Dragon Calamity

Why is she asking this?

Elizabeth's face was filled with anxiety, and it didn't look like a trivial matter.

"...Your Highness Elizabeth, is there a reason you are asking this?"

Before knowing the specific situation, she could not reveal her abilities.

"Your Highness Luo Li, if your healing art is truly extraordinary, I wish to ask you to help me treat my husband, Broderick."

"...May I know the reason?"

"Of course. My husband... the current Land King of the Snow Country, was cursed by the Priest of the Beastmen Empire's God of War during the war years ago. Now, his internal organs are constantly failing. At this rate, he will die within twenty years, so..."

As she spoke, Elizabeth's eyes reddened, and her voice choked up slightly.

Normally, Elizabeth's status was equal to Luo Li's.

However... at this moment, Elizabeth lowered her noble white neck and, in her capacity as a Saintess, performed a respectful bow to another Saintess.

"I ask Your Highness Luo Li to tell me the truth. If possible, I am willing to pay any price for you to help my husband and relieve his pain."

Luo Li looked at Elizabeth, who was kneeling before the 3D projection with tears in her eyes, sincere and pleading.

Even if she didn't fully understand this world yet, she knew what such a grand gesture represented.

She absolutely could not accept such a display of humility. If word of this reached the Pope's ears, things would become even more troublesome!

"Your Highness Elizabeth, please rise. You don't need to do this. If you believe my ability can help you, I am more than willing to lend a hand. We are both Saintesses and equals. There is no need for this."

"If Your Highness Luo Li does not agree, I will not get up!"

It seemed she had found an effective way to deal with Luo Li. Elizabeth was now clinging to this hope like a drowning person clutching at a straw, refusing to rise.

"Fine. If my ability is useful, I will certainly treat your husband. But please, get up first so we can discuss the details."

At this point, refusing would seem too cold. Furthermore, facing another noble Saintess kneeling on the ground, if she didn't agree, it would be difficult for either Elizabeth or her to continue the conversation.

This would also inevitably cause relations between the two nations to drop to freezing point.

However, she still hadn't figured out if her special healing art could work on curses.

If it was ineffective against curses, agreeing now would only lead to more trouble later.

"Thank you, Your Highness Luo Li."

Elizabeth rose from the ground. It was clear she truly hoped Luo Li could save her husband.

However... Luo Li herself hadn't tested whether her healing art could cure curses.

If it couldn't, would she need to invest in other skills?

She had originally intended to use those attribute points to strengthen herself. Using them on curse-removal skills now felt like a bit of a waste.

But looking at Elizabeth's reaction, it was probably too late to refuse.

She paused in thought for a moment.

"...Your Highness Elizabeth, although I truly want to help you, I am not certain if my healing art will be effective against curses. Even if it is, it's hard to say to what extent it will work."

"So, Your Highness Luo Li has agreed!?"

As expected, the overwhelmed Elizabeth didn't even listen to the rest of Luo Li's words, her beautiful face filled with pleasant surprise.

"Yes, I agree. However, your husband is far away in the Snow Country, and I cannot leave the Kingdom of the Moon, so..."

"It doesn't matter. I will immediately have someone bring Broderick to Brilliant City. When that time comes, I hope Your Highness Luo Li can take good care of him."

Elizabeth paused, her expression somewhat hesitant. As if she had made a major decision, she raised her eyes and looked directly at Luo Li.

"Your Highness Luo Li, regardless of whether you can heal my husband, from this day forward, you shall be the eternal ally of my Snow Country! No matter what happens, my Snow Country will stand by your side."

Hearing this promise, Luo Li was genuinely surprised.

This was almost equivalent to a vow. For a Saintess to say such things was truly incredible.

"Your Highness Elizabeth, isn't this... a bit too reckless? I'm really not sure I can treat your husband."

"Since Your Highness Luo Li has agreed, you have earned my friendship regardless of the outcome. Please do not refuse."

"In that case, Your Highness Elizabeth..."

"Just call me Elizabeth. Adding 'Your Highness' feels a bit distant."

"Then... Elizabeth, you can just call me Luo Li."

"Alright~ Luo Li, thank you."

"Since we are friends, there's no need for such formalities. Can I ask for more details about your husband's condition?"

"Of course. My husband is a good man~ but Luo Li, you can't steal him away! The Snow Country can survive without me as its Saintess, but it cannot survive without him."

Luo Li couldn't help but laugh at that.

She was joking. No matter how outstanding he was, it had nothing to do with her. She wasn't so desperate that she would steal someone else's husband, right?

She shook her head.

"I won't."

Next, she naturally inquired in detail about Broderick's situation.

Because of the war with the Beastmen Empire, Broderick had heavily wounded the Emperor of the Beastmen Empire on the battlefield. As a result, he was cursed by the Beastmen Empire's Priest.

Although the two countries had returned to a superficial state of friendship, the secret competition between them had never decreased over the past decades.

In fact, it had intensified recently, making the attitudes of both sides quite tense.

Even though it was known that the Priest of the Beastmen Empire could lift the curse, Broderick insisted on not bowing to the Beastmen Empire.

And the Beastmen Empire had a common trait: they were proud... extremely proud.

Therefore, the possibility of the Beastmen Empire proactively sending a Priest to resolve the curse was almost zero.

Both sides maintained their pride, causing the situation between the two countries to remain at a standstill.

Based on this information, it seemed her healing art might not have much effect on his curse.

However, what curious her was why a Curse of the God of War would leave the entire Eight Nations of the Holy Church helpless.

"Elizabeth, the Eight Nations of the Holy Church aren't exactly small. Have you tried asking His Holiness the Pope or other powerful individuals among the people to heal this curse?"

Elizabeth nodded helplessly.

"Of course I have. For the past twenty years, I have searched for almost everyone in the Eight Nations of the Holy Church who might have a chance to heal him. Whether they were scholars, wizards, mages, or ascetic priests, nothing had any effect."

Wizards... mages?

"Wait a moment, Elizabeth. Is there a difference between a wizard and a mage?"

Shouldn't mages and wizards be the same profession?

"Luo Li, you don't know the difference between a wizard and a mage?"

Elizabeth's surprise seemed even greater than Luo Li's.

But Luo Li really didn't know the difference.

Elizabeth's eyes widened, looking at her as if she were an alien.

"Luo Li... you really don't know the difference between a wizard and a mage?"

"Well... because I knew very little about the outside world before I was enlightened by God, I'm really not clear on the distinction. Aren't these two... titles for the same profession?"

"Hmm... given your age, Luo Li, it's normal that you wouldn't know this yet."

Elizabeth seemed to confirm something and nodded slightly.

"Actually, wizards and mages were originally collectively called casters, but a split occurred later."

"What kind of split?"

"I don't know the specifics, as that belongs to caster secrets. But generally, it was because of a difference in philosophy."

"Because of... philosophy?"

"Yes. The mages you know are those who use natural elements as a means of combat, right?"

Recalling the Sky Fire Rain she had seen below the city walls that day, Luo Li nodded.

"Yes. Don't... don't wizards do the same?"

"Of course not. Strictly speaking, mages only use natural elemental magic, and they basically follow a rule: they must chant an incantation."

Isn't that just a typical magic user?

"Then... what about wizards?"

"Wizards can also use natural elemental magic, but they use more magic that hasn't been categorized yet. For example, the most famous wizard among humans right now, Alva... he uses magic similar to time manipulation."

Holy crap!

There's actually that kind of magic?

Isn't that invincible?

"Your expression is quite... interesting, Luo Li. But I probably know what you're thinking. It's not like that. Although he can use time magic to slow down time, it can be countered. You just need to use equally powerful elements to collide with it. While casters are powerful, they aren't invincible."

Speaking of this, Elizabeth added an explanation.

"Of course, this is just what I've heard. I've never met Alva, so naturally, I've never fought him. However, there was a wizard who could control time in the past who was eventually defeated by a previous Saintess of the Moon."

So that's how it was. It seemed that when different types of abilities collided, the final comparison was indeed about whose power was the greatest.

Absolute power can suppress any technique. No matter how brilliant the opponent's skills are, as long as you push back with overwhelming power, no one can resist.

"I see. Thank you. I really knew very little about this area."

She had been in this world for only a short time. So far, she hadn't even finished reading a single Saintess Biography or Heroic Legend. Coupled with the internal and external troubles of the Kingdom of the Moon, Luo Li had no time to learn more.

Based on this, the strength of a wizard should be greater than that of a mage.

"You're welcome. But... it's really strange that you didn't know this, Luo Li."

"Why do you say that, Elizabeth? Is it strange that I don't know the difference between a wizard and a mage?"

"Of course. The Kingdom of the Moon is close to the Demon Realm Forest, and its species are very diverse, so it attracts many wizards to conduct research. Oh, right! You might not know... actually, most wizards are scholars. They rarely participate in conflicts. Most of them are more like... researchers?"

"So... there are people like that in Brilliant City right now?"

"Of course there are. Isn't the world-renowned Ligeia in Brilliant City?"

"Ligeia... who is that?"

"It seems you really don't know~ But that's fine. If you want to hear about it, I'll tell you."

Elizabeth paused for a moment to explain.

"The most powerful race on the continent should be the dragons. Among the scholars interested in dragons, Ligeia is quite famous. This wizard is an elf, and she seems to be a special variant. However, because she is aloof from the world, there aren't many records of her specific information."

Speaking of this, Elizabeth looked at her with a smile.

"If you're interested, you can find her and chat. They say she has a rather gentle personality. Oh, right. If she can help when the dragon calamity comes, it might be even better."

"The... dragon calamity?"

What was that?

She had never heard of it.

"This... Luo Li, you should go look into it yourself. It's not something that can be explained in a few words."

Elizabeth's face showed hesitation, and she didn't give an explanation, but this only made Luo Li more curious.

What was a dragon calamity?

Why did Elizabeth, who was explaining everything so patiently just now, suddenly fall silent?

Moreover, from her expression, it was clear she was unwilling to discuss this topic.

Did she not know, or was there something unspeakable about this 'dragon calamity'?

"In that case, Elizabeth, goodnight... When your husband arrives, I will certainly do my best to treat him."

"Yes, Luo Li. I can only rely on you."

Elizabeth nodded, pinched the edge of her skirt with her fingers, gave a bow, and turned off the communication.

After closing the communication, she checked the time; it was already past eleven at night.

This conversation was indeed very helpful to the Kingdom of the Moon.

And she had obtained some important information.

The most crucial was the difference between a wizard and a mage. Furthermore, she could confirm that there was a very famous wizard right here in Brilliant City.

A split caused by differing philosophies led mages to branch off from wizards?

It seemed there was a story there.

Ligeia... was it?

It seemed necessary to get in touch with this wizard.

A special variant of the elf race?

Aren't there only four types of elves?

This world truly isn't small. I'm completely ignorant of common knowledge that many ordinary people know.

It seems I really need to learn more~

Life is finite, but knowledge is infinite. The ancients did not deceive me.

"Mmm~"

She stretched, and drowsiness washed over her again.

She would deal with it tomorrow and have Lola look into this Ligeia.

If wizards and mages truly walked different paths, she might need to sign another document tablet.

After all, the talents she wanted weren't just mages!

And another key point... the 'dragon calamity' that even Elizabeth, a Saintess, was tight-lipped about.

From those two words, it was clear that it was definitely not a good thing.

From Elizabeth's attitude, it could also be seen that this matter... should be very troublesome.

Ligeia, the wizard scholar who has done much research on the dragon calamity.

What exactly is a dragon calamity?