Strength 99999 but the Holy Sister

The nuns were all asleep. The old priest stood at the door of the monastery and said goodbye to Elsa. He looked at Elsa deeply, his heart full of sighs.

For the first time, the old priest spoke about his past in front of Elsa, talking about his experience as a Templar. Elsa then learned that when he was young, the old priest had participated in the war against the Demon King and was a member of one of the most powerful armed forces organizations of the Holy See - but by now, Elsa was no longer surprised.

The old priest also spoke of his sister, Leticia Angus, one of the ninety-nine holy nuns of the previous generation.

Elsa could hear deep longing and pride in every word Angus said.

Elsa also talked about what happened recently and her future plans - before going to the Holy City, Elsa planned to go to the North Country first.

"People have been in a state of panic lately. The situation has only improved since you returned. As you saw, the farmland to the east was attacked at the very beginning and then doused with contaminated water. If it hadn't been discovered in time, I'm afraid there would have been a disaster."

The old priest said.

He seemed to be telling a story that had nothing to do with him, but Elsa could imagine how thrilling the situation was. Fortunately, agricultural productivity in this world was not weak, and with the convenience of magic, the efficiency of storage and transportation was far higher than that of the "ancient times" Elsa knew.

Thanks to this, the town has remained relatively stable so far. But what if it was the Knights who came to the town instead of Elsa? Behind those black monsters are many more Filth Ones. In the end, perhaps Sky Island will take the Filth Ones from the forest and sink them to the bottom of the sea?

Is it really?

"Although I'm old, I still have some strength. You don't have to worry about anything here. Just go wherever you want. Everyone in this town is always happy to welcome you back. Little Alice will be very happy too."

The old priest chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'll come and see you often."

Aisha said.

To be honest, the old priest is very old, and Aisha hopes that he can really take a rest.

But Elsa had no idea how to do it.

Or, could the church directly send a powerful right-hand man to the old priest? No, although it would not be difficult for Aisha to do this with her current status, I'm afraid the old priest would not like the convenience gained in this way.

Otherwise, the old priest would not have taken the initiative to leave the fortress and come to live in a small border town.

……

Before she knew it, it was already very late. Elsa returned to the town hall. She saw Charlie waiting for her from afar, with a lonely glimmer in her slightly mellow wine-red eyes.

Elsa and Charlie have been spending less time together lately.

Every day, Charlie repeats two things - one is the work at the town hall, and the other is thinking about Elsa.

She waited for Elsa to return almost every day, but she didn't always see her. There was nothing she could do about it; Elsa had to get everything back on track as quickly as possible, which naturally reduced her time with Charlie. Charlie understood, so she never bothered Elsa when she was busy. But because of this, her longing for Elsa and the resulting boredom grew day by day.

But today she accidentally heard that the black monster had disappeared and the knights were preparing to leave.

"Elsa...is she leaving town again?"

"You already know?" Aisha smiled, not surprised. "I was just about to tell you."

Charlie just pursed her lips, revealing a look of loss and loneliness. "I heard it from my father. He said that the Archbishop and the Knights are all preparing to leave. Will Elsa leave too?"

"Yes."

"Elsa, can I, can I go with you?"

Charlie looked at Aisha hopefully, her hands clenching unconsciously.

It took a lot of courage to say this. It was the second time since she and Elsa met that she took the initiative to tell Elsa what she wanted to do - the first time was that she wanted to stay in the small town.

"We're going to the North. Don't you hate winter?"

The nightmare scene happened in the dry and cold winter, so it was annoying - but compared to being able to get along with Elsa, all of this was nothing.

"I don't hate it anymore... because... I want to be with Aisha..."

Elsa would probably refuse, right? She felt she'd made an unreasonable request, like she was an annoying burden. But Elsa simply stared at her meaningfully, and she unconsciously lowered her gaze, feeling uneasy. Elsa raised her hand, her fingertips gently stroking Charlie's smooth cheek, outlining the corners of her beautiful mouth and jawline.

"So, it's because of me, right?"

"Um……"

Charlie felt the areas where Elsa's fingers had touched begin to heat up, but her feelings were genuine.

"I am very happy."

Elsa smiled.

"Then let's go together. The scenery in the north is beautiful. You will like it."

"Huh?" Charlie was stunned for a moment, then smiled happily, "Really? But...will this cause trouble for Elsa or something..."

"You're only saying this now?"

After all, they were going to the vampire territory, and Charlie was also a vampire. Moreover, according to Tricia, Charlie's bloodline was very rare. Elsa thought that maybe she could be of some help.

On the other hand, as a vampire, Charlie has never truly learned and trained the original power of vampires. Having two upper-level blood clans accompanying her on this trip should also allow Charlie to grow - power itself is innocent, and Elsa believes that Charlie will not use the power of vampires for external purposes.

Anyway, Elsa didn't mind having one more person on the journey.

"Well……"

Charlie lowered her head in embarrassment.

"I don't want Elsa to think I'm troublesome or hate me, but I really want to be with Elsa... I don't know what to do..."

Elsa just smiled, thinking that Charlie, who was currently troubled by love, was somewhat cute. She touched Charlie's head, and Charlie rubbed her palm with her eyes slightly narrowed.

"When you don't know what to do, just try to rely on me. I'm here for you."

Aisha said with a smile.

"But I won't be leaving anytime soon. You should prepare for it in the next two days."

Charlie nodded vigorously. She wanted to tell her father the good news right away. She just didn't know what her father's expression would be when he heard that she had decided to follow Elsa and leave the town.

……

Soon, two days passed.

During these two days, Elsa's work has not stopped - although the crisis of the black monster has been resolved with the discovery of the sky island, it is still unknown whether there are black monsters or other dangers hiding in the forest.

So Elsa would go to the forest to explore the situation during the day, and come back at night to the church monastery to accompany little Alice, or talk to the old priests and nuns.

Or, go to Sky Island to see the progress of Ryan and others. The winged girl will always circle around Elsa, even if Elsa doesn't understand what she is saying at all.

Alman contacted a vampire from the Northern Country through a secret letter. At Tricia's request, he began to prepare for his subsequent plan.

Elsa hadn't found anything in the forest. It seemed that the black monsters had really disappeared completely.

As the black monster disappeared from the sight of the townspeople for longer and longer periods of time, the town gradually emerged from its tense state. Under the organization of the town office and the church, some positive voices emerged among the refugees, and some people took the initiative to engage in farmland farming and other production work.

Everything is going in a good direction.

That morning, Tricia told Aisha that Bishop Pittman had sent a letter saying that the selection of the Holy Sisters was about to begin.

……

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189. The Witch of the Forest

Since the selection was imminent, Elsa naturally planned to go to Dammas Fortress. Speaking of Dammas Fortress, besides the upcoming selection of candidates for the Holy Sisters at the church monastery, Elsa also thought of the "Fallen" she met that day - the strange inverted cross pendant was still kept by Tricia.

According to Tricia, the "fallen one" is a user of abyssal magic.

Tricia arranged for Hibben to personally send people to carry out the follow-up investigation, which can be regarded as a great importance attached to it.

However, Tricia will not go on this trip. After all, the selection competition does not have any important meaning to her. It is just a preliminary round. Compared with the selection of candidates for the Holy Sister, there is more important work for her in Weilin Town. On the one hand, she needs to make the final confirmation to ensure that the black monster has indeed disappeared completely and will not pose a threat to the town. On the other hand, she needs to suppress Alman and Becky, and at the same time make plans for the next trip to the North Country.

Also, Tricia needs to be in charge of the matters on Sky Island. If anything happens, having Tricia there will be a safety guarantee.

So Tricia stayed in Verin.

But coincidentally, the Archbishop seemed to be planning to return to the Holy City at this time, so Aisha went with Inksa.

Nothing unusual happened along the way, and a day later, they arrived safely in Dammas. Bishop Pitman and Lord Hibern warmly welcomed them. The Archbishop chose not to linger in the fortress for long. After a brief greeting, Inksha, the Archbishop, and a group of knights boarded the teleportation array. Inksha and Aisha waved goodbye.

"Lady Aisha, I hope to see you again soon."

Inksa still looked innocent as ever, and she bowed deeply to Aisha.

"In order to one day truly be worthy of the title of 'Saint', I will work hard to move in the direction you are heading."

After saying this, she clenched her fists firmly, looking very serious.

"Lady Faris, I look forward to seeing you again in the Holy City." The Archbishop was much calmer. He and Inksa had a different mentality.

Elsa smiled.

"Although we only spent a short time together, I'm glad to have met you all. Goodbye."

"May the goddess bless you..."

As the words fell, the runes of the teleportation array slowly lit up, and the dazzling light engulfed the figures of Inksa and others. It was the first time that Aisha saw the intercity teleportation array of Dammas activated - to be honest, it looked much more complicated than the teleportation array of Sky Island. The function was the same, but this teleportation array was far safer than the teleportation array of Sky Island.

The light disappeared, and everyone's figures disappeared.

After bidding Inksha farewell, Elsa didn't leave the lord's mansion. Instead, she specifically asked Hibern about the progress of the investigation into the "Fallen One." As Elsa had expected, no significant leads had been uncovered so far. After all, in this world of underdeveloped information technology, finding all the clues related to a deceased person through their remains was no easy task.

"Abyssal magic has been out of the public eye for a long time since it was sealed off by the Church. Its sudden reappearance this time is probably more complicated than it seems... Our investigation into the deceased 'Fallen', Luther, has reached a bottleneck. We've sent people to search and collect evidence at every inn, tavern, casino, and other places he visited, but unfortunately, he's even more cautious than we imagined. Furthermore, due to the high volume of people in those places, the evidence collection hasn't been very effective. The only thing we know for sure is that he's responsible for many murders. I've already sent people to the prison and the court to rummage through old cases, hoping to gain some clues. Additionally, I've sent people out to issue new commissions, seeking testimony from witnesses regarding him."

Shibern spoke to Aisha without hiding anything about his investigation progress and work plan.

“But so far, there has been little success…”

Hibourne sighed.

"Considering that the magic Luther uses is a branch of Abyssal Magic, I plan to start by investigating Abyssal Magic to see if I can get any new clues. To this end, I've made some inquiries and heard that there's a 'Witch's Hut' in the forest of Mallaig, where a forest witch lives. I've already sent someone to contact her, hoping to get her help."

Mallaig? Mallaig town?—Isn't that Vivian's hometown?

What a coincidence, Elsa thought.

Remember that the town of Mallaig seemed to be northwest of the flattened Rydes Mountains? In short, it was a small place closer to the northern province of Crossbell. Before meeting Vivian, Elsa had never heard of it.

But speaking of it, it has been a while since Elsa knew Vivian. When she thought about it, she found that she had rarely talked to Vivian about her hometown. Every time she talked about Vivian's hometown, Vivian just vaguely passed it over. Elsa had no idea that there was a "witch" in Vivian's hometown.

Maybe Vivian herself didn't know either? After all, Vivian was a reserved nun, while she was a mysterious witch. They hadn't had much in common, so it was normal for them not to know each other.

Elsa didn't know what the witches in this world were like. She didn't have much idea about witches. She had only read a general introduction to witches in books. She knew that people in this world still had some prejudice against witches, just like they did against half-elves.

There's nothing else.

For Elsa, the word witch still refers to the woman in her previous life who could fly in the sky on a magic broom, or the woman who lived a solitary life and possessed powerful magic like in novels and comics.

Hibern didn't know what Elsa was thinking. He continued, "You probably know that witches are the most likely magicians to come into contact with the 'Abyss.' Years ago, witches were almost synonymous with Abyssal magic. Now that the Sage is gone, witches are the ones who understand Abyssal magic best. That's why I came up with this idea. Let the witches help with our investigation and see if we can find some new clues. Of course, the one in Mallaig has long since given up Abyssal magic and seems to have cooperated with the church, so she's trustworthy. I'm also planning to talk to Bishop Pittman about this and ask him to help contact the church there to see if we can connect with the witch in the forest."

"Is that so? Then let's do as you say. However, you must be careful and cautious during the investigation. If there is anything difficult to solve and you need my help, just let me know directly."

Elsa knew nothing about these things. Since Shibern had his own ideas, it was impossible for Elsa, an outsider, to interfere.

"I should be at the fortress these days. You can send someone directly to the monastery to find me."

Aisha said.

……

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190. The True Identity of the Forest Witch (4k)

Although witches are indeed the magicians who understand the abyss magic best so far, they have also always been synonymous with danger. This is not entirely prejudice, but a fact, and exists in widespread cognition - everyone avoids witches. No one would like to see a witch appear in the fortress, and the soldiers would not want the "helper" invited by Shibern to be a witch.

Elsa didn't know much about witches, but she had heard some rumors, especially from her time as an adventurer. Witches had once committed unforgivable sins, leading to a united crusade led by the Church and other nations. Afterward, witches vanished into obscurity, with only a few known to the public. They rarely appeared in public, having retreated to the mountains and forests.

——Elsa always treated such rumors as stories. After all, the bards in the tavern loved to tell exaggerated stories.

Few people know the real details of the witch crusade, what caused it, and what the outcome was. This is because the church deliberately restricts the spread of stories about witches, so some people say that the stories told by bards are all fabricated.

This made Elsa think of the atrocities of "witch hunting" that had occurred in the history of her previous life. However, the difference was that what was happening in this world was a real war.

The Church didn't exterminate witches, nor was it a unilateral hunt. According to the old priest, the Church's crusade against witches was actually related to "Abyssal Magic," and preventing rumors about witches from spreading was also intended to prevent the spread of "Abyssal Magic." Abyssal Magic was a very special and dangerous entity. It didn't simply appear as magic; its very presence was enough to cause harm. Even language itself could be a carrier of Abyssal Magic. Therefore, sealing it off was necessary, just as Tricia had sealed the inverted cross. Even the dead objects Elsa had dispelled couldn't be taken lightly.

As for whether there were any deeper hidden secrets in the events that happened back then, Elsa would not make any guesses - after all, these were things that had not been confirmed with her own eyes, and there were many different opinions. At this time, any purely subjective suspicions were unnecessary.

"Oh, by the way, Lady Faris, please keep the matter regarding the witch confidential for now. After all, it involves a witch..."

Hibern said as Elsa left the castle.

He was a little embarrassed. After all, he was facing Aisha. If Aisha asked him anything, he had to tell her. But if he did, he was worried that Aisha would accidentally tell others about these confidential matters - Shibern was also helpless about this.

Aisha noticed Sibern's hesitation and smiled.