"Momoka has arrived?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, Lady Momoka's airship has arrived outside the city and is preparing to land at the airfield."
Upon hearing this news, Luo Li immediately stood up.
"Nara, put the map away and come with me to welcome her."
"Yes. Men! Put the map away! Prepare the Saint's Carriage for the airfield and get the banquet ready!"
The knights outside immediately acknowledged the command and rushed to prepare the carriage.
Meanwhile, the young nuns also became busy, putting away the map and starting preparations for a grand feast.
Luo Li didn't care much for formalities or social rank; those things weren't important right now.
Momoka's current presence essentially represented the will of the remaining citizens of the Kingdom of the Sun.
Tens of millions of people who had retreated from the Kingdom of the Sun to the interior were currently arriving at the borders of Twin-Wing City.
These people were currently in a state of panic and unease, but as long as Lady Momoka arrived in Brilliant City, things there would likely stabilize.
"Nara, go call Lola as well. We will welcome her together."
Luo Li stepped out of the Temple and went straight into the Saint's Carriage, while Lola would have her own carriage provided.
There was no need to wait for her.
Sitting in the Saint's Carriage and watching the heavy snow fall outside the window, Luo Li couldn't help but think about the transport capacity of airships.
Whether it was ignoring terrain or other factors, airships were indeed more advantageous than trains.
However, the only drawback was that the cost was too high.
Based on current calculations, charging an airship once was equivalent to charging a train more than ten times.
Setting aside the amount of energy required, the range of a single charge for an airship was far lower than that of a train.
Furthermore, the most critical advantage of a train was that it was cheap. Even if it only had that one advantage, it was enough to justify pouring the Moon Kingdom's national strength into researching and expanding that path.
On the other hand, Luo Li also thought of someone else.
Cardinal Ferdinand, who had already departed from the Kingdom of the Moon.
The divine hierarchy of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church was very clearly divided.
From the Pope, Saintess, archbishops, bishops, priests, fathers, to the nuns—these seven ranks made the divine power unshakable.
The Pope could appoint any position below the rank of archbishop, though there were only seven archbishops in the Eight Nations of the Holy Church.
A Saintess could appoint positions below the rank of bishop, and a bishop could appoint at most two people.
Currently, the only bishop in the Kingdom of the Moon was Lola.
The reason there were only seven archbishops was that one of their duties was to act as liaisons between the Holy See and the other seven nations.
Cardinal Ferdinand was the specific Cardinal responsible for primary communication with the Kingdom of the Moon.
The reason she thought of him was that his departure was directly related to Lady Momoka's arrival.
Momoka's current condition was terrible.
She had lost three of her limbs, leaving only her left hand. It was safe to say that without a god-tier regeneration potion or a god-tier regeneration skill, it would be impossible for her to ever recover.
Furthermore, the Kingdom of the Sun was nearly on the brink of extinction.
But none of that was the main point. The point was her status as the Saintess of the Sun.
Now that the royal family of the Kingdom of the Sun was almost entirely wiped out, Momoka's status had briefly become like Luo Li's—a unique state where divine and imperial power were combined in one person.
The remaining territory of the Kingdom of the Sun, though small, was exactly what the current Pope wanted most.
With Lady Momoka in hand, he could easily control that region.
Yet, he had still let Momoka go.
The reason lay with the Demon Marshal—Butcher Zuka.
In this recent campaign against the demon island, the Holy See had been almost entirely marginalized.
Whether it was negotiating with the dragons and beastmen to attack together, or coordinating with the elves and dwarves to ambush demon ships at sea, the Holy See had acted as little more than background scenery throughout the war.
What the Eight Nations of the Holy Church and the other races remembered from this war was the name Luo Li Saint Sariel.
They remembered the knights of the Kingdom of the Moon who dared to take the initiative against the demon army!
It could be said that the brightest star of this year was her and her Kingdom of the Moon.
This resulted in the current Pope desperately needing something to stabilize his own prestige.
Conversely, if the Pope were to actually step in and seize the territory of the Kingdom of the Sun right now, his reputation would undoubtedly hit rock bottom.
The Kingdom of the Sun had just suffered through a demon invasion.
If he were to kick them while they were down, the Pope's own prestige would completely wither away.
In contrast, someone else would inevitably become the spiritual leader of the human race.
So, who would become that spiritual leader next?
It was her! It was her!
Our little hero, Luo Li!
Without a doubt!
Conquering the demon island, leading the major races of the continent, and ambushing the demon elites at sea—her shadow was cast over every strategy.
Only a little over a month had passed, and the news hadn't even reached its peak yet.
Once these rumors reached their zenith, they would inevitably strike a blow to the Pope's position.
This was a situation the Pope would never allow.
Therefore, the Pope currently needed something to farm prestige and allow him to step back into the spotlight.
For example... executing a captured Demon Marshal.
So!
Because he couldn't immediately move on the Sun Kingdom's territory on one hand, and desperately needed prestige on the other, Diocletian's deal with her was struck.
He traded the Saintess of the Sun, Momoka, for the Demon Marshal Butcher Zuka.
It was that simple.
Otherwise, with the Pope's greedy nature, how could he have given up such a good pawn?
If the Pope had simply married the Saintess of the Sun, wouldn't the territory have belonged to the Holy See anyway?
"Right! I just remembered something. Hasn't President Vincent moved to Brilliant City recently?"
Though Nara didn't know why her Highness's mind had suddenly jumped to this, she still nodded honestly.
"Yes, Your Highness. The Mage Association even held a banquet."
"Mhm. Go to the inner treasury later, pick out a few good items, and send them over."
Vincent.
The man who was willing to stand up and protect her back in Moonrise City.
Regardless of whether she should be grateful, the fact that he could say those words made Luo Li take notice of him.
For a mage to see the current situation of the continent so clearly, and even understand that only Luo Li was the true main force against the demon army at this moment, made him someone worth recruiting.
Currently, Vincent, the head of the Mage Association, could be considered a staunch supporter of hers.
Additionally, Camilla, the head of the Alchemists' Association, had already pledged her loyalty.
Among the three great associations, the only ones she hadn't met yet were the people from the Adventurers' Association.
However, up until now, she really didn't have a good impression of the Adventurers' Association.
The Adventurers' Association had been involved in coups more than once or twice.
This association was morally ambiguous, its management was quite poor, and the quality of adventurers varied wildly.
It was impossible to know if there were still opposition forces or demon spies hidden among them.
If it weren't for the influence the three great associations held over the continent, she would have even considered expelling this association entirely.
Once this busy period was over, she would find an opportunity in a few days to meet with Vincent.
The man was capable and far-sighted; he was worth getting to know better.
On the other hand, Luo Li also needed the help of the Mage Association right now.
After all, most of the things that needed to be developed next could not function without mana stones.
And the ones most familiar with mana stones should be the mages.
Thinking of this, Luo Li couldn't help but think of Grannia.
He was currently in the northeast region, doing something for Luo Li.
He was exploring the underground tunnels left by the demon army in the northeast.
This was very critical.
She didn't want to wake up one day and find the Demon Emperor's effeminate face staring at her.
Since she knew the demon army now had the ability to travel underground, the only way was to find those areas as quickly as possible.
At the same time, they needed to reconstruct the magic arrays on the seabed to ensure that if anything extended from the demon island, they would know immediately.
This was a massive defensive project.
The amount of money required was also terrifying.
But it had to be done.
She was finally tasting what it meant to 'guard against a thief for a thousand days.'
The current demon army simply had to be guarded against.
As for the money... she would discuss it with the Holy See and the other six nations later. This cost couldn't be borne by her alone.
The carriage traveled for about forty minutes.
Brilliant City was not small to begin with, and with the heavy snow today, the road conditions were poor.
They stopped and started several times along the way.
By the time the Saint's Carriage came to a halt, over half an hour had passed.
"Your Highness, we have arrived."
Nara pulled back the curtain to look outside. Once she confirmed they had arrived, she turned back to report to Luo Li.
"Mhm. Let's go. We're here to meet her."
As she spoke, Momoka's face naturally floated into her mind.
Thinking back, the last time she met her was... well, the last time.
Strictly speaking, the two had never truly met in person; they had only seen each other through the communication room.
This time was one of those rare instances where two Saintesses met.
However, this meant that three Saintesses were now gathered in Brilliant City.
Such a grand occasion was extremely rare in the thousand-year history of the Holy Church.
Luo Li straightened her clothes and smoothed out a non-existent wrinkle on her hem.
With a serious and focused expression, she stepped out of the Saint's Carriage.
Standing at the front of the carriage and looking into the distance, she saw the massive magic airship already parked on the landing platform.
At that moment, a wheelchair was being pushed down from the magic airship.
The one pushing the wheelchair was a half-elf girl.
Luo Li recognized her; her name was Izumi, she had no surname, and she was one of the Guardian Knights of the Kingdom of the Sun.
The one she was pushing, the person sitting in the wheelchair, could undoubtedly only be one person.
Luo Li's gaze focused on the black-haired girl.
The girl also turned her head toward her, but... her eyes were closed.
Even so, Luo Li felt a momentary sensation of being watched.
Nara glanced at the distant airship, cleared her throat, and stood before Luo Li.
"The Saintess of the Moon personally welcomes Lady Momoka, the Saintess of the Sun!"
As her voice spread, rows of knights quickly surrounded the landing platform.
After all, with two Saintesses present, any accident would be a massive blow to the human nations!
Luo Li smiled as she stepped down from the Saint's Carriage and walked all the way to the front of the wheelchair.
Izumi, who was pushing the wheelchair, took half a step back and knelt on one knee.
"Foreign official, Izumi, Guardian Knight of the Kingdom of the Sun, greets the Saintess of the Moon. I pray for your sacred well-being."
Momoka, meanwhile, tilted her head up. Her eyes were closed, but her expression made it seem as if she were observing something.
"Lady Luo Li, we finally meet."
Momoka was observing Luo Li, and Luo Li was also observing Momoka.
The Saintess before her was indeed a survivor of the battlefield.
A lucky survivor indeed.
Of her four limbs, only one arm remained, and her entire body was wrapped in bandages.
Though her clothes were neat and clean, it was clear her current state was extremely poor.
Even her breathing seemed slightly erratic.
"Lady Momoka, I have also wanted to meet you in person for a long time. However, this is not the place for conversation. Let's get in the carriage first."
Momoka smiled and nodded.
Izumi immediately rose, pushed the wheelchair, and followed Luo Li onto the Saint's Carriage.
She handed the wheelchair to a nearby knight and carried Momoka into the carriage herself.
As soon as they boarded, Luo Li quickly arranged a sofa.
Momoka was missing her limbs; if it were a normal chair, she wouldn't be able to sit at all.
She had to sit in the soft sofa first so she could maintain at least a little bit of her Saintess's poise.
Izumi carefully placed Momoka onto the sofa and thoughtfully took a nearby pillow to prop up Momoka's side, allowing her to sit upright without effort.
Momoka's expression didn't change much. Sensing Luo Li's gaze, she gave a slight smile.
"My body is in this state, so I have no choice but to let Izumi help me. I have shown Lady Luo Li a pathetic sight."
Luo Li quickly shook her head.
"No, no, no. Lady Momoka ended up in this state to fight the demon army and protect her people. That can only be praised; how could anyone mock it?"
The corners of Momoka's mouth curved into an arc, showing a slightly relaxed expression.
"Lady Luo Li is indeed just as I imagined, so deeply sensible."
While the two were still trading compliments, Izumi couldn't help but interrupt from the side:
"Lady Luo Li, though it is presumptuous of me, I still wish to ask. It is said you possess the power of limb regeneration. Is this true? Could you perform it for my lady?"
The carriage fell silent. When two sovereigns were speaking, for an outsider to suddenly interject was clearly a breach of etiquette.
Momoka's expression changed instantly, and she gave a soft scolding:
"Izumi, you have overstepped!!"
Upon hearing this, the half-elf girl immediately knelt on one knee.
"My Lady, please forgive me. But seeing you in this state breaks my heart! If you wish to punish me, please do so after I have asked about this matter!"
"Izumi!!"
Momoka wanted to say more, but the silver-haired girl beside her gave a small smile.
"It's alright. Lady Momoka doesn't need to blame her. She is simply worried about her master. What crime is there in that?"
Looking at this master and servant, Luo Li couldn't help but think of Hilda.
If she were to end up like Momoka, Hilda would surely kneel to others for her sake, wouldn't she?
Turning back to Momoka, she saw that while Momoka's face showed some irritation, there was even more anticipation hidden there.
Not bad at all~
"Knight Izumi is correct. I do indeed have the ability to regenerate limbs. I have already made preparations for the treatment for Lady Momoka's visit, but please, do not be in such a hurry."
"Once we return to the Temple, I will make the arrangements."
Luo Li looked at Momoka, then at Izumi.
The manpower that was originally a bit tight had suddenly become much more abundant!
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