The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"It's such an honor to be classmates with a god!" Lilia hugged Ella's arm with a delighted expression, her deep purple eyes sparkling as if with starlight. "But, in that case, who does the god ultimately intend to recommend?"

This question really stumped Ella.

She originally intended to push Lilia, but this guy's dangerous remarks were too frightening. He didn't seem like the kind of king who would take responsibility for the people; he seemed more like a madman who treated life as a toy.

Ella suspected that if she asked Lilia if she could sacrifice the population of several cities for her, Lilia would probably do it without hesitation.

As for myself... that's impossible. If I don't want to trigger a world-shaking holy war of gods and humans, I shouldn't do such a dangerous thing.

But putting aside the issue of royal bloodlines, the members of the royal family are all increasingly abstract concepts.

The only one who looks somewhat human is the eldest princess, but she seems rather dim-witted and not like someone who could be king.

Moreover, the First Princess's character isn't very good either. She once humiliated Lilia, so Ella still dislikes the First Princess from the bottom of her heart.

The others weren't stupid, but they didn't seem to have any good intentions; each of them had a sinister force lurking behind the scenes.

Only the Fifth Prince remains. I heard in my previous life that he was a useless good-for-nothing who spent his days wandering around. I haven't even seen him in this life, so I guess he's not up to the task...

Oh no... this is way too difficult...

Ella suddenly understood the old king's sense of desolation; it seemed that no matter who the throne fell into the hands of the people, they would all suffer great misfortune.

What has this empire done? A great nation like this, and now it has no one capable of serving it?

"Let's take it one step at a time. After all, we don't know much about the overall situation yet, and this problem may only be solved later." Ella sighed softly, her head aching, and she began to order large numbers of crows and rats to scatter throughout the capital.

Since a suitable successor cannot be found in the short term, it's best to send the familiar to gather information first.

At least make sure to eliminate those that are obviously problematic.

If there's really no one available, just let Lilia fill in for now. Anyway, with me keeping her in check, she shouldn't cause too much trouble.

"Okay, hehe." Lilia was in a good mood. She was excited at the thought of being able to be close to her beloved god every day.

After bidding farewell to Princess Lilia, Ella returned to the Loren Sanctuary.

In the Adventurers' Guild Hall, Ye Xiao made an appointment with Li Cheng and the others to go to the Riverbank Inn the next day after dinner. Then he left the Seven Stars Guild gathering, carrying Greta on his shoulder, and headed to the Heville Mansion in the West City.

As Ye Xiao stepped down from the carriage, he saw that the windows of the spacious Haivier mansion were all lit with a warm glow.

The flowerbeds and lawns were meticulously manicured, and simple decorations hung on the doorframes.

It had quite a family atmosphere, Ye Xiao smiled, walked to the door and rang the doorbell.

The two plague hunters they had met in Liangqiu Village, as well as the alchemist Hyde who was researching the blood of the beast god Cynthia, had nowhere else to go, so Ella arranged for them to stay here.

Artorina and Shia Yexiao had originally considered bringing the two of them back to stay here as well, but after thinking about it, they decided to leave them in Storm Harbor. There, they had the protection of the Fourth Knights, Irene, and the Ocean Sanctuary, so it shouldn't be a big problem.

The mansion gates opened slightly, and two maids from the duke's mansion greeted Ye Xiao.

Since Ye Xiao had received a souvenir from Ella, the two maids took the luggage he handed over and led him directly to the second floor of the mansion.

Soon, Ye Xiao saw Marilyn reading a book in the living room.

A petite girl, dressed in a long dress, was engrossed in reading an ancient book.

"Miss Marilyn, it's been a long time," Ye Xiao said softly. "Still reading so late?"

"Ah!" Marilyn looked up, her large round-framed glasses slipping slightly off her nose. "Mr. Ye, you're back!"

"I came back from my trip to see everyone and bring back some local specialties from Storm Harbor." Ye Xiao didn't expect this young lady to wear glasses while reading, making her look a little silly. "The caviar there is good, but the wine is a bit fishy."

“This is…” Marilyn took off her large glasses, revealing her delicate and charming face, “Could it be a gift for me?”

"Oh, there's a gift too, here it is," Ye Xiao said, taking out a long box wrapped with a bow and handing it to Marilyn. "But it's not that one, that one was given to you by someone else."

"Really? Thank you!" Marilyn excitedly took the heavy box from Ye Xiao's hand, gently opened it, and found a brand-new revolver inside. "..."

"Masterfully crafted by dwarven blacksmiths, with eight rounds of ammunition, universal Valen musket caliber, gray-gold reinforced barrel compatible with all alchemical ammunition below tier three, and armor-piercing enchantment on the barrel..." Ye Xiao said proudly, "I searched for it for a long time in the Tide Merchant Guild's special supply list. I think you and Wengerman should both need it."

Chapter Twenty-One: The Day of Participation

"Th...thank you..." Marilyn forced a smile, trying to appear happy.

"How do you manage to win over so many girls by giving them gifts like this?" Greta, who was on Ye Xiao's shoulder, finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked.

"Isn't this gift pretty good?" Ye Xiao scratched his head. "Besides, no girl has ever said she likes me... Hey, why did you hit me?..."

To be fair, apart from Ella, no other girl has ever explicitly said she likes him. Didn't Greta say she didn't like him before?

Besides, Ella can't really be counted, since if you don't even like yourself, you're doomed.

Ye Xiao felt that the kitten's actions had wronged him, but it didn't matter; the strong are often misunderstood.

"Huh, this cat can actually talk?" Marilyn said with a slight surprise.

“You’ve met her before, she’s the maid Greta from before. She was cursed and ended up like this.”

"It's because of this idiot's curse." Greta poked Ye Xiao's face angrily with her paw pads.

"Huh?" Marilyn was completely confused.

"Don't worry about the details." Ye Xiao waved his hand. "The main reason I came here is to hand over this box to you."

Marilyn then turned her gaze back to the box on the table, picked it up with some confusion, and opened it.

Inside was a blue ribbon and a tattered piece of paper.

At that time, Ye Xiao was in Horn Village outside Storm Harbor, where he was trapped in a dream world from a remote fishing village in the Kingdom of Valen.

There he met a little girl named Marilyn, whose origins were unknown, who entrusted him with a blue ribbon.

Ye Xiao had already roughly understood the connection between the ribbon and the fishing village illusion. Now that he was back, he felt it was necessary to put an end to this matter.

"The master of the old dream is dead, and I am trapped as well."

"The night is so long, I don't know how much longer it will last."

"I hope... everything is still alright at home."

"It's all finally over. I missed you too, my child."

When Marilyn finished reading the note, memories buried deep in her mind suddenly surged up.

The strong young hunter clutched the note, and suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

Ye Xiao gently patted Marilyn's slightly trembling shoulder. Although he had anticipated this situation, he simply couldn't bear to hide a father's last words to his daughter.

"Thank you... thank you, Mr. Ye." However, the girl did not sob. Instead, she held the ribbon in her palm and gave Ye Xiao a charming smile. "Sigh, if I could, I would like to go back and visit someday."

Ye Xiao nodded. "There will be opportunities."

After finishing the matter of the Loren Empire, we will pass through the Kingdom of Valen on the way to Morningstar Ridge. We should bring Marilyn and Wengerman with us then.

Since it was getting late, Ye Xiao decided to stay overnight at the Duke's mansion.

Ever since she shared a room with Greta in the northern part of Storm Harbor last time, this stubborn little cat has refused to have a room by herself.

Ye Xiao was too lazy to argue with her, and since she was used to it anyway, she simply tossed her next to her pillow, covered her with a blanket, and went to sleep.

So the moon rose high in the sky, and the night passed without incident.

Only Ye Xiao's bed was quietly and subtly stirring.

……

The next afternoon.

Ye Xiao carried Greta on his shoulder and left the Duke's mansion, heading to the Riverbank Inn to attend the so-called Player Alliance meeting hosted by Lu Fan.

The Riverbank Hotel and the Duke's Mansion are both in the West City and not far apart, so Ye Xiao went to a small shop on the street where the hotel was located early in the morning, ordered a cup of milk tea, sat on an outdoor wooden chair, and enjoyed the canal that ran along the street while browsing the system forum.

Putting aside the evil spirits running rampant in this imperial city, the colorful street scenes and the scenery created by the city's canals are always captivating.

"By the way, my lady, I've been feeling a bit sore in my neck after waking up lately. Do you have any ideas?" Ye Xiao asked Greta while admiring Princess Aslan's heroic figure on the forum and studying Aslan's clothing culture.

"How would I know? Maybe you just had a stiff neck." The kitten sat on Ye Xiao's lap, rummaging through the fish cakes on the plate on the table.

"That's strange," Ye Xiao shook her head. Even now, her head still felt a little sore, so it shouldn't be her imagination.

The brief respite passed quickly, and not long after, Li Cheng swaggered over with Xiao Deng and sat down at the table where Ye Xiao was. "Hey buddy, you're here so early."

Since the two brothers weren't on a combat mission this time, they weren't wearing armor or wandering attire, but only casual travel clothes.

"...Why are you two walking like street thugs?" Ye Xiao called the waiter to bring over two more cups of lemon black tea.

"The boss said that since it's the first time attending a player meeting, we can't let people look down on us," Xiao Deng replied. "We need to practice our posture."

"Stop it, it looks like two crabs." Ye Xiao ruthlessly rejected their practice.

After resting for a while, the three of them headed to the River Weir Inn that Lu Fan had mentioned.

Since a guild can bring three people, Ye Xiao and Li Cheng discussed it and decided to bring Xiao Deng as well, since bringing one more person wouldn't be a loss.

When Ye Xiao arrived at the riverside inn on the street corner, he saw a large group of adventurers dressed in various styles gathered there.

The hotel entrance was packed with people, turning the once-empty street corner into a congested mess.

"Are there really this many people attending?" Li Cheng looked at the throng of heads and felt a little overwhelmed. "So, this invitation was sent out in bulk?"

Ye Xiao pouted and said, "It shouldn't be. Look at those dozen or so people standing together, they're obviously from the same guild."

"These people don't follow the rules."

“With so many guilds, it’s inevitable that some will be hostile to each other,” Ye Xiao shrugged. “If a conflict arises at a meeting, it will be easier to resolve it on the spot.”

“Okay, how come I didn’t think of that?” Li Cheng scratched his head.

"It doesn't matter," Ye Xiao smiled. "We don't have any enemies."

"Unfortunately, I thought it would be one of those high-class meetings where everyone holds a glass of red wine and talks big and discusses everything. Instead, it looks like a vegetable market."

"Brother Li!" As he spoke, a young man dressed in a dark blue robe saw them from the hotel steps and raised his hand.

This man was Lu Fan. He led two companions through the crowded throng. "You three are here early."

Ye Xiao noticed that everyone's attention was drawn to them as Lu Fan arrived.

It seems that even without inheriting the Miracle Mage's legacy, Lu Fan's reputation among the players in the Imperial City is not low.

He promptly checked the arena rankings and discovered that this guy's name was ranked fifty-ninth.

Sure, in his previous life, Lu Fan hadn't even made it into the top 100 yet, so this was actually some kind of lucky encounter.

However, the Miracle Mage's skill strength is undeniable. It's just that the early-game skills are all about mechanics and have little to do with damage, which doesn't mean that Lu Fan's class is better this time.

But this guy's talent for magic is indeed very high... Thirty Saint-level spells. Ye Xiao clearly remembered the achievement this guy made in his last life, but his character is still unknown.

After all, he was only a grandmaster at that time and wasn't qualified to meet others.

----

PS: The author is finally feeling better, and should be able to resume double updates starting today, hahaha!

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Six Major Guilds

Lu Fan led Ye Xiao and the others into the hotel. Along the way, the players seemed to make way for Lu Fan out of consideration for him, but they were all sizing up the three of them.

"That's... the president of the Seven Stars Society?"

"No wonder he was dressed so casually."

"That chairman looks quite handsome."

"Why does that person next to him have a cat? Is he a summoner...?"

Hearing that everyone seemed to be talking about him, Li Cheng straightened his back even more.

Ye Xiao noticed this and couldn't help but smile.

There were far fewer people inside the hotel than outside, since only those attending the event would enter.

Normally, the Imperial Guards would at least take a look at such a large gathering in the West District, but perhaps because someone among the players had made arrangements, Ye Xiao did not see any of the guards.

The spacious hall was occupied by only a few dozen well-equipped adventurers. Ye Xiao glanced at them and, based on the familiar guild emblems on their chests, confirmed that these players were mostly from one of the six major guilds. They were stationed on the first floor to maintain order in the venue and prevent the chaos outside from affecting the inside.

The six major player guilds of the previous Valond Imperial City had already taken shape during the meeting at the Riverbank Inn.

This alliance meeting was presumably convened jointly by these six major guilds.

"Brother Fan, who are these people?" Two warrior players guarding the stairwell stepped forward to greet Lu Fan.

“The Seven Stars Gathering.” Lu Fan patted one of the players on the shoulder; the two seemed to know each other quite well. “Is Brother Yun here?”