A Vulpine Spanner in the Works

by Ten-Tailed-God

Believing that Momonga was the only Player remaining in YGGDRASIL at closing is an impossibility. What would happen if another Player, one not influenced by a guild of monsters arrived in the New World? Not all heroes are human, and not all monsters are skeletons. Sometimes, what one needs to change the world isn't great strength but instead trickery.

27. Chapter 25

A Vulpine Spanner in the Works

Chapter 25: Fishing For a Magical Time

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[Kashia]

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I watched as my team groggily woke up after their latest encounter with a dungeon trap. And from the looks of it, all of them seemed relatively annoyed at their latest delving defeat.

"You all have fun?" I teasingly asked as they looked over to Momo, Narbee, and I.

"We would've won if those skeleton mages hadn't blindsided us into those dart traps." Lukrut was while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Aye," Dyne agreed while cracking his neck with a jerk of his head, "it seems that we'll have to take into account there being more environmental hazards in our battles again. We haven't really needed to keep that into consideration since the later sections of this dungeon didn't have them as actual battle hazards."

Momo and I gave a quick glance at one another before looking back to my team. I think it would be best if they didn't know that it was my idea to stall out the environmental hazard traps for a few rooms to lull them into a false sense of security. They might just kill me otherwise. Actually, they'd probably want to kill Momo and I regardless since the traps were ours in the first place.

"At least we did pretty well in holding off the mages combined with the horde for a good amount of time." Ninya reasoned with a positive outlook, "We'll just have to come up with a new strategy for the next time."

"Hmm… What to do…" Peter thought aloud with his chin resting on his hand. He took a few more moments to ponder this. "We could try luring the undead to one of the previous rooms that we know is safe."

"That could work. The room that we lost in was made to be a terrible fight against both the horde, the mages, and the traps. We'd also have to consider if they'll even follow us out of that room in the first place?" Dyne remarked as he pushed himself off the ground.

"That only way to find out is if we try." Lukrut replied. Then, he looked over to Momo and Narbee. "Good to see you two again. How was the mission you had to take?"

"It was easily completed. Just a large pack of dire wolves that needed to be culled." Momo replied.

"That's still pretty impressive. Just two of you fighting against an entire pack of dire wolves is something that most other adventurers couldn't do. Really goes to show why you are adamantite-plates." Ninya complimented.

Momo gave a nod of acknowledgement while Narbee remained as stoic as ever. "Yes, well, I do find the growth of all of you to be quite impressive. Nabe and I have been watching you go through the dungeon with a lot greater ease than the first time we saw you."

"Thanks for the praise, Momon. We're all hoping that we'll make it to the end of this dungeon's floor within a few weeks." My little emerald mage boasted with confidence. I'm happy to see her becoming surer of herself.

"I'm certain that you and your team will manage to do so."

That was the moment I chose to speak again, "I've got some good news for all of you. You get the day off tomorrow." When I announced this, my team looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and relief.

"Why are we getting the day off?" Peter asked.

"It's because I have some very important business to handle tomorrow. That, and you've all been making good progress, so I've decided to reward you all with a break. I am allowed to do that every once in a while." I answered.

"Do you need help with whatever you're doing?" Lukrut asked which I shook my head to.

"I'll be able to handle this on my own, but thanks for the kind offer. All I need you guys to do tomorrow is take it easy and relax."

"If you say so."

Giving my silly archer a grin I answered, "I know so." Then, I looked to the others, "So, since you all are getting the day off tomorrow, you should probably get back to dungeon delving. Can't slack off now."

That seemed to get them in gear as they picked up their weapons and ran off towards the dungeon once more. As I watched them enter through the dungeon's entrance, I received a [Message] from my copy.

'Yes?' I mentally asked, wondering what she was calling me about.

'Some little shits tried to kidnap Tuare.' My copy answered, making my eyes widen. Who the fuck would dare try to touch my daughter?!

'What happened?' I asked immediately, wondering if Eight Fingers was behind it. Would I need to speed up my plan for them immediately?

'Two imps and a doppelgänger tried to take Tuare off the street and have her replaced with the doppelgänger for some unknown reason. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get any more information since Tuare's guardian was forced to dispatch them.' As my copy said this, I felt my blood turn cold.

Then, my eyes slowly glanced over to Momo who was chatting with Narbee. The fact that something like this had been coordinated with a pair of monster races that likely wouldn't typically be seen together in this New World was suspicious. The fact that two of them were imps, creatures that aren't really seen that often was doubly so. Those two different races working together in a coordinated plan was a big fucking coincidence. And then, there's the guild base of Nazarick that had recently entered this world filled to the brim with monsters of all different kinds which said a lot.

Yet, I had to remember that there were other Players who had also either been here or were still here in this world. Momonga wouldn't just betray me like that, would he? I felt that we were making a decent connection with one another, and it made me think that doing something like this wasn't in his nature. At least, that's what I thought.

Besides, there was still that unknown with the World Item that brainwashed Shalltear. It could possibly be them as well.

'Double the guards on everything immediately. Increase all wards and protections on the settlement, at the lake, and in E-Rantel. And tell whoever it is guarding my people that if someone comes for them, I want them alive.' I said as my fingers began drumming on the arm of my chair.

'On it, Boss.' My copy replied before cutting the [Message]. Then, I took a deep breath and forced myself to remain calm.

"Hey, Momo?" I asked with an even tone. The skeleton turned to look at me, his expression unreadable.

"Yes, Kashia? Is there something you need?" He asked curiously.

"Have you been keeping track of where all of your people have been?"

"I have tried to. There are hundreds to thousands of residents in Nazarick to keep track of, but my Floor Guardians and Overseer have kept me informed on anything of importance." Momo responded. And there is where the issue is. He can't keep track of all of his people by himself.

"That's good to hear. It's just that I have a little problem, you see."

"What might that be? You are starting to worry me a little, Kashia." Momo said with uncertainty.

"That's the thing, it's come to my attention that some monsters recently tried to kidnap one of my girls. Two imps and a doppelgänger. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" I asked as my eyes flashed gold.

This caused Momo to sit up straighter as he was completely silent for a moment. "I haven't heard anything about this until now. I made my orders strictly clear to my subordinates to leave you alone, and if I can say one thing about them, it's that they are loyal to a fault."

Letting my eyes fade back to orange, I tried to calm down, even if some thought in the back of my mind told me he was lying. After all, he didn't want me for an enemy, and I didn't want him or the Monster Mash as my enemy either. I would give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but I was going to keep an eye on him.

"Then, we've got a problem. There's likely someone, probably the same people who mind-controlled Shalltear, that has the ability to subjugate monsters to their bidding. And they know who I am, which means it's only a matter of time before they look at you as well."

"Shit!" I saw a flash of green as his curse took over, telling me that he definitely felt emotional about this. It also gave away that he probably didn't know about this either. "I will need to return to Nazarick immediately to shore up the defenses. Kashia, will you need any assistance in protecting your people as well? I have enough subordinates to spare."

"No, I have enough protections on my people to keep them safe. Keep your people with you since you'll need them more." I answered. I was being honest that he needed his people more than me, but I also kept quiet about the other reason I didn't want his subordinates to help me.

There was still that niggling thought in the back of my mind that he was lying. And to be safe, I didn't want anyone who was completely loyal to him around anyone who I cared about.

"Alright." Momo and Narbee stood up from their chairs together. "Try to stay safe and watch your back. We don't know who else may attack. I'd rather not lose a…new friend so soon."

It was nice to see that he considered me a friend. Then again, I felt the same. He was nice enough to talk to and was probably the only person I'd be able to find that I could connect to over our shared experiences.

"Take care of yourself, friend." I answered back, making Momo flash green before he gave me a nod. Then, he and Narbee left.

And that just left me alone to contemplate the newest shitshow that I was going to have to deal with. I couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. There were so many unknowns and too little answers.

There was one thing I did know, at least. There was someone after one or both of my girls. And, by the end of this, someone was going to fucking die.

That was when I felt a pulse hit me, almost reminiscent of the one I felt days ago when out walking with Tuare and Ninya. It didn't hit as strongly as it had that day due to my instinctual side acting up, but I still felt an innate draw to it.

We give praise to the Fox Princess, Bringer of Knowledge. We praise you, Avatar of Mana Made Manifest, and prove our devotion!

We are given sight by your Blood and enlightenment by your Scripture!

I felt a very pleasurable warmth fill me as I heard this prayer. Greater than that, it felt like some kind of switch had just been flicked on and I became hyperaware of multiple different things that I hadn't known before. For instance, I gained an innate understanding that I had 77 religious worshippers in E-Rantel, 14 worshippers traveling 34 miles northeast of my position, and one single worshipper that was 527 feet in front of me: Ninya.

Why was she considered a religious worshipper of me? I know for a fact that she hasn't been hanging around the magical nerds since they began their whole religion around me.

Did this weird religion detector just treat her like my religious worshipper because I was her teacher? I mean, she does listen to what I say, looks up to me, constantly has her head buried in a book of magic that I gave to her…

Did I unintentionally create a 'religious worshipper' by accident?

I don't think I did, though in comparison to the other religious followers I could sense, she felt a lot different. More personal.

Either way, it was strange to think about.

Then, I heard more prayers and chanting on full blast and couldn't help but sigh at how this religious worship was spreading like the plague. I really hope that the noise would tune down in the future, especially because there is probably going to be a lot more worshippers and prayers that I'm going to have to deal with in the future.

Thankfully, the worship didn't get me as revved up like it had days earlier. Unfortunately, I was probably going to have to deal with that once a month for every month… forever.

At least I have Lukrut for this right now.

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[Hours Later]

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[Ninya]

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After finishing our final delving for the night, all of us were teleported back to Kashia's room at the Hero's Respite since she said we should have tomorrow to enjoy ourselves and relax. We'd have to meet back here in two days' time to be brought back to the dungeon for our training.

Yet, as I looked around at the room, I only saw Dyne and Peter standing by me. "Guys, where's Lukrut?" I asked.

Peter and Dyne shared my confusion as well since they also looked around before looking back to each other.

"You don't think…" Peter trailed off.

"Then where else do you think he could be?" Dyne replied, and then I finally picked up what they meant. Then I found it really weird thinking about my friend and my m-teacher having sex.

The only thing I really felt thankful for in all of this was that we didn't have to hear them at night anymore.

"I-I guess we'll be seeing Lukrut later then." I remarked. Peter grinned and shrugged.

"Seems to be the case. Anyways, I'm going to head by to my place and catch some shuteye." Peter said with a yawn, "What about you, Dyne?"

"Yeah, probably going to do the same. That last delving was a real killer." The large druid admitted.

"If that's the case, then try and get home safe, you two. Good night." I spoke. My friends gave me a nod and Peter patted me on the shoulder.

"See you later, Ninya. Try to not stay up too late reading that book of yours." Peter teased with a knowing smile. I grinned in return and watched as they left the room and closed the door behind them.

As they did that, I decided that tonight would be the night I finally investigated the Magician's Guild to see what was going on inside. I had to find out what that pulse was which I felt and that affected Kashia.

And luckily for me, I knew a kobold craftsman and alchemist that could help me in this endeavor.

So, I quickly made my way to the door of the sanctuary and went inside. Once there, I quickly made my way to the cabin and opened the door where I found Tuare sleeping in her bed, making me smile at the sight. It seems like she's had a long day.

"Tiny Mistress has returned!" Meepo whispered loudly as he appeared before me. He then looked around me before meeting my gaze once more. "Is the Mistress with you?"

"No, Kashia had to do some things, so she sent the rest of us back." I avoided telling Meepo exactly what I believed that Kashia was doing right now. He'd probably kill Lukrut at that point. Still, Meepo seemed a little disappointed. I crouched down to the little kobold and patted his head, earning a wagging of his tail. "Hey, Meepo, would you be able to help me with something?"

Meepo nodded vigorously at the question. "Of course, Tiny Mistress! How can Meepo help you?"

"Do you have any potion or item that can make me invisible?" When I asked this, Meepo's face was split by an enormous grin as he rubbed his scaly hands together.

"Yes. Meepo has all kinds of methods for invisibility. What would Tiny Mistress like?" Meepo answered as he almost seemed to bounce in excitement.

"I need something that can keep me invisible and hidden for a long amount of time. I plan to infiltrate the Magician's Guild tonight and I can't be caught while doing so." I answered as I considered the building that I would be infiltrating to investigate. I needed to be hidden, and I'd need it to be powerful since the Magician's Guild was very likely to have methods to detect invisibility. After all, they did contain a lot of magical knowledge that was the cumulation of years of research.

They'd be fools to not have any protections considering how many mages would love to attain free spell research.

"Also, the Magician's Guild will probably be able to detect any weak methods of invisibility, so it'll need to be stronger than normal." I quickly added for the kobold. Meepo began nodding in thought while stroking the bottom horn of his face in a manner reminiscent to a man stroking his beard. Then, his eyes lit up with a solution to my request.

"Meepo has just the item. Wait here, Tiny Mistress!" Upon saying this, Meepo quickly ran off to the opened hatch of the cabin and traveled down the steps. While waiting for Meepo to retrieve whatever item he had in mind, I quietly walked over to the bed Tuare was sleeping in and looked at my older sister's sleeping form.

I couldn't help but smile at how relaxed and happy that she looked while sleeping. In a way, it still felt a little unreal that I could just watch my sister sleep after being missing from my life for so many years. I felt blessed that so much good has happened in my life in such a short amount of time. And that made it all the more important that I protect everything that I've been given. And one of those things was Kashia.

I heard the small footsteps of Meepo come up the stairs. So, with a final look at Tuare, I quietly walked over to the steps and crouched down as Meepo finally arrived with something clenched in his hand. Upon approaching me, Meepo held out his hand and uncurled his fingers to reveal a simple gold ring in hand. Such a tiny thing…

"Meepo brought the Ring of Greater Invisibility! It was once the Mistress' ring until she stored it away with her other magical artifacts. Tiny Mistress just puts it on, then you can will the enchantment with your mind! Go on, try it!" Meepo answered with a toothy grin.

I gently took the ring from Meepo's finger and slowly slipped it onto my index finger of my right hand. I took a moment to examine the ring on my gloved hand and couldn't help but smirk. All I'll need is nine more rings on each of my fingers to match Kashia at this point. Pushing the thought away, I thought about turning invisible and felt my body warm up before I looked down at myself to see my body was slightly shimmering. That was odd. Wasn't this supposed to-

"Tiny Mistress, it worked! You are completely invisible to Meepo!" The kobold whispered loudly. Oh, guess that the ring allows me to see my invisible body. How convenient. "Now, Meepo must warn Tiny Mistress that the ring works for 30 minutes before needing a minute to cooldown before trying again." I then willed myself to be visible again, causing the shimmer on my body to disappear.

"That's good to know, Meepo." I said in gratitude. Then, Meepo pulled a vial out of his bandolier and held it out to me. "What's this?" I asked while taking the vial in my hand and then examining the strange silver-colored liquid within.

"Invisibility potion for Tiny Mistress in case ring isn't enough." Meepo answered. I stored it away into the pouch on my belt and patted the kobold on the head.

"Thanks for the help, Meepo. I'll be back in a few hours." I stated while standing up once again.

"Meepo will be here waiting. If Tiny Mistress isn't back within three hours, Meepo will come looking just in case." The tiny kobold said as an ultimatum. I doubt that I could convince him to not try and tear the city (or a guild) apart to find me if I wasn't back within his stated time limit.

With a sigh, I gave a nod, "Okay, Meepo. If I'm not back within three hours, you can come looking for me." I said before adding, "But you'll have to be covert if you do come searching. We can't afford having the entire city hunting you down."

"Meepo only promises to try." That was probably the best I was going to get from him.

"See you soon." I walked out of the cabin with a wave and left Meepo and Tuare as I walked through the sanctuary's garden. When I finally exited the sanctuary, I closed the door behind me and began my journey. I decided to activate the ring on my way to the Magician's Guild since it would probably be best that there was barely any evidence to connect me to what I was going to do.

With that, I made my way out of the tavern section of the inn, making sure to avoid making contact with any of the patrons as I did so. Then, I finally found myself on the city streets as the lamplighters were turning on the magically powered lamps that dotted the streets. I will admit that when I had first arrived at the city, I was amazed at the lamps.

My village could only afford candles and torches to light up the night. Yet here, as well as in every other city, they used lamps enchanted with a fire spell. I could only imagine how much just an individual lamp might cost, let alone enough to light up the entire city. Funny how such an amazing device had managed to become mundane to me at this point. I can conjure two different schools of fire spells at this point, so a small flame enchantment was pretty dull in comparison.

With a time limit set, I jogged down the streets towards the Magician's Guild which took about 16 minutes. But just to be safe, I ducked off into an alleyway and deactivated my ring to restart the usage limit. I made sure to count down the time of a minute before reactivating my ring and rushing to the guild's entrance.

As I approached, I felt another pulse emanate from the guild and some invisible force escaped from the building as it passed through me and continued west. My heart was beating fast as I could barely describe what it was I felt. It was like a ghost made by mixing pure mana, emotion, and something indescribable together and sending it through me.

What were they doing inside there?

I needed to find out quickly. So, I rushed towards the doors of the guild and saw my first obstacle. I'd need to get through that door without getting caught. Thankfully, I witness a small group of people in mage robes going up the steps to the guild. Smirking, I took my chance and rushed up behind them and started matching their footsteps as well as I could.

While following them, I couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"-ritual that Guildmaster Theo created for us devoted, we've managed to earn 20 more converts within the past two days." A woman with green hair in a red robe said with a tone filled with satisfaction.

"That is excellent to hear. Our Goddess will be pleased with the progress that has been made in spreading Her word. With Guildmaster Theo's pilgrimage to the capital, he'll likely be able to spread more of our Goddess' miracle to the Grand Guildmaster. If he can also be converted, belief in our Goddess will easily spread to all the other guild branches." A man with brunette hair in a gray robe replied.

What the hell were they talking about? I know the Magician's Guild due to being required to register with them as a magic user. And what I knew for a fact is that the guild has never been religious before. Mages were typically more practical in their beliefs just due to what being a mage entailed. They devoted their lives to the creation and acquisition of knowledge.

Belief, like that of the church, went against that mindset since members of the church were blessed with power, they didn't acquire their spells through learning. Instead, those of the church gained their spells with the strength of their devotion to their gods.

I know I haven't been to the Magician's Guild in a while, but this was an extremely drastic change from what I know of them. Could this new religion that the guild is suddenly worshipping possibly be related to these pulses that Kashia and I have been feeling?

"I have no doubt that belief in our Goddess will spread. Just a sip from the Goddess' elixir was able to increase the power of my spells." A young man with blond hair who looked like he had only entered his 20's stated, "I used to have extreme difficulty trying to even cast the single 2nd Tier spell I knew. Now, I can do so with ease. There isn't a mage out there who wouldn't begin worshipping Her the moment they get a taste of the elixir."

An elixir that makes casting spells easier? That seemed like a dream come true for every mage alive. How the hell did they acquire something like that? Additionally, why was such knowledge of an elixir like that not being kept quiet? The Baharuth Empire would have a field day if they managed to steal it and began empowering their mages with it.

"Yes, most would see the Goddess' gift and teachings and understand it to be truth. Unfortunately, there are still some in the guild who would say otherwise." The green-haired woman remarked with some disdain.

"You are talking about Mercia and her group?" The brunette questioned as he pulled open the door to the guild for the others to walk inside. I made sure to quickly slip behind the blond mage as they entered while the brunette followed and closed the door behind us all. Then, the group continued walking.

"She has denied the revelations that we have received. Mercia saw the Goddess with her own eyes, and yet, she still denies it. Instead, she shouts about heresy to the Four Great Gods. I have reason to believe that she will bring this to the church if she hasn't already. We may need to deal with her." The woman said darkly, making my eyes widen.

Was she seriously talking about killing another fellow guild member? That was absolutely insane! I'm actually getting frightened at what is happening here.

"And you are not the only one who thinks so. In fact, I think you'll be quite pleased at tonight's meeting since we are planning to discuss that issue." The brunette added with a smirk. That made the green-haired woman smile in horrifying happiness. Were they actually going to kill someone?

Regardless, I kept as silent as possible and continued following the trio through the lamplit guild. I noticed that there weren't as many people here as I would've expected, even at night. The main hall of the guild was seemingly empty of the mages that might normally be active around the halls during the evening. That typically stemmed from a lot of the mages having an inconsistent sleep schedule due to them remaining awake for long periods of time to perform research.

Such sleep patterns tended to lead to nocturnal mages.

We eventually made it to the stairs to the underground research laboratory. It was a heavily reinforced underground structure that was divided into multiple sub-labs to be used to test more dangerous magical research. Typically, explosive magical research. Oddly enough, there were two men in dark hooded robes that stood guard at the entrance to the lab. Why were they there?

The two guards nodded to the trio of mages and let them through, with me following right behind. As we went down the steps, I could hear some kind of chanting that grew louder as we got closer.

"-raise to you, Avatar of Mana Made Manifest, and prove our devotion! We are given sight by your Blood and enlightenment by your Scripture!" The voices of many people chanted with absolute devotion. "With your divine knowledge, we grow closer to you!"

"Ah, the prayers are well underway." The green-haired woman remarked.

"We should hurry so as to not miss out." The blond man recommended, which made the trio increase their pace which I had to match. Once we made it to the bottom of the granite stairs, we stood in a long hallway of magically reinforced granite that split off into 11 rooms. We halfway walked, halfway jogged to the center room where all the chanting was coming from.

Upon opening the reinforced door of wood and metal, my jaw dropped at the sight of all of the mages within this lab that had been converted into a chapel. There were multiple pews set up on either side of the room which were packed with mages looking forwards, completely enraptured by a beautiful woman with red hair and blue eyes ringed with gold on the edges of her irises that stood in front of a shining silver bowl on a pedestal. Whatever was inside the bowl gave off a soft golden glow that lightly bathed the front of the woman in a soft light.

Behind the woman was a banner that covered the back of the wall behind her had a symbol of a blue flame with nine golden rays coming off of it. This symbol was also painted on the front of the redhead's white robes that looked extremely odd. They almost reminded me of the style that Kashia and I wore, except her skirt's sides went even further up than mine or Kashia's while the cloth trailed the floor. The sleeves she had weren't even connected to the robe itself. And finally, a conical white hat on top of her head along with a white translucent veil covered the bottom half of her face, allowing me to see her lips smile in excitement.

Deciding to get a better look at whatever was in that bowl, I made my way to the pedestal and thought that the golden glow coming from the bowl was getting stronger. It seemed that I wasn't the only one since the redhead's eyes became filled with rapturous joy as her eyes passed over the entire crowd. It almost felt that she was gazing at me, but that feeling quickly passed as she moved her eyes onto everyone else.

"My brothers and sisters! The Goddess shows us Her favor through the elixir! Her Blood doesn't lie; She is pleased with our work in Her name!" The redhead said with raised hands and a powerful voice. "We have accomplished so much within the small amount of time that we received our enlightenment! Our numbers throughout E-Rantel have swelled to account for three fourths of our guild!"

That received cheering from the crowd. As I considered these words. There were around 120 to 140 members of the Magician's Guild in just this city if we also included myself. And that was from the last time I had been to the guild since I didn't come here often. That would mean that they have over 90 members!

I continued making my way to the bowl that glowed brighter, inciting the redhead even further. "Guildmaster Theo, the Receiver of our Goddess' Word, is on a pilgrimage to the capital. There, he will give revelation to the Grand Guildmaster and spread Her Word even further!" Even louder clapping echoed throughout the room as I finally made it to the bowl and looked inside.

What I saw was what could be described as a golden water that continued to glow brightly with that golden light. Yet, beyond what I could see, I felt what could only be described as pure mana coming from this bowl. I watched this golden water constantly shift and move and I couldn't help but believe that… this was the essence of mana that had somehow been distilled into this liquid. That slightly answered the question as to why the mages who drank this liquid had an easier time casting spells.

They were artificially inflating their bodies' mana limits!

No wonder why mages were being converted so quickly to this religion. With mages; everyone, from the weakest mage who could barely conjure a candle of flame to the strongest who could create infernos, had a set natural limit that their bodies could channel mana. There would eventually come that moment where they hit a ceiling and couldn't go any further. No amount of meditation, training, or alchemical potions would be able to change that, and magical items could only go so far, besides being prohibitively expensive.

This elixir broke that limit. It was an actual miracle that mages the world over have sought for centuries. And now, I was looking at that miracle that the E-Rantel Magician's Guild had somehow managed to acquire.

As I continued looking at the ever-shifting water, I felt a slight draw to it, like I was connected to that golden water. Something so close to me that it was on the tip of my tongue.

"And yet, there are those who would deny these revelations and gifts! To deny the existence of our Goddess!" As the redhead said this, the room erupted into sounds of outrage before the redhead silenced the room with a gesture. "Recently, one of those very same deniers was found with accomplices trying to alert the Church of the Four Great Gods that we are nothing more than cultists and heretics! That our Goddess does not deserve worship and is false!" More outrage filled the room.

All I could think is that everyone in this room was on the verge of becoming violent. They just needed an outlet for their aggression…

"It is thanks to our brother, Oscar Vraine, and his fellow Order members that this plot was found and stopped!" Cheers filled the room and my blood ran cold. Did Oscar have guild members killed?! "Bring in the accomplices!" As the woman said this, the doors to the room opened and a man with gray, slicked-back hair strode in proudly with a chain in hand. He wore a gray robe with that same blue flame symbol that the banner had.

Said chain was used to pull the group of seven mages that were cuffed to the original chain by manacles at their hands and feet. This group was escorted by a few hooded mages in dark robes, yet I looked at the prisoners in horror. Each one shared a look between fear and dejection, like they had all the hope sucked out of them.

The clinking of chains echoed throughout the room as the group was led to the front of the room where the redheaded priestess gave a warm smile to the group as they stopped before her.

"I bring the seven accomplices that attempted to call an inquisition upon us! Each one has admitted to their guilt. What shall be done with them?" The man who I guessed was Oscar asked as the dark-robed mages forced all the prisoners to kneel.

The priestess moved in front of each of the prisoners and looked down upon them with a look of disappointment, like a parent would give to a disobedient child. Then, she answered, "All of you, while not believers of our faith, are still members of the Magician's Guild. Why would you betray us, people who have worked with you, studied with you, and shared the same love of magic that you do?" As she said this, the prisoners looked away from the woman in either fear or shame.

It was quiet in the room, quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop. Then, one of the prisoner's finally broke down crying. The priestess' expression flashed with satisfaction before shifting back to a friendly, almost motherly, expression. She approached the crying mage, a young woman with blonde hair whose name I knew to be Elana Lutenna. We had interacted a few times when I was here, so seeing her crying in terror or shame was disturbing.

The priestess kneeled down in front of Elana and put her hands on either side of Elana's head before gently raising it so that Elana's green eyes could meet her blue. "Why is it that you cry? Is it because of your guilt?" The priestess asked.

Elana sniffed before answering, "I-I did-didn't want to hur-hurt an-anyone. Mer-Mercia said th-that you we-were do-doing some-something evil to-to the g-guild!" The priestess laid the girl's head on her shoulder as she embraced her in a soft hug as she stroked her head.

"It's alright. You were being led astray by a person who can't see beyond her own beliefs. Mercia is fearful and desires control, desires that her world view be correct, even if it is wrong." She broke the embrace and met the girl's gaze once again, "Do you know who it is that we believe in?"

"N-No, M-Miss Evelyn." Elana answered.

"Our Goddess is the first Goddess of Magic that has appeared to this world. Her mind contains spells beyond our comprehension while Her Blood is Mana Made Manifest. She is generous and wise, and offers us knowledge and power for our faith. Our Goddess is not evil, she only wishes to help. Would you like to see?"

Hesitantly, Elana nodded and Evelyn, the named priestess, stood up and walked to the silver bowl. Pulling out a chalice that was attached to her hip, she scooped a small amount of the golden water into the chalice and held it reverently with both of her hands. Then, she calmly made her way back to Elana before kneeling in front of her and holding the chalice in front of the girl.

"Take a sip from the power She offers. She gives it freely, but with greater belief, you can cultivate further power to enhance your magic." Evelyn said gently. Elana looked from Evelyn to the cup. She quickly considered her decision, then she nodded and Evelyn raised the chalice to Elana's lips, allowing the girl to drink the golden liquid from the chalice. I saw a golden glow through her neck that traveled down into her body and disappeared. Then, I felt a pulse which seemed to come from Elana that made me gasp and fall to a knee.

That was what Kashia and I felt that day! But if that was the case and everyone in this room had been drinking this elixir, then why hadn't we felt it more often? Unless, it had to do with the amount of people that needed to have drunk the liquid prior or it only occurred when specific people drank it…

I looked back to Elana to see her eyes flashed gold before the edges of her green eyes became ringed in gold, then she looked up at Evelyn with an amazed gaze. "I-I saw a great v-vision! A-And n-now, I-I can feel so much mana flowing within me! I f-feel like I-I could ca-cast my str-strongest spell without i-issue. I-Is this w-what you all feel after drinking th-this?"

"Yes, Elana. This is the power that our Goddess offers. Though you have received an even greater blessing than most. Now that you have received the Goddess' Blood, would you like to know more? To become a sister of our Order? To be reborn as a Maiden of the Fox Princess?" Evelyn asked, making my jaw drop as I considered exactly everything I seen and heard.

The only person I knew that could fit as a goddess of magic called the Fox Princess was Kashia. Looking at the symbol they were using, I finally understood what it was supposed to be. That it was [Foxfire] surrounded by nine golden tails! The reason that Evelyn's robes were similar to Kashia's and mine is because they were slightly copying Kashia's outfit.

And then, my eyes flicked to the elixir that these people had been drinking from, and how they mentioned that it was the Fox Princess' Blood.

Holy shit, they were drinking Kashia's blood!

Now I knew why Kashia was so affected by the pulses coming from the Magician's Guild. It was because her worshippers were literally connecting to Kashia and sending some weird combination of magic and belief to her or something similar to that. But what that doesn't explain is why I was feeling those pulses so sporadically or when it wasn't my blood they were drinking from and worshipping with. And I definitely wasn't a demigoddess or goddess, so I shouldn't be feeling these pulses.

Was Kashia even aware of this? And if so, why did they even have her blood? It was actually a little disgusting that they were even drinking Kashia's blood in the first place.

"Y-Yes, I'll become a-a Maiden of the Fox Princess!" Elana answered. Evelyn looked up to one of the dark-robed mages and nodded. As she did so, the mage knelt down to Elana and unlocked her manacles. Then, Evelyn took Elana's hands in her own and helped her to her feet.

"Then we, as the Order of the Fox Princess, will gladly accept you into our fold!" Evelyn said loudly, causing all the order members in the room to loudly clap and cheer at their newest initiate. And that seemed to be what shook away the doubts of all the other prisoners as they quickly called out to Evelyn.

"Please, I was wrong!" A young man with brunette hair exclaimed.

"I wish to atone for my treachery!" An older man with gray hair said with regret.

"It was Mercia's idea!" A woman with blue hair blamed.

All of the mages, even if they were likely insincere, quickly became believers upon drinking Kashia's blood. I was breathing heavily, and I tried to be as quiet as possible, as I continued watching this ceremony go on. Yet, none of the others had gold rings in their eyes like Evelyn or Elana did.

When Evelyn had finished inducting the seven new order members, she then turned to the rest of the order and shouted out, "With this, we have received seven new initiates into our flock! But now, we must deal with the true doubter! The one who denies Her! Bring in the true traitor, MERCIA!"

As Evelyn said this, the doors opened and I watched as a pair of mages dragged in Mercia, kicking and screaming. Her arms and legs were wrapped in chains while a gag was tied against her mouth, not that it stopped her from continuing to try and shout muffled curses at all the mages gathered in the room. "Ah, I see that the traitor is acting undignified even after being caught."

"OCK EW!" Mercia cried out through her gag before she was finally hauled before Evelyn. Her eyes quickly flashed over to the new initiates and widened in a mixture of horror and betrayal.

"You are not doing anything to disprove that notion, Mercia." Evelyn stated before she followed Mercia's gaze. This made the redhead smile in amusement. "Oh, you've noticed our Order's new initiates." Tears dripped from Mercia's eyes as she squeezed them before looking away from the initiates, all of who looked at the bound woman with saddened gazes.

"I'll let you know that, unlike the lies that you told to your friends, I was able to give them proof of our claims. Our Goddess walks among us, you were witness to it. And yet, you still deny Her divinity and try to hurt the members of our Order." Evelyn said before kneeling in front of Mercia and grabbing her face with both hands, before forcing the woman to look at her. "What more do you need to be given before you'll finally believe?"

Mercia tried to pull away from Evelyn, but the redhead's grip was tight and wouldn't allow it. "I think that you just need to understand what the rest of the Order does." She quickly glanced to the mages holding down Mercia and gave a nod. When that happened, they quickly moved to hold her down as they took the gag out of her mouth and held it open.

Mercia began screaming and trying to shake out of the grip of the mages, but they stood fast and continued to hold her. I saw her brown eyes looking around in absolute terror as Evelyn scooped some of the elixir into the chalice before taking it back over to Mercia.

"We shall give an unbeliever like you the gift of our Goddess. With Her Blood and power within you, perhaps you'll understand." Evelyn stated as Mercia screamed. Then, she poured the chalice into Mercia's mouth which the mages quickly shut and held closed. When Mercia didn't show any sign of swallowing, a mage squeezed her nose, preventing her from even breathing.

Mercia continued to resist for a little longer until all of us saw the golden glow through her throat go down until it had disappeared. That was when they allowed her to breathe once more, making the woman cough before taking heavy breaths.

"How do you feel, Mercia?" Evelyn asked. Mercia's eyes flashed gold before returning to normal. Then, she glared at the veiled priestess.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOUR ORDER! AND FUCK YOUR GODDE-MMMPH!" She screamed before one of her guards put the gag back into her mouth. Yet, even as she continued giving muffled shouts of anger at Evelyn, the fight in her slowly began to die out.

Then I felt another large pulse that made me take a shuddering breath. Looking back at Mercia, I saw that there was a ring of gold at the edge of her irises while her pupils grew wide. This made Evelyn give off a motherly smile as she knelt down to Mercia and met her gaze.

"It seems that you've been doubly blessed like Elana and I have. There are only three other women of our Order who have been chosen as Maidens of the Fox Princess. It must be a lot to process the new connection with our Goddess, but don't worry. I'll be here to take care of my newest sister." Evelyn said as she brought Mercia into a hug and rested the woman's head on her shoulder.

Mercia gave off a muffled moan as her ringed eyes almost seemed to look at me. But that wasn't possible. The ring Meepo gave me should keep me hidden. Maybe I'm just thinking too much about it.

Eventually, Evelyn separated from Mercia and examined her before looking at her animal hide clothing with disdain. She then looked to the two guards. "Take our new sister to my room and give her new robes fit for her station. Then, keep her safe until I arrive. She is in a fragile state after making such a connection with our Goddess while being so resistant." The two mages gave affirmations before one picked her up in his arms like a bride and began carrying her while the other followed after.

It was much easier for them to do so this time since she wasn't resisting. Instead, I felt my breath hitch because she was still looking at my position. That made me slowly crane my neck in horror, first towards Elana, whose eyes were locked on me. Then, towards Evelyn, who spoke to the crowd once again.

"Tonight is a night of celebration! We have gained eight new brothers and sisters to our ranks! None here in this room are apart from our Order! None here, except for one…" That was when Evelyn turned to look at me, and I felt my heart thundering in my chest. No, she shouldn't know that I'm here! It was impossible!

I felt myself slowly back away from the Evelyn until my back hit the wall.

"Please, do away with such petty illusions. I've known that you've been there since the very beginning." I felt frozen in place. There were probably more than 80 mages in this room that were more than willing to take me down under the orders of this zealous priestess. I could probably take down one or two in an escape attempt, but I'd fall immediately after. And that was before we took my ring into consideration.

Evelyn was very likely stronger than I was. Me being invisible would do nothing since she could somehow see me with it on. I think I may have made a horrible mistake.

"Please, don't make me count to three." She said, her gold-ringed eyes filled with some amusement but also warning. She was serious, especially because of the spell the I could see beginning to gather in her hands.

Damnit…

Deactivating my ring, then entire crowd gasped in surprise at my appearance, yet Evelyn seemed perfectly calm.

"Dear girl, please come over here and let me get a better look at you." My heart was thumping in my chest as I slowly walked over to the woman. My eyes glanced over to the mass of mages who watched with bated breath. When I finally within reaching distance of the woman, she slowly raised her hands to my face and cupped my cheeks. While her hands were warm, it didn't stop the shiver from running down my spine.

What was she planning to do with me?

She gently raised my face up and to meet her ringed eyes that seemed to just stare into my soul. Then, I saw her lips break out into a grand smile from under her veil. "I see. You are our Goddess', even without Her Blood." That didn't sound good, especially when she turned to the rest of the worshippers, "We have received a special guest to our gathering! It seems that we didn't even need to search for the Fox Princess' High Priestess, she has come to us!"

That caused the entire crowd to burst out into cheering. What the hell was this woman talking about? High Priestess? I didn't even know this religion existed until tonight, let alone know how to even lead something like that! I'm just a mage!

"H-High Priestess? I think y-you might have that wrong idea." I tried to reason to the woman. She simply giggled at my denial.

"No, I can tell. So could Mercia, and so can Elana. You are the High Priestess, our Goddess' Chosen." She said before letting go of my face and scooping some of the golden liquid from the bowl into her chalice. Then she held it out to me and said, "Your connection is strong, but it should be even greater. Drink from this to fully embrace your destiny."

I began backing away from Evelyn and her offered cup, "I think that I'm okay as I am-" Then I felt my back bump against something. Looking over my shoulder, I found a black-robed mage standing there. "I think that it's best if I just go. This is all just a misunderstanding."

"You may go, after you drink." As she said this, two mages took me by either arm while the third held my body in place. Then, Evelyn started walking towards me. I had no idea what drinking that stuff might do to me. Either everyone here was actually this faithful towards Kashia or something mixed in that stuff was causing some form of mind control! While some of the people here seemed normal enough, the fact that I just watch Mercia change from being violently against these people to extremely docile was worrying.

If I cast my spells, I'll be killed by everyone here most likely. I'm too weak to try and break away from the people holding me. Even if I managed to get away, I'd have most of the guild after me. Meepo still had over two hours before he'd come to find me, and Kashia wasn't even in the city. I messed up.

"Please, drink, High Priestess." Evelyn said as she held the chalice to my mouth. Taking a deep breath, I had to believe that even if something does happen after drinking this stuff, Kashia or Grandma could probably fix it. I hope.

Then, I drank from the cup and tasted the metallic liquid as I swallowed it. The entire time, it felt warm with power. Once I had finished, Evelyn lowered the cup and looked at me with a warm smile. For a few arduous moments, nothing happened. That was when I felt a massive pulse within me that made my vision go dark as I lost touch with all my other senses.

Then, that same darkness I was trapped in was lit up by a massive white tree larger than I could comprehend. And suddenly, my vision zoomed towards that tree like a bird flying at inconceivable speeds towards one of the nine branches of the tree. For a moment, I saw that at the end of each tree branch was an entire world all on its own.

Yet, my vision didn't go to one of these worlds. Instead, it zoomed towards a gathering of tiny branches and vines between two of the greater ones where there seemed to be another world resting upon it. The vision quickly sped up as light and images became a blur, until stopping at a familiar hill of silver grass where a massive pillar of golden light pierced the sky.

I felt myself be brought into this golden light and my body felt infused with it, becoming warm with power. Then, the golden light shifted to a vision of Kashia in strange and revealing white clothing, similar to what Evelyn wore, surrounded by five other pillars of light which I tried to reach out to.

"Kashia!" I thought I cried out.

Ninya?!

I felt myself ripped out of that vision and I was once again back in the chapel. Yet, I wasn't standing where I'd been before. Instead, I felt I was on something…furry?

My eyes fully widened at this point as I found myself riding on the back of something with red fur that had blue streaks going throughout it. Looking around at the creature, I found myself to be riding on a large fox, the size of a dire wolf that had seven tails flowing behind it. Then I looked around the room to see that all of the worshippers were kneeling around us, including Evelyn.

Something was noticeably different with Evelyn. It was almost like she was surrounded by an aura of gold that outlines her form. And when my eyes shifted over to Elana, she too had that same aura. Was this what Evelyn, Elana, and Mercia saw when looking at me?

Then, my attention was broken by a voice, "I'll be taking the girl now. Any of you have an issue with that?" A deep and gritty voice questioned that came from the fox itself.

"No, we would never dream of denying a request from a servant of the Fox Princess. Especially when it's a request for our Goddess' High Priestess." Evelyn answered with pure reverence in her voice.

"Good." The fox replied dryly before he began padding out of the room as none of the worshippers made a move to stop him. I didn't understand what this fox was doing here or why he was carrying me, but I knew he was one of Kashia's and Grandma's people, so I just held on and closed my eyes. "Are you alright, Ninya?" The fox questioned as we went up the stairs.

"You know who I am?" I asked.

"Of course I do. I was assigned to keep you safe after all. Not that you've made my job any easier." The fox added with some amusement before becoming focused once more, "Hold on, we'll be going fast now." I gripped his fur tighter as one of his tails gently wrapped around me as a precaution. Another moment later and I felt a warmth around us, similar to when I had used the ring. Then, the world around us became a blur as we rushed up the stairs and through the guild hall before exiting it onto the streets.

The red fox then jumped into the air until we landed on the rooftops before the fox half-ran, half-jumped across the rooftops until we were far enough away. Then, he stopped on a roof and gently let me down. Following that, one of his tails handed me my staff which I gratefully took and held in both my hands.

"Who are you?" I asked the fox who now sat on his haunches before me, his seven tails gracefully flowing about him.

"My name is Puraimu. I was tasked by the Princess to watch over and keep you safe. I apologize for not reaching you sooner, but your little trick with that ring threw me off until I picked up your scent trail. I'm only thankful that you came out of this relatively unscathed." Puraimu answered with a bow of his head.

"Wait, Kashia has had you watching over me? Since when?" I asked with surprise.

"A little after your team's encounter with the killer known as Clementine. While not the full reason for why she's had us protect you and your team, it is one of the larger factors in her decision." Wait, so Kashia's had more of these foxes, these kitsune, guarding all of us? I could kind of see why, considering how broken she was over almost being too late to save all of us.

"What are the other reasons for why she is having you protect us?"

Puraimu shook his head, "I'm unfortunately unable to tell you that much. The fact that I'm saying this much is due to how much you know about the Princess already." That was extremely ominous. What might worry Kashia beyond someone like Clementine killing us? I'd have to ask Kashia about that one day.

But there was also another question on my mind, "Do you know what exactly it was that the mages were doing with Kashia's blood? What is it doing to the people who consumed it?" All I could think of was how Mercia looked after drinking Kashia's blood.

Did she also see that tree as I did? Was she able to see Kashia as well? Could I have ended like she did, almost broken?

"From what I could tell, those worshippers were forging rapid connections of devotion to the Princess through a ritualistic consumption of her blood. You have to understand that her blood is the mixture of pure mana, magic, and divinity. Any mortal consuming it is drinking liquid power which can be strengthened with further belief. Yet, this quick boost to power comes as a double-edged sword." When Puraimu said that, I immediately became worried. I'd been force-fed it, so what would it do to me?

"What do you mean by double-edged sword?" I asked nervously.

"Those that drank from the Princess' blood have linked themselves to her. Just as they gained power from her, they could just as easily have said power, along with all accumulated power afterwards, taken from them. Her mother has done similar before." I became a lot more relieved when the red kitsune said this. Mainly, because I knew she wouldn't ever do something like that to me.

"And what about what happened to Evelyn, Elana, and Mercia? When they drank Kashia's blood, something changed with them."

"They had a strong enough resonance to bind themselves with the Princess and become her priestesses. The gold in their eyes symbolizes that stronger connection, almost like yours, but weaker." As Puraimu said this, I lit a ball of [Foxfire] in my hand (which I noted felt a lot easier to do than before) and looked in the reflective head of my staff to see that my eyes had greatly changed!

With Evelyn and the others, they just had small rings of gold around their irises. But with me, that ring had grown to take up almost half the blue in my eyes! There was no way that I could hide this.

Dispelling the [Foxfire] I looked over to the red fox, "What does this mean for me?"

"It's whatever meaning you wish it to be. This is something you'll need to discover for yourself. All I can say is that the Princess will be there to help you if you need it. You are her 'High Priestess' after all." Puraimu ended with a chuckle.

"I'll try to keep that in mind." I replied.

"No doubt that you will." The red fox acknowledged before getting up from his haunches and bowing down to me, "Now, I believe that it is time for you to head off to bed. I'll take you down from here."

The moment Puraimu mentioned the word bed, I was reminded of how tired I felt from the training and delving of today combined with my excursion of tonight. Then I yawned.

"Why did you have to remind me that I haven't slept yet?" I teasingly asked the red fox as I took a seat on his back. Then, he stood up once more.

"Because even 'High Priestesses' need their rest." Puraimu joked back before walking to the edge of the building and jumping down into the alley below. The wind rushed around me, making my clothes and hair flutter about, before it finally stopped as the red fox lightly hit the ground.

Then, he bowed down once more and allowed me to hop off his back. Turning around to look at the fox, I reached out and hugged him around the neck, "Thanks for the help and advice tonight." Puraimu chuckled at this.

"You are very welcome, Ninya." The fox answered with a wag of his tails before we separated. Then, he lightly butted his head against my chest. "Now, it's time for you to get going."

I gave him a nod before walking away from him and out of the alley. When I looked back, he was already gone. Yet, even if I couldn't see him, I knew he was around somewhere just keeping an eye on me.

There was so much that just happened tonight, and I needed to speak to Kashia about it. But that was for another day since I really needed some rest.

---

[Evelyn]

---

We were truly blessed tonight at our gathering. The mages who had been led astray finally saw the truth of our faith and accepted it within themselves. And among them, we received another Maiden of the Fox Princess into our ranks. Even better than that, the Great Doubter, Mercia, had finally seen the light!

I will admit, when we had given her our Goddess' gift, I felt a small measure of heretical doubt in my heart. Her spitting out such vile and blasphemous words until we were forced to silence her made me wonder if she truly couldn't see the error of her ways. But then, our Goddess saw fit to give Her greatest doubter a vision in combination of Her blessing.

Of course, Mercia is in a fragile state right now. For one who so vehemently rejected Her Truth, it was a lot for one to take. I myself, wasn't so different from her. As one of the first to partake in the elixir, I had been overcome with a glorious vision that revealed so much to me.

From the Goddess' white tree that she had obviously helped to create, all the way to the world of silver grass. Unlike the others, while I did see the golden pillar, I also saw the Mother. She revealed to me knowledge that I have kept secret from all but Guildmaster Theo.

She wished for us to spread Her Daughter's Word to as many as possible. Kashia Blanc's Word!

I had been blessed to be given the true name of our Goddess, the Fox Princess, Kashia Blanc. And I had already been so close to my Goddess without even knowing it! I had heard Her speak with Guildmaster Theo. She had heard me speak with Elias and Tabitha on that cart!

All of us Maidens had been granted vision of Her face, unobscured by Her divine hat or veil, yet only I was given Her name and assigned my divine duty by the Mother!

Once I told Guildmaster Theo about this revelation, he confirmed that I told the truth, as he was also blessed with knowledge of our Goddess' true name. From there, we hastened the spread of Her Word to the mages of the guild

With the Goddess' elixir that Guildmaster Theo had made from the Blood of our Goddess being mixed into magically conjured water, it prevented as much dilution as possible of Her power. Just a taste of it was enough to convince those that doubted! And Mercia was divine proof of that.

With Mercia, I, and our sisters, would need to spend multiple days with her. We'd spend that time erasing any further doubts that she may have. That could take a little time, but with enough faith, she would soon realize that all the prior gods she worshipped are false. Once that was completed, Mercia would be taught her duties.

Besides Mercia's miraculous conversion, we were visited by our Goddess' High Priestess, Ninya Veyron. It should have been obvious as the Goddess was known to be part of the adventuring group called the Swords of Darkness. She obviously was instructing our High Priestess in how to perform her duties.

Though, it seems that the High Priestess wished to witness our ceremony before our Goddess had finished training her. It would explain how reluctant she was about drinking from the elixir. But when she finally did, it was magnificent.

All of us Maidens have the ability to see one another as our eyes can pick up the golden aura of our Goddess upon one another. Even before Ninya had imbibed the Goddess' gift; I could see that same aura, however faint it was, behind that invisibility she used. And afterwards, she was radiant with the Goddess' power.

Aside from her initially faint aura, there was another reason that I could tell she was the Goddess' High Priestess. It was the reaction of the Goddess' Blood which glowed brighter as she approached. Another possibility, which I found all the more splendid, was that Ninya Veyron could also be our Goddess' demigoddess daughter!

With that being the case, we'll need to properly prepare for Ninya's ascension to the role of High Priestess. When that occurs, we'll be ready for the next stage of the Order's expansion after Guildmaster Theo completes his pilgrimage. Our Goddess needed to be known throughout this entire kingdom. As Her power grew, so too, would our magic follow.

As I arrived before the chamber that used to be one of the myriads of large meeting rooms in this building, now converted to a room for the Maidens, I opened the door to the room with a smile. In the center of the room was a shrine to our Goddess that was sculpted to an exact match of our Goddess' glorious nine tailed form with Her hands outstretched to the sky. Liesa, the second to become a Maiden, is an extraordinary earth mage. This shrine was beautifully crafted from pure memory of seeing Her face just once and molding stone into the shape of it.

On the left side of the room were beds brought for us to sleep here, so that we may remain closer to Her image. On the right, Liesa, was busy dressing Elana in her new robes. Before our Goddess came, Liesa was the guild's assistant librarian. She mostly went unnoticed with her dark, almost black, hair done up in a bun. Her robes, a dull color that seemed to blend in with the bookshelves she tended. While her head would seem permanently bowed down, her gray eyes avoiding contact with others.

Now, she stood confidently, her gray eyes ringed in gold. The once dour expression of hers, now changed to a smile of bliss under her hat and veil. Her robes, matching mine, were a pure white, with the only color being the symbol of our Goddess emblazoned on the front.

The idea for our robes were inspired by our Goddess' design. While slightly more modest, and with longer skirts, we copied our Goddess' clothing as closely as possible in recognition of the divine form She chose to reveal Herself as. While some would claim that our Goddess has little shame, that is false. As a divine being, She is beyond such mortal concepts like shame or modesty.

On a bench, I found our newest Sister, Mercia, gazing at the shrine with a far-off look in her brown eyes ringed with gold. Liesa had already dressed her in her new robes which I felt were much better for someone of her new role compared to the rough rags of animal hides she wore prior.

Moving over to the bench and taking a seat next to Mercia, she didn't even seem to notice me. "Are you alright, Mercia?" I asked my newest Sister softly. It would be best to slowly coax her from the shock of connecting with our Goddess.

Mercia turned to look at me with questioning eyes, "What did I see? I saw her." Mercia pointed to the shrine before continuing, "But I also saw a great white tree. I've spent my life in the belief of the Four Great Gods and the many minor gods under them. But I saw her. What does that even mean? Why do I feel so much more magical power at my fingertips, yet also feel this connection to not just her, but the rest of you?"

Mercia was gripping the sides of her head, her fingers curled into her hair as she looked to be in mental crisis. Tear were on the verge of rolling from her eyes, making me smile. Mercia was beginning to question all of her prior beliefs. Now, I just need to nudge it further so that she become more open to Her Word.

"It's because She is our Goddess. She looked upon you as you imbibed Her Blood and looked past the doubt. Our Goddess saw you as worthy of joining our Order. She wanted you to join our family because She wants you to be loved." I said while slowly pulling her into an embrace.

"But the gods I've known-"

I quickly interrupted Mercia as she brought up those deities, "Are false gods, Mercia. They are simply false idols who have received underserved worship. Yet, our Goddess is real. You have seen and walked with Her. You have tasted Her Blood and felt Her power. Can you say that those false gods have walked with you?"

Mercia shook her head, "N-No…"

"Have they gifted you power or knowledge as our Goddess has?"

Mercia shook her head as tears began falling from her eyes, "They ha-haven't…"

"Did those false gods ever show their love to you, even after you denied them? Give you gifts, even when the false gods would say you didn't deserve it?" Mercia began sobbing at this point and I let her rest her head upon my lap as I stroked her hair.

"N-No, th-they didn't!" She choked out before breaking back down into sobs. I felt pleased at this. Already, Mercia was well on her way to becoming a devout servant to our Goddess.

"And that is why you don't need such farces in your life anymore. You have everything you need with the Fox Princess. You have a Goddess who loves you, a new family who cares for you, and a new power over magic that you couldn't have imagined prior. Just accept Her into your life." I let her continue to sob in my lap as I felt satisfaction at the start of Mercia's progress.

Guildmaster Theo and I have discussed it over the past few days before he left. Once we gained enough members, a Maiden of the Fox Princess would be sent to each city of the Re-Estize to continue that work of reinforcing belief in Her. We would spread Her Word to the nobles, then to the royal family. And once this kingdom was Hers, we would spread Her Word even further.

My Goddess, Kashia Blanc, would be known throughout the world if it was the last thing I did.

---

[Kashia Blanc]

---

Day 20:

Waking up this morning, I couldn't help but think about that weird dream I had last night. It was like I was surrounded by this…wave of, well the only way to explain it was as a multitude of different small lights with six of them being much larger than the others while one was even larger than those. They all were continually calling out to me. And among all those voices I thought that I heard Ninya's. But why was that?

"Kashia, are you okay? You seem to be thinking about something really hard." Lukrut said, making me crane my head up to that of my silly archer's. Giving him a smirk, I rolled until I was resting on top of him with our faces meeting. I felt a reaction, but I opted to ignore it.

"Jealous that I might not be thinking of you?" I teased. He gave me a raised brow with a knowing look, making me huff before I rolled my eyes, "Just a strange dream. Not much to be concerned about."

"You say that, but I can still tell that something is bothering you." Lukrut prodded. I leaned down and kissed him to try and move away from the subject.

"Most guys would be happy that a beautiful and naked woman was on top of them as they woke up in the morning." I remarked.

"And most guys wouldn't be in a romantic relationship with a demigoddess. So, I believe your point is moot." Lukrut countered before wrapping his arms around my waist.

I laughed at his response before giving a sigh, "Aren't you just persistent?"

"Well, persistence is what helped me when romancing you. I believe that it's one of my better qualities." He bragged, making me smirk.

"Hmm… Maybe." I teased back before answering, "It was just a dream where I was surrounded by lights and voices. No idea as to why, but it was just extremely odd."

Lukrut's brow became scrunched in thought before he finally shrugged, "Maybe it is just your mind telling you that you're under too much stress. You do seem to be juggling a lot of different things at once."

"Juggling's the half of it." I joked. And it was very much true on that end. My copy was busy managing Haven-Lake when I couldn't along with keeping an eye on the Great Lake of Tob. Following that, both my copy and I had to organize and command a continually growing army of kitsune.

And then there was the entirely new dilemma of an unknown group trying to kidnap Tuare and possibly everyone else I knew. That meant I had an enemy who I knew nothing about but who knew who I was. And that was all on top of maintaining my adventurer persona in combination with a goddess persona that was foisted upon me. I dread what might happen were I to have to stick my finger into even more pies.

"I hope that you are not overworking yourself?" Lukrut asked with concern in his brown eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm still able to handle everything on my plate. Besides, some of that work can be fun." I answered while giving him a sultry look and smiling.

"Is that so?" As Lukrut said this, he rolled us over to switch our positions, making me yelp in surprise before I began laughing. "If that's the case, up for a bit more work?"

"I think I could spare a few more minutes." I replied. That was all that was needed for Lukrut to begin passionately kissing me.

And just when I thought we'd have a bit more fun this morning, the stench of death filled my nose, followed by a familiar voice that was growing closer, "Kashia? Are you around here?"

That made both Lukrut and I groan in annoyance as we separated. Could Momo have arrived ten minutes later?! The walking skeleton is unintentionally blue-balling me, and I don't even have testicles anymore!

"Guess we'll have to save this for later." I said with a disappointed tone that was only matched by Lukrut resting his head in my chest and muttering multiple muffled curses at the armored skeleton. I patted his head in sympathy before we both had to separate and start putting our clothes on.

"Give me a few minutes!" I shouted out from our resting spot. Then, we rushed that much faster to get our clothes back on.

"Why's Momon here right now?" Lukrut asked as he began pulling a boot up his foot.

"He's involved in the business that I have to take care of today." I answered as I pulled on my other glove and equipped my rings right afterwards.

"Hope it doesn't involve you fighting another vampire again." He said as he buttoned up his jacket and started to buckle his chestpiece in place.

"Nothing that exciting." I replied after getting my boots on. "But I think that after I'm done, I'll probably have quite a bit of free time to kill." I gave the archer a knowing wink which he returned with an excited grin.

As we both got up, Lukrut slung his bow over his shoulder, "How do I look?" He questioned while making some final adjustments of his clothes.

With a teasing glance, I gave my judgement, "Quite needy." I let some of my tails brush off a few twigs and leaves that clung to his armor.

"I could say the same about you." My silly archer retorted which was followed up by him kissing me before separating. "I guess I'll see you later then?"

"Definitely." I answered before teleporting him back to the Hero's Respite. Then, I spotted the blue-furred kitsune I had guarding him and gave her a nod. She nodded back before I teleported her to the roof of the inn.

Casting my illusion, and giving a final stretch, followed by some satisfying pops, I made my way out of the copse to find Momo and Narbee waiting outside with confused looks. "Why were you in there?" Momo asked.

"Well, I definitely wasn't in there having a fun time just now." I answered as I pulled a twig out of my hair. "Your timing is terrible." I joked, though I was partially giving voice to my frustration.

"Oh…oh…" The realization slowly dawned on him before he began howling with laughter. I crossed my arms and tried glaring at him. Though, I think that might've been made ineffective because of the blush on my face. His curse triggered twice before he stopped laughing. Narbee watched this with an unsure expression, probably confused at what exactly was amusing Momo so much.

"You done laughing now?" I asked.

"Yes." Momo answered calmly, "Would it be Lukrut, I'd assume, who was in there with you?"

"Correct. I sent him back to E-Rantel for the day. We're currently alone now." I responded while approaching the pair. While doing so, Narbee's expression quickly shifted to shock, then embarrassment.

"Wait, Lord Ainz, am I correct to believe that Lady Kashia was…copulating in there?" Now it was my turn to start laughing at how innocent Narbee sounded when she said that. Then again, as an NPC, she might have been programmed like that. That was weird to think about when I actually put it into words.

"You are, Narbee." I answered for Momo. "I was doing the horizontal tango, making the beast with two backs, enjoying a bedroom rodeo. I could go on." That earned me a shake from Narbee's head.

"I think that I understand well enough." Narbee answered quickly. I playfully patted her on the shoulder.

"So, since we're all here, mind if I teleport us to a spot I found?" I asked the pair. Momo nodded with Narbee following soon after.

"Go ahead." Momo said. Putting a hand on Momo's chestplate and Narbee's shoulder, I teleported the three of us to a small lake that I ended up scrying yesterday which was south of our position. I had also spent a little work creating a simple dock for us to use today. Once there, I let go of the pair and then cast [Create Greater Item] to make a simple-looking fishing rod. Then, reaching into my inventory, I pulled out a bucket of worms I had caught with [Charm Species].

"Will you two be needing rods as well?" I asked while swapping my clothes out for shorts, a shirt which I had vastly underestimated how it would look with my features considering that it looked like I was wearing a bag that I was forced to knot at my side, a wide-brimmed hat, and flip-flops. If I'm going fishing, I'm going to be relaxed while doing it.

"No, I brought some with me." Momo answered as he removed a pair of Vanaheim Elven fishing rods. Seems like Momo was bringing out the big guns.

"You sure we're hunting bass and not sea monsters?" I asked as I conjured a few chairs and took a seat.

"Considering how much we don't know about this world, maybe?" Momo replied as he joined me in the chair besides mine. "But it also is probably because I never get to use these things. Never did that much fishing in YGGDRASIL, so these basically got dumped into the pile of items I had."

"How big is your pile of junk due to loot hoarding? I've got castles of the stuff." I asked while attaching a worm to the hook of the line.

Momo seemed a little sheepish at the question before he answered, "Mountains. And I couldn't seem to part with any of it because…"

"…it might be useful for a future boss." We finished together.

"I saved buckets of Jotun Ice Shards because I thought that one of the earlier expansions would take place in Jotunheim and require them to progress. It turned out that the only part of the expansion that would take place there was a fetch quest, and it wasn't even for the shards! It was bear claws!" I complained.

"I saved 20 enchanted bolts of mistletoe and didn't even use it for the Baldur bossfight because I thought it might usable later on. I forked over millions of gold due to how rare those things were. And then I find out that Baldur is literally the only enemy in the game that is affected by them. I still have them. They just sit in my inventory mocking me. Momo admitted, making me pat him on the shoulder in sympathy.

"I still have the tutorial wand." I admitted as I pulled out a brown twig with a few leaves growing off of it.

"Are you serious? Everyone junked that the moment they got their next item."

"I heard a rumor that it was part of a crafting recipe for an amazing endgame item. I couldn't just dump it after that!" I said trying to justify my decision.

"That rumor was proven false ages ago. A person managed to go diving into game files and found that the tutorial wand, along with all the other tutorial items, didn't even have crafting recipes attached to them." He stated, making me slump in shame.

"At least my mistake didn't cost me millions. Just my pride and dignity." I retorted.

"Good point. But, if I ever need someone with a magical twig on their person, I'll know who to call first." Momo shot back.

"And if there is ever a god that needs to be fought but is blessed with protection from all threats, physical or magical, I'll at least have a friend with 20 bolts to use." I replied with a smirked before twirling the 'magical twig' in my hand and putting it back in my storage space. We took a moment to chuckle at our banter before Momo broke the silence.

"About our potential enemies that might be o-"

"Ah ah ah." I interrupted while wagging my finger at the skeleton, "We're on break. No work discussions allowed."

"I understand." He said in agreement before changing the topic, "In the US, did you ever get lunch breaks? Back in Japan, we had to eat while working."

"15 minutes was the best that we were given. You had to be high up the food-chain to get hour-long breaks. Half of those employees probably spent that time sleeping since they'd need to stay up late for their second shift." I answered.

"That sounds nice."

"What was the rarest food you managed to get? Best I got was small slices of real animal meat." I asked, quite curious.

"I had a small strawberry. Probably the sweetest thing I ever tasted." Momo answered, making me grin.

"Now you're just gonna make me jealous. Fruits like those were worth their weight in gold! How'd you get it?" Back home, there were only two kinds of farms that existed. You had the public farms which would grow only the easiest crops to produce which would be grounded, crushed, and mashed into ugly paste which would be sold to us regular people. And then, you'd have private farms of the rich, who'd grow raw fruits and vegetables that you'd only ever see in pictures, videos, or games.

Those private farms, if they would even sell to us regular people at all, would jack up the prices to a ludicrous degree that it wasn't even worth trying to buy.

"A rich CEO threw it away into the trash with the rest of his food. I was extremely hungry since I hadn't gotten my paycheck for a few weeks; so, I fished it, along with the rest of the food, from the trash and ate it." He said with a bittersweet tone.

Slightly tugging my fishing rod, I looked back to Momo, "At least the people of this world aren't going through that. You could just find an empty patch of dirt out here and grow whatever you wanted."

"At least that's something to enjoy when exploring this world." Then, there was a tugging on his line, and Momo started reeling his catch in. After a little time, Momo pulled a bass out of the lake which flopped on the line. "Seems that the score's up by one in my favor."

"Keeping track now, are we?" I remarked with a raised brow.

"Never said we weren't." The helmet he wore revealed nothing, but I expect that he'd be smugly smiling at this point.

"Oh, it's on! Narbee, you'll act as judge." I ordered, causing the doppelgänger to nod in reply, "I refuse to let Jack Skellington here win this!" With that, Momo and I spent the next few hours trying to out-fish the other. And after so much struggle and effort…

I lost.

But I at least had fun while it lasted.