of unusualness returned to the light golden eyes of the Saintess.

“But at some point, this tribe suddenly faded out of the structure of the Goddess Church. Whether old or new members of the Light Tribe, none wish to join or associate with the Church anymore…”

“Miss Xī, don’t you find this very strange? The same goes for faith-based magic; both the Light Tribe and faith-based magic have suddenly become something else. Despite the historical records not being interrupted, many things just don’t connect.”

“It’s as if… some historical traces have been secretly erased by someone and forcibly pieced together into what it is now.”

“Secretly erased, huh?”

That’s quite an interesting term.

When it comes to the topic of the Light Tribe, Miss Vilyric naturally thought of Ella Light from the City of Angels in the Holy Capital.

She had certainly heard that the Light Tribe wouldn’t join the Goddess Church.

Though the reasons were unclear, both Amy, the captain of the Lingyin Merchant Association, and Ella from the Theological Hall of the Holy Academy, did not directly belong to the temple nor were they followers of the Goddess.

Especially the latter, who was currently obsessively researching the core foundation of the Goddess Church— the structure and principles of faith-based magic, aiming to overturn the mainstream understanding of the source of this power, which was essentially going against the Church.

As she pondered, Fleidetrika’s voice continued from across the table.

“Aland said that the current Goddess Church is wrong; they’ve taken a twisted path that will surely lead to chaos in the future…”

“But when I asked him for the details, that guy couldn’t give me a clear reason. He only said that the former Goddess Church definitely wasn’t like this, but he couldn’t remember what it was like or why it changed to what it is now.”

“You mean… he doesn’t remember?”

A subtle eeriness seemed to swell as the topic expanded, and the two women, each with their own thoughts, fell into a long, mutual silence.

Eventually, it was the more knowledgeable and broad-minded Miss White Fox who spoke up.

“Let me ask this for now, how old is Aland this year?”

“I heard he is five hundred twenty-seven… The average lifespan of the Light Tribe can reach at least a thousand years, making them a naturally long-lived species beyond the level of supers.”

“But this tribe is fond of adventure, especially those odd and risky opportunities. Most end up falling for various reasons before reaching old age, so Aland is considered quite long-lived among them.”

Wow… what a sharp critique!

However, considering the warlike demeanor of Miss Amy, and that certain Miss Ella, who disliked fighting yet engaged in far more dangerous activities than the former, I found myself unable to refute Fleidetrika’s words, and instead felt she had a point?

Ahem, let’s not get caught up in these trivialities.

Since Aland is currently over five hundred years old, if a significant event happened in history that made him feel something unusual and changed, it must have occurred within the last five hundred years.

Within five hundred years…

Hiss, now that I think about it, I have had a strange sense of déjà vu since just now. This anomaly described by Fleidetrika seems reminiscent of something I encountered before.

…Where was that again?

Lost in memory and thought, Miss White Fox subconsciously rested her chin on her hand, leaning against the armrest of the sofa, delicately tapping the Mask of the God Fox on her face, trying to grasp the source of that elusive feeling that lingered in her mind.

Hmm? Wait… Mask of the God Fox, God Fox… Lingyin…

“Oh!”

The triangular white ears atop her head perked up with a “whoosh.”

That’s it! It’s the Lingyin Clan!

To be more precise, it is the founding figure of the Lingyin Merchant Association that supposedly sought out the Lingyin Clan across the Eastern Sea, but for some reason, isn’t recorded in any documents or history— they didn’t even leave behind a name!

This person could cross the Eastern Sea and single-handedly establish the Lingyin Merchant Association; they must have been an outstanding powerhouse of that time. Yet, bizarrely, most of their actions and life did not leave any trace in history.

Not even a shred of evidence in the secret archives of the United Kingdom’s royal family.

Isn’t this similar to being 【secretly erased】?!

The moment I thought of this, a sudden clarity rushed into my mind, as many previously unrelated pieces began to connect.

The answer lies three hundred years ago.

Although the details are unclear, that mysterious founding figure crossed the Eastern Sea, found the Lingyin Clan, and established the Lingyin Merchant Association three hundred years ago.

This coincidentally aligns with the time of the Third Demon War’s outbreak, when the Crown of Uncrowned was lost in battle, causing the Three Saintess System, led by the Saint of Bright Light, to decline for a long time, resulting in the Church and Pope becoming the mainstream.

Moreover, this also falls perfectly in the middle of Aland’s over five hundred years of life, probably during his most active period.

Combining the shocking similarities between that mysterious founding figure and faith-based magic, if there really were unrecorded upheavals in the history of the Holy Empire that distorted the shape and core of the Goddess Church…

Then these two must definitely be connected!

“Miss Xī, have you thought of something?”

Noticing Miss White Fox suddenly slap the sofa and then abruptly fall silent while her fox ears twitched excitedly, Fleidetrika naturally sensed that the other had discovered something.

However, Vilyric didn’t immediately respond to her hopeful inquiry. After all, Miss White Fox’s mind was churning with thoughts as many suddenly connected joints and the excitement of about to clear the clouds of doubt in her heart made it difficult for her to find the time to speak.

The girl merely raised her hand, signaling the Saintess to hold off on urging her and to give her some time to think.

 

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