Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 157

[Vol. 5] Chapter 157: Open Struggle and the Bored Miss Fox

Although Yuna’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, and even carried her usual gentle tone. Violet, who had just arrived at the meeting room, couldn’t help but notice the middle-aged bishop, likely a messenger from the Angel City…

The smile that he had been forcing onto his face immediately became stiff, as if he didn’t quite know how to respond.

With just a few words, the Angel City’s messenger was rendered speechless. Her Highness, the Saintess, didn’t say anything more but casually turned her head to glance at the recently arrived Miss White Fox, nodding slightly in acknowledgment.

“Good morning, Miss Dawn.”

“Good morning. It seems I’ve arrived at the wrong time~”

Upon hearing this, Yuna smiled slightly. This smile was much more sincere and natural compared to the one she had shown the Angel City’s messenger.

“Not at all. You’ve come at just the right time. Please, have a seat.”

Her Highness, the Saintess, gestured to the chair beside her, the only empty seat closest to her, which seemed to have been specially reserved for someone. It was clear she had anticipated Violet’s arrival.

Violet didn’t stand on ceremony, nodded in response, and, with the tacit approval of the other high-ranking clergy and bishops, walked straight over to the seat beside Yuna.

After sitting down, she looked up and cast a glance at the messenger sitting across from them, who, after being ignored for a while, looked visibly uncomfortable.

Although he was also a bishop bearing the four-winged emblem of the temple, it was obvious that the style of his attire differed in several details from those of the people from the west. This was likely due to cultural differences between the two regions.

Miss White Fox feigned ignorance.

“And who might this be?”

Yuna smiled and nodded, her tone gentle, as if the tense and explosive conflict earlier had never occurred.

“Allow me to introduce him. This is Archbishop Ian Noyes, representing the Holy Church from the Angel City in the Holy Capital. He is responsible for coordinating with our Western Expeditionary Army.”

Whether intentional or not, Her Highness, the Saintess, emphasized the words “Holy Church,” and without waiting for the archbishop to respond, she gestured towards Miss White Fox beside her.

“Archbishop Ian, this is Miss Dawn. I believe her name should already be well-known to you.”

Originally, the messenger named Ian had been discreetly observing Miss White Fox, who had entered as if no one else was present. He seemed deep in thought, but upon hearing the Saintess acknowledge her by name, he immediately brightened up. Quickly, he put on an extremely friendly smile, stood up, placed his hand over his chest, and bowed.

“Oh, so you are the famous Miss Dawn, the one who stood her ground in Bright Light City and single-handedly eliminated the main forces of the Masked Demon! It’s an honor, truly an honor! I am Ian Noyes, Deputy Overseer of the Holy Court and Archbishop. Praise the Light, and may the Goddess’s blessing be upon you~”

“Mm, hello.”

Although it seemed that Ian wasn’t particularly favored by Yuna, Violet herself did not fully align with the Expeditionary Army either.

Since the archbishop had offered such lavish praise and his tone and expression seemed genuinely respectful rather than forced, Violet didn’t want to appear overly indifferent. She nodded slightly in acknowledgment, counting it as a greeting.

By the way, the “Holy Court” is actually the term for the temple in the Angel City, located in the Eastern Capital. Unlike the grid layout of Bright Light City, the Angel City follows a more traditional design, with distinct outer, inner, and core districts.

The core district, which occupies about one-tenth of the Angel City’s area, is home to the Holy Court Temple, renowned as the largest and most grandiose structure in the world. It is the supreme holy site for the followers of the Goddess.

Even with the vast resources of the Holy Empire, the world’s strongest nation, it took over a decade and countless laborers and materials to complete its construction when the capital was established there more than three centuries ago.

The completion of the Holy Court marked a significant moment in the history of the Holy Empire, symbolizing the formal replacement of the Three Saintesses by the Holy Church as the highest governing body of the nation, as well as the definitive end of the Third Demon War.

As for the leader of the Holy Court, it was naturally the chairperson of the Goddess Church, the one known as the Pope.

In other words, this messenger from the Angel City and the Holy Court was almost certainly a representative of Pope August Lambert.

No wonder no one was giving him any favorable looks.

Although Archbishop Ian seemed eager to have a conversation with Miss White Fox, now was clearly not the right time. All he could do was smile kindly again in Violet’s direction before returning to the previous topic.

Thanks to the timely intervention of Miss White Fox, he seemed to have gathered his thoughts on how to respond to Yuna’s earlier attack and directly began his explanation.

“Your Highness, Bright Light Saintess, while this decision was not formally discussed within the Holy Church, it was personally approved by His Highness, the Pope. The Holy Church has a multitude of matters to handle daily, and inevitably, some small details may be overlooked. If every little thing required a council meeting, it would be rather excessive, wouldn’t it?”

“Moreover, we haven’t refused the arrival of the army. We simply want to designate a separate camp outside the city to regroup the three armies and quickly deploy them to confront the demons. It’s a matter of great importance, and we hope Your Highness and all of you can understand the Holy Court’s thoughtful intentions…”

“You…!”

The previously hot-tempered Holy Knight nearly spoke up again, but Yuna, calm as ever, silenced him with a single glance. She nodded slightly, her expression indifferent, and replied.

“I see. Archbishop Ian does have a point. In that case, I won’t insist further. However, the specific matters regarding the placement of the army, resource distribution, and when to resume the march still require thorough discussion. What do you think, Archbishop?”

It seemed that Archbishop Ian hadn’t expected the Bright Light Saintess to give in so easily. He was momentarily stunned, his previously tense expression relaxing as he quickly nodded in agreement.

“Of course, of course! Since you have all traveled from afar, the Holy Court has already prepared ample supplies and comfortable accommodations for the army. Your Highness, please look at this map…”

Without hesitation, Ian pulled out a map from his sleeve and spread it out on the table. It was clear that he had come well-prepared for this discussion.

The details that followed had little to do with Miss White Fox. Things like “how to settle the knight orders, which troops should merge for combat, how many people each camp should accommodate, and how much material to allocate” were the types of logistical concerns that Violet had no interest in.

The only part that caught her attention was when Ian mentioned the Redemption Saintess and her healing team, who had encountered some minor troubles on their journey from the Flower City, causing a delay in their arrival.”

However, it seemed Yuna had already been informed of this and didn’t show much surprise or ask for more details. As a result, even though Miss White Fox was curious, she refrained from interrupting their conversation.

About an hour later, by the time Violet had even started thinking about trivial matters like “how many spoonfuls of sauce to add to tonight’s noodles,” the preliminary discussions about the army’s placement and plans for the near future finally concluded.