Original God's Dark Priest

Agaia's carefree attitude moved Saphir.

God's love for the world is like a curse, so why does God favor people in this world?

Because they deserve it.

It is precisely because there are countless respectable and lovable people like Agaia that the demons, who have love and care etched into their very bones, favor them.

She came, she saw, she witnessed.

Saffir made a decision in his heart.

If Saphir had previously given up on using underhanded tactics against Nata's gods because of the captain's orders, she has now completely changed her mind.

This is a country that has weathered many storms and been tempered by war. It is ancient and beautiful, and a group of lovely people live on this fiery land.

They are worthy of her utmost protection, just as she would protect Liyue, and the people here.

"Am I really... too soft-hearted?" Saffir realized his change of heart and couldn't help but laugh at himself.

Ajaya didn't hear her clearly and looked puzzled: "Teacher Su Jin, what did you say?"

“It’s nothing, Agaya, you will definitely recover.” Saffir shook his head slightly, his tone reassuring.

Ajaya paused for a moment, then smiled broadly: "Well then, I'll take your kind words. Speaking of which, wasn't Teacher Su Jin here to hold a book sale? Did she encounter any difficulties?"

“There are no difficulties, but I haven’t figured out the specific format yet. After all, the initial publicity has only just begun, and I don’t want to hold it and then no one comes because nobody knows about it. That would be very embarrassing for me.” Saffir said seriously, as if it were a real matter. “So I plan to wait a few days before making a decision.”

"In that case, let's enjoy a relaxing soak in the hot springs today. How about I, as your host, take care of you?" Agaia said enthusiastically, extending the invitation.

Saffir nodded slightly: "Then I shall accept your offer."

The two of them, accompanied by their two tails, went to Agaia's private hot spring. This private hot spring was something Marani and the others had set up a couple of days ago, and they could finally use it today.

As for why there are two tails, it's naturally because Saphir was leading Orloren and Cetalari was following at a distance.

Sitella thought she was hiding it well, but little did she know that her every move was already under Saffir's watchful eye.

Agaia went to instruct people to prepare for the hot springs, while Saphir went to the changing room to change into carefully chosen clothes: a bodice with a distinctive Flowing Springs style and an ultra-short skirt that exposed her waist and hips.

Looking closely at his clothes, Saphir was quite satisfied, if only Oloren beside him hadn't shown a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

Sensing Orloren's gaze, Saffir crossed his arms and looked at him: "Why are you standing here like a block of wood?"

"Sorry, I'm not quite sure what to do right now." Orlan readily admitted defeat. He knew that this woman, who was about the same height as his grandmother, was just as dangerous.

Saffir waved at him: "I have something to do, go play by yourself."

What she's about to do can't be seen by anyone, at least not outwardly.

Euron didn't understand, but still chose to leave. Saffir wasn't worried about this, since he held Euron's weakness in his hands and didn't need to worry about being betrayed.

When Cetalli, who was hiding in the shadows, saw Oloren walking towards her, she immediately shrank back. Only after Oloren had gone far away did she cautiously peek out to continue watching the situation on Saphir's side.

Then, she saw Saffir take out a bottle of unknown liquid, open the bottle, and slowly pour it into the hot spring.

"This!" Seth Lari covered her mouth. Had she witnessed a murder?

But...why?

Teacher Su Jin and Ajaya seemed to be having a pleasant conversation, and there should be no conflict between them, so why did Teacher Su Jin add something to this private hot spring?

Moreover, it was a situation where Euron was deliberately sent away.

The only thing Seth Lari could think of was poisoning.

However, she also knew Agaya. To put it bluntly, Agaya was barely clinging to life and could die at any moment. It was completely unreasonable for Teacher Su Jin to attack her at this time.

Who would bother to murder a dying person?

Everything puzzled Sittrali.

Meanwhile, after pouring in the golden liquid, Sapphire clasped his hands together and began to circulate his power.

This golden liquid is actually "hope" that she created by combining the power of the primordial water with the power of the seraphim.

She cannot reveal her identity at the moment. Su Jin is just an ordinary author and does not possess any extraordinary abilities.

One bottle of hope certainly wouldn't be enough to cure Agaia, so she would need to add something else to the hot spring water.

Although she could directly apply her skills to the hot spring water, it's always more convincing to have a pretext.

Furthermore, there was another pair of eyes watching from the shadows. If she didn't do this, and the Obsidian Granny continued to hide and not come out, her subsequent actions would be inconvenient.

Now, the bait is in place, and we're just waiting for Sitella to bite and emerge on her own.

A short while later, Ajaya returned with a tray containing desserts she had prepared herself, which looked delicious.

To accommodate the possibility that Su Jin might be Inazuma's wife, Ajaya even went out of her way to ask for a pot of sake and brought it along.

Placing the tray by the hot spring pool, Agaya wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead and said with a wry smile, "This body is really useless. Just a few days ago, I could still fight against the abyss monsters, but now I'm panting after just a few steps."

Safiel could naturally see the problems with Agaia. Multiple organ failure accompanied by severe anemia indicated liver dysfunction, and her kidneys were also failing due to the abyss's erosion, which was the most critical issue.

The reason why Agaya was short of breath and weak was because of this.

Kidney failure can cause her to feel dizzy, nauseous, and weak all over. Over time, she may develop edema, and then the urinary system may not be able to excrete toxins, eventually leading to shock or even death.

It can only be said that Ying did purify the abyssal power in her body, but while that abyssal energy was eroding Agaia, it also inadvertently maintained the activity of her various organs.

The fusion of abyssal energy with her had actually kept her alive, but now that the energy has been completely exorcised, this delicate balance has been broken, and it is absolutely impossible to save her completely with just that tiny flame.

If there is anyone in the world who can save Agaia right now, it is Saphir.

Looking at Agaia's regretful yet carefree expression, she smiled faintly and said, "Let's soak in the hot springs together. Enjoying every day without regrets is also a kind of courage."

“Yes.” Agaya nodded seriously.

Just as she was about to enter the hot spring, a woman's voice suddenly rang out: "You can't go down!"

Sitella, who had been hiding in the shadows, could no longer sit still. She jumped out without a care in the world and even ripped off the hood that was covering her face.

Agaia was startled by Sitrali's sudden interruption and turned around to look at her, exclaiming, "You are... Grandma Obsidian? What's wrong? Why are you..."

“Agaya, you can’t go into this hot spring. She might be planning to harm you.” Sitrali walked over quickly, pulled Agaya behind her, and looked at Saphir with a wary expression.

Saffir blinked, feigning confusion: "Grandma Obsidian? You're the one from the Smoke Riddle Master?"

"First it was Orloren, then it was Agaya, what exactly is your purpose?" Cetalli didn't care what Saphir was saying; hostility had already appeared in her eyes. "Teacher Su Jin? Are you the real Teacher Su Jin? Or are you actually an imposter?"

"Huh?" Saffir looked even more confused. "I'm sorry, I don't know why you're so hostile towards me, but I really didn't do anything. As for Brother Orloren, we only met occasionally and worked together for a few days. Is there a problem with that?"

Sitella took a deep breath and pointed to the empty glass bottle that Saffir had placed aside: "So, how do you explain this? I clearly saw you pour this liquid into the hot spring just now. Are you still saying you weren't trying to harm someone?"

Hearing this, even Agaya was surprised, but she didn't suspect that Saphir wanted to harm her. Instead, she said, "Grandma Obsidian, aren't you overthinking this? Someone like me might not even live to see tomorrow. Does Teacher Su Jin really need to do this to me?"

As for whether Sapphire might be an abyss in disguise, she had never thought about that question. After all, there had never been a case of an abyss monster disguising itself as someone else in Nata. Moreover, being sensitive to the power of the abyss, she had not sensed any abyss aura on Sapphire.

This is natural, since Saffir has long been proficient in using the power of the Void Realm, unlike Skork who does so too obviously.

Upon hearing Agaia and Sitrali's words, Saphir perfectly timed his expression of sudden realization: "Oh! You mean this? Oh! My misunderstanding."

Meeting their confused and doubtful gazes, Saffir smiled and explained, "This bottle is actually a potion called 'Hope' that I bought in Bubu's Lodge in Liyue. Its effects are to strengthen the body and calm the mind."

Miss Agaya is very weak, and I think this medicine should have some effect on her, so I thought I'd give it to her and see.

"Why don't you just say it outright? Why are you being so sneaky?" Sitella was clearly not so easily fooled.

Saffir shrugged: "Because this thing is very expensive. If I told Miss Agaya directly, she definitely wouldn't accept it."

Besides, it might not even be effective, and I didn't want to give her unrealistic expectations and disappoint her again. I quietly immersed myself in the hot spring water; if it worked, great; if not, I'd just pretend nothing happened.

Ajaya was stunned, then felt a surge of heat in her heart, a warm current flowing through her soul, and she was deeply moved: "Teacher Su Jin, there's no need for this. I know my own situation very well."

Saffir didn't answer, but gave Sitrali a look, as if to say: See?

Cetalli was caught off guard. She scratched her head awkwardly. "So... that's how it is? I misunderstood you? But..."

She still felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Saffir shrugged: "Since Grandma Obsidian doesn't believe me, how about this: I'll go into the hot spring first, and you can check if I'm hurt?"

While this doesn't necessarily mean she didn't poison the poison, since antidotes for many poisons can be taken in advance.

But as soon as she did this, Agaya immediately followed her into the hot spring, and the two of them let out a long, satisfied sigh.

Sitrali watched Agaia with a tense expression, noticing that her complexion was slowly becoming rosy again. If Agaia had been ashen-faced and lifeless just moments before, she now seemed to be experiencing a brief resurgence of vitality.

But she knew this was not a final burst of energy before death, but rather that the hot spring water was truly working, and Agaia was being healed.

Upon realizing this, Sitrali was stunned. There were many warriors like Agaia in Nata, all of whom were excellent combatants, but they died young due to injuries and were unable to continue fighting.

If the hope brought by Saffir can be spread...

At this moment, Sitrali had completely lost the excitement of meeting her idol; all she could think about was the value of this potion.

Agaia didn't pay attention to any of this, and just looked at Cetalari: "Since Grandma Obsidian is here, why don't you join us for a soak? Don't you really enjoy reading Yaedo's light novels? Maybe you've even read Su Jin's works?"

“I…” Cetalli met Safiel’s burning gaze, all her words stuck in her throat. After a long while, she tilted her head slightly to save face, “Uh, okay, then I’ll reluctantly join you for a soak. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a hot spring.”

Setrali changed into her special hot spring attire: a pink swimsuit that looked playful and cute.

Saffir pursed her lips, suppressing a laugh. According to the information she had gathered from the captain, the girl in front of her, who looked to be only in her teens or twenties, had actually lived for over two hundred years and still loved pink and tender things.

As expected, O'Loren was right; this grandma is still quite trendy.

She suddenly thought of Yae no Miko; the two of them would probably have a lot to talk about, but…

Looking at Cetalli, whose face was flushed red, whether from the temperature of the hot spring water or the earlier misunderstanding, Saphir shook her head slightly in her heart. Although she had lived for so many years, she was still not very cunning. If she were to face that scumbag, she would most likely suffer a great loss.

The three of them soaked in the hot spring, and Agaia, as the middleman who was familiar with both parties, naturally took on the task of finding topics to talk about.

Seeing Safiel leisurely sipping sake from a small cup, Ajaya suddenly asked, "Teacher Su Jin, you've been serializing your novel on Yaedo for a long time, haven't you? Are you an Inatsuma person?"

Saffir smiled and shook his head: "I am not an Inazuma, I am a Liyue, but Liyue people and Inazuma people look very similar, so it is normal that you can't tell the difference."

"Oh, I see. Haha, I thought Teacher Su Jin was Inazuma. I should have gone to see if we had any Fenjiu around here." Agaya laughed. Fenjiu is a well-known liquor in Liyue.

Safiel put down his small wine glass and said with a half-smile, "Then you'd better prepare some kerosene; I like strong kerosene."

Sylvanas, however, belatedly realized, "Agaya, you're too slow. The name Su Jin is very Liyue, okay? What Inari has that name? I've never seen an Inari with a name shorter than three characters."

“But…maybe it’s just a pen name in the style of Liyue that Teacher Su Jin came up with.” Agaia felt that her guess was not wrong.

Saffir didn't want the conversation to stay on his pen name, so he changed the subject: "Actually, I've been in Inazuma for quite a while now, and I'm quite used to drinking sake. Speaking of which, I didn't expect you to have sake here."

"Oh, I borrowed this from the neighbor next door. The shop owner is Inatsume, so they have some in stock." Agaia waved her hand, indicating that it was no big deal.

Saffir paused slightly upon hearing this: "Inazuma opened a shop here? Could it be... a dream of Mizuki?"