Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  What would Baiyi normally do when his favorite, youngest child, asked for his attention?

  He would put down the work he had at hand, stand up from his chair, carry the little princess back to her own room, and place her on her bed.

  This was exactly what he did. “Get yourself changed, then we can wash you a little,” the Soul Armature said and turned his back at her.

  “Mm!” The girl replied happily, and soon, the sounds of clothes falling to the floor was audible. After a while, Baiyi turned around and saw that she had already put on her nightgown. She just sat the side of her bed, with her tiny feet hanging off its edge, grinning at him.

  “How many times have I told you to put your clothes back to where they belong?” Baiyi stared at the scattered clothes. With a sigh, he bent down to pick each item up, folding them into shapes. He placed the folded pieces of clothing on the chair close to her bed, including her black stockings.

  Her clothes still emitted the fragrance of a girl’s body.

  “If you don’t look after yourself properly, you won’t be a good wife, you know? And no one would want to marry you!” Baiyi tried to scare Mia with one of a Parent’s Classic Threats.

  “Ha! If no one wants me as their wife, I guess I’ll just be Mr. Hope’s!” Mia retorted in jest, but her face suddenly reddened.

  “Oh my, just listen to yourself!” Baiyi replied with a chuckle, poking her cheeks. The dim lighting in Mia’s room concealed the blushes on her face.

  Of course, he easily dismissed her words; Mia was still a child, after all. Her words had no serious implication; at least, that was what the Soul Armature believed.

  Next, he summoned a wooden basin that was placed at a corner of her room with his mana and filled it up with water through magic. Then, after heating the water with his own magical flames, he placed the basin under Mia’s feet. Usually, this was part of the students’ daily chores, which also doubled up as their chance to practice magic.

  However, since Mia seemed to be exceptionally cute today, he would just give her a little more leeway.

  “Hee hee!” Mia chuckled lightly as she dipped her feet into the hot water. With a contented “Ooh, so comfy!”, her fair feet began moving in the crystal clear water like a pair of jade fish.

  Baiyi did not stop his task, however. He unfashioned the girl’s hairpin and let her twin tails down. Then, out from nowhere, he grabbed a piece of towel and rubbed her face.

  After washing, Mia climbed into her cover. Baiyi walked to her side and stroke her head, and then he bent down to press his mask on her forehead lightly. “Now you’re all set to go to sleep, right?”

  The little girl was different today; she actually shook her head sideways, signaling that she wanted more. She wrapped her arms around his gauntlet to stop him from leaving.

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  “Mr. Hope, can you talk me to sleep? We haven’t talked like that for a loooong time,” she said sweetly.

  He froze.

  He remembered the times when the two of them had just met. The two of them had to live in the same room in the girl’s dorm. Mia was not as close to him back then, and she was always so busy with her classes and school curriculum. Back then, they did not have the time to talk to each other as frequently as they do now. However, Baiyi had needed to bond with her as soon as possible, so he always had to wait until night in order to spend some quality time talking with her.

  Back then, they had a lot to talk about: Mia would tell him the things that had happened in her class, and in return, Baiyi would tell her stories about Earth, which always made her laugh.

  However, the two would often spend time thinking and planning about the future. Mia would always count the money she had saved in her kitty purse and tell Baiyi how she had met a really handsome Soul Armature somewhere; she would also tell Baiyi that she was saving up to get a set of new armors for him. Baiyi would tell her that with great power comes great benefits, like lots of lots of money and the ability to travel to all kinds of places.

  Eventually, they moved into the Aegis mansion, and the number of girls Baiyi had to look after increased. Money became less of a problem, and their living conditions became better and better.

  However, they never had those nightly chats again.

  “Mr. Hope, do you remember this?” Mia produced her kitty purse under her pillow and shook it in front of him.

  “Hmm? You still kept it?” Baiyi had prepared a number of storage pouches for each girl, so he did not expect Mia to still need this purse.

  “Of course.” She nodded and opened it. Inside the kitty purse was a few silver and gold coins; however, the amount could not be compared with the allowance Baiyi normally gave them.

  “Back then, I used to save all the time. Now, they don’t really mean much anymore; however, earning them and saving them had been so difficult, I can’t bring myself to spend it…… even till now,” Mia added quietly. “You know, I think I’m pretty silly, right? I can’t even think of a single way to earn a lot of money, so all I could do was to save as much as I can. But Mr. Hope is so different. You can make money out of everything!”

  Baiyi stared at the coins in her purse, and an image flashed in his mind: Mia, counting every piece of money she had just to buy him a new set of armor. It was those moments that had moved him.

  He was silent a while because he was lost in his memories. Mia, on the other hand, closed her purse and placed it back under her pillow.

  She lifted his gauntlet and placed in on her cheek, and said softly, “Mr. Hope? A clumsy girl who can’t even keep her clothes clean, who also doesn’t have good looks like Big Sister Dale and the rest…… no one would ever be interested in a girl like me, right?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Baiyi pinched her cheeks. “Mia’s so adorable; there must be a lot who already had their eyes on you.”

  “Well…… Do you like me then, Mr. Hope?”

  Baiyi smiled. “Of course I do. I like Mia the most.” He tapped her forehead. “Alright, time to sleep. You have classes tomorrow.”

  “Mm hmm! Good night, Mr. Hope,” Mia said, pulling her blanket up to her chin. Baiyi curled every corner into her blanket until she was wrapped into a roll; only then did he take the basin with him, leaving her with a sense of assurance.

  As Baiyi was having a peaceful family bonding session, on the far corner of this world, a majestic, towering cathedral stood.

  It had the same structure as a regular cathedral; however, instead of being painted pure white, it had been painted with a decrepit grey color.

  In the center of the cathedral were eleven gigantic stone pillars, supporting the dome overhead. With a bright, magical illumination being emanated from four directions in the hall, the color of each pillar became visible, along with different glyphs etched on their surface.

  The glyphs looked simplistic, yet there was something about them that made them seem much more than they looked.

  The pillars encircled a lone white pillar, which was at the center. Beneath this lone pillar, there were three figures hidden in the shadow it cast. For some odd reason, despite the light in the room, the attributes of the three figures could not be seen clearly. No one could even tell if they were humans.

  The beautiful Duchess stood before the three figures, clad in a long black robe that hid her seductive body. On her face was a semi-transparent white that shrouded a little part of her dangerous attraction.

  She was recounting the encounter she had with Baiyi to the three figures in a hushed voice. When her story ended, she lowered her head, awaiting their response.

  The hall was completely silent for a long while, then the leftmost figure broke the silence. “Novice Butler Harllotte, you have failed the organization despite all the investment made.”

  This figure was speaking the human language, and his voice sounded it was coming from a synthesizer. There was no tonal difference, no inflection, and most certainly, no emotions; no one could discern the sentiments hidden in his words.

  “My deepest apology, Lord High Reverend,” the Duchess replied hurriedly, her voice audibly shaky.

  This was her first time meeting the High Reverend of the Godsfall cult. Pressure compressed her, exerting itself on every cell in her body, piercing her with a chill that she could never shake off.

  ‘These three are not of this world! They are the manifestation of nightmares, terrors, fears!’ The Duchess thought that with the help she had received from the cult, her level would have long since passed the mere Legendary-level; yet, at that moment, she still could not summon enough power to lift her head.

  She had met Grand Butlers, who all wielded powers far beyond her own, before; however, never had she ever felt so fearful and nauseous in the presence of one of them. One could not even compare Master Hope with these three figures; before these three High Reverends, he was nothing but a pathetic maggot. He could not even defeat her. At least, that was what Harllotte told herself.

  However, the three figures obviously held other opinions.

  “Describe the fight between you and Hope again. In details. I’ll not tolerate any missing piece,” the second figure said.

  The Duchess froze. She was confused. Why would a godlike figure occupy themselves with the details of a battle between two maggots? Is such a battle not supposed to mean nothing more than ‘kids fooling around’ to these beings?

  The figure seemed to had read through every thought that had crossed her mind, and he impatiently snapped, “Begone with your annoying curiosity, woman. Just answer my question.”

  His words seemed to hold literal weight, crashing down onto her body, engulfing her and pushing aside the air around her.

  Her knees buckled, and down she went. As a knee landed on the ground in a subservient manner, she quickly blubbered out the details of her encounter with the Fifth Walker.

  Every excruciating detail, every inch of her memory; she sang them out like a canary, even including parts that would normally mean nothing, like how he had been interested in her body and how he had secretly scanned her more times than was warranted.

  Her encounter had been short, but the description was properly elaborated.

  The three shadows listened to the Duchess without interrupting her, acting as if they had all the patience in the world.

  Chapter 256: It’s Impolite To Talk Behind Someone’s Back, Mmkay? Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  Her account went on and on for a long time, yet the three figures before her never once made a sound. No one could tell if they were still listening to her contrived narration.

  “.…… finally, I came back here, to the Basilica, humbled and humiliated,” the Duchess finished.

  Despite describing everything perfectly, the pressure in the air refused to leave her. She could not lift her body up.

  The third shadow spoke with the same mechanical voice, “He let you go. Why?”

  “I don’t know,” She replied gushingly. “Maybe he had fallen in love with my appearance? Maybe he didn’t think he could beat me? With the organization’s help, I’m no longer who I used to—”

  She did not get to finish her sentence before she was interrupted by a sneer that rang out from whatever abyss that the third figure used to produce his mechanical voice. An unnerving, mocking, mirthless chuckle pierced the air before he said, “You actually thought that Hope was the same as those pathetic animals you’re used to seducing? Is that it? Or, you think you’re even more powerful than that worthless trash, Thaas?”

  The suffocating pressure intensified, and this time, both her knees gave way, and she slumped to the ground in a kowtowing position, just like a frightened dog. Sweat oozed from her body out of terror.

  “What are you hiding from us?” The second shadow’s voice boomed with compulsion.

  She relented, her jaw loosening instantly, “I…… I have a daughter, and she was just right there watching us. He is my daughter’s teacher, so I think…… I think he just didn’t want to hurt me in front of her.”

  Perhaps, the three shrouded figures decided that the woman had said everything she could, because immediately she had said that, the pressure vanished. The Duchess was relieved, but the aftermath of her terror stopped her from standing up.

  Thus, she remained in her pathetic kowtowing position, with her head close to the ground as she begged the figures before her. “O Most Eminent High Reverends, please, I beseech you — leave my innocent daughter out of this. She is all that I have left in this world! The punishment should be on me, and not on her. Please, just leave her out of this.”

  Every Godsfall cultist swore to uphold the secrecy of their organization. An exposed identity could only result in two outcomes: suicide, or murder of the eyewitness.

  In other words, Vidomina had already made the cult’s hitlist.

  The three figures were quiet for a long time.

  Then, the first shadow suddenly spoke, “Rise, woman. What sort of organization do you think we are? A force of evil that delights in the culling of innocents? Or a flock of liars hellbent on disillusioning the masses? You’re the only one who has survived a battle with that Hope; that already makes you a little more worthy than others.”

  The Duchess did not expect the figures to be this compassionate. She stood up, her face a canvas painted with disbelief and relief. If she was considered worthy, then her Vidomina would still be safe.

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  “I’m indebted to your grace, High Reverends,” she replied, with nothing else to say.

  “Who’s your superior?” The third shadow asked.

  “Grand Butler Quentin.”

  A small part of the black miasma-like fog that had been enveloping the third figure suddenly broke away from him and formed the shape of a large raven. It circled the dome twice before it descended next to the Duchess and turned into black smog.

  From within the black smog, a man clad in a black robe emerged.

  “O Most Eminent Reverends; Quentin, at your service.” The man bent in a subservient greet to the three figures, and after raising his head, he scowled at the Duchess beside him as if he was looking at a boar. He turned back to the figures, and with the same low, hoarse voice of a middle-aged man, he asked, “Had my bumbling subject failed you, Lord High Reverends?”

  “Arrange her into a safe, new job,” one of the figures said.

  “I heard that the youngest son of the North Duke is a famous libertine. Shall I arrange her to meet him?” the Grand Butler offered suggestively.

  The Duchess’ body shuddered uncontrollably. She had only just managed to leave the source of her suffering, but at that moment, all she could imagine was herself being taken against her will again — being savored by other savages, over and over again.

  Her legs clasped tightly together. She wanted to fight back a fate this cruel. However, before the four men who decided where her fate lied, she did not have a single shred of mettle to speak out.

  She did not need to say anything as the Grand Butler suddenly knelt down onto the floor. From the Duchess’ angle, she could see a rapidly wet spot caused by sweat on the man’s back; he, too, was being subjected to that terrifying pressure.

  “I said, a safe, new job.” The voice was still unnaturally mechanical, but everyone could sense the impatience within it.

  “Do you think we can only rely on the bodies of women to subjugate the world?” Another figure hissed.

  “N-no. I’ll have her be our broker. I-it’s the safest job I have,” the Grand Butler’s replied in a shaky voice; his body was already teetering like a ball balanced atop a pyramid.

  “Go.”

  The first figure lifted the pressure, and the Grand Butler heaved in a deep nostril-full of air. He turned away and quickly strode out of the hall, and the Duchess followed suit.

  Only after leaving the stiffening hall did the Grand Butler turn to face the Duchess. “Get over to my location as soon as possible!” He said. Then, his body suddenly turned back into a formless black miasma, which condensed back into a raven and returned to the hall.

  This was actually a special communication technique between cultists. The raven-shaped black fog was called Corvine Messengers; they were used to summon any cultist at any time. The Corvine Messenger would assume the target’s face, with their soul imbued into it; this enabled the target to see and hear whatever the raven did. Even the pressure placed on the raven could be felt to the Grand Butler, who was at least a thousand miles away.

  If any of the High Reverends so wished, they could easily flick the switch off any of their members through the Corvine Messenger.

  The Duchess was drinking the air outside the hall after she took off her veil, revealing a bit of her beauty. She made it through this time. This time…… and it was because Master Hope had let her go.

  “You really did find yourself a good teacher, huh, my daughter?” She muttered

  The hall of the Basilica was still quiet and seemingly unoccupied; however, the three shadows were still there, and there was no indication that they would be leaving any time soon.

  After receiving the returning raven, the third shadow spoke, “Those idiots under us really have a deep misunderstanding of our organization, don’t they? They even consider themselves cultists. How pitiful.”

  “Those who join us as cultists are ignorant and incapable of understanding the glorious purpose of our organization. It is hardly surprising that the lowest pawns lack the faculty to understand our great work,” the second shadow replied, indifferently.

  “But, these idiots kept squandering the powers we invested in them! A ragtag band of imbeciles!” The first figure added in frustration. He was visibly displeased with his own subordinates.

  “It doesn’t matter; it never did. The useless ones will always try to salvage a piece of dignity from those who are even less competent than they are……There is no need to waste time playing with these fools. Before our ultimate power, nothing matters. Remember that history is written by the victors, and we will be the victors,” the second shadow said. “Besides, many of those imbeciles have been cleared out by the ever-so-helpful Church, no?”

  “Thanks to them, on the surface we seem to have been dealt a crushing blow. Many of our affiliated bodies have been hindered,” the third shadow pointed out.

  “Suits me just fine. Cultists are dispensable.” The second shadow displayed a sense of unamused nonchalance as if the Church’s cleansing activity had only managed to scratch the cult’s foot through the sole of a shoe.

  “It’s that Hope I’m worried about. Who is he? Thaas may be an idiot, but he was a powerful idiot; nevertheless, Hope eradicated him easily and hid this achievement from the public. He even spun a fib so shaky, it crumbled at the first line of serious examination,” the second figure added.

  Back then, Baiyi kept saying that the enemy was already in an internal warfare against each other when he appeared, and he had taken advantage of that.

  However, the Godsfall cult knew he was lying; they had no idea just why a man would lie like that. The opportunity was the perfect way of gaining wealth and fame, so why would one choose to talk down their true power before the world?

  “He must possess a secret that would debilitate him. A secret so instrumental and important that he was forced to pretend be a weakling, playing Happy Family with his little girls,” the first figure said. “I heard that he really loves little girls, yet he wouldn’t just let that be his prime obsession. No, he had to ruin our plans, again and again! This is the third time our plans have been rendered moot by that disgusting ephebophile!”

  “We must find out what that secret is. Perhaps…… The Duchess would be a good pawn to be used,” the third figure replied. “Yet, somehow, I have a feeling…… that Hope is not exactly our enemy.”

  “What a strange hunch. Your instincts have always come to the oddest of all conclusions,” the second shadow said. “But, Umbra has already mobilized a team of assassins, so let us kick back and watch just how good this Master Hope really is. If he lives, perhaps we should pay him a visit.”

  “Umbra? I don’t think those twinkletoes can put a dent on him.”

  “Yes, they are very unremarkable, but this time, we had secured their elite.”

  “Oh? Interesting. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”