Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 177
[Vol. 5] Chapter 177: Anger
As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room rapidly deteriorated, almost plunging to freezing point.
Even the other students sitting nearby in small groups, waiting for their meals, cast curious glances. After all, Arlin’s high-pitched shout had practically echoed throughout the entire ?Bamboo Lodge?.
The gentle and kind gaze of the blonde girl gradually grew cold, a glint of danger and frostiness flickering in her eyes. Not only Arlin Ulysses in front of her, but even Violet, saw this for the first time—the devout and mild-mannered Holy Knight lady revealing an expression that could only be described as terrifying.
Edwina Cecilia—she seemed truly angry.
The air echoed with the girl’s low warning, tinged with rage.
“What did you just say… care to repeat that?”
However, Arlin, who seemed to be acquainted with the girl, apparently could not shake off some preconceptions from the past. Even realizing the extreme danger he was in, he still widened his eyes and loudly rebuked her.
“What, did I say something wrong? Or did I hit a sore spot? Aren’t you now ignoring the bigger picture, abandoning your duty and responsibility, and with that strange—”
“Clang!!!”
A sharp blade sliced through the air.
A long sword, burning with a sacred flame, collided midair with a jade bamboo staff just half an inch from the blonde youth’s neck, releasing a sharp and clear ringing sound.
The gust from the impact swept through the ?Bamboo Lodge?, rustling the curtains by the door with a loud whoosh.
The air grew so still, a pin could be heard dropping.
It was only at this moment that the nearby students, recovering from their shock, cried out in alarm as they stumbled back.
“Fight, it’s a fight! It’s a real sword!”
“Quick, quick, quick, go find the Disciplinary Committee! No, get the Arbiter! Someone’s going to get killed!”
A student hurriedly ran out of the ?Bamboo Lodge?, but no one tried to stop him.
At the center of the commotion, Miss Holy Knight, who was already gripping the hilt of her holy sword, merely raised her eyes and glanced at the green-haired shopkeeper, who had somehow appeared in front of her, using her jade bamboo flute to block the lightning-fast strike. The Holy Knight frowned.
“Awen, what is the meaning of this?”
With a gentle exertion of force, the green-haired shopkeeper pushed Edwina’s holy sword back, and with a slight hint of helplessness, she responded.
“I should be the one asking that, ‘Little Miss Rigid’. No matter how things are, drawing a sword like that is a bit too much, isn’t it? You know Arlin’s character—he may be a bit brash, but he doesn’t mean any harm. Weren’t you two good friends before?”
“If I hadn’t shown up just now, what were you planning to do?”
“……”
The light on Miss Holy Knight’s holy sword gradually faded. She sheathed it into her holy emblem, then glanced at Awen and the blonde youth beside her. His face was ashen from the shock of the near-death encounter, his expression stiff, and he had yet to say a word. Edwina coldly remarked,
“I was just giving him a lesson, to make him understand that some things can be said and some cannot. He shouldn’t think he can always stand on a pedestal, pointing fingers at others. I wasn’t actually going to kill him. You’re overreacting, Awen.”
As if remembering something, Edwina turned her head slightly and added softly,
“Besides, we haven’t been friends for a long time.”
“Sigh… That stance you had earlier didn’t seem like you were just giving a casual lesson… Ah, you youngsters…”
Seeing that the blonde girl had withdrawn her intent to fight, Awen shook her head helplessly once more, then skillfully twirled the jade bamboo flute in her hand and put it away.
“Enough, enough. You young people can figure this out on your own. ‘Little Miss Rigid’ has grown up now, I’m sure she can make her own judgments. It’s just an old lady like me meddling in things I shouldn’t,” she said, her tone lighthearted.
Unlike the previous two times Awen appeared, this version looked almost identical but was dressed in an elegant outfit resembling a cheongsam. Her long green hair was tied up and meticulously styled as she casually twirled the bamboo flute in her hand and turned to head into the back room.
“Little Miss Rigid…”
Arlin stood frozen for a long time, seemingly stunned by the chill that had flashed when the blonde girl struck without hesitation, or perhaps by the absurdity of what he had just witnessed. He mumbled the words under his breath as Awen’s figure disappeared into the back of the ?Bamboo Lodge?.
However, Miss Holy Knight only cast him another cold glance and corrected him.
“Please call me Edwina, Arlin Ulysses. If you continue to address me with such a condescending nickname, I will take it as an insult to both the Cecilia family and to the Acting Leader of the ?Scales of Judgment?. You understand what that means.”
Arlin took a deep breath, staring at the girl’s indifferent face for a long while.
“I see… You really have changed. You’ve changed so much, you feel almost like a stranger… hard to recognize. But maybe that’s a good thing. This decisiveness and authority are exactly what a great leader should have. I misjudged you. Edwina Cecilia, I apologize for my earlier offense. I will personally come to apologize in the future.”
With those words, the blonde youth turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing outside the ?Bamboo Lodge?.
“Hmph… Still that arrogant attitude. Always acting like he’s preaching to someone…”
Listening to Miss Holy Knight’s tone, which was full of disdain but also carried a hint of helplessness, Miss White Fox, who had been sitting on the sidelines with Eudora, still gave no reaction even when referred to as a “strange woman.” Finally, she released the little girl beside her, who had been trembling with fear from the tense atmosphere, and tentatively asked,
“So, you were really old friends? You two seemed quite familiar.”
“I already said, we’re not friends anymore… Fine, we were pretty close at one point, but he’s always been like this—always convinced he’s right about everything, standing on his pedestal, criticizing everything he thinks is wrong, pointing fingers at others. It’s exhausting…”
“Haha… That definitely sounds like his personality. But I guess his background isn’t simple, right?”
Otherwise, how could someone like him casually come to a place like the ?Bamboo Lodge?, which even Edwina described as “expensive,” and dine here? And he’s able to speak so casually and equally with the second daughter of the Cecilia family, after all.
Even setting that aside, the four-winged white holy emblem hanging from Arlin’s collar was enough to prove his distinguished status.
As expected, upon hearing this, the blonde girl nodded and sighed, shaking her head once more.
“Arlin Ulysses, the direct heir of the Ulysses family, successor to the family head. The Ulysses family is one of the most influential within the Holy Church, with seats in the council second only to the three divine families. They’ve always had a close relationship with the Cecilia family. His father and my mother are lifelong friends, and our two families… well, we’re basically sworn allies, always helping and supporting each other.”
“Because of that, Arlin and I have known each other since we were little, introduced to each other by our parents. Since we’re about the same age and entered the Holy Academy at the same time, it was only natural that we’d help and support each other.”
“But… well, Miss Dawn, you heard how he and Awen call me—‘Little Miss Rigid,’ ‘Little Miss Antisocial’… I’ve always had that kind of personality.”
“Before I met you, I had already been training alone for half a year, so maybe you don’t know how I was in the beginning. I was afraid of strangers, didn’t know how to interact with people, followed rules rigidly, and only focused on studying. While my grades were decent, I hardly had any friends at the academy.”