"You! Don't come any closer! Stay right there and don't move!"
Lucia hurriedly issued the command to Winnieshan, her voice carrying an authority that was impossible to resist.
Her current condition was extremely delicate. The Holy Light overflowing within her body felt as though it might spill out at any moment—there was absolutely no way she could allow Winnieshan to approach!
However, Lucia's unusual behavior only stirred Winnieshan's curiosity even more.
What exactly is wrong with Her Holiness?
Yet as a saintess, she was obligated to obey the Pope's orders. She could only remain where she stood, wearing a gentle smile as she spoke.
"Your Holiness, I am well-versed in medicine. If you're feeling unwell, please don't hesitate to tell me."
"My affairs are none of your concern. Whatever you have to report, say it from there!"
Lucia suppressed the growing heat within her body and replied coldly.
Faced with such a resolute attitude, Winnieshan had no choice but to abandon the urge to question her further. She had originally wanted to understand what had left the Pope so visibly unsettled, but now it seemed that opportunity had passed.
"Regarding the identity of the Rose Duchess, we've uncovered some clues."
Winnieshan shifted the conversation back to official business and began her report.
"Oh?"
At the mention of information related to Eydis, a glimmer of interest immediately appeared in Lucia's beautiful eyes.
But because the lingering warmth of Holy Light still churned inside her, her legs involuntarily pressed together, causing faint, barely noticeable tremors.
"The Overseers discovered during their investigation within the Kingdom of Starlight that…"
Winnieshan began delivering a detailed report of the intelligence gathered by the Overseers in the Kingdom of Starlight.
She relayed every discovery with meticulous care, recounting even the smallest details without omission.
However—
After more than ten minutes of reporting, the amount of truly useful information Lucia had obtained was painfully limited.
All she had learned was that Eydis likely had some connection to the legendary Mother of Demons.
Aside from that, there was practically nothing of real substance.
Lucia's expression immediately grew stern.
She understood perfectly well that Winnieshan had done this deliberately.
Slowly rising from the Golden Throne, Lucia's voice turned icy, tinged with unmistakable anger.
"Winnieshan… have you finished your report?"
"Y–Your Holiness…"
The overwhelming pressure radiating from Lucia made Winnieshan's entire body begin to tremble.
She realized that she had very likely angered the Pope.
If she didn't wrap things up quickly, she might be subjected to severe punishment.
Winnieshan hurriedly added,
"Your Holiness! There's just one final matter left to report! We discovered that the Rose Duchess appears to have a very close relationship with a man. This man is also a guild master, and his name is… Su Xuan."
"?"
The moment Lucia heard that name, her body stiffened involuntarily.
A ripple stirred deep within her heart.
Her reaction, however, had nothing to do with the relationship between Eydis and Su Xuan.
Rather—
It was because Su Xuan's Holy Light was still blooming inside her soul.
"…That's enough. I understand."
After a slight tremor ran through her body, Lucia waved her hand, signaling for Winnieshan to leave immediately.
Her body was already at its limit. She could no longer endure it.
If this continued any longer—
The Holy Light would truly…
"Yes, Your Holiness!"
Though confusion filled Winnieshan's mind, she chose to obey. She turned and departed without further hesitation.
Once Winnieshan's figure disappeared from sight, Lucia finally let out a long breath of relief.
The tension in her body loosened slightly.
Her delicate figure collapsed back onto the Golden Throne.
At the same moment, she felt a wave of warmth…
"!"
Lucia's brows knit together, her eyes filling with a mixture of shame and confusion.
She couldn't understand it.
She had only dispatched a fabricated avatar to the Adventurers' Guild.
So why had her true body also been affected by that Holy Light?
Could it be that that man's Holy Light…
…was capable of piercing through layers of illusion and reaching directly into the depths of the soul?
Fortunately, that blazing Holy Light had only produced a similar sensation, and had not truly contaminated her real body.
There was no need to worry about becoming pregnant because of it…
Idiot!
Lucia scolded herself internally.
In that filthy place, how could the spread of Holy Light possibly result in the conception of life?
…
Inside the Puff Fantasyland Guild Hall, Kurose Akira was currently handing over the Elf Set to the elf sisters.
"Guild Master, thank you for the gift."
Holding half a set of the elven equipment in her hands, Beiafli looked at it with curiosity written across her beautiful face.
"But… why does each of us only have half a set?"
Her younger sister, Beiaflo, blinked her watery blue eyes, her gaze fixed firmly on Akira's face as she waited for an explanation.
"Well…"
Akira paused briefly before offering a helpless smile.
"The guild's funds are a little tight right now, so we could only afford one set of equipment."
"But you know me—I always believe in fairness and equality. As guild master, I could never show favoritism to either of you."
"Oh! So that's why!"
Beiafli nodded in sudden understanding.
"We'll treasure this gift. Thank you, Guild Master!"
Beiaflo also expressed her gratitude sweetly.
[Beiafli (Beiaflo) Favorability +10!]
"?"
Seeing the notification pop up in his vision, Akira couldn't help but curl his lips into a faint smile.
These two little elves were still as obedient and well-behaved as ever.
[You have received a private message.]
Suddenly, a system prompt appeared.
[Fei: Why is your guild called 'Puff Fantasyland'? (scratching-head emoji)]
Akira coughed twice and replied to Xu Feiyan.
"Ahem… I accidentally chose the wrong name."
[Fei: That's pretty careless of you. Once a guild name is set, it can't be changed. But…]
"But what?" Akira asked quickly, thinking she might know some kind of workaround.
[Fei: But honestly, I think the name is pretty good. At the very least, it suits your guild perfectly.]
"???"
Reading Xu Feiyan's message instantly made Akira feel a strange heaviness in his heart.
[Fei: By the way, your college entrance exams are coming up in a few days, right?]
"Yeah."Akira sent back a 'nodding cat' emoji.
[Fei: Then I wish you success in the exams. I hope you get into the school you want.]
"Thanks."
[Fei: Speaking of which, did you ever have a high school romance?]
Akira blinked in surprise before replying.
"Of course not."
[Fei: Not interested?]
"No time."
[Fei: I can tell.]
"?"
After a few lighthearted exchanges, Xu Feiyan quickly logged off.
Recently, her login frequency had noticeably decreased compared to before. It seemed that something urgent in real life was keeping her busy, which made Akira a little curious.
Why had Xu Feiyan suddenly become so occupied at this time?
Normally, the busiest people around this season were students preparing for the college entrance exams and the teachers guiding them.
But Xu Feiyan worked in financial investments, didn't she?
In contrast, Liu Xue, who was actually a high school student, seemed unusually addicted to the game—spending at least ten hours a day grinding progress.
"That girl's really putting in the effort."
Akira murmured softly before shifting his attention to his Trait Library.
Ever since the guild had advanced to C-rank, he had received a Purple Recruitment Scroll.
A Purple Recruitment Scroll had:
10% chance to recruit an Epic-quality adventurer
20% chance to recruit an Elite-quality adventurer
0.1% chance to recruit a Legendary hero
As for the traits currently in his Trait Library, they were:
[Partner]
[Virgin Vampire]
[Masochist]
[Blood of the Lust Goddess]
Because of the special nature of Bond Traits, all four traits could be combined together.
Which meant the result would become…
[A Virgin Vampire Partner with a Masochistic Constitution and the Blood of the Lust Goddess]?