It was a perfectly ordinary day that Chris finally arrived in Ascart City.

  There was no fanfare as the common populace knew neither who Chris was nor the significance of her arrival. To them, sage teachers were just better teachers. They couldn’t understand the sheer influence each sage teacher possessed through their network of connections.

  The graduates of Saint Freya Academy were talents that every country fought over, and the requirement to becoming a sage teacher was to nurture over a hundred elite graduates. There wasn’t a strong teacher-student culture in the Sia Continent, but the influence that a sage teacher wielded still far surpassed that of any landed noble.

  There were even some veteran sage teachers who possessed greater authority than the royal family of a smaller country!

  Those who managed to become sage teachers had their own pride, which was why they rarely got chummy with anyone.

  This was the first time the youngest ever sage teacher, Chris Wilde, was making a house visit, but there wasn’t the slightest haughtiness coming from her. On the contrary, she appeared nervous and fretful.

  “Miss Chris, there are some urgent matters over at the Holy Capital that I need to attend to, so I’m afraid that I can only accompany you for a day. You should have already received my letter, right?”


  “I-I did, but… how do I proceed with this house visit without you around?”


  “Rest assured, Miss Chris. Alicia will be there to help you out. Besides, the purpose of a house visit is for the teacher to have a conversation with the parent, don’t you think?”


  “I can’t deny that, but still…”


  Looking at Chris, who was distraught to the point that she couldn’t stop her limbs from trembling, Roel revealed a worry frown. He hadn’t expected time to shave away so much of her courage. The young lady who had bravely confessed to her crush back then was already suffering a mental breakdown before she could meet with her first love.

  “Miss Chris, are you alright? If you aren’t confident, we could postpone the house visit till I return from the Holy Capital?”


  “O-of course I am confident! Do I look unconfident to you?”


  “…”


  Don’t you have any self-awareness?

  Roel was left at a loss for words.

  The carriage continued trudging down the streets till it finally arrived at the Ascarts’ manor. At this point, it was no longer possible for Chris to back out.

  The Ascarts’ manor had been refurbished to welcome the esteemed guest. The patriarch-cum-parent Carter was already waiting by the foyer, ready to welcome the guest. Standing behind him was a white-dressed Alicia.

  Chris was also dressed formally for the occasion. To ensure a pleasant ‘first meeting’, she had swapped out her usual loose robes for a rare gown. Her hair was also combed neatly in place. To ensure that there was no odor on her, she even abstained from smoking for a week.

  When the carriage finally came to a halt, Roel first alighted from the carriage to open up the path for his teacher. Carter also stepped forward with a smile.

  Chris took in a few deep breaths before garnering the courage to alight from the carriage. Yet, the moment she came face to face with the middle-aged man awaiting her, all of the mental preparations she had made for this long-awaited meeting went down the drain.

  Staring at the senior whom she had dearly missed over the years, she found that he was very different from how she remembered him. The hot-blooded youth in her memories had matured into a dependable adult, and the zeal in his eyes had been replaced with sagaciousness.

  But there was still a commonality between the youth in her memories and the middle-aged man standing in front of her, and that was the feeling of intimacy from reuniting with a close acquaintance.

  While Chris gawked at the middle-aged man, the latter also fell quiet at the abrupt reunion with his old mentee. Silence loomed between the two of them. It was only when the youth in her memories overlapped with the man before her that Chris finally snapped out of her daze.

  “It has been a long time, senior.”


  “Indeed it has been. Welcome to the Ascart House, Chris.”


  After greeting each other, Chris did a slight curtsy before gracefully walking forth to engage Carter in a conversation. There was a look of nostalgia on Carter’s face as he began asking about how she had fared over the years.

  Behind the duo, Roel and Alicia exchanged surprised looks. The atmosphere between Chris and Carter was much more amicable than they had expected. It looked like their worries had been in vain.

  Comparing the paranoid woman a moment ago to the dignified Chris before him, Roel wondered if this was what they called the power of love. In any case, he was glad to see that things were going well.

  It looks like there isn’t any need for me, Roel thought.

  With a relieved smile, he followed the duo in the manor.

  …


  Just as he had planned, Roel snuck out of the Ascarts’ manor after having dinner with Chris.

  Ascart City quietened down with the deepening of the night. It was all dark except for a couple of restaurants and taverns. Roel got into a carriage bearing the insignia of the Sorofya Merchant Association and traveled for around two hours before finally he finally met up with Rodney and the others, who departed together with the Sorofyas’ convoy several hours ago.

  Due to the uncertain situation in the Holy Capital, Roel decided to bring all of the elites of his heretical army with him, including Cynthia, Rodney, and Woode. They were to be the guards of the convoy while he played the role as an executive of the merchant association.

  Other than the personnel, everything about the convoy was legitimate, be it the goods or the access passes they were carrying—how could they not be legitimate when Roel had stamped on the access passes himself?

  Thanks to that and the prestigious reputation of the Sorofyas, the convoy was able to cross borders with any issue.

  The convoy wasn’t able to advance too quickly due to the rations it was carrying, but it was fortunate that the roads from the Ascart Fiefdom to the Holy Capital were well paved, allowing them to make good distance every day. It took five days of rushing before they finally arrived at the Holy Capital.

  It was already early winter by then, so the weather had gotten slightly chilly.

  The market was bustling with crowds rushing to buy their winter goods, and the commotion could be heard even from the city gates. There were many carriages filled with rations trudging down the street, so no one paid particular heed to Roel’s group.

  The guards at the city gates granted them passage after quickly checking their access passes and the rations.

  The convoy successfully entered the city, but the tense atmosphere looming over the group only grew even heavier. The Holy Capital was a blessed land to most humans in the Sia Continent, but to heretics like Cynthia, it was a place synonymous with terror.

  Vividly aware that they were stepping into the heart of the Genesis Goddess Church, Rodney, Woode, and the others fell deathly silent. Cynthia also couldn’t help but tighten her grasp on the horse’s reins. The atmosphere grew heavier with each passing second.

  It was only when Roel pulled open the windows and assured them that their tension finally loosened.

  “Don’t worry, I’m here.”


  “Yes, young master.”


  Roel’s stable voice was unexpectedly calming. Cynthia and the others didn’t even notice that they had heaved a sigh of relief when they heard his words of assurance. Slowly but surely, they were regaining their composure.

  Unbeknownst to them, they held unwavering trust toward Roel. Part of the reason was because he was their Holy Son, but more than that, he had never failed to deliver what he had promised them.

  When Roel promised them land, they were given a home. When Roel promised them power, they received blessings that granted them strength almost comparable to Origin Level 2 transcendents. When Roel promised to free them from their suffering, the side effects torturing them for many years were erased by their ancient gods.

  Any other heretic would have deemed them absolutely insane for daring to step into the heart of the church, but because Roel said that nothing would happen to them, they believed that they were safe. Besides, those who had traveled to the Eirbower Dukedom were well aware of the connections Roel had, which lent credibility to his words.

  Roel himself might be unaware of it, but from the perspective of Cynthia and the others, he was slowly grasping the power to influence the entire Sia Continent. If even he was unable to protect them, no one else could.

  Under the guard of his loyal heretical army, Roel and his convoy finally arrived at the Sorofya Merchant Association’s Saint Mesit Theocracy Headquarters. Arwen personally welcomed him at the entrance.

  Roel looked at Arwen as he alighted from the carriage. The latter immediately caught his drift and shook his head and sighed.

  “I don’t have any news here either, but… Her Highness hasn’t appeared in public for a month now.”