Chapter 218: Crossing the Sky River

“Is it… because of something?”

Little Dragon Daughter blinked her eyes curiously, but Someone (Black-haired Girl) simply shrugged her shoulders irresponsibly.

“How would I know?”

“Or rather, the fact that we don’t know means we need to be more cautious, right? After all, I don’t want a repeat of what happened in the Aibus world.”

“I see, as expected, the master always considers more than I do.”

Feeling flattered by her pet’s words, Priestess found herself somewhat embarrassed.

“Ahaha… that said, it’s mainly because it seems like a hassle. After all, we mortals should not interfere too much in wars of this level.”

Little Dragon Daughter nodded slightly again.

“So, master, what should we do next? Should we stay in this city and observe the war’s development, or should we go find Leila and the others?”

Countless golden dots floated in her palm, resembling fireflies, as Priestess carelessly scattered them into the sky, creating a golden bridge leading far away. Then she put on the Mask of the God Fox again, assuming the identity of Xī, and smiled lightly.

“Let’s return to the city first. Edwina has Leila and Renée with her; whatever happens, their lives are sure to be safe. We’ll let them do as they please while we go off to do something more interesting.”

“Understood, I’ll follow the master.”

Thus, the two girls descended from the sky above the city and after a brief adjustment, Vilyric returned to the western city wall, which had just had a momentary respite from the outbreak of battle.

There, the Redeeming Saintess, Princess Philomina Lambert, who had just entered the city, had already joined forces with the Saint of Bright Light, Yuna Summerfield, who was responsible for guarding the city and receiving her.

“They’re not coming back? What does this mean? Is Your Highness Yuna really going to abandon those soldiers?! I can’t accept this decision!”

“Princess Philomina, please remember this: In Sacheno City, I, Yuna Summerfield, am the supreme commander of this holy war. Regardless of who you are, you must not act independently; that would disrupt our agreed-upon plan… I’ll let it slide this time since you’re new and unaware of the situation, but if you dare do this again, I will enforce military law.”

On the battlements, Yuna reprimanded the seemingly age-appropriate Redeeming Saintess, who was actually decades her junior, before easing up on her ferocity, predicting the arrival of the two girls who had just made their way up the stairs and around the corner.

“Oh, Miss Xī, have you finished your personal matters?”

“Yes, what is happening here?”

Glancing at the pink-haired girl pouting her lips and not speaking out of anger, Yuna shook her head helplessly.

“Sorry to embarrass you, but just now, when we broke through the demon blockade and brought Princess Philomina into the city, she seemed to think that Edwina and her group were pressing forward instead of retreating to minimize the risk to the city and insisted on discussing it with me, even planning to risk going out herself to support them before I arrived.”

“Ah…?”

Surprised, Vilyric shifted her gaze to the Redeeming Saintess, who was dressed similarly to Yuna but with some striking differences, and examined her up and down. This was her first time meeting the last of the current three Saintesses she had heard about.

She seemed to be quite a character. This slightly immature behavior, if not an intentional act, proved she was indeed kind-hearted, as her title suggested.

However, having never experienced real storms and waves, she was a bit too naive and lacked the calmness and depth of Yuna that comes with time.

She bore some resemblance to the earlier Edwina.

“Hello, I’m Xī.”

Feeling intrigued, Miss White Fox took the initiative to greet Philomina, who instinctively placed her hand on her chest and returned the gesture with the standard etiquette among followers of the Goddess.

“Ah, hello… I’m… huh? You, you are that widely-known White Fox Saintess, rumored to possibly have ties with the Goddess?!”

“What’s up with the weird titles…?”

Why do these strange names keep piling up…?

“Also, I don’t have a direct connection with the Light Goddess; that’s just a rumor.”

Seeing Miss White Fox make such a serious statement in public, the Redeeming Saintess lowered her head, feeling somewhat ashamed.

“I apologize, Princess Philomina spoke out of turn.”

Hmm? This attitude seems to imply, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to reveal your identity!”… Does this little girl truly understand what she just said?

Internally grumbling, Someone (Black-haired Girl) cleared her throat and returned the topic to the main subject.

“Just call me Xī. In any case, Edwina has not been sent out to her doom; she carries an important task. Although I won’t deny the risks, this is far from giving up, you really misunderstood Yuna.”

“Is that so? If even the White Fox Saintess says so, then it must be true. I’m truly sorry; I was too immature.”

“So don’t use that strange title anymore…”

Skillfully joining the conversation and diffusing the minor conflict between the two Saintesses, Princess Philomina quickly got back on track, arranging for her healing brigade to hasten their work on the wounded within the city while also chatting with the two girls who were technically not true Saintesses but whom she referred to as such.

The main content was still various exchanges of information.

After all, although communication magic is convenient, it comes with risks of eavesdropping, and sufficiently secure methods are prohibitively expensive, making it difficult to use frequently even for a powerhouse like the Holy Empire. Therefore, much of the important content still requires face-to-face communication like this.

“I see… that’s quite a creative tactic indeed. If it can be realized, the situation on the main battlefield would surely turn around. No wonder it’s Princess Yuna… I apologize for doubting you before.”

For the third time, the Redeeming Saintess sincerely apologized, but Yuna continued to maintain her usual gentle smile, shaking her head as if it didn’t matter.

“It’s nothing, just be careful not to publicly question the supreme command’s orders again. Disobeying the orders of superiors can be extremely fatal for an army, which is why my words were so stern… Moreover, it wasn’t me who came up with this plan and made it possible, but rather Miss Xī.”

“Eh? It’s just as the wise and mysterious White Fox… Xī! But by the way, what was that method you mentioned that allows for rapid crossing of the Sky River?”

Suddenly becoming the focus of attention, Miss White Fox had to retract her gaze that was previously assessing the cute maid beside Philomina and naturally rejoin the conversation with the two Saintesses.

“Actually, it’s quite simple. The Sky River is a treacherous place that can’t be easily crossed, but… if you can fly, then it wouldn’t be that difficult, right?”

…

Two days later.

“Are we all set?”

Standing on the western bank of the Sky River, which may not have roaring waves but was still vast and unreachable, Holy Knight (female) finished her contemplation, checking her silver wings behind her, then turned to her trusted aide who had just arrived by her side.

“Second Miss, everything is ready. The instructions for use and precautions you requested have been communicated to everyone, and after a simple rehearsal, we can depart at any moment. But…”

Glancing back at the Holy Knight whose attire resembled hers and bore the emblem of the Cecelia Family on their shoulder, Edwina instinctively guessed the confusion and unease lurking within her or rather, among most in the troop.

“You want to ask if this thing is really that reliable, whether it may work for short distances but fail midway on a long flight, right?”

“Uh…”

The blonde girl turned around, her tranquil face revealing no visible emotions, only speaking calmly.

“Your concerns are natural, and I won’t hold it against you, but I swear by the divine lineage of Cecelia and my master that the one who granted us this, has assured us that as long as we strictly adhere to the guidelines, there will be no problems… I don’t want to have to repeat this again, understood?”

Under the naturally exuding gentle yet undeniable authority of the Holy Knight, this evidently powerful Knight straightened her posture and responded loudly.

“Yes… Yes! Second Miss!”

“Call me the acting captain.”

“Yes! Acting Captain!!!”

“Very well, go notify everyone. Prepare to depart in fifteen minutes… we will fly across the Sky River.”

   

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