I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 427, 1.27-8: A Bouquet of Blessings

Holy See.

The marble floor is pure white with gold trim, the walls are as flawless as snow, and the stained glass windows are painted with angels.

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass, casting a rainbow-like glow onto the smooth white marble floor.

Clerks in white robes walked down the corridor one after another, and a nun carrying a tray hurried past.

On the tray in her hand were two apples. One was a vivid, blood-red color with an eerie quality, and it was placed upright on the tray. The other was golden, as dazzling as the sun, but it was leaning over and crooked.

The clergyman at the door saw the nun hurrying in with a tray and calmly pushed open the door.

"High Priest, it is said that a very suitable vessel has been selected and is on its way back..." The nun's face showed a hint of anxiety, but she suddenly fell silent after seeing someone lying on the pure white sofa.

Her long, wine-red hair was cascading over the pure white sofa, like a rich red wine poured onto white paper, carrying a strong, alluring aroma.

The man was lying on the sofa with his legs crossed, his head resting on the armrest, revealing his exquisite and beautiful face. His long, narrow, golden phoenix eyes gazed at the huge crystal chandelier with a dreamy look, as if he were drunk.

His priestly robes were loosely worn, revealing his fair, flat, and muscular chest and abdomen, exuding a subtle yet alluring charm. A few strands of wine-red hair draped over his chest, adding to his fatal allure.

One hand rested casually on the ground, while the other was placed behind his head, his posture relaxed and languid.

He opened his mouth and yawned without any attempt to hide it, clearly indicating that he was very bored.

The nun paused slightly, blushed, then took a deep breath and walked to the coffee table.

She glanced at the wine bottles and glasses scattered haphazardly on the coffee table. The table was a mess, but not a single drop of wine had been spilled. All the wine in the containers had been drunk clean.

There was absolutely no place to put the tray.

"High Priest, the apples you requested have been brought," the nun reminded him.

"Huh?" came a simple reply. His voice sounded as if he had just woken up, still thick with nasal congestion and lingering sleepiness.

"High Priest?" The nun frowned, sniffing the strong smell of wine in the air, and spoke again.

"Shut up." The deep, husky voice carried a hint of annoyance, as if the speaker particularly disliked being disturbed.

“But…” The nun held the tray, unsure where to put it.

"I told you to shut up, didn't you hear me?" Dionysus remained lying on the sofa, not moving, only glancing sideways at the nun. His exquisite and beautiful face was indifferent and gloomy, his narrow, golden phoenix eyes carrying an unfathomable aloofness and coldness, staring at the nun as if she were a dead person.

The nun felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet, freezing her so stiff that she dared not move at all.

The atmosphere was cold and deathly still, carrying a terrifying pressure, making almost everyone inside feel restless.

Dionysus still carried a hint of drunken languor, clearly not yet fully recovered from his intoxication.

The nun stood stiffly, holding the tray, forced to stand still. The two apples on the tray, one gold and one red, remained exactly as they had been, one upside down and one upright.

"So annoying..." A deep, husky voice, as rich as red wine, carried a hint of intoxication as it slowly drifted through the quiet environment.

“Apple,” the nun said softly, her head bowed.

Dionysus didn't look at the nun again, maintaining his original posture, casually raising the hand that had been hanging down, as if to say he would give her the apple.

“There are two,” the nun said hesitantly, looking at the two apples on the tray.

“Whatever,” Dionysus said slowly.

This meant that any apple would do; just pick one for him. The nun pondered for a moment, then chose the crooked, golden apple, as dazzling as the sun, and with trembling body approached Dionysus, bending slightly to place it in his hand. However, he didn't hold it firmly, and the golden apple fell to the ground.

The golden apple rolled a long way on the ground with a 'glug' sound.

The nun glanced at the golden apple that had fallen to the ground in the distance, then looked down at the remaining red apple on the tray, which stood upright and looked as alluring as blood.

Ultimately, she lacked the courage to pick up the golden apple from the ground, and instead carefully placed the last red apple on the tray into Dionysus's hands.

He casually grabbed a blood-red apple, held it high in the air, and glanced at it with a hint of disdain in his narrow, golden phoenix eyes.

"Is this your choice?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, yes..." the nun nodded, speaking fearfully.

"Get out," Dionysus said coldly.

Upon receiving Dionysus's order, the nun immediately grabbed the tray and ran out without hesitation.

Dionysus, who had only moved one hand from the moment the nun entered until she left, finally turned over.

He moved the apple from his right hand to his left, and casually propped his head up with his free right hand as he lay on his side on the sofa.

He casually toyed with the blood-red apple in his left hand, then placed it on the sofa and rolled it around several times with only the index finger of his left hand.

"So tired," Dionysus said weakly. "I really want to drink... Why did I have to be the master of this instance... It's so troublesome... Can't we just kill them all...?"

"Your Excellency, the person has arrived." A young man wearing a white cloak walked in and said respectfully.

"Hmm? Who is it?" Dionysus, propping his chin on one hand while lying on the sofa, casually twirling a blood-red apple in the other, glanced at him and asked slowly.

“Have you forgotten? The container,” the man reminded him.

"Ah~ I remember now," Dionysus murmured slowly.

"That……"

The man was about to say something when he was interrupted.

“I don’t want to go.” Dionysus rolled over, turning his back to the man, with an attitude of ‘I don’t want to hear what you have to say.’

The man's lips twitched slightly. He really wanted to say that the person was waiting right at the door, and asked for some kind of response. But unfortunately, this unreliable person in charge was uncooperative, and he could only stand there waiting for the next order.

After an unknown amount of time, Dionysus slowly sat up, but still slumped lazily and bonelessly on the sofa.

"Why aren't you going out yet?" He lifted his eyelids, making no attempt to hide his disdain for him.

"But...the person is waiting for you at the door to perform the ceremony..." the man said, looking conflicted.

"I'm so tired. I don't want to go through any rituals. Just give them a room to make sure they don't escape. I'll talk about it when I feel like it."

Dionysus casually placed the blood-red apple on the coffee table, picked up the wine glass and bottle, but after seeing that no wine had been poured out, he put them down again in frustration.

In the distance, on the pure white marble floor, only a lone, golden apple, as dazzling as the sun, lies askew, unnoticed.

Each of the two apples carries a symbolic meaning, and this chapter actually hints at a lot of things.

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(End of this chapter)