As the silver-haired woman looked on in surprise, Lind handed her the spoils of war he had taken from the mage's sleeve: the ritual dagger he had seized from the cult leader.
Leonis took the ritual dagger, her hands radiating holy light, while at that moment, a dark power also emanated from the ritual dagger.
Now it was Lind's turn to be shocked:
"Huh? There are remnants of dark power on this thing?"
After confirming this, Leonis said:
"Yes, sir, these ritual weapons that originate from the mastermind often contain the most evil dark power, and simple cleansing cannot completely remove them."
"Please wait a moment while I cleanse you of the remaining evil power, but please tell me what happened."
Linde also felt that standing and chatting was not a good idea, so he led Leonis to the reception room next door and had them sit down.
The housekeeper, Jieluo, served the two of them two cups of tea.
The two were served a rich tea, a high-quality product brought all the way from the Earl's territory, which Linde used specifically to entertain guests.
Then, Lind began to recount how he discovered the cultists.
"At first, I discovered traces of cult members in the immigrant caravan, some of my people were brutally murdered, and then..."
Linde recounted the events of that time truthfully, but deliberately omitted the fact that he used his halo to detonate the cultists.
He only said that through his proper actions, he identified all the cult members and then killed them one by one.
Leonis still had some doubts, but she kept quiet about them.
She had just secretly consulted the holy emblem she was carrying and found no trace of evil contamination in this large camp.
Although puzzled as to why this group of cultists was no longer as cunning as before, they had no choice but to believe Lind's explanation.
"Very well, I now believe in your wisdom and bravery, and I thank you for the sacrifice you made to slay the cultists. I will now perform purification on you to remove any remaining evil power from your body."
Lind had undergone this purification ritual many times before, so he gladly accepted it. After coming to this world, Lind trusted the so-called Church of Holy Light to a certain extent.
The Church of Light in Luxios, which worships the god of light, is quite serious, after all, it does have a superior sitting on a divine throne in charge of affairs.
The classic isekai trope of the Church of Light being the ultimate villain hasn't happened yet, well, not for now.
As Leonis spoke, she came to Lind and began to chant the Holy Prayer.
"Lord of the Light Veins, heed my words and purify evil..."
As she spoke, Leonis removed her right hand, which was covered by an arm guard, and extended her pale palm, then clutched the holy emblem hanging on her chest.
The sharp holy emblem pierced his palm, drawing out bright red blood.
But before the blood could drip, it transformed into a golden liquid in a peculiar way.
The liquid seemed weightless, clinging quietly to her palm. Then, Leonis extended this hand, stained with strange blood, and placed it lightly against the air in front of Lind's chest.
Linde had witnessed this ceremony many times before, but each time he saw it, he felt a unique sense of sacred beauty.
But this time it's destined to be different from before.
"……Um?"
Leonis frowned slightly, as if she was puzzled, or something had happened that she couldn't understand.
This purification also made Lin De feel very strange. He did not feel the purification taking effect. Instead, he felt empty and had no feeling at all.
"It wasn't like this before?" Lin De wondered. He clearly remembered experiencing this purification and healing ritual when he first arrived in the Earl's Territory.
It always made Linde feel warm and comfortable, so why this time...?
“That’s strange, Baron. Perhaps it’s divine protection that you haven’t been corrupted by evil forces. On the contrary, your body is very healthy.”
"And her health is strangely..."
Upon hearing this, Lin De laughed. What? Is there anything strange about health?
At this moment, Leonis realized the inappropriateness of her words and quickly said:
"My lord, please forgive me for what I said earlier. What I meant was that your body is full of vitality, which is very unusual for ordinary people. This state reminds me of a group of people."
“Those spirits who worship the god of nature, the fanatics among them have a similar state of vitality to yours.”
Leonis paused for a moment and said:
"My lord, if you ever encounter a spirit who worships the god of nature, perhaps they can give you an answer."
These words seemed to awaken Linde, who realized that it was probably the activation aura on his body that was at work, although it was usually only at its lowest power.
But how could someone with the halo of being from the system possibly be able to extort money from the remnants of a minor official?
"The god of nature, a spirit?..."
Linde recalled the elven slaves he had encountered in the slave caravan that morning. Whether it was because they did not believe in the God of Nature or for some other reason, these elves did not show any particular condition.
“Okay, I understand. Thank you, Leonis,” Lind smiled. “As you can see, my territory has only just begun to develop. Once it has grown, I will build a Church of Holy Light on it to worship the Lord of the Light Veins.”
Linde would still say such empty polite words, after all, it was necessary to have a Church of Holy Light in a place where the true god roamed.
Although it will have to be postponed a little longer.
Upon hearing this, Leonis immediately bowed and thanked her:
"Then I thank you, sir. You are truly a kind sir. The people here are blessed to have a lord like you."
May the light protect you.
As he spoke, he took out a beautifully crafted small bottle from his person and presented it to Lind with both hands.
Lind, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized the origin of the object.
A bottle of high-grade holy water blessed by devout believers in the Church of Holy Light.
Such things are rare and hard to come by; generally, they only come from high-level Holy Light Churches.
Lower-class churches wouldn't have such things.
It seems that this Holy Punishment Knight named Leonis has a legitimate background; at least she comes from a high-ranking church in some major territory.
Just as I was thinking this, I heard the female knight say this:
"This is a gift I am giving to you, sir. I am sure you recognize its origin. Since you are willing to spread the glory of the Lord of the Light Vein, I must express my gratitude in some way."
"You come from the royal city?"
Now it was Lind's turn to be surprised. He had thought that this silver-haired knight might come from a high church, but he never thought that he came from the capital.
“Yes, sir. I grew up in the church welfare home in the capital. Under the protection of the Lord of the Light Vein, I became a glorious Holy Punishment Knight and am now under the orders of the church to eradicate evil.”
Leonis gave Lind a standard knightly salute.
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