8. Set aside internal conflicts, unite against the outside first
With my script plus Ikusis’s ordinary “prophetic ability” as a Light Fairy, not to mention the updated script content that followed Ikusis’s timid words—[The Light Fairy Ikusis has been compromised within the church!]—everything has already proven: let’s not even talk about self-disciplined fairies for now; the church where Ikusis is currently staying already harbors some kind of danger. Therefore, I absolutely cannot treat this visit as a “trip” and casually look for self-disciplined fairies to deal with.
Afterward, while Ikusis, who was very afraid of Nilu, became a bit more obedient, we barely cleared a space in this messy room filled with snacks and gossip books, sat on the floor, and watched as Ikusis cautiously “tested” Nilu’s reactions while slowly inching closer to my side.
Though she was just thinking about it.
“Ikusis, does a mere servant want to sit so close to their master!?”
“Ah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll sit across from you right away!”
After all, with just a glance from Nilu, this timid fairy was directly scared into sitting across from me. Ikusis’s previous spot was naturally taken by Nilu, while my other hand remained firmly on Kephiel, the “queen” in her “throne.” The two women exchanged a glance, and due to the earlier “three rules,” they finally didn’t start arguing again. However, just this atmosphere alone would probably haunt Ikusis for a lifetime.
In this moment, I felt that Kephiel and Nilu had reached some subtle consensus.
“Ikusis.”
As Nilu affectionately hugged my arm, she spoke, “The ‘king’ could have stayed out of it, but now they’re risking themselves to deal with the dangers brought on by your own incompetence. If you feel even a little guilty about this, then say everything you can ‘foresee’ right now! Don’t tell me that your lazy life in the church has caused your prophetic ability to regress.”
“Not not not… not at all, master!”
Iku Xisi was so nervous that she even got the address wrong, and without a moment to remedy it, she hurriedly said, “This is the script where I’m going to die! Of course, I’ll keep a close eye on it! I’ve discovered: the ones who want to kill me this time, the prophecy states… are not just one faction.”
“Faction? Sister Wang never mentioned this, Ou Qi Li De.”
Of course, she hadn’t mentioned it. The queen, who only considered the interests of the Great Ying Empire, might go to great lengths to save me, but she absolutely wouldn’t care about the life or death of the Saintess Iku Xisi. After all, the queen is the queen; she wouldn’t risk the Great Ying Empire. The swift withdrawal of the knight order was proof of that. I only learned about the existence of factions within the church when Nilu mentioned it on the road.
Kefier exchanged a glance with me and asked, “Your Highness the Saintess, how much do you know about the ‘factions’ within the church?”
“Ha~ haha… I only became somewhat clear about this after the archbishop was gone~ just a little bit of the church’s inside story. Sigh… If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have chosen to waste my days in such a place…”
While lamenting without much ambition, Iku Xisi shared more about the church with us.
The church had a formal title for the outside world, the Order Church that worshipped the Goddess of Order. Internally, including the “mascot” Saintess, the faction of the archbishop, who had been exposed by us at the previous summit of various nations, was the most prominent faction of “Order Faith.” Their task was to gather followers through faith and the abilities of the Saintess.
Besides this, there were other factions within the church. The “Order Guardians,” who defended order and fought against heresy, and the “Eyes of Order,” who collected information on followers for the church, among others. There were certainly many such factions, but the only ones Iku Xisi knew about were these two, learned from the “Death Prophecy.”
“So I’m really super nervous, Master!”
After saying this, the little fairy shamelessly sought my help, “Originally, I thought the ones wanting me dead were the ‘Faith,’ those remnants of the former archbishop, but recently I suddenly discovered… along with these people, even the members of the ‘Guardians’ faction have suddenly stopped concerning themselves with my death prophecy. These people… just disappeared!”
This was not a good thing; it would only make her situation more bizarre.
It seemed that although Iku Xisi was lazy, she still understood the reasoning.
“And then I found out… my death prophecy still exists, ugh…”
And here came the crux: after dealing with those church members who attempted to exploit and persecute the Saintess, the script of the Saintess’s death still existed. There was only one explanation for this…
The other party was not some guardian of the Saintess; it was just… that it wasn’t yet time to deal with the Saintess!
【A mysterious organization within the Order Church is dealing with Saintess Iku Xisi!】
The script appeared accordingly! It seemed that the Saintess’s death script originated from this! But the dangerous script didn’t end here, as the content continued to emerge!
【The mysterious organization is dealing with the ‘heretics’ and outsiders who are disloyal to the goddess!】
【Ou Qi Li De was killed by the mysterious organization.】
Now, not only had my death script appeared, but from the content of the script, it even implicated Kefier and Nilu, as they both clearly fit the identity of “outsiders”!
Tsk, did the queen sense that something was amiss? No wonder she promptly withdrew her knight order. If it weren’t for Ikusis being the saintess here, I would have wanted to grab Kephiel and Nilu and make a hasty exit to avoid any unknown risks and trouble.
Unfortunately, there’s no escaping now; the grand convoy from the Great Yng Empire that brought us here has already turned back. This isn’t the queen being sinister, but rather a form of protection for us. After all, the fewer people involved in this church activity, the better!
“Ikusis, you shouldn’t go out lately, don’t go anywhere. At least your room is safe.”
After a pause, I said, “Don’t look at me with those pitiful eyes. If you follow us, it’ll only make it easier to expose your relationship with us. Kephiel and I are here solely for the purpose of receiving the saintess’s blessing after the ‘engagement.’ In other words, the only chance we’ll have to meet openly from now on will be during the blessing.”
With that, I stood up.
“Now, Nilu, Kephiel, let’s leave the saintess’s room. We rushed here in a hurry, and until we’re sure who in the church might pose a threat to the saintess, it’s best we don’t come over casually. Next, we’ll follow the arrangements made by the church’s clergy and stay temporarily as ordinary visitors. Let’s go and use the excuse of ‘we just arrived’ to meet the clergy currently replacing the archbishop.”
“Wuu… Master~”
Before leaving, I glanced at Ikusis, who wore a sorrowful expression.
“Ikusis, I’m here now; you know what to do next, right?”
“…Um, I guess so~”
The whiny tone vanished for a moment, and the light fairy before me seemed a bit troubled as she agreed.
Phew, this is the true nature of this fairy. Although, opportunities to see it are quite rare.
From here on, I’ll need you to “help me a little,” you silly saintess.
——
The new pillow illustration of Alsas has been completed, and there’s a preview in the adjacent chapter, which is also a new prize for this month.
If you want to participate, just cast your monthly vote, or you can spend money to claim it directly.
Additionally, the queen’s keychain is also finished. This is a consolation prize for those who cast 30 monthly votes to join the group.