Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 191

[Vol. 5] Chapter 191: Resonance from the Soul

The cause and effect of the event were essentially not much different from what Violet had predicted.

Hubert and Ayla Light are two peas in a pod. Both belonged to a group whose research was neither accepted nor recognized, and both had their funding cut by the higher-ups. As a result, they had been assigned to this humble area of single-person research labs.

But they were also different.

Miss Ayla’s research had been ongoing for decades because she refused to give up. She persisted because she couldn’t let go. Hubert, on the other hand, was a new scholar who had joined the ?Hall of Theology? in recent years. He had simply boarded the wrong ship, tricked into taking on a research project he had no choice but to continue with.

Academic research is a very rigorous and serious matter, not something that can be swapped out like cabbage at a market. Many scholars of short-lived races spend half their lives working on a single project just to make a breakthrough.

This is the meaning of the saying, “Every field has its specialists.”

Moreover, changing research topics not only involves issues of capability but also requires a significant financial investment.

Hubert had been specializing in geothermic energy for several years and was well aware of the insurmountable challenges of this topic.

However, changing his focus would mean abandoning everything he’d worked for and starting from scratch. In practical terms, this meant that his financial situation could no longer support such a decision.

If he couldn’t produce effective results, today would likely be his last presentation at the ?Hall of Theology?.

Under such circumstances, with immense mental pressure building and on the verge of collapse, Hubert was approached by certain individuals who proposed a deal.

They could use their connections to help him join a large research team, one that would allow him to continue work in a field related to his current focus.

However, the new topic would be about regulating and tracking geothermic flows to predict climate changes and, to some extent, adjust them, making the environment more stable and comfortable. This proposal had even caused quite a stir in today’s public forum.

All the funding and resources he needed could be provided. The only condition was that Hubert, as Ayla Light’s “neighbor,” cooperate with them in carrying out their next plan.

Undoubtedly, this was a despicable, self-serving scheme, not only a betrayal of Hubert’s conscience and faith as a follower of the Goddess, but if someone were to investigate, he would likely end up in prison, forever stripped of his qualification to return to the Holy Academy.

Because the target they intended to frame was a member of the Lightborn Tribe, regarded by many as one of the Goddess’s chosen, a noble being known as the “Child of Light”.

It was precisely because of the immense risk that the other party offered such generous terms and approached Hubert, who was already at the end of his rope.

This, without a doubt, only added more pressure to Hubert’s already unbearable mental state.

But in the end, Hubert agreed.

After all, a scholar is not a saint. Sacrificing others for one’s own benefit is hardly a new phenomenon. Hubert’s conscience was clearly not strong enough to overcome his desire for fame, fortune, and academic status.

Finally, from the man whose soul Miss White Fox had temporarily suppressed, leaving him in a foolish state where he could reveal everything, Ayla learned the name she most wanted to know.

Harrison Lombard — this was the name of the person who had approached Hubert and proposed the deal.

Ayla recognized him too. He was the vice president of the research team focusing on ?Geothermic Regulation?, a direct member of the Lombard family.

However, simply holding such a position was not enough to design such a complex and interconnected scheme. Although Hubert was unsure what they planned to do with Ayla after capturing her, from bits and pieces of their conversation, it was clear that their intention was to make Ayla Light disappear completely from the ?Hall of Theology? and perhaps from the world altogether.

To make a member of the Lightborn Tribe disappear without a trace, with every detail meticulously planned, only certain powerful forces in the Holy Academy, this Angel City, would have the confidence to pull it off.

So… who could it be?

…………………………

After tidying up the damaged research lab and salvaging what they could, the two parties, who had just formed a partnership, headed together toward Miss Ayla’s dormitory in the Holy Academy.

As for Hubert, naturally, he had been knocked out again and returned to his research lab, placed alongside the dozen or so arbitrators who had been quietly taken down by Xiao Guang. As for what would happen to them later, Violet couldn’t care less.

In the end, whether it was Hubert or those enforcers, they were nothing more than pawns. Since the mission had failed and they had no idea who was responsible, the figures behind them, likely connected to the Lombard family, would probably be more cautious moving forward out of fear.

Although she was somewhat curious, Violet didn’t have the time to investigate those who were hindering Ayla’s research on faith-based magic. After all, she was about to depart with the army to the battlefield further east in the Holy Empire.

Ultimately, that battlefield was where her focus was truly needed, not these small-time players stirring up trouble in the rear.

But now that she had Ayla’s help, perhaps…

“Is this enough? Do you need more support from my side?”

In response to Miss White Fox’s kind offer, the girl, with a slightly gloomy demeanor and radiant, shoulder-length hair, thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“This is already more than enough. My biggest headache before was the lack of research funding and manpower, which kept many of my ideas stuck at the theoretical stage. If I no longer have to worry about the cost, I can hire people to handle the external processes. With the recent inspiration I’ve gained and the information you’ve provided…”

Thinking it over, Ayla Light confidently gave a precise timeline.

“Six months. Within six months, I’ll definitely have breakthrough progress.”

“Six months, huh… I wonder how the war will go over there… But it doesn’t really matter. Here, close your eyes for a moment.”

“?”

Although confused by Miss White Fox’s sudden request, the Lightborn Tribe girl, now inside the privacy of her dormitory and away from prying eyes, felt it was important to show trust in her new collaborator.

Without questioning further, she hesitated only briefly before following Violet’s instruction and closed her sapphire-like, radiant eyes, darkened by heavy shadows from fatigue.

Immediately, the environment around her underwent an indescribable change.

Though she couldn’t see what was happening, as a member of the Lightborn Tribe, Ayla’s sensitivity to light elements was extraordinarily acute.

For a brief moment, she sensed a pure, boundless light descend upon her, filling her with an indescribable feeling of warmth and familiarity before it vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. Just as Ayla began to feel puzzled, Violet’s calm voice rang out again.

“All done. You can open your eyes now.”

Hurriedly, Ayla opened her eyes and saw that the mysterious White Fox girl now held two objects in her hands.

One was a small golden orb, floating in the air, about the size of a pouch. The other was a remarkably small, crystalline gem, only about one-third the size of the ?Radiant Source Crystal? that had served as Ayla’s research funding. Yet it was far more perfect and smooth, emitting a pure, brilliant light that felt uncannily similar to the fleeting presence she had just sensed.

Such purity…

It was almost like the very source within her own body, the root that had existed alongside Ayla Light since her birth.

It was something that shouldn’t exist in this world, something beyond any form of material value as pure, luminous ?Light?.

TL Note:

[1]

Honestly, I originally thought it was the Lambert family. But in the future chapter, I noticed the hanzi (Chinese characters) were different. The author just didn’t make the name distinctive enough.

Just look at these: ?? (Lán bó) and ?? (L?ng bó).

So, I translated it as “Lombard” to distinguish it from “Lambert.”