In the Sanguis Hunt Plains of Septimont, a strange cloud caught the attention of the gladiators.
This cloud did not drift with the wind. It moved as if it had its own will, patrolling the entire Hunt Plains back and forth.
"Sentinel, we have already searched for two days and one night. Besides finding a cave where the Threnodian might have stayed, we found nothing else."
Above the clouds, Cartethyia's voice sounded a little depressed.
"Is it possible that They have already left Septimont?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out."
Imperator spoke with concern.
"If the Threnodian deliberately wants to hide, it would indeed be hard to find. But for the short term, I do not think They will make any more moves."
Hearing that the Sentinel seemed willing to ease up, Cartethyia's eyes lit up with hope.
"Then can we rest for a while?"
"You carry the safety of all of Rinascita on your shoulders. How can you… You only became this relaxed because Noah has been carrying all the risks for you along the way."
"But searching aimlessly the whole time is really boring."
Imperator shook Its head helplessly.
"Fine. I will give you a task. In a few days the Order of the Deep will hold the election for the Main Seat. Take this Civilization Casket. Whoever becomes the new Main Seat, hand it to that person."
A finely made but completely empty Civilization Casket appeared and slowly settled into Cartethyia's hands.
Cartethyia examined the Civilization Casket carefully and put it away.
"Sentinel, according to past tradition, when a new Main Seat is elected you usually send down the Heavenly Voice to show that the authority comes from the divine. Will you send down the Heavenly Voice this time?"
"No."
Imperator shook Its head.
"From now on, the path of Rinascita should be decided by the people of Rinascita themselves."
...
Order of the Deep.
"The final mock vote for the Main Seat candidates is out."
"There were originally eight candidates. Three were assassinated. Lord Lude was already involved in the doctrine matter, and now he is also tied to the newly exposed Hidden Sea Testing Ground incident. He has basically lost any chance at the Main Seat."
"Among the remaining four candidates… why is Lady Phoebe at the bottom? Isn't she close to the Saintess?"
"Being close does not mean having ability. Look at the other three candidates. Which one of them does not have more experience than Lady Phoebe?"
"Lady Phoebe has a sweet appearance, a kind personality, and is friendly to everyone… but that is a different matter. She is too young and lacks solid achievements."
The clerics discussed the ranking list freely, completely unaware that Phoebe had already quietly approached from behind.
She glanced at the list from a distance. A faint light flashed in her eyes, then she lowered her head and silently stepped back.
She was indeed less experienced than the others. She had never solved a major case that shook all of Rinascita. She had never brought large economic growth to the Order. She also did not have decades of management experience.
If she had to list the things she had done, it would only be things like helping with stage lighting for the Laureate, accompanying the Laureate to fish, or eating green branch laurel salad with the Saintess.
In the competition for Main Seat, she was definitely no match for the others.
Phoebe walked quickly, her mind racing.
Her only weakness was the lack of achievements. But in these peaceful times, where could she find achievements?
Forget it. She would stop thinking about these things. She would go to the back mountain and play with her Echo partners instead.
As she turned the corner, a hand suddenly pulled her aside. In her panic Phoebe was about to cry out, but the person in front of her covered her mouth.
"Shh~"
Noah looked left and right. After confirming no one was around, he let go of Phoebe.
"Long time no see, Phoebe-chubi."
"Mr. Noah! So it was you."
When she recognized him, joy flashed in Phoebe's eyes. But then she remembered what Cartethyia had once said, so she took two steps back and put a little distance between them.
Noah froze slightly at the sight.
Was he… being disliked?
"Did I… scare you just now, Phoebe?"
"No."
"Then did I do something that made you unhappy?"
"Also no."
"Could it be that our feelings have grown distant?"
"No, no."
"Then why did you step back for no reason!"
A merciless large hand reached out again and skillfully pinched her round, collagen-filled cheeks. Phoebe begged for mercy in a string of soft cries.
"I was wrong, I was wrong! Let go quickly. Someone will see. This is the Order."
"Miss Cleric, you would not want people to see you getting your face pinched inside the Order, would you?"
"Ah this…"
Phoebe's mind went blank for a moment.
She had been coerced by him again. How could this person be so bad?
If people from the Order saw her getting her face pinched, it would completely ruin her reputation and destroy any hope of competing for the Main Seat.
But… being coerced in a place where the Order could not see, while taking such a huge risk, somehow made her feel excited. There was a strange sense of freedom from being unbound by rules.
It must be because he had taught her bad habits!
Across from her, the man wore a wicked smile.
"If you do not want that to happen, you should know what to do, right?"
"Uuu…" Phoebe's eyes watered. "What should I do?"
"First explain why you refused to come out fishing these past two days when I invited you."
Under Noah's "interrogation," Phoebe stammered and made up an excuse about Main Seat candidates needing to maintain their image. She finally managed to pass.
"Alright, I will stop teasing you. I actually came to find you for something serious."
He let go of her and leaned against the wall.
"Has the Order of the Deep run into any unusual events recently? For example, has anyone been having frequent nightmares or seeing hallucinations?"
He had not been idle these past two days.
While Cartethyia and Imperator searched for the Threnodian in Septimont, he had switched to Phrolova and thrown out large amounts of Red Spider Lily, searching for the Threnodian around Ragunna and nearby areas.
Unfortunately, he found nothing.
The current Leviathan had no physical body. If it truly wanted to hide, no one would be able to find it.
Left with no choice, he could only come to Phoebe and try his luck, hoping to get some clues about the Threnodian.
"No." Phoebe shook her head, both hands still tightly protecting her face.
"The new rules were just issued. The most common things in Ragunna lately are people who broke the new rules. At most they get a few words of criticism and education. Nothing else has happened."
Ever since Montelli developed Quick Tone, the idle people of Ragunna had all become addicted to scrolling through it and rarely caused trouble.
"It's that peaceful?"
Noah thought for a moment, then gave up thinking.
"Since I have free time anyway, do you want to go fishing with me?"
"No, no."
Phoebe shook her head again.
Even talking with Noah in secret like this was already risky. If they went fishing together and were discovered by the Saintess…
Wait—why did the thought of that possibility suddenly make her feel even more excited?
She suppressed the impulse in her heart and said no to the bad temptation.
"As a Main Seat candidate, I need to maintain my image."
"Alright." Noah shook his head in regret and glanced at his mission list.
[Daily Mission: "Fishing Brings Surprises" has been activated.]
"Then I will go fishing by myself."
The moment the words left his mouth, Noah's figure turned into Red Spider Lily and scattered. Phoebe reached out to grab him but caught only empty air. Her heart suddenly felt empty.
"Ah… he… he really left…"
She stood frozen in place for a long time before muttering softly,
"You could have persuaded me a little more… I am easy to persuade."
"Lady Phoebe!"
A respectful title came from behind. She turned and saw Cleric Roya walking over at a steady pace.
"It is time for work. Or do you have other arrangements?"
"No."
Phoebe could only gather her feelings again and return to the constraints of the rules, becoming once more the well-behaved Main Seat candidate.
...
"Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!"
A Tacet Discord with a lion's head, goat horns, and a snake's body circled around Galbrena.
"Galbrena, how much longer are you going to starve me?"
"So noisy."
Galbrena glanced at the Chimera, spread half of her black feathered wing, and flew across the coast toward another piece of land.
"There are almost no Tacet Discords left in Septimont. What am I supposed to do? I am already heading toward Penitent's End. I heard there are many Tacet Discords there."
"Hurry up! I am going crazy from hunger!" the Chimera urged.
"If it really comes to it, you can eat a bit of my soul frequency first. I will make up for it later by killing Tacet Discords."
"Are you sure you can handle it? I have been eating quite a lot of your soul frequency lately."
Hearing the Chimera's hesitation, Galbrena left no room for argument.
"Stop talking nonsense. You being quiet for a while is better than anything."
The moment she finished speaking, the Chimera slipped into the void and took a bite of Galbrena's soul frequency. Her consciousness was struck hard and her face turned pale.
"How is it? Are you alright?"
"I am fine. It is just…"
She closed her eyes. The angle of the wings behind her grew larger and larger, and her body began to fall without control.
"A… little… sleepy…"
"Hey! Galbrena, wake up! Below is—the sea…"
Splash.
A huge spray of water rose from the surface of the sea.
...