Phelan stood behind the two, looking at the two Saintesses in front of him.
One had platinum-blonde hair and wore the Saintess vestments that anyone in the Demon King's Castle would recognize.
The other had silver-white hair and an aura that made her look nothing like a regular demon resident.
The two of them stood at the entrance of the residential district like that, and even if they did nothing, they would easily draw the gazes of most of the street.
“Please allow me to apply a bit of disguise to the two of you.”
Lin Ling was taken aback.
“Huh?”
She looked up at Phelan.
“Why?”
The recording crystal beside Phelan lit up, casting a faint light across the streets of the residential district.
“Did you two not want to see the residential district as it truly is?”
He said calmly:
“If so, some disguise is more appropriate.”
“If you enter directly as Miss Saintess and the Saintess of the Holy See, the residents will inevitably alter their behavior.”
Phelan's gaze fell upon Leticia.
“Especially you.”
Leticia was slightly startled.
“If you want to see how they usually live, it is best to hide your identity for now.”
Phelan spoke to Leticia as if merely stating a fact.
Leticia fell silent for a moment.
She looked down at her own dress.
This pure white dress symbolized holiness and authority in the White Tower.
But here, it would probably only put people on their guard.
She nodded gently.
“That is true.”
Lin Ling, on the other hand, accepted it very quickly.
She raised her hand, her eyes lighting up slightly.
“Then let's do it! Remember to give Miss Saintess a really striking disguise.”
Phelan raised his hand to cast a spell.
Gentle magic wrapped around the two of them like the wind.
It draped a highly detailed illusion over them.
Lin Ling only felt a slight itch above her ears.
She subconsciously raised her hand to touch it.
And then she felt a pair of fluffy ears.
“Huh?”
She whipped her head around to look at her reflection in a nearby window.
Atop her head was an extra pair of soft rabbit ears.
There was even a very short little tail behind her.
Lin Ling: “...”
She slowly turned her head to look at Phelan.
Phelan's expression was calm.
“Considering Miss Saintess's usual behavior patterns, I believe a rabbit beastkin is more appropriate.”
Lin Ling's eyes widened.
“Are you saying I run away a lot?!”
Phelan looked down and recorded.
“Addition: Miss Saintess drew an association with the rabbit disguise, suggesting accurate self-perception.”
“Don't admit it in that way!”
Leticia looked down at herself.
Her silver-white hair had been disguised into a softer light gray, with a pair of cat ears atop her head and a slender cat tail behind her.
She raised her hand to touch the ears.
The tips of the ears twitched slightly.
Leticia froze completely.
It was an incredibly bizarre sensation.
It felt as if her body had suddenly gained a part she had never possessed before.
But Lin Ling's attention had already been captured by her.
“Wow.”
“Sia, you're a catgirl.”
Before Leticia could react, Lin Ling had already reached out and patted her head.
The soft cat ears were gently rubbed.
Leticia's body visibly stiffened.
She had grown up in the White Tower since childhood.
Let alone having her head patted, even for others to draw near, permission was required.
Yet Lin Ling's movements were just too natural.
She completely failed to realize how much of an overstepping boundary this behavior was to the Leticia of the past.
Leticia's face slowly turned red.
“Lin Ling...”
Her voice grew a little softer.
“This... is a bit strange.”
Lin Ling blinked.
“Does it feel uncomfortable?”
Leticia originally wanted to say yes.
But Lin Ling's hand was very gentle.
Being touched like this by her wasn't as unpleasant as she had imagined.
So she fell silent for a moment and said softly:
“Not really.”
Lin Ling's eyes instantly lit up.
“So that means I can keep going?”
Leticia: “...”
Standing to the side, Phelan watched Lin Ling rubbing Leticia's head and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine for some reason.
He looked up toward the main building of the Demon King's Castle.
The chill was very faint.
But it was highly distinct.
Phelan decisively closed his recording board.
“Ahem.”
“All right.”
“Let us go and take a look first.”
He felt that if they continued standing here, the clock tower might gain a few more residents tonight.
Lin Ling reluctantly withdrew her hand.
Leticia lowered her head slightly, yet the tips of her ears still twitched gently.
Phelan pretended to have seen nothing and led the two of them into the residential district.
...
Meanwhile.
In Camillaya.
Inside the Holy See.
“Bishop.”
“The items you requested are ready.”
The sister who had been commissioned to prepare the items walked into Bishop Karl's office holding a checklist.
The room was piled high with documents.
On the desk were military reports from the border, petitions from nobles, and several opened letters casually pressed aside.
Karl was looking down, reviewing the documents, his brow furrowed without a moment of release.
Hearing the sister's voice, he merely gave a brief response.
“Yes.”
Then, without raising his head, he said:
“Help me contact Bishop Furni.”
Just as the sister was about to comply, a lazy voice sounded from behind her.
“No need.”
“I am already here.”
Startled, the sister turned around.
Furni had stood behind her at some unknown point.
She still wore her bishop robes, her hair was a bit messy, and she had deep dark circles under her eyes, looking as if she had just crawled out of a pile of work capable of draining a person's soul.
The sister quickly bowed in greeting.
“Bishop Furni.”
Furni waved her hand.
“You may go first.”
The sister glanced at Karl.
Karl raised no objection.
So she backed out, closing the door behind her.
After the door closed, Furni naturally walked up behind Karl, looking down at the letters in his hand.
“What are you looking at again?”
She narrowed her eyes.
“A letter from the First Prince?”
Karl did not stop her from reading the letter he was flipping through.
On the stationery, the handwriting was sharp and arrogant.
【Bishop Karl, I would certainly like to know why the Saintess, after replying to my letter, has still delayed coming to our meeting.】
After Furni finished reading, she gave a soft snort.
“Aha.”
“It seems our Prince is desperate for the Holy See's assistance.”
Her tone carried unconcealed disdain.
Her gaze grew a bit more dangerous as well.
Karl looked up, his voice deepening.
“Furni.”
“No matter what, he is still the prince of this nation.”
“And he may even become the future heir to this country.”
Furni drew out her words.
“Yes, yes, yes, Bishop Karl~”
She agreed quickly with her mouth.
But her expression showed she didn't take it seriously at all.
The next second, she casually picked up another letter nearby.
“What about this one?”
Before Karl could even speak, a tiny spark of fire lit up at Furni's fingertips.
The letter was ignited by magic, and flames quickly devoured the text from the edges.
Karl: “...”
Furni watched the letter slowly turn to ash, her tone remaining lazy.
“Oops~”
“Accidentally lit it on fire.”
A vein throbbed on Karl's temple.
“That was a letter from the Second Prince.”
“Oh.”
Furni nodded with zero sincerity.
“That was truly careless of me.”
Karl put down his pen.
“Furni.”
“Yes?”
“Are your grievances with the royal family growing larger and larger?”
Furni yawned.
“Not at all.”
“I just equally despise everyone who dumps their mess on the Holy See and still thinks they are someone grand.”
Karl looked at her.
Furni, meanwhile, had already wandered over to the sofa, leaning against it as if she had no bones.
“All right.”
“Stop looking at these useless letters.”
She looked up at Karl.
“Aren't we leaving?”
“On my way here, I already saw that big bag of food.”
“Are we going to the border again this time?”
Karl fell silent for a moment.
“Yes.”
“The border.”
As he spoke, he stood up and walked into the small changing room on the side of the office.
Before long, he took off his bishop robes and changed into a coarse cloth outfit common among commoners.
The clothes were very old, with signs of patching on the cuffs.
If not for his face still being the same, no one would ever associate the person in front of them with a bishop of the Holy See.
Furni leaned on the sofa, watching him emerge.
“You wear these clothes every single time.”
“Why not wear your bishop robes to go see them for once?”
Karl's movements as he adjusted his cuffs paused.
“Too much garbage has been placed inside the Holy See.”
He said:
“What we do is nothing more than cleaning up the stains left by the garbage.”
“So how can we expect those who were hit by the garbage to once again believe in the ones who threw it at them?”
Furni looked at him.
She clearly still looked like she hadn't fully woken up, yet a spark of interest flickered in her golden slit pupils.
“You certainly don't mince words when cursing the Holy See.”
“Why is it that when it comes to the country, you have to hide away so quietly?”
Karl seemed as if he wanted to say something.
But before he could speak, Furni suddenly raised her hand.
“Alright.”
Her lazy expression faded slightly.
“We should depart.”
Karl frowned.
“What is it?”
Furni turned her head toward the door.
“If we do not leave now, some trouble will be arriving at our doorstep.”
She sensed a familiar presence approaching.
In the next instant, a teleportation array lit up beneath Karl's feet.
Pale magic patterns rapidly unfurled.
Karl's expression shifted.
“Hey.”
“Wait.”
“The things! We didn't bring the things!”
Before being swallowed by the light of the teleportation, he only managed to shout out this single sentence.
Furni yawned.
“They were prepared long ago.”
Afterward, she also opened a teleportation array beneath her own feet.
Rate on N.U.
