"Sweetheart~ Wake up."
I opened my eyes to the sweet call as though being woken by a lover.
It seed like Arpia had already been up for so ti, preparing everything, and was now looking down at with a fresh smile.
Arpia reached out with both hands. When I grabbed them, she pulled up.
"Here, water."
Arpia waved her fingers, creating a stream of water, and then placed it into my mouth. I muttered a few tis, spat it out, and drank again.
Since it was the spirit’s water, just one sip cleared my foggy mind.
“Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s wash up and eat breakfast. I brought so food from the city.”
Without saying a word, Arpia had already prepared everything. She, who hadn’t wanted to go to Bestia, was the one who moved first.
Since our reunion, there had been a vitality in her like never before.
We left the tent and washed our faces in the lake. We had a simple breakfast with the packed lunch Arpia had brought from the city.
Her cooperation was appreciated, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened yesterday.
“Will it be alright?”
“We can’t keep acting like this forever. I’m a slave, and you’re my master, so I have to follow your orders.”
Arpia smiled bitterly, as if resigned.
Then, suddenly,
“Sweetheart, I have a question. Was yesterday a punishnt, or a reward? I think I should know for sure.”
“It was a punishnt. A punishnt for not listening to , your master.”
“So, if I listen well, you’ll give a reward that’s better than that, right?”
“That’s right. So, listen well to . If you listen to , you’ll get things even while sleeping.”
“Hmmm~ I got it.”
We finished our al. It was ti to leave for real now.
Arpia spread her wings. The spirit enveloped us like a cloud.
“Are we going to Bestia?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been wanting to visit too. I want to see the face of the one who tore you away from .”
****
Bestia, the Kingdom of Beastkin.
Recently, a topic had been gaining explosive popularity in Bestia.
The Reaper Cult.
One day, a reaper suddenly appeared and promised to liberate people from their hellish lives. He helped businesses succeed and cured illnesses.
At first, people thought it was a ridiculous rumor, but the number of people who experienced miracles kept increasing. Many desired to join the Reaper Cult.
There were even rumors that Bestia’s princess, the Lioness Hilda, had joined the cult.
It beca common to see mbers of the Reaper Cult while walking through the streets.
There were many who disapproved as well. People who couldn’t bring themselves to worship such a sinister being, and those who followed the Church of Order and Balance.
The Church of Order and Balance was widespread across the continent.
And Bestia was no exception.
A high priest of Bestia’s cathedral, Iris the unicorn beastkin, along with other followers, strongly opposed the Reaper Cult.
Everyone knew that reapers were evil beings, and it was obvious that a reaper would bring chaos.
But their intense opposition wasn’t accepted.
“Lin is terrible! She didn’t help before and kicked out!”
“I don’t like the cult either. They pretend to be righteous but are full of vanity, tornting innocent people.”
It was all because of two girls.
Neither Mirabel nor Lin had good mories of the cult. Mirabel, in particular, lost her father because of them and was sold into slavery.
Though she did et Karami through it, that couldn’t be said to be a good outco.
The sabotage by the two girls, who harbored ill feelings toward the cult, was thorough.
Lin brought misfortune to the kitsune.
She’d bite her tongue while eating, or a bug would fly into her mouth while yawning, or she’d get a stomachache before an important event.
Mirabel cast a witch’s curse.
She made them have nightmares and interfered with their thought process to make them distrust the gods. It was a curse more terrifying than death to a devout believer.
“Is that all?”
“Of course! I made her spill delicious food as soon as she was moving it!”
“...Is that it?”
“What else could be more evil? What did you do?”
“I disrupted their faith. I made them doubt if the path the gods lead them on is truly the right one.”
Lin tilted her head.
“What’s so evil about that?”
“It’s magic that destroys the relationship between the gods and their followers. It’s like making Lin doubt her master.”
“Lin doesn’t doubt her master.”
“I made her do it with magic.”
“It doesn’t work on Lin!”
“Well... sigh.”
Anyway.
The followers of the Church of Order and Balance were suffering from misfortune and curses, which made it difficult for them to live daily lives. It was all due to the machinations of the great witch and the kitsune.
Even the high priest Iris was not spared.
For instance, a pure childhood couple ca seeking blessings, but it turned out the woman had restored her virginity with healing magic, and was secretly eting with another man—she was a fake virgin.
And sotis, they’d have nightmares of becoming a Baikon.
After suffering for a while, a great event occurred that would change the situation. The Saintess appeared in the capital.
“Saintess! Virgin!”
The reason Iris chose the path of the priesthood was because the cult had many virgins.
But a saintess, a symbol of purity?
Oh, shit.
Iris imdiately regained her energy.
She prayed to the saintess, whom she had never t.
And to the gods too.
‘Thank you for sending the saintess!’
Iris spread her arms toward the sky.
This is why I beca a priest.
The appearance of the Saintess rendered Mirabel and Lin’s sches ineffective. The faith of their followers, centered around the Saintess, remained unshaken.
As a result, the number of people wanting to join the cult dwindled.
A strategy eting between the two girls.
“I never thought the Saintess would appear.”
“What’s a Saintess?”
“With her around, it’s going to be hard to expand the cult before master cos back.”
“What’s a Saintess?”
“I think we need so other thod.”
“Are you ignoring , Lin?!”
Lin suddenly stood up, hands on her hips, protesting.
Mirabel let out a deep sigh.
“I don’t know either. And you wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”
“True.”
Lin sat back down.
While staying with Lin, Mirabel had seen many sides of her. Right now, she was more like a child, similar to her age, but when they first t, she had been a mature woman.
Sotis, she beca an appropriately grown girl, and at tis, she would even transform into a fox.
It wasn’t a problem if her appearance changed, but her way of thinking and actions also changed depending on her form.
When asked why, Lin would only repeat, “Disguising magic is all about creating illusions.”
In her childlike form, Lin was an absolute troublemaker. She acted like a mischievous child so perfectly that Mirabel didn’t even want to engage in conversation.
“If you’re unhappy, change your appearance and co back.”
“Lin likes this form!”
Because this was the form she had spent the happiest ti with her master.
Lin liked this form.
Anyway, if they were going to increase the power of the cult, it seed like an innovative thod would be needed.
****
Lin says.
The sky is fickle.
She says that if the world doesn’t go according to fate, the heavens will change people’s destinies without hesitation.
The ones who pretend to be kind are the most dangerous.
This is what Lin realized.
The Church of Order and Balance is the sa.
It’s just common sense that a priest who only likes virgins wouldn’t be normal, right?
Surely, at so point, they will change. With the sharp horn of a unicorn, they will pierce through people.
That mont ca sooner than expected.
Boring Days
Even now, Lin wants to visit Karami, while Mirabel prevents her from doing so. They spend their days running the cult, waiting endlessly for their master to return.
While chatting at the Heavenly Tower, Heukbi took a sip of tea.
“I feel a bad on. I sense sothing ominous.”
“It seems there’s a problem in the Holy Kingdom.”
Even without the ability of clairvoyance, Yuhwa’s insight remained sharp. The celestial protector, who had acted according to the will of the heavens, wasn’t completely unrelated to the gods.
The balance of divine power was wavering.
If the balance wavered, the followers would also be affected.
The sa went for the followers within Bestia.
Yuhwa’s prediction was not wrong.
There was an anomaly among the followers of the Church of Order and Balance, especially Iris, the most devout.
Her hair turned black, and her once-rainbow-colored pupils beca red. She looked more like a Baikon than a unicorn.
It wasn’t just her appearance that changed. The mbers of the cult had collectively gone mad, starting to attack innocent citizens.
“Now’s the chance!”
It was a golden opportunity for the Reaper Cult.
As night fell, Lin and Mirabel went around subduing the apostates wreaking havoc all over the city.
“Help !”
Boom!
An apostate threatening a pig beastkin.
Lin struck down on top of them.
She didn’t kill them, but knocked them unconscious.
“Eek?”
“Miss, are you alright?”
“Th-thank you... Are you... a kitsune?”
Lin gave a slight flick of her fingers.
She was now covered in a black hood.
“Nope. I’m a Reaper Cult agent sent here.”
“But you have nine tails?”
“...The important thing is that you received the grace of the Reaper Cult.”
“That’s true, right?”
“Enough with the thanks. You should thank the Reaper. Long live the Reaper Cult.”
“I’m an atheist...”
Zing!
Lin’s odd-colored eyes glead ominously.
The pig beastkin recoiled in fear.
“L-long live the Reaper Cult! Long live the Reaper Cult! Long live the Reaper Cult!”
“Good. Pig.”
Lin joined Mirabel.
Mirabel’s outfit was also different from usual. Instead of her usual short maid uniform, she wore a robe and a large pointed hat. It was a cute witch’s outfit.
This ti, their opponents were priests.
They planned to subdue them in the form of the witch they despised. It was a small act of revenge.
“How’s it going? Did it work?”
“Of course! What about you, witch?”
“Sa here.”
It was an unexpected conversation.
From the priests' perspective, it would make more sense to pray for the gods to appear than to try and fight two people.
“There’s sothing strange.”
“What is it?”
“Their behavior is similar to vampires. The people they attacked all had their jugulars bitten. The bitten people changed too.”
“Lin also slls like blood.”
Just as Yuhwa had predicted, sothing had happened in the Holy Kingdom of Kassilon. Had vampires taken control?
If they went to investigate, they would find out the details. But Mirabel was worried about rushing in without her master’s orders.
“Hmm?”
“Huh?”
In the mont of hesitation, both Mirabel and Lin spoke out in confusion.
Mirabel’s staff swayed.
Lin’s ears perked up.
The two looked at each other, their eyes eting in silent verification of the energy they sensed.
Once they confird it, they moved simultaneously.
Lin jumped over the roof, and Mirabel flew on her staff.
The energy they had felt was the sa.
“It’s master!”
“It’s Zuin!”
It was the energy of their master, Karami.
When they arrived, Karami was there, flying with Arpia, riding on the spirit’s wind.
“It’s been a ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) while, everyone. How have you been?”
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