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The city was bustling and crowded. The cries of vendors filled the entire street. At first glance, the place looked no different than the downtown area of an ordinary city. Even so, Lilith could still notice the difference in the local residents compared to other places.

Everyone had a contented smile on their face, as though all the suffering and pain had been completely wiped away, leaving only a happy and wonderful future that awaited them. It was the same for everyone, from the street vendors selling vegetables at the side of the road to the devout pilgrims who were walking barefooted with their hands clasped together.

As expected of Aeria, even the happiness index of its residents was on a different level.

“This is all thanks to the Goddess.” Saintess Thea smiled at Lilith, perhaps because she noticed the puzzled look on Lilith’s face.

Thea was currently dressed in a simple linen robe, for the sake of concealing her face that could be recognized by everyone in Aeria.

As soon as Thea smiled, the surrounding light elements spontaneously gathered around her, causing her to stick out like a light bulb in the dark. Alucard and the others frantically used magic to cover it up.

Truth be told, Lilith didn’t mind how conspicuous Thea was as long as she didn’t smile. However, as soon as she smiled, Lilith’s hair would stand on its end and she would almost hit Thea reflexively.

“Can you control your face?” Lilith said every word like she seriously meant it.

The incident where they survived a falling meteorite was still fresh in her mind. If it weren’t for Sae’s magic that could teleport the group over a short distance, then perhaps other than Lilith who was strong enough to withstand it, the others would be dead.

Of course, not even Lilith would be able to get away unscathed in that kind of situation. Even if her life wouldn’t be in danger, she would definitely shed a layer of skin.

So whenever she saw Thea giving her that insincere smile, Lilith would feel her scalp going numb. She worried that she would accidentally punch Thea in the face out of reflex.

After all, she wouldn’t be able to smile with her face smashed in. Besides, this was also a Dragon’s powerful instinct to avoid dangers.

In any case, Lilith didn’t expect that as a saintess from the Luminous Theocracy, Thea would invite disaster if her emotions fluctuated too much. Wasn’t this the characteristics that only the descendant of a Demon King would possess?

“Her body’s blessing was just too strong and she suffered a backlash since her human body couldn’t bear it. The saintess is carrying this great blessing because she is probably a vessel prepared by the Radiant Goddess to use when she descends.” Sae whispered into Lilith’s ear. As expected of an Artifact Spirit who had lived several millions of years, she could tell Thea’s background with just a single glance.

The corners of Thea’s mouth twitched awkwardly. Although Sae was whispering very softly, Thea was a Rank 7 magician. Hence, she could hear everything loud and clear over this distance. Not only that, Sae didn’t even bother to sugarcoat her words.

Although she knew her fate since long ago, being thoughtlessly called a ‘vessel’ by others was apparently still quite upsetting.

Upon noticing that Thea’s mood was about to fluctuate again, Lilith hurriedly kicked Sae and changed the subject with a smile on her face. “By the way, this is our first time in Aeria. Thea, do you have any famous attractions to recommend us?”

“I once dwelled here for several hundreds of years so I know this place very well. Lady Lilith, thou can ask me…”
“You, shut up!!”

Thea’s eyes instantly lit up. “If that’s the case, then there’s a place you must visit.”

Alucard, who was waiting on the side, looked nervous for an instant. He tugged on Thea’s sleeve and quickly asked, “Saintess, these two people are of unknown origin. How can they go to that place?”

Thea frowned and said unhappily, “But they are our saviors. They can’t possibly be bad people.”

“But…”
“No buts. It’s decided.”

Alucard secretly sighed at the saintess’ determination.

The saintess was indeed too inexperienced. How could she trust strangers so easily? It wasn’t uncommon to find people who would give someone a candy before stabbing them with a knife in this world.

But then when Alucard remembered that the place was inviolable, he felt a bit more at ease.

No matter what their purpose was, they wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything under the eyes of the Goddess.

………
………

The most famous place in Aeria, or in the entire Luminous Theocracy, was neither a scenic spot nor a lavish holy palace. Instead, it was the huge square in front of Lilith.

The Whispering Square was said to be the place where the Radiant Goddess descended in her real body. When she found that the world was suffering, she let out a deep sigh and left a statue that she casually made. She then told the people that their sufferings would be eliminated as long as they could devoutly worship the statue and have faith in their hearts.

Before leaving, she also ordered that no other statues were to be made.

Everyone sighed at the benevolence of the merciful Radiant Goddess. She had only established this rule because she didn’t want to burden the people. And with that, the people devoted to the faith.

“This is just a means for the Goddess to gather faith. Firstly, by personally descending to this place, she can put on a show of this so-called miracle to gain believers. Secondly, it is so that she could leave this statue which could be connected to her here. That way, she can directly absorb and refine the power of faith collected from the believers. She didn’t allow her believers to erect other statues in order to prevent other gods from stealing her believers away. These are just popular methods that gods use. The weaker gods could do anything for the sake of the power of faith.”

Sae transmitted the history of this lifelike Goddess statue into Lilith’s mind. This time, not even Sae was stupid enough to openly say such ‘rebellious’ words. After all, they weren’t the only ones in the square. There were tens of thousands of other devout pilgrims here.

However, Lilith didn’t listen to Sae’s explanation at all. She kept staring at the statue.

“Why does this thing… look so familiar?”