Founding a Nation

Ever since Irene reincarnated into this otherworldly realm and gradually accepted the fact that she was no longer human, her mindset had undergone a corresponding shift.

Nowadays, if she had to kill a human who showed her disrespect, she probably wouldn't hesitate for even a single second.

Therefore, when Irene had wanted to kill the Saintess envoy, her intent to kill had been completely genuine.

However, just as she was about to act, Irene suddenly thought of another possibility.

If the gods were still sitting high above in their divine kingdoms, looking down upon the mortal world... would blatantly killing a fanatic believer of a god incur divine punishment?

This was not entirely impossible.

Although those so-called deities did not constantly watch over their believers—most of the time merely using their godheads to automatically respond to prayers, treating their followers entirely like leeks to be harvested for faith—

That was only for ordinary believers. If ordinary believers were like the stars scattered across the sky, the power of faith they generated was mediocre in quality. Fortunately, their sheer numbers made up for it, so losing one or two was of no consequence, and the gods naturally couldn't be bothered to care.

But the faith of a fanatic believer, in a sense, was like a bright moon surrounded by those countless stars.

The intensity of faith from those rare, extremely devout believers who appeared only once in a century was, in the eyes of a god, as blindingly bright as a blazing sun compared to ordinary believers!

For such "premium leeks," gods would generally pay a bit more attention.

While they wouldn't dote on them constantly, they would at least dedicate a sliver of their consciousness to keep a close eye, ready to respond to the fanatic's prayers and perform miracles to boost favorability, ensuring their faith never wavered.

This was done to make the leeks grow even more robustly.

Even if these leeks died, the gods would guide their souls into the divine kingdom to continue praying for them. Only when their souls were completely assimilated by the divine kingdom and lost their free will would they be reduced to puppets guarding the realm.

They would continue to squeeze out every last drop of their remaining utility.

Thus, the death of a fanatic believer was bound to attract a god's attention.

If it was a natural death, it was fine. But if they were killed, and the god happened to be in a bad mood while guiding the soul back, they might casually hand down divine punishment to avenge their believer...

That would not be fun at all.

It was precisely because of this possibility that the cowardly Irene, after a brief moment of contemplation, chose to act like a "good dragon" for once.

Still, forcing a fanatic believer to swear an oath to her own righteous god to actively distribute books and knowledge of the evil alignment—a vow that was practically blasphemous—was probably more painful than killing her outright.

In a way, this was also Irene's way of testing the gods.

If the God of Light, whom this Saintess worshiped, was indeed paying attention to her, He would surely hand down some form of punishment in the face of such blasphemy.

However, this punishment would only target Vina alone.

This was much safer than drawing a god's attention by killing a fanatic believer.

Even if the gods had truly vanished and Vina received no punishment at all, Irene would still obtain the books she wanted.

It was a win-win situation.

She had maximized the remaining utility of this little Saintess.

Sure enough, upon hearing this demand, Vina's face filled with terror.

As the Saintess of the Church, agreeing to such a thing was already highly rebellious. Now, she was being asked to swear an oath to her own God of Light. How was this any different from seeking her own death?

Irene laughed inwardly, a faint smile gracing her lips. Looking at the hesitant little Saintess before her, she said indifferently, "What? Unwilling?"

Then, her tone grew heavier. "Or do you intend to deceive a great true dragon?!"

However, Irene had still underestimated a human's desire to survive. Humans were humans precisely because they possessed complex hearts.

Vina only hesitated for half a second before, as if finding sudden clarity, she pulled a holy symbol representing the God of Light from her storage ring.

"I hope you keep your promise."

Then, under the shocked gazes of the delegation, she swore upon the holy symbol: "With my Lord Pelor as my witness, I, Vina Alice, hereby swear..."

Perhaps she had finally broken through the shackles in her heart, or perhaps her faith had completely warped. Vina's tone became increasingly exaggerated, and she spoke the final words of her oath almost with a smile.

Once the oath was fully recited, an invisible ripple descended from the sky.

It was not the God of Light's punishment for his fanatic believer's blasphemy, but rather a sign that the god had accepted the oath.

"Phew..."

Vina let out a long sigh of relief. Her rigid posture slumped instantly like a deflated balloon, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

But she quickly raised her head again, gripping the holy symbol tightly. With a strained, ugly smile tugging at her lips, she stared intently at Irene and said, one word at a time, "Now, can I leave?"

"Evil dragon... Your Grace..."

"Of course." Having verified a certain theory of hers, Irene clapped her hands and signaled the Imperial Guard to release the members of the delegation.

Then, looking with appreciation at the little Saintess, whose face was contorted with emotion as she turned to leave, she said, "Send my regards to the rulers of the Eastern Kingdoms. I look forward to deeper cooperation with them."

"After all... I'm not some evil dragon."

Vina paused in her tracks, her grip tightening even further.

The guard captain, who had been released by Fido, rushed forward in a few quick strides to support her Saintess.

After shooting Irene a fierce glare, she supported Vina and led the delegation away, their figures gradually receding into the distance.

Tap, tap...

Two footsteps echoed.

Fido stepped forward, dropping to one knee, and presented the magic scroll that had just been looted from the little Saintess with both hands.

Taking the scroll, Irene instantly infused her mental energy into it, her brows arching slightly.

"Oh, a Legendary Rank divine magic scroll." Irene looked toward the delegation, which was gradually vanishing into the yellow sands, and murmured softly, "What a warm and welcoming little thing. To visit and bring such a grand gift, she's making me feel almost embarrassed."

Had the already distant Vina heard this, she would probably have been so frustrated she'd want to kill someone.

Heavens knew that this scroll had been crafted by His Holiness the Pope at a massive cost to save her life. Now, she had merely paved the way for someone else's benefit.

Stashing the scroll into her storage ring, Irene dropped her serious expression and stretched. The entire dragoness relaxed instantly, and she waved her hand casually. "All done. Pack it up, pack it up."

"Yes," Fido replied with a bow. He stood up and walked toward the city gates alongside Irene.

But before they had taken more than a few steps, Irene suddenly turned her head, a trace of wariness in her eyes.

For some reason, in that brief instant, she had felt a strange sensation of being watched.

Fido also looked back but saw nothing. He could only ask in a low voice, "Your Grace, what is it?"

"It's nothing." Irene turned back and yawned, showing signs of weariness. "Maybe I'm just being too sensitive."

As if suddenly thinking of something, she furrowed her brows in thought for a moment, then slightly tilted her head up.

"Send down the order. In three days, I, Irene Afra Christina, shall formally found our nation!"

"The Black Dragon Empire!"