"Where is she?"

It had been 2 days since Primel was branded a Void fiend in this city; during which time, Evelyn managed to get to the abandoned church with all the kids without being spotted... somehow.

Watching me pacing around the church nervously, Evelyn asked, "Why are you worrying about her that much? You literally met her 2 days ago."

"Because— no, nevermind, you won't understand." I waved my hand dismissively.

It wasn't as if I absolutely had to get Primel on my side per se, but because [Despair] was definitely trying something shady with Primel in mind. Otherwise, I couldn't see any reason why he would go through the process of convincing everyone that a known Saintess of Light was a Void fiend all along.

'He would have only branded her a criminal if that wasn't the case.'

After all, he had already blamed Primel for all the recent missing children cases; and there was no need to say that she was a Void fiend and risk having Inquisitors knock on his door.

Not wanting whatever plan the Void lord had to come to fruition, I asked Evelyn with a sigh, "Is there... an Adventurer guild somewhere inside this city?"

"No," Evelyn shook her head and looked at me as if it was obvious, "the guards deal with almost every problem in this city. Besides, there's not much traffic going in and out of this place anyway... well, at least until Primel got a bounty on her head—there's been more Adventurers flocking to this city in these 2 days than the past 5 years combined."

"Shit..." I heaved another sigh. "...Do you at least have a tavern here? If the Adventurers are going to kill time, it would be at a tavern."

Evelyn nodded. "Actually, there is." Tugging on Kevin's shirt, she said, "Show him the way, huma— I mean Kevin..."

***

Hunger.

Thirst.

Cold.

Primel had experienced all of these in the past days.

How long had it been, since she escaped the governor's mansion? She certainly didn't know, as this city was always illuminated by the dim street lights.

'I should have waited for Saint Theodore,' she thought, 'he was right. This concerns the fate of this whole city, and yet I wanted to do this alone...'

At that time, she thought that she alone would have to overcome the trial. However, the difficulty of the trial made her reflect on what she had done.

'The Goddess... she would never give her followers an unfair trial! I see how it is now—she wanted me to take Saint Theodore's help! Yet, I let my desire to prove myself to the Goddess cloud my better judgement. This goes against the teachings of the Sacred text of Light. I'm ashamed...'

But of course, she couldn't think about it any further with her stomach rumbling in hunger. Although a ranked people like her didn't need that much food to live, she was an exception. Her healing power, when used in excess, would consume her Mana and Life force like a starving lion in front of fresh meat; and food and Mana potions just so happened to be the best ways to replenish her lost energy.

However, she was in possession of neither of them now.

Primel sighed and closed her golden eyes, trying to sleep through the hunger. However, the dark and damp alleyway wasn't the best spot to sleep in—the only thing separating her and the filthy ground below was a thin layer of old newspaper, and the only thing differentiating her and beggars on the streets were the fact that she could set up a deceptive barrier, so that no one could see or approach her.

'Until they notice that the barrier is there and tear it down, that is.'

In which case, she could only accept her fate despite still having much attachment to this world—she still wanted to devote more of her time to the Goddess after all.

Shaking her mind off such scary thoughts, she tried to sleep again. However, her mind couldn't help but drift to that fateful night at the governor's mansion.

...

[Governor's mansion, Kerudark]

Primel sat comfortably in a soft armchair inside the governor's office. Her entry was an easy one, considering the fact that the guards let her in almost immediately when she produced proof that she was a Saintess. She smiled politely at the middle-aged-looking Elf before her—the governor—and spoke, "Nice to meet you, governor."

"Likewise, Saintess," said the governor as he tried to reach for the candy bowl on his desk. However, his short, chubby arm couldn't execute such a complex movement.

Primel watched him try to do this for a few seconds while still smiling; barely keeping her eyebrows from twitching at this pig of an elf failing at the maneuver that even 2-year-old kids could do easily. The only thing keeping her from bursting out laughing was the teachings she received at the Church of Light.

'Never judge anyone based on their disabilities, for all is equal in the eyes of the All-mother of Light. Yet, there are some things the Goddess cannot tolerate, just as there are exceptions everything. Quoting Luymes 2:51, "Should a man have erectile dysfunction, you can laugh at him, pummel him, or cut his genital off with a rusty pair of scissors, and specifically rusty a pair of scissors. He cannot feel it, anyway."'

That verse in the Sacred text of Light was why she always had a rusty pair of scissors on her body. Although Primel thought that this was very questionable when she was still in training, now, she was just hoping that the governor really had erectile dysfunction.

'I'd rather have Saint Theodore pin me down any day than watch this elf trying to reach for something right in front of him.'

Fortunately for her, the governor gave up soon after and instead shouted, "GUARDS!"

The door burst open. Just as the guard was about to point his spear at Primel, the governor ordered, "GRAB ME A CANDY!"

The guard suppressed a sigh and walked toward the bowl. Grabbing a single piece of candy, he dropped it into the governor's hand, making sure not to make skin contact; whether due to respect or disgust, it remained to be seen.

The governor smiled at the candy and shoo'ed the guard away. Smirking and extending his hand toward Primel, he gave her a smile. "Saintess, would you like a candy?"

Looking at the candy, which was covered in a layer of slimy sweat, Primel shuddered but still managed to keep a strained smile. "O-Of course, governor."

She received the candy and tightened her fist around it; willing Light mana to discreetly raze it and the sweat that feel down to her hand from existence. Pretending to eat the candy, she said, "Let's get to work, shall we? That candy gave me my needed sugar ᴀɴᴅ ғᴀᴛ-ғɪʟʟᴇᴅ sᴡᴇᴀᴛ dose for today."

"I suppose. Tell me, to which did I earn the pleasure of meeting a beautiful Saintess today?"

Primel ignored his remark and got straight to the point. "I want to talk to you about the matter of Void lords roaming your city."

Immediately, the governor's face turned serious. He didn't look so fat and dumb anymore. Instead, he took on a cold, and almost ominous face.

'Good, it seems like despite everything, he still cares for his city.'

The governor eyed Primel for any sign of falsity and slowly opened his mouth. "Saintess... do you know what you're talking about?"

"I'm certain." Primel nodded. "The source is another Saint and... the Goddess of Light herself after all."

Still keeping his calm, he asked, "I see... do you happen to know the identity of said Void lords?"

"I do. After doing some investigations, I found out that Apel Neviltis has become a Void lord through sacrificing children of this city."

She then took on a pained expression. "And I'm afraid that the recent rumors of children being kidnapped are true; Apel is most likely behind this." Then, determination flashed through her eyes. "That's why I need you, governor. Help me! Help me rescue those poor souls!"

"...Very well. I shall tell the guards to be on alert. Would you like me to share information with you, should I find some?"

"That would be good."

"Glad you think so, Saintess."

Staring straight into Primel eyes, the governor spoke again, "Saintess, you must be tired. Would you like to spend a night here, in my mansion? I shall have the maids prepare a room for you."

Primel was about to flat-out refuse his offer but stopped herself from doing so. Although she really, really didn't want to stay in the same place as this... elf, the temptation of a soft bed was too much to resist. Eventually, she caved in."

"Yes, that'd be lovely."

...

"Fuahhh! Nothing beats a soft bed!" Primel moaned as she buried her body into the softest bed she had ever had the pleasure of lying on. Even the luxurious inns that let her stay the night for free didn't have beds as comfortable as this.

"Heh, and yet Saint Theodore asked me to wait for him. He must've known that the governor would invite us to stay. I pity him—he's probably resting on the hard wooden bench of the old church now."

All the lights inside the mansion was shut off so it was night, probably; Primel couldn't really tell since there was no concept of night or day inside this city. People just... slept whenever they felt like it.

Just as she was about to surrender herself to the pleasure of rest, a foul stench assaulted her nose. Jolted up in surprise, she shifted her eyes around the room warily.

"Dead animals? No... it's something more foul."

Then it hit her. This smell she had encountered one to many times. It was the smell that she was expecting to find inside this city, but not one that she looked forward to.

"It's the smell of a creature of Void!"

Or at least something related to the Void anyway.

'How could a creature of Void sneak inside here? I guess the governor really kept his word—sending even his personal guards to look around the city, leaving the mansion so defenseless that something foul could enter here.'

Primel's evaluation of the governor was starting to change. Now, if he really had erectile dysfunction, Primel maybe wouldn't cut his member off anymore. She'd just laugh at him—the lightest punishment that the text of Light mentioned.

'Well, I should repay his cooperation by ridding him of this pest. Besides, I'm a Saintess; and this is my duty.'

Thus, not wanting to disrupt the kind governor's sleep, she sneaked out of the room and cautiously made her way toward the source of the stench. However, she frowned upon seeing that it was coming from the governor's bedroom. Why did she know the location of his bedroom, one may ask? Well, when a maid guided her to her room, she pointed out that this was his bedroom, and heavily emphasized that she should visit it when the lights are out.

Ridding such thoughts of her mind, she quickly made her way toward the bedroom. The situation was dangerous—a creature of Void was right beside the governor, and he was probably completely defenseless in his sleep! She opened the door and—

"ᛟᚠᚠᛖᚱᛁᛜ ᛏᛟ ᚦᛖ ᚷᛟᛞ ᛟᚠ ᚨᛚᛚ ᛖᚢᛁᛚ!"

—an ominous chant assaulted her ears as soon as she did so. She stared at the room with widened eyes. It was dark, too dark even for this unlit mansion. In the middle of the room was a ritual certain made of blood, with several Void crystals lying around it. Inside the circle was several children, all limp and unmoving.

And finally, the one who was conducting the ritual was... the governor himself! Despite having a Saintess of Light walking in on him conducting a vile ritual, he was completely calm and continued with it like she wasn't even there!

With eyes that were bloodshot and filled with disdain, Primel shouted, "What are you doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" The governor coolly replied.

It was. It was that obvious, and Primel knew it; she only asked that question out of shock. She had seen this specific kind of ritual circle before—it was one that could turn entire cities into an army of Void fiends!

However, she was scared, scared of the governor's laid-back attitude. "What are you hiding? You know that you've been exposed by me—a Saintess of Light—right?"

Suddenly, he burst out laughing. "Pfffft! Saintess? Don't make me laugh! With your amount of Holy mana, you're hardly a Priestess!"

Primel frowned. This vile creature dared to call her a mere Priestess? She didn't have anything against Priestesses per se; in fact, she respected them as much as she respected anyone who was part of the Church of Light. The problem was that he dared to think light of she, who had gone through hellish training to earn the Saintess title.

'I will prove him wrong!'

Agglomerating Holy and Light mana around her, she used the spell only available to Saints and Saintesses of Light—one that could dispel any heretical and vile rituals.

"Holy hand of dispel!"

But... nothing happened.

"H-Huh?"

She used it, wh- WHAT WAS HAPPENIN—

But then she realized something; the Mana that she gathered was still there. She still haven't used the spell yet, or rather, she couldn't.

Seeing this, the governor smirked. "I pity you. You're a Priestess and deluded yourself into thinking that you're a Saintess. Y—"

"SHUT UP! HOLY HAND OF DISPEL!"

Nothing happened.

"DISPEL!"

The governor smirked and slowly walked closer toward her.

"NO! DON'T COME CLOSER! DISPEL!"

But he didn't listen.

"DISP—"

...

Primel blinked as she pulled herself out of her own recollection.

"Haaaah... what use is it thinking about what happened now?"

Everything that happened after she desperately screamed was a blur. She remembered shouting, fighting, having injuries somewhere, and, by some miracle, managed to escape the mansion.

However, the situation couldn't have been worse. Just as she healed her own injuries, she found out that she was branded a criminal and wanted for supposedly kidnapping children.

Just thinking about it made her flush in anger. She couldn't care less if she was wanted. What was important was that the image of the Church of Light had taken a hit because of her! All she could felt now was shame!

Well, shame definitely wasn't all she felt, as she suddenly jolted up in surprise upon hearing something violently banging against her barrier.

Turning around, she saw a group of beastkins and elves, half a dozen of them, carrying swords, spears, and torches, trying to get to her with the obvious intention to capture, or even kill her. Among them, she saw a familiar face, also carrying a torch as if he was on a witch hunt, smiling eerily.

"Saint Theodore?"