Prit East Coast, Tivian.
In the afternoon, within the Church District of North Tivian, people were surging at this moment, it was very lively, and on the wide square in front of St. Yong Cathedral, citizens from all over Tivian were gathering here, and various types of people gathered on the wide ground.
Although today was Sunday, which is the time of the week when citizens come to Church for worship and the Church District has the largest flow of people, there were never so many people gathered in the Church District on past weekends as there are now. Looking around, on the square of the Church District, there were not only many devout citizens with firm faith, but also some ordinary citizens who were not very interested in religious activities on weekdays were gathered here at this moment. And the reason they gathered here was at the central position of the square.
At the center of the square at this moment, a not-so-large wooden platform was temporarily erected. There were guards guarding the periphery of the wooden platform, and at the central position on the wooden platform, there was an exquisite glass display cabinet. Inside the display cabinet, there was a piece of tattered cloth that didn't look very good, with obscure scriptures written on it. Judging from the layout of the scene, it seemed that the wooden platform in the middle of the square was built to raise this display cabinet so that it could be better displayed in front of everyone, however, the eyes of almost everyone present were not on the display cabinet. Their attention was all focused on the area around the display cabinet, where a young Sister wearing a white Sister's robe stood.
"Ah ah ah... is Captain Sister Vanya? Captain is even more lovely than in the newspaper, truly worthy of being a Saint who has received enlightenment from the Holy Mother..."
On the wooden platform surrounded by the crowd, an old woman was standing in front of the white-robed Sister Vanya at this moment. The old woman held Vanya's hand with an excited expression and said with a slight trembling voice. Hearing the old woman's words, Vanya couldn't help but show a slightly awkward smile and responded.
"This... Esteemed elder, I am merely an ordinary Sister who guards a Sacred Object, just like you, I am one of the Lord's billions of ordinary followers, and dare not presume to claim the title of Saint..."
"With the deeds that Captain Sister Vanya has experienced, if Captain is not called a Saint, what should Captain be called? This old woman has been devout diligently for a lifetime, praying to the Holy Mother every day, and now the Lord has finally bestowed Holy Grace, sending a living Saint before this old woman. Come, let me touch Captain's hand a little more, let this old woman get some Light from a Saint to take back, so that the children and grandchildren at home can be safe."
'This... what kind of saying is this...'
The devout old woman continued to speak to Vanya with an excited expression. Listening to the old woman's words before her, Vanya didn't know how to respond for a while, and could only continue to shake hands with the old woman with an awkward smile.
On the wooden platform now, in addition to Vanya, the old woman, and several other guards, there were also many other citizens. These citizens all came up from the square below the wooden platform. Under the guidance of the guards, they neatly formed a line and waited slowly behind the old woman. After the devout old woman was reluctantly invited down by the guards on the wooden platform due to the long conversation time, the next male citizen came to Vanya's front, shook Vanya's hand without a word, and said.
"Finally seeing Captain, Sister Vanya, Captain is the pride of our Prit. I didn't expect Tivian to produce someone like Captain who has achieved so many outstanding accomplishments in a short period under the guidance of the Lord. It is said that Captain can even influence people in a fallen city like Moncarlo, it's truly amazing!"
The man said excitedly to Vanya in this way. Listening to the man's words, Vanya didn't know how to answer specifically for a while, and could only respond with a dry, uninspired laugh.
"Thank you... Thank you for your support..."
More than a month has passed since Vanya was officially appointed as the Sacred Object Patrol Officer (Patrol Officer is not in the glossary. I will keep the Pinyin or describe the role. Let's keep Pinyin for now as it's a title) for the "Sacred Remains Scripture" by Holy Mountain and conducted her first pilgrimage in Moncarlo. In this past month, Vanya continued her Sacred Object pilgrimage journey. After pilgrimages in several cities including Iweig, Castile, and Faloro, Vanya finally returned to her hometown, Tivian of Prit.
In Tivian, Vanya received a high-level enthusiastic welcome. Not only did many local citizens of Tivian come to the port to join the fun, but Archbishop Francesco of the Prit Church District also personally attended. The grand scene at the scene caused minor traffic congestion in the port area.
In fact, while Vanya also received enthusiastic welcomes during her pilgrimages in the previous cities, the scale was not as exaggerated as in Tivian. This was mainly due to the local effect. Vanya is a Prit person, a Tivian person. For this Tivian Sister who has been in various news overseas and has done legendary deeds, the citizens of Tivian are more willing to spread and discuss her stories, and the newspapers in Tivian are more willing to spend more space reporting on Vanya's news. This has given Vanya more influence in her hometown than in other countries. This was not only reflected in the welcome ceremony when Vanya returned but also in the start of her Sacred Object exhibition.
As a world-renowned metropolis, the population of Tivian is not comparable to a small city-state like Moncarlo. When the Sacred Object exhibition began, the number of people who came to the Church District to visit once filled the chapel of Saint Chant Church to the brim. Out of helplessness, the official Church of Tivian had to change the location of the Sacred Object exhibition directly to the Church square and also set up a temporary exhibition platform allowing citizens from all over Tivian to admire the Sacred Object from a distance while also queuing up for a close-up view. However, it was clear that compared to the Sacred Object itself, the citizens of Tivian were more interested in the young Sister who guarded the Sacred Object.
On the wooden platform, Vanya, standing by the Sacred Object display cabinet, received one Sacred Object admirer after another who came in queue, maintaining a polite smile, patiently shaking hands with them and having simple conversations. Compared to the Sacred Object in the display cabinet, these admirers were more willing to interact with Vanya more.
This scene made Vanya recall for a moment the scene when she dealt with the visitors in Moncarlo, but there were many more people in Tivian now, which made Vanya feel a little numb in her heart at first sight.
Fortunately, compared to some of the indecent or even lewd visitors in Moncarlo, the admirers in Tivian were much more normal. Most of these ordinary citizens were genuinely devout believers who came with admiration after seeing Vanya's deeds in the newspaper. There were also some national pride enthusiasts who felt that Vanya brought honor to Prit people, and they admired Vanya as an outstanding person from their own country. When Vanya interacted with these two types of people, she felt much better than when she was in Moncarlo.
Today's Sacred Object exhibition on the square lasted for two or three hours. Even at the last moment, there was no sign of the audience on the square decreasing. Just as Vanya felt that she was about to collapse, the official Church of Tivian voluntarily terminated today's exhibition. After gradually dispersing the citizens at the scene, Vanya, who had been tired all day, finally got a chance to rest fully.
"Hoo..."
Sitting on her favorite long bench in St. Yong Cathedral, Vanya took a long breath after drinking a bottle of water in big gulps. Then she handed the water bottle in her hand to the side, and an ordinary Sister wearing a normal Sister's robe immediately took it. Then, around Vanya, countless ordinary Sisters swarmed forward excitedly.
"Vanya Vanya! Keep telling us, what happened after you were hijacked by the barbarians at sea, how did you influence them, did you really receive enlightenment from the Lord?"
"Oh, Sophie, the story about the sea barbarians was finished last night, now we should continue the story about the Adus otherworld. Vanya, it is said that you fought directly with the otherworld, is this true?"
"I wasn't there last night and didn't hear it, please keep telling us for the sake of our past friendship, Vanya..."
"Vanya... what does it feel like to be enlightened by the Lord? Can you tell us? What are your usual habits... How can we receive enlightenment from the Lord...?"
...
Seeing her familiar companions from the past chirping around her, asking this and that, Sister Vanya, who had just finished dealing with countless admiring citizens, suddenly felt a headache. Being naturally not very good at refusing, she didn't know how to respond or where to start. Just as Sister Vanya was feeling overwhelmed, a voice she was familiar with sounded like a savior at this moment.
"What are you all gathered here for? Have you finished your work? It's not break time yet, what are you all doing running here?" A stern voice interrupted the continuous questions of the chirping Sisters. Hearing this voice, all the Sisters couldn't help but tremble slightly, then turned their heads to look at where the voice came from. There, they saw an old Sister with a serious face, wearing a black Sister's robe.
"S-Sister An Lei?!" Seeing the old Sister who appeared before them, all the Sisters except Sister Vanya were startled. They scattered away from Sister Vanya and stood facing the old Sister. The old Sister swept her eyes over them and spoke sternly again.
"What are you still standing here for? Go do what you should be doing. Everyone is busy with the exhibition, only a few of you are idle. What kind of behavior is this?"
"Yes, Sister An Lei!"
Following Sister An Lei's words, the ordinary Sisters immediately scattered after responding. For a moment, only Sister An Lei and Sister Vanya were left. Seeing her former companions who had been chirping around her leave, Sister Vanya quietly breathed a sigh of relief again. Then she herself stood up and politely said to Sister An Lei,
"Thank you, Sister An Lei. I was just wondering how to talk to them..."
"Hehe... You're welcome, Sister Vanya. You've been busy all day and need to rest. How can I let the pride of the Prit Church District be uncomfortable in her own home?" Looking at Sister Vanya in front of her, the old Sister said with a kind smile. Hearing the old Sister's words, Sister Vanya responded a little embarrassed.
"The pride of the Church District, I wouldn't dare accept that title..."
"Why wouldn't you dare? You are the most famous person in our Prit Church District in the past two to three hundred years. I didn't expect that you, who only went on a pilgrimage, would achieve such remarkable accomplishments. Those are deeds only Saints in the scriptures have... Our Church District has produced a remarkable person. Everyone, even the Archbishop, is very happy."
An Lei continued to smile and say to Sister Vanya, while Sister Vanya continued to answer humbly.
"I have only been practicing the Lord's teachings and doing what I should do... This current result is also something I completely didn't expect before. I always thought that what I could do, others could also do. I was just lucky."
"Being able to persevere in the Lord's teachings and walk this path proves that the Lord's gaze has always been with you. This cannot be explained by a few words like luck. Cherish the current opportunity, examine your heart, and continue to work hard, Sister Vanya. Someone on Holy Mountain has already recognized you, and your future is limitless."
"I will..." Sister Vanya responded to Sister An Lei. After Sister An Lei nodded with satisfaction, she continued to smile and speak.
"Speaking of which, how long do you plan to stay in Tivian, Sister Vanya? Prit is your home, and no one will say anything if you stay longer at home."
"Uh... I actually have a plan for this. Prit is my home, so I plan to stay here for a while longer, but I won't just stay in Tivian. I want to go on a small-scale pilgrimage within Prit," Sister Vanya continued to say to Sister An Lei. Hearing Sister Vanya's words, a hint of curiosity appeared on Sister An Lei's expression.
"Oh? You plan to go on a deep pilgrimage within Prit?"
"Yes, after all, I am a Prit person myself, and the people of Prit can identify with me more. There is also more affinity in language and culture, and the effect of the pilgrimage and preaching will be better than in other countries. Everyone has already seen today's situation.
"Therefore, I plan not to miss this rare opportunity. Besides Tivian, I want to visit several other cities within Prit to maximize the effect of the pilgrimage."
"Visit several cities in Prit? Hmm... Indeed, you can have a greater impact in Prit, so you shouldn't just stay in Tivian. It's good to go to more places. So, have you already finalized the route and locations?" Hearing Sister Vanya's words, Sister An Lei nodded thoughtfully, and Sister Vanya immediately responded affirmatively.
"Of course, it has been finalized."
...
Southwest Prit, Glamorgan, the capital of Hand County.
At dusk, the setting sun casts its glow. Near Glamorgan, on the vast surface of Dazzle Star Lake, the hazy twilight is reflected. Under the dim light, fishing boats on the lake are slowly paddling back towards the shore. On the small pier by the lake, fish vendors are purchasing on the spot. On the quiet lakeside path, well-dressed people can occasionally be seen strolling slowly. The entire Dazzle Star Lake in the sunset presents an atmosphere of peace.
Sitting on the grass of a small hillside, Dorothy gazed at the wide and vast lake in the distance, looking at the evening glow reflected on the mirror-like water, a hint of contemplation showing on her face.
'In the ancient legends of Prit, King Arthur, the first king of the wind, obtained the Stone sword from the Lake Fairy's hand and achieved kingship. Various legends and fairy tales about the Lake Fairy have been circulating throughout Prit since ancient times, forming a part of Prit's cultural foundation.
'And the prototype of the Lake Fairy is the Mirror Moon Goddess. Her myths have been reduced to legends and fairy tales under the suppression of the Shining Light Church. After thousands of years of continuous evolution and variation, the concept of 'Lake' has still been preserved, which proves that 'Lake' held an important position in the Mirror Moon faith in the past.
'Then... could the so-called 'Mirror of Glamorgan' refer to the Lake of Glamorgan? Both mirrors and lakes are important elements of the Mirror Moon faith, so the possibility is high...'
Looking at the lake in front of her, Dorothy thought to herself. At this moment, she had some insight. Could the so-called Moon Temple be hidden in this lake water?
With this question in mind, Dorothy sat by the lake shore, silently waiting for the night to fall. She wanted to see if, during the night belonging to the Mirror Moon Goddess, under the moonlight, this lake would reveal any peculiar strangeness.
Time passed minute by minute. Gradually, the sun in the sky set, and darkness enveloped the sky. The crescent moon rose into the sky, and the reflection of stars and the moon began to dot the calm lake surface, forming a beautiful scene like a painting.
Seeing the night fall, Dorothy controlled the miniature Corpse Puppets scattered in various places, wanting to fly over the lake surface to investigate. Just then, a strange sight appeared before her eyes...
Under Dorothy's Spirituality vision, she saw that after night fell, when the crescent moon rose, a faint crimson suddenly appeared on the originally calm dark lake surface. This crimson was like a thin mist, gently rising on the vast lake surface, gradually spreading out, and becoming wider and wider.
Seeing such a scene, Dorothy's memory was immediately awakened. She recalled the crimson mist that had been summoned by the Eight-Pointed Nests in Barret's villa on the outskirts of Tivian during the New Year's Eve more than half a year ago, the blood mist that had almost swallowed her.