Chapter 149: Expelling the God Ceremony
The royal knights and golden knights who came rushing from the capital city had an important mission.
Their main goal was to find out the Hidden Leader's true intentions and their secondary objective was to assist the temporary organized army in stopping the rebels from advancing in the Province of Claren.
If they couldn't even accomplish this, they might as well take the low road and get rid of the assassin who has been causing chaos and killing many people in Claren City these past few days.
According to Count Lidilia, they specifically sent someone here to meet with the guildmaster because they heard that the guildmaster had just returned from over there and they wanted to understand the situation.
"Just respond as usual, no need to bear any psychological burden."
The guildmaster nodded, "I understand."
She didn't bother about this matter, she just wanted to ask about the situation in Claren City, and she didn't need to prepare in advance.
Instead of worrying about that, it would be better to seize the opportunity today while the weather is nice and take Loria and Yukihime outside for training.
"Let's go."
The guildmaster threw a knight sword to Loria.
When they reached the entrance gate, Loria suddenly turned her head and saw Tracy peeking from a window on the second floor towards their location.
After realizing that Loria was looking at her, Tracy immediately pulled back.
It felt like playing Whack-A-Mole.
At the same time yesterday, Loria found Tracy at another window on the second floor.
"Her feelings towards the guildmaster are definitely more than just simple jealousy or dislike, maybe a bit more complicated, like...liking?"
It's not uncommon for a younger sister to like her older sister.
The favorite novel that Loria loved described in detail the process of the younger sister bullying the kind older sister. The author mentioned in the afterword that it was something that happened in a real noble family where she used to work.
In the end, the two sisters became enemies because of their arranged marriages and almost caused harm to each other, making people feel sad.
Soon, Loria shook her head.
She didn't feel any love for Tracy.
If Tracy really liked the guildmaster, she would have shown more impatience and anger when she saw her bathing with the guildmaster yesterday.
Forget it.
Instead of worrying about this, why not think about how to get rid of the guildmaster completely.
After eating the guildmaster, it won't matter who spent the night with her anymore.
Just consider it a dream, and even after waking up a long time later, it will still be touching.
Besides practicing swordplay with the guildmaster, Loria also didn't forget to take Doris out for a big meal.
Eat a lot, grow fast.
Miss Knight, the female knight, is happy to invest money in such a good tool person.
Yesterday, she got another Equip Enhancement Stone in the simulation and used it on Doris without hesitation, helping Doris complete her second evolution.
[Attributes]: Strength 102, Agility 30, Stamina 71, Intelligence 69, Spirit -
This way, Doris can be considered as officially entering the ranks of C-level adventurers.
Originally, Loria intended to help Doris create a set of magic equipment, but after calculating her own balance, she gave up.
The landlord's house has no surplus food, let alone someone like her who relies on looting corpses to survive.
It's better to use this money to buy more Magic Crystal Mines and save them for future needs.
The only thing that makes Loria feel frustrated is that Doris's attributes have increased so much, but her brain hasn't become any smarter.
One morning, she ran around happily while swinging a long stick that she took from Lady Luciene's drawer, pretending it was a magic sword.
She was having a great time, but Lady Luciene, who suddenly saw this scene, was so scared that her legs went weak.
"That's not a magic sword, hurry, give it to me!"
Luckily, Loria arrived just in time, so Doris didn't run into the village with the stick.
"I..."
Lady Luciene turned red when she saw Loria holding the stick. She couldn't even speak a complete sentence.
"Children don't understand."
After struggling for a while, all Loria could say was this one sentence.
There was nothing they could do, Doris really didn't understand.
"How about I accompany you with an even bigger one?" Loria said after thinking for a while.
Lady Luciene snatched the stick back, saying, "I'm not weird, why do I need a bigger one?"
She turned around and hurriedly walked to her own place.
Indeed.
Loria nodded very seriously.
Actually, even she, even a succubus, doesn't need this level.
In the pursuit of excitement, Lady Luciene has already left her far behind.
"I wasn't thinking weird things."
Loria caught up with Lady Luciene, who was blushing, and said.
Lady Luciene didn't speak, she just walked faster and faster.
"It's normal, right? To relax occasionally, it's pretty normal."
What if I said it's not occasional?
Lady Luciene ignored Loria.
"Next time we... uh..."
Loria quickly held back those words and didn't say them.
We shouldn't say such things casually!
"I'm sorry, I'll educate Doris properly."
After hiding things in the house, Lady Luciene finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I didn't mean to blame you. You know, I'm married, so it's normal to have such thoughts. Actually... umm... you can give it a try, it's quite comfortable... Oh, what am I saying! Hurry up and go find Yukihime, you still have to practice sword fighting, right?"
She quickly pushed Loria out of the house.
Loria, standing at the door, was lost in thought.
Teach me how to generate electricity suddenly, what does it mean?
"Loria, that's not the holy sword, what is it?"
Doris's words interrupted Loria's thinking, she blabbered, "It's a tool to happiness."
"Is it fun?"
Doris's eyes lit up.
"It's just okay."
Loria has never used it, so it's hard to say.
Doris grabs her clothes and says, "Teach me, teach me! Show me how."
What are you saying?
Loria's eyes become sharp, thinking, "Who wants to demonstrate how to use that thing? Go play with things that children should play with."
After a lecture, Doris finally agrees not to touch other people's things anymore.
"You need to ask for permission first, got it?"
"Mmm, mmm."
"Alright, let's practice sword fighting!"
The day ends with tiredness.
The next afternoon, while Loria was teaching Miss Plump Sheep how to use a sword, a servant hurriedly ran over to inform them that the knights from the capital were almost there.
"Then let's go take a bath first."
Loria didn't want to appear in front of strangers all sweaty and messy.
It took half an hour to tidy up her appearance, and then she waited on the couch for over ten minutes before the knights who had traveled from afar finally appeared.
Two people arrived this time, a man and a woman. The man was wearing heavy black armor, indicating he was a royal knight. The woman was wearing slim-fitting armor with a pair of large white breastplates on her chest, revealing that she was a golden knight affiliated with the church.
Since Insightful Perception couldn't identify the data panels of these two individuals, Loria logically deduced that they were at least B-class adventurers.
The possibility of them being A-class was very low, as there were only a few A-class adventurers in the entire empire.
The two knights sat down one after another, getting straight to the point after exchanging greetings.
"Before we start the formal questioning, I just want to confirm that you did indeed come back from Claren City, right?"
The guildmaster nodded without expression on her face.
"Alright, I have some questions to ask you."
The Royal Knight in black armor began to ask questions. He asked about the current situation in Claren City, what the assassins of the Hidden Leader had done, if they had noticed anything unusual, and how things were when they were in Creek Town.
Apart from not mentioning her sudden increase in strength, the guildmaster truthfully recounted all her experiences from Creek Town to Claren City.
"The journalist from the Travel Report, Vita? I will send someone to investigate."
"We will also handle the Church of the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence that you mentioned, which is recruiting followers, as soon as possible."
"Although you don't know much about the Hidden Leader, telling us that they have the ability to regenerate limbs has been a great help."
The meeting went unexpectedly smoothly.
As evening approached, the two knights refused to stay overnight and bid farewell, one after another.
When they reached the door, Loria suddenly called out to the golden knight.
"Miss Knight, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead and ask."
"On my way to Count Lidilia's, I passed by a town where the statue of the goddess suddenly cracked open. Can I ask what happened afterwards?"
The golden knight nodded and said, "Regarding that matter, it was just an accident due to lack of maintenance over the years. There is nothing else to it, so I'll be on my way."
After Loria expressed her gratitude, the golden knight quickly caught up with the royal knight in black armor ahead.
The two of them walked silently side by side for several miles, when suddenly the golden knight stopped and said to their companion, "I have something I need to confirm, you go on ahead."
"Alright."
The royal knight in black armor didn't waste any words and simply agreed.
In the end, he and the golden knight were just passing by, they were not from the same place, their ultimate goals were different, and they didn't know each other, so let's just separate without saying much.
After the black-armored royal knight went far away, the golden knight walked back with a serious face.
Just now, when she was on the road, she finally figured out what the unpleasant feeling she felt at Count Lidilia's house was.
"There is a, or maybe multiple, heretics hidden in that house!"
It is a troublesome autumn now, and the golden knight feels that she cannot ignore any unusual things.
She was very fast and soon arrived outside Count's mansion.
With her strength, she can easily avoid everyone's gazes. She walks on the rooftops, scanning the servants one by one.
That annoying feeling is still there, even filling up the entire house.
Because of this, she can't quickly determine the source of the feeling. She can only confirm it one person at a time.
Half an hour later, the golden knight's gaze fell on the house in the middle, where the Count's family lived.
At this time, Count Lidilia was in the study, his wife was in the dining room, the eldest daughter and her close friend were in the bathroom together, and the second daughter was in the music room. Apart from the five of them, there were more than ten maids in the house.
"The strongest scent is right here."
The golden knight's expression gradually became sharp.
Not the lady in the dining room.
Not the second daughter in the music room.
So...
Just as the golden knight's gaze had fallen on the frosted glass window of the bathroom, the window of the study nearby opened. There, Count Lidilia, who always had a cold face, peered out from the window.
"Why has the golden knight miss suddenly appeared on the rooftop of my house?"
"！"
The Golden Knight's breath hitched, and his heart almost stopped.
He was discovered!
She looked around, but didn't see any hidden magic circles or magical props on the roof.
In other words, Count Lidilia found her on his own strength.
So, how strong is Count Lidilia's power?
Cold sweat rolled down the Golden Knight's jaw, and after hesitating for a moment, he jumped into the study through the window.
"So, can you answer my question now?"
Count Lidilia had returned to his deep brown chair, with his hands folded and supporting his chin, and his legs crossed together, exuding a strong presence.
The golden knight, whose true nature was completely unknown, felt an involuntary sense of unease in her heart.
Will they be silenced?
For a moment, the dim room was only filled with the ticking sound of the clock on the wall.
The sound of the clock was like a war drum, beating on the golden knight's heart. Unable to resist any longer, she finally spoke the truth.
"The presence of a heretic?"
Suddenly, Count Lidilia stood up and retrieved a sculpture from the nearby cabinet.
"Is this what you are referring to?"
The black and gold demonic jester sculpture looked incredibly lifelike, especially the small horn on its forehead that felt like a thorn piercing the heart.
"This is..."
"Sacred object, a forbidden sacred object in your eyes is considered as a magical device."
Count Lidilia spread out her five fingers and the demon clown figurine in the palm of her hand suddenly seemed to be released from its restraints and came to life.
The Golden Knight immediately took a few steps back, waiting until the chirping noises in her ears subsided before she regained her senses.
"I found this thing at the officer school."
The Golden Knight immediately understood, "Are you talking about the incident involving Adeline?"
"That's right."
"I must report this to the church. Don't worry, as long as you haven't harmed anyone with this forbidden magical device, the church won't harm you for possessing it."
"Please feel free."
Count Lidilia placed the figurine back into the cabinet.
Seeing the Golden Knight in a dilemma, he spoke again, "If you want to leave, then go ahead. I will not stop you."
"Excuse me."
With these words, the Golden Knight jumped out of the window.
Count Lidilia stood up again, waiting for her breath to completely disappear. He pushed the door and left the study, stopping at the entrance to the large bathroom.
He knew very well that the presence of the heretic didn't come from the demonic jester statue, so it must have come from Adeline.
But he couldn't let the Golden Knight target Adeline. He had to step forward and take the blame.
After all, Adeline was the daughter he valued the most.
And now the real issue was not about that, the real issue was that Adeline was likely being targeted by the unknown deity.
Count Lidilia waited quietly, and after twenty minutes, the guildmaster finally pushed the door and walked out.
"？"
Faced with her father standing at the door, the guildmaster was full of questions.
"Let's talk."
"Okay."
The guildmaster nodded.
Count Lidilia's gaze fell upon Loria, who was following behind the guildmaster.
"Should I leave first?"
Since she was still an outsider, Loria didn't feel suitable to be part of the father-daughter conversation.
The guildmaster left with Count Lidilia like that.
Loria waited in her room for an hour, feeling bored. Then, rhythmic knocking could be heard at the door.
"Here I come."
Bronwyn opened the door, and there stood the guildmaster, who walked right in.
"The situation now is a bit bad." the guildmaster got straight to the point, "The golden knight who came today sensed the presence of a divine spirit in me. Although my father managed to temporarily cover it up, it will eventually be exposed when the church's people arrive."
Loria asked, "So, does that mean we can't stay here anymore?"
The guildmaster replied, "That's what I think, but my father says there's another solution."
"What solution?"
"To drive out the divine spirit from me."
"Is that something that can be done?"
"Father said he has a way."
"..."
This sounds a bit mysterious, but if it can really be done, it is definitely the most suitable way.
By doing so, the guildmaster can't only avoid the church's surveillance investigation, but also get rid of that creepy god, so as not to die a horrible death someday in the future.
"the guildmaster, how do you plan to choose? I think we might as well give it a try. If we fail, we can still run away in time."
The guildmaster said, "I came here to tell you that I'm ready to give it a try. I can't be trapped in the past anymore."
"I fully support it!" Loria immediately expressed agreement.
So, after careful preparation, on that evening, in a certain part of Count Lidilia's estate, the ritual to expel the presence of the strange god began.
