An hour later, Lilian pressed against the shadows outside the back wall of Glimmer Church, spitting out a clump of black fruit pulp.
Although the system warnings in her mind were gradually dying down, the situation at hand was extremely thorny.
Little White had been taken away in public by Morningbell City's Vice Bishop, which meant her main body could no longer show her face in Glimmer Town. Otherwise, if anyone discovered there were two Lilians, the truth about her clone would be exposed on the spot.
Haven only knew if that 3rd-Rank Vice Bishop would fly into a rage out of humiliation and retaliate against her.
What was even worse was that she was an Outsider and had no idea how to get to Morningbell City.
If she rashly set off, with her fragile Level 1 body right now, she would nine times out of ten die in an attack by wild magical beasts.
She needed a guide who was familiar with the routes, absolutely obedient, and could even be thrown out as a meat shield if necessary.
Glimmer Abbey happened to have the most suitable candidate:
Novice Nun Clara.
Clara was usually responsible for purchasing supplies and was familiar with the surrounding checkpoints and town routes. Besides, leaving her behind at the abbey didn't make Lilian feel safe either.
Had she really seen nothing that night?
Lilian pulled her hood down another inch.
As long as she could take Clara along, most of her problems would be easily solved.
Having made up her mind, Lilian silently slipped toward the backyard.
Aris, the resident priest, had been scared out of his wits and was currently locking himself inside the meditation room, strictly guarding Fina's corpse.
Under the backyard wash shed, Clara was squatting in front of a large wooden tub scrubbing bedsheets, her eyes red, tears falling splat after splat into the water.
“Boo-hoo, Lady Lilian...”
The little nun sobbed while talking to herself.
In this stifling abbey, the Saintess was the only light in her heart. Now that the Saintess had been taken away by a big shot from the main city, she felt as if her entire heart were hollow.
Seeing this, Lilian immediately tucked away her street-thug demeanor and put on a dignified expression.
Stepping forward with gentle paces, she reached out and wiped away the tears on Clara's cheeks.
“Silly girl, why are you crying like this?”
Clara froze completely, the bedsheet slipping out of her hands and falling back into the tub with a splash.
Upon seeing who stood before her, the little nun's eyes widened into circles:
“S-Saintess? Didn't you leave in Morningbell City's holy carriage?”
Lilian maintained a serene expression, hands folded over her chest:
“The one who departed just now was merely a holy light illusion granted by the Goddess, meant to lead away worldly eyes and people with ill intentions.”
Clara held her breath as she listened.
Lilian continued in a solemn tone:
“This journey to Morningbell City is no ordinary matter. True ascetic practice and trials are never found within a comfortable carriage. This Saintess must cross the wilderness on foot and secretly carry out a confidential decree entrusted by the Goddess.”
Clara straightened her back as she listened.
As expected of Lady Lilian! Even when faced with the highest courtesies, her heart still remained devoted to pure ascetic practice!
“The road ahead is long, and this Saintess still lacks a kind and intelligent traveling attendant by her side.”
Lilian gazed at her with a gentle look:
“Clara, this is a divine summoning from the Goddess to you. Are you willing to travel with me?”
Clara didn't hesitate for a second.
As long as she could stay by Lady Lilian's side, it would be the greatest salvation for her.
“I am willing! Clara is willing to serve you with everything she has, Lady Saintess!” The little nun nodded frantically, her entire face turning red with excitement.
“Very good. The Goddess never misjudges the pious.”
Lilian smiled, nodded, and cut straight to the point:
“Time is short, so we must set off as soon as possible. Secretly return to the inner courtyard and do three things for me.”
“Please give your orders, Lady Saintess!”
“First, bring your own change of clothes and your parish travel pass.”
“Second, go to my bedroom and pack up all the plain clothes and spare nun robes in the wardrobe. Remember, the white stockings under the pillow—be sure to bring those out.”
Things she had worn, even if burned to feed dogs, could absolutely not be left to that perverted priest Aris.
Clara immediately etched it into her memory.
Lilian looked in the direction of the front hall, her tone growing solemn:
“Third, go beside the confessional in the front hall and bring over the entire copper-plated donation box that has the seal attached.”
Clara froze slightly. “The donation box?”
“That's right. Those are the hard-earned funds offered to the Goddess by the believers.”
Lilian's expression remained unchanged, her tone completely candid:
“Priest Aris is corrupt in mind. If the charitable funds remain here, he will only squander them recklessly. This Saintess will temporarily accept this offering on behalf of the Goddess and distribute it along the way to poor commoners who are truly starving and freezing. This is also accumulating virtue for the believers of Glimmer Town. Do you understand?”
Clara was filled with deep reverence.
Not only was Lady Lilian of noble character, but she was even willing to risk taking small donation funds to protect them, showing compassion for the poor and needy at every turn.
“Clara understands completely! Please wait a moment, my lady, I'll be right back!”
The little nun nodded repeatedly, took the key to Lilian's room, and lightly slipped into the corridor.
Lilian stood under the shed and smiled.
Not only had she secured free labor plus a guide, but she had also comfortably gotten Clara to swipe an entire box of operating funds.
Fifteen minutes later, a crack quietly opened in the back door.
Carrying a large bundle full of clothes on her back and tightly hugging the heavy copper-plated box in her arms, Clara ran out out of breath.
“My lady, I got everything! The clothes and stockings are inside, and the priest was in the meditation room, so he didn't notice me taking the box!”
“Good work, you did very well,” Lilian praised her softly, reaching out to take the heavy copper box.
The box itself was quite heavy, but when shaken, the sound of coins inside was sparse.
Something was wrong.
Lilian opened the box directly and found only a dozen or so silver coins and a few hundred copper coins inside.
Dammit, that old pervert Aris must have stashed the rest in his own treasury!
However, sneaking into his room right now carried a high risk of being discovered—the loss outweighed the gain, so she could only give up.
Lilian gathered all the money into her own coin pouch and tossed the box into the bushes. “Clara, let's go. You know the way, right?”
Clara nodded enthusiastically. “Lady Saintess, I know a mountain trail frequently used by hunters! If we head north along the foot of the mountain, we can completely bypass the checkpoints on the main road and reach the woodland leading to the Morningbell Plains before dark!”
“It's just that we might pass through the territory of low-level magical beasts, slimes, but they move very slowly, so we can easily bypass them.”
“Lead the way then.”
Clara nodded excitedly and led Lilian swiftly into the dense forest of the back mountain.
Having a guide who knew the way really made a difference; in less than half an hour, Lilian had navigated her way out of the complex forest behind the mountain.
“Lady Saintess, the area ahead is the edge of the slime territory. Even though they're only low-level magical beasts, we still need to be careful.”
Lilian nodded. Magical beasts... this was the first time she had seen one since transmigrating to this world.
A green blob of snot appeared before the two of them. It squirmed extremely slowly, looking unthreatening no matter how one looked at it.
Uh, that's it?
I wonder if killing it yields rewards?
Thinking this, Lilian raised her hand and hurled a Searing Spark toward the slime.
As expected, the moment the spark hit the slime's mucus, it burst into flames.
“Gurgle!”
The slime emitted a series of bubbling sounds before being vaporized alive in the flames.
[Killed Slime LV1, EXP +1]
That simple?
It seemed killing magical beasts was the way to level up. Maybe she could even grind a bunch of levels before reaching Morningbell City!
“Lady Saintess, what are you doing?” Clara's face instantly turned pale.
Lilian thought nothing of it. “Don't worry, with this Saintess here, these low-level...”
Before she could finish her sentence, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.
Dozens of slimes were hopping toward them all at the same time.
“Slimes are pack magical beasts with a strong collective mind! As long as you harm one of them, all the other slimes will attack you together!”
“That's why ordinary adventurers only provoke them when in a party...”
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ!
Lilian's eyelids twitched violently. Holy crap, damn it Clara, why didn't you say so earlier?!
Rate on N.U.
