When Harlan heard Maggie say so earnestly that she could help him ascend to the papacy, his expression visibly stiffened, as if he hadn't considered such a possibility.
"Your Highness is joking again. The one who should be standing at the pinnacle of power is you."
His eyes gleamed with a seductive light, and his gentle tone carried a strong allure, making people involuntarily want to follow his lead and do as he wished.
"Sir Knight, you must not speak nonsense."
Maggie was already used to Harlan's half-serious, half-joking way of speaking, so she didn't take it seriously and just gave a light, almost warning-like reminder.
She is still the Holy Maiden of Light, and such blatant ambition is still too conspicuous.
Besides, it was someone else who planted the ambition in her.
"Besides, I have no interest in the position of Pope."
Maggie's words sounded like polite formalities, but Harlan understood the underlying meaning. His smile faded, and he stared at Maggie for a long while before smiling again and bowing his head in agreement.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Harlan gave a graceful princely salute, not a knightly one.
At the same time, someone came in from outside and asked him something. He left the room without hesitation, leaving Nesser still watching Maggie.
"Sister, would you like to come back to the Green Forest with me one more time? Perhaps the Elf Mother Tree can solve your problem."
Nesser had indeed given it serious thought, but as an elf, his limitations were quite small.
"Never mind, I have other things to do. It's just that I'm not feeling anything, it's not a big problem."
Maggie smiled and shook her head. Since the undead transformation was suppressed by the holy spring water and did not spread, she did not intend to pay attention to it for the time being.
Others might ruin their magician careers because of this, their talents tainted by the power of death, but not hers.
Although she appears to be no different from a cripple, her power does not actually come from herself, but from demons. As long as the Demon King is not dead, she can still advance normally in a short period of time, and even reaching the level of Grand Magister is not a problem.
"It's clearly very serious!"
When Nesser heard Maggie say that, his eyes immediately welled up with tears. His fair skin and bright red nose made him look like he had suffered a great injustice, but he was only saddened by Maggie's lack of care for her body.
"Don't worry, I... already have a way to solve the problem of undead transformation, but I can't do it yet."
Maggie couldn't help feeling guilty as she said this, because she had no other choice.
I really don't know what to do.
But to comfort Nesser, she chose to lie.
"Really?"
Nesser looked into Maggie's eyes, which were filled with stubbornness, and held onto Maggie's arm tightly, refusing to let go.
"real."
Maggie spoke with utmost sincerity.
[I hope Nesser won't find out I lied? It should be fine, it should be fine.]
She muttered to herself.
Nesser's expression didn't change, but he couldn't help but use a little more force when he grabbed Maggie's hand. However, he quickly pulled back as if he had been electrocuted, lowered his eyes, and whispered.
"It's good that my sister is alright."
He said this.
"Hmm, I need to wear an extra layer of clothing starting today."
Nesser concealed his expression. Maggie felt something was off, but didn't pay much attention. Instead, she looked at her own pale skin and sighed helplessly.
"I'll go find it for my sister."
Nesser turned his back, his voice much calmer than before, no longer agitated, and his steps quickened.
Soon, he went into the inner room to help Maggie find suitable clothes.
Perhaps because everyone around Maggie had left, Perkin emerged from the shadows, approached Maggie, and asked softly.
"You don't plan to stay in the temple anymore, is that right?"
Perkin's voice was completely different from before; it was now so beautiful that it sounded like a cool and aloof male god who could charm anyone. This made Maggie a little... uncomfortable every time he got close to speak to her.
This made Maggie miss Perkin's original voice; although it was a bit unpleasant, it didn't make her feel inexplicably itchy.
She turned to the side and moved aside before speaking slowly.
"Hmm, you figured it out. I'll give you your freedom back in due time."
One sentence silenced Perkin, who had been about to say something.
He opened his mouth, trying to say those "I will never leave" words to Maggie as usual, but in the end, for some reason, he didn't say them. Instead, like Harlan, he stared at Maggie silently for a long time before disappearing back into the darkness.
"?"
When Maggie turned around again, she found that the person had disappeared from the room and had not responded to her, which made her a little strange.
...
The news of the saintess's awakening quickly spread throughout the temple. For days, the temple had been shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, whether it was the death of the pope or the reappearance of the god.
None of these stories are as awe-inspiring as the story of a high-level magician-level saintess who was chosen by the gods to stop the Pope's conspiracy.
The temple's higher-ups, in particular, were very puzzled by this.
The Pope's strength is undeniable; he can take on three archmages of the same level. Even if he has some schemes, a mere saintess cannot stop him.
This is unacceptable to everyone.
But the key point is that these words were personally acknowledged by the God, and no one dared to refute the divine decree. In the end, it became... everything could only be concluded after Maggie woke up.
Because some of the details are known only to Maggie herself.
Regardless of whether Maggie is lying or telling the truth, they can only take it as the truth.
The moment Maggie stepped into the conference room, she took in everyone's reactions.
The huge round table was filled with the temple's high-ranking officials, including some elders who had been secluded for years to cultivate magic, as well as the head of the Holy Mage Corps who had been away due to the Pope's decree.
A dashing, red-haired woman, though a mage in a mage's robe, looked even more handsome than Ferrier, the vice-commander of the Holy Knights, standing next to her.
On her other side sat the vice-captain of the Holy Mage Corps, a seemingly delicate short-haired girl wearing thick round glasses, clutching her staff tightly, her eyes darting around, avoiding eye contact, and spending most of her time looking at the red-haired mature woman beside her.
Maggie was a little surprised; it had only been a few days in total, and she hadn't expected the two of them to return so quickly.
Many temple personnel who are on missions outside are unable to leave; the only permanent staff at the temple are priests, archbishops, and high priests.
Even the chief nun, who holds the same rank as the archbishop, has not returned for a long time.
Besides them, there were three old men of similar age to the priest, with completely white hair and beards, but the magical energy emanating from them was extremely powerful, suggesting they were of a high level.
They wouldn't have shown up if the news of the Pope's death hadn't been so sensational.
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