The Defeated Saintess Is On A Journey To Tame The Evil God Book 01 Chapter 07.03 - Red Epiphyllum

It took Aurora a long time to convince Xing Mo that she hadn't been afflicted by some strange curse.

There was a slight stabbing pain in her lower abdomen, her body was weak and powerless, feeling limp all over.

Thinking back on it... it seemed like Senior Alice and Miriam had one or two days each month when they were in poor shape. When I asked about it, they only responded along the lines of "I'm not feeling too well" or "it's nothing serious."

This... is more than just not feeling too well... Xing Mo lay in bed, clutching her lower abdomen, her face pale.

Seeing her Young Saintess so frail, Aurora couldn't help but find it amusing: "Even I know about it, yet you don't know, Young Saintess. It seems you're still not fully accustomed to being a girl..."

"Ugh..." Xing Mo's cheeks turned slightly red, then she asked curiously, "How do you know about it? You shouldn't have... periods, right?"

Aurora lifted her chin, looking smug: "Remember that novel I read before? The one about a romantic relationship between girls! There was a similar scene in it! It said that girls during their period shouldn't do... ahem, anyway, they are very weak and need to rest."

Aurora cleared her throat, skipping through some less important details.

Xing Mo nodded thoughtfully and said: "Then it looks like I'll have to miss tonight's Starsea Mass. In this condition, I'm afraid..."

"Actually, if you want to recover, I can share some life force with you." Aurora said cheerfully.

"No, I'd rather not," Xing Mo refused.

If this was something every girl had to go through, she wanted to experience it herself rather than rely on external help to escape it.

Perhaps due to her relatively solitary upbringing, she was used to taking care of herself.

Aurora's lips curled slightly, and she said: "Suit yourself. But, this will be very uncomfortable. Let me think... hmm, according to the novel, drinking brown sugar ginger tea should help a lot."

"There should be some at home." Xing Mo struggled to get up, "I'll go make it..."

But then a fair hand pressed her back onto the bed. Turning her head, she saw Aurora smiling.

"Let me help you make it. Just rest."

Then, without waiting for Xing Mo to respond, Aurora left the bedroom and began searching in the kitchen.

Xing Mo stared blankly at where Aurora had disappeared, absentmindedly smoothing her sweat-drenched bangs.

Did I hear it right? Is she trying to take care of me?

An Evil God is taking care of her retainer?

That doesn't seem quite right, does it...?

......

White doves flew about, causing the noon sunlight to flicker.

Getting off the carriage, Alice shielded her eyes from the intense light, her dark red eyes locking on the church across the square—

—Saint Auroth Cathedral.

A week ago, an anonymous letter claimed that the Starsea Spring had been contaminated by the curse, which the Church confirmed.

By now, most of the residents in the Northern District had been infected. Considering that ingesting the curse wouldn't further harm those already infected, the Church didn't seal off the spring to avoid panic.

The contamination of a sacred artifact could shake the people's faith.

Alice originally didn't pay much attention to this, as her current focus was on toppling Prince Austin and addressing the curse at its source.

But once she thought of the Tree of Life the workers mentioned yesterday, her mind couldn't help but wander.

After the factory incident, Alice and the Church personnel questioned the workers separately to piece the sequence of events.

Junior Xing Sheng and Lucius fought the Undying. They were initially at a disadvantage. But then she smartly used a fireball to hit the iron chain binding the narwhal, taking advantage of the terrain to achieve victory.

This explanation seemed credible, with the workers' accounts being consistent, but there was one thing that puzzled Alice.

She wasn't able to use Dagger of Truth to observe the events of that time.

Alice only trusted her own eyes. Known as the Prying Witch, she was gifted with higher intuition than most people, enabling her to often notice when something was off.

For instance, in the Docklands, where belief in the Goddess was tenuous, the workers praised God after receiving hot soup.

For instance, the Tree of Life mentioned by the workers, and the tree-shaped string magic formation under the Sunflower Hot Springs.

For instance, Junior Xing Sheng, who kept appearing in this chain of incidents.

And for instance... that bowl of thick soup and its familiar taste.

...

Dressed in a black long dress, Alice crossed the square and pushed open the door of Saint Auroth Cathedral.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the small nuns moving about inside the church, clearly the same ones from this morning.

Why are there suddenly so many new nuns? Although Bishop Freyr Sunlight has gone missing, but there shouldn't be such a severe shortage of personnel...

As she thought this, Alice's gaze swept over the praying believers, and she spread her spiritual domain to try and make contact with them.

Hmm... they are praying to the Goddess. No problem there...

Alice looked towards the altar at the end of the church, where Holy Nun Lilis was praying with her palms together, as if a sleeping statue, beautiful and hallow.

She started across the church and then climbed the altar, waiting for the Holy Nun to finish her prayer.

Shortly after, Lilis lowered her head, her eyes smiling as she looked at Alice: "May the Goddess bless you, Miss Alice."

"May the Goddess bless you." Alice replied and nodded.

Her gaze swept over the small nuns and small monks, then she asked directly: "I want to inquire about your personnel situation. Why are there so many new young nuns and young monks in your church? The Church hasn't received any notice of a personnel shortage at Saint Auroth Cathedral."

Holy Nun Lilis's eyes turned sympathetic and compassionate, and their luster dimmed a little: "Those are orphans from the Docklands. They had no shelter, crying out the Goddess's name in the wind and rain."

"I prayed to the Goddess and received a revelation, to provide shelter for the children."

"So, I took them in."

Down the long string of words, Alice keenly caught the keyword—

—Docklands.

"I see." Alice smiled and nodded, "Hmm... I need to conduct some investigation. Is that alright?"

"Of course." Lilis nodded.

Alice descended the altar and came to the front of the Starsea Spring, and then played the string of the shadows.

Pure darkness gushed forth from her wand's tip. Alice slowly spun around, creating a black ring that enveloped her.

This was an anti-surveillance measure.

After finishing her preparations, Alice skillfully played strings one after another, and the Dagger of Truth condensed in her hand.

She tore open the space, and her soul dove into the shattered void beneath the world—

Hum—

The past unfolded like a scroll, tinged with a faint gray shade, flickering rapidly before Alice's eyes.

Alice locked onto the Starsea Spring, repeatedly adjusting the timeline, until she reached the Dagger of Truth's limit.

After an entire half an hour, as her spirituality neared depletion, Alice finally finished investigating everyone who had prayed at the Starsea Spring over the past month.

She looked wearily at the grayish reflection before her: the sisters Xing Sheng and Xing Yu stood before the spring, one talking to Lilis, the other with her hand in the spring.

As time rewound, an ethereal voice transcending time sounded.

"... how are you going to do it?"

"... I just need to touch it for a few minutes."

"... sure enough, interesting, this is interesting."

Apart from these few whispered exchanges, the sisters' conversation was in an entirely different style, clearly an act.

...

Alice tiredly watched Xing Sheng, fixed a distance away—she was conversing with Holy Nun Lilis, a shy and innocent smile on her face.

"Junior..." Alice murmured, "Was it you who... poisoned the spring?"

......