“This statue is merely something for the believers to worship, so they can believe it is the god they have faith in. In reality, it is not the God of Light at all. What the God of Light truly looks like—no human has ever seen.”
Josuna looked at the statue with an indifferent expression, showing none of the reverence a candidate saint should have toward her own faith.
Wow. At this rate, the Holy Light Church might as well rename itself the Church of Counterfeits.
The quality of alchemical creations was questionable. The testing tools were also surprisingly fragile, cracking with a single touch. And now, even the statue of the god that believers prayed to every day was fake.
Pelleti was half afraid that one day they would tell her the Holy Light itself was fake too.
Then that would really be something to watch.
No matter what, a church that was revered by so many people should at least have something real about it.
And yet—nothing but fakes.
Why not just change your name to the Counterfeit Church? It felt like not a single thing in the place was genuine.
Josuna read out the appointment, then took out a purple-covered certificate and a white badge.
“This is your senior priest certificate and your badge. This badge carries the Church’s runes and is the strongest proof of your identity. You must carry it with you at all times. With it, you can enter any place within the Falisar Diocese.”
“This certificate is only for you to look at. You will almost never need it in the future, but don’t throw it away. At the very least… burn it to ashes, so it won’t be used by others. From now on, your name has been officially entered into the roster of senior priests of the Falisar Diocese.”
“You know, Miss Josuna, the way you talk and what you say really makes it hard to believe you’re a candidate saint.”
Pelleti took the two items from Josuna’s hands.
“If you had seen the current Saint, you wouldn’t say that. She’s far more casual than I am. At least I still try to avoid people.”
Josuna’s face was full of helplessness. Perhaps because Pelleti was beside her and there were no outsiders around, Josuna couldn’t help but start complaining.
“Procedures, procedures… stay in this hellhole long enough and these things really will drive a person mad.”
“Is it really that bad?” Pelleti raised an eyebrow.
Josuna immediately shot her a you’re so naïve look and unceremoniously slapped a stack of documents against Pelleti’s chest, carrying a trace of grievance at not being understood.
“Read the oath written above. Once you finish, the appointment process is complete.”
“You want me to read this?” Pelleti counted—there were five sheets of paper, each densely packed with text, with no end in sight at a glance.
“That’s right. It’s a required process for every senior priest. Lel’e must read it word for word~”
Well then—revenge taken on the spot. Josuna really had grown up.
“…No matter what adversity I face, I shall uphold my original intention, save the dying and heal the wounded, and remember this: one day, we ourselves will also become patients. If I faithfully keep the above oath, may the gods grant me supreme honor in life and medical skill. If I violate it, may heaven, earth, and all spirits punish me together.”
When she finished the final line, Pelleti felt as though half her life had flown away with the Holy Light. There was not a trace of vitality left in her whole body.
Why is it so long?!
The little Feiye, on the other hand, was swaying her head from side to side, listening with great interest. The look in her eyes toward Pelleti even carried the feeling of read it again.
“I never want to read something like that again!!!”
“In fact, the prayers that priests and nuns recite in this room every day are about the same as that oath.”
“The same in content?”
“In length.”
“Are they really still human?” After a long pause, Pelleti came to this conclusion.
She felt like she had read those things for at least ten minutes, her mouth dry and her body feeling like she was about to die.
And yet these believers could do it day after day, even reciting them when they had nothing better to do.
“Are they all masochists?”
“Pretty much,” Josuna nodded in full agreement.
“Sister, what does ‘masochist’ mean?” Feiye tugged at Pelleti’s skirt and asked curiously.
“Kids shouldn’t ask about things like that.”
Feiye tilted her head blankly, staring at Pelleti, who was chatting merrily with Josuna and completely ignoring her.
“Does Sister not like Feiye anymore?”
“Huh?” Pelleti froze for a moment, then quickly reacted and hurried to comfort her.
“No, how could I possibly dislike Feiye?”
“Then why… are you so close to this woman?” Feiye’s eyes grew darker and darker.
“Isn’t this just official business? Right, Feiye? Calm down, calm down. Think about what you said yesterday, okay?”
“Calm down… with Sister acting like this, how can Feiye calm down?!!”
“It’s ‘official business’ now—so later, will you use this excuse to go even further? Sister clearly said she only likes Feiye. Then why are you getting so close to this woman? Does Sister think Feiye doesn’t exist?”
“Only one day has passed and Sister has already abandoned Feiye for another girl… In that case, I really should lock Sister up and keep her only for Feiye alone.” Feiye’s eyes became hollow as she tightly gripped Pelleti’s fingers.
“The two sisters really get along well, Miss Pelleti.”
All day, Josuna had been calling her “Lel’e,” but just now, Pelleti clearly heard Josuna switch to the very formal “Miss Pelleti.”
Alarm bells instantly went off in Pelleti’s head.
She remembered that Josuna only spoke to her this politely when she was angry.
Ever since leaving the church that day, Pelleti had felt something was wrong. Josuna’s behavior was clearly aimed at her, and she knew very well that Pelleti possessed Light-element affinity.
All signs pointed to one possibility: in that basement, Josuna had very likely installed some kind of alchemical recording device—like an image-capturing stone—and Pelleti simply hadn’t noticed it.
And that stone probably recorded the entire process of her becoming a witch, as well as Pelleti absorbing Light-element energy.
That was why Josuna was so certain that Pelleti had Light affinity and knew she was Dispel.
Only because she feared Pelleti might run away again did she keep pretending—just like before, when Josuna hid things for a while before drugging her and locking her in the basement.
One Feiye was already more than she could handle.
And now another one showed up.
Am I really going to die today?
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂