You are all my wings!

I just didn't expect that M'shifisu's mission could also progress, and that striking the Blood School could actually free so many halfling slaves.

This shows that the Blood Society's support for the slave industry can no longer be explained by "purchasing experimental slaves".

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain how such a high level of completion could be achieved simply by proposing a plan.

"Should I take command? The sect leader, Morites, is a legendary figure at the pinnacle. Can the Holy Maiden's current divine authority ensure the suppression or even killing of him?"

Just in case, Lyon asked.

Despite having Camille as a top-tier player in the lineup, it's still advisable to have one or two more players of the same tier to suppress a Legendary opponent.

"After my advancement, I have gained much more control over divine energy and divine authority, and I am no longer afraid of the suppression of legendary poems. In theory, I can do it."

"I see. Does Your Excellency intend to seek help?"

"Requesting help?"

"That's right, for example, the Great Saintess (Acting Pope)."

Chapter 328 Britta, will you accept my marriage proposal?

"Didn't you say we couldn't reveal the secret for the time being?"

"Yes, but the Holy Maiden can ask her to help under a legitimate pretext. If she doesn't help, there should be legendary experts among the previous Holy Maidens, right? If all else fails, can we win over the two first and second Holy Maidens who are at the sixth level of strength? In short, any pretext is easy to arrange."

"I understand what you mean."

"Regarding the Great Saintess, my suggested rhetoric is: 'This is an opportunity to proclaim divine miracles,' and 'the great deeds of a demigod!'"

"Can this be considered a demigod's feat?"

Britta frowned slightly.

Attacking a split branch within a sect can hardly be considered a great achievement, can it?

The achievements before becoming a legend are all manageable; by slaying monsters, one can accumulate enough merit.

Once you reach the Legendary level, it becomes very difficult to kill monsters of the same rank, as they are hard to kill and their locations are often hidden. This makes it difficult to achieve success and obtain upgrade materials.

Therefore, among humans, apart from established forces like the Church and the Royal Family who can organize manpower to cross the corresponding threshold from the seventh to the eighth rank, the limit for most unorthodox adventurers is the sixth rank at best.

Those who rise to legendary status through unorthodox methods are one in ten thousand.

Therefore, in the legendary and epic eras, the way to accumulate merit tends to shift from the merit of suppressing demons to the merit of governing the country, or to create merit (inventing new magic, new theories, etc.).

At extremes, one can fall into depravity, transforming into a dark epic through slaughter, and thereby ascending to a higher level.

"According to my divination, Moretes has most likely been parasitized by a high-level demon!"

Lyon said seriously.

This plot point was not shown in the four-part series. In the original story, the Holy Blood School was wiped out two years later. By then, Britta had made rapid progress to the sixth level of the Strong Sixth Rank. With the help of divine authority, her strength was too ferocious. Moretsus fled at the mere sight of her and did not directly fight Britta.

They remained in hiding for several subsequent installments and never appeared in the story.

However, based on the progress of Iris's main quest "Dark Fel Energy" after deciding to eradicate the Holy Blood School, he knew that there must be a high-level demon hidden within the school.

Because ordinary demons simply cannot survive outside the dungeon.

Is it accurate?

Upon hearing the word "high-level demon," Britta also became serious.

"Unless there is a second legend within the school, then we must invite the Great Saintess to oversee things no matter what."

"Okay, I see."

"The merit of killing high-level demons is considerable, and I believe it will attract epic-level experts to a certain extent. This is where the Holy Maiden will put her to use."

"Yes, if we can persuade her, I will notify the mobilization as soon as possible. Remember to be ready to leave at any time."

"No problem. By the way, does the Saintess still have any of the monster meat she obtained from Ophie? I'd like to get a fresh batch. A lower rank doesn't matter, the most important thing is freshness. I want to improve my physique as much as possible and strive to advance to the fourth rank as soon as possible."

"Ah."

Lyon noticed that Britta's expression turned noticeably cold when he casually mentioned the nickname 'Orpheus'.

He immediately realized he had misspoke. It was one thing to shout like that when Ophimasso was around, but now that only Britta was left, it was clearly a problem.

After all, Britta's favorability rating is quite high now, and she's not in the same state as before.

Since they were alone, he simply gave Britta a light kick under the table.

Then he said:

"Oh, sorry, I was just changing my sitting posture."

His kick was also deliberate; he kicked Britta's ankle, which was slightly exposed as she sat down, beneath her simple, disguised casual clothes.

The area being rubbed was also my own ankle.

Skin to skin offers a much richer and more nuanced tactile experience than through clothing, with sensations of warmth and coolness, smoothness and gentleness, a sense of rubbing and probing, and a high degree of teasing.

Sure enough, with his kick, Britta's indifferent expression changed, and she showed a hint of slight annoyance:

"You're a master who can make every level of combat skill a daily routine, so it's impossible that you couldn't judge the distance accurately. Was that intentional just now?"

Her voice was clear and bright, and the sense of purity she maintained in her daily life gave her a melodious and gentle quality to her soft, angry tone, like the crisp chirping of birds that you hear early in the morning.

Lyon raised his hand and said:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just thought I'd cheer her up since I saw that the Holy Maiden was in a bad mood."

Do I look like I'm smiling?

Britta glanced at her with her narrow, phoenix-like eyes.

Lyon chuckled, "Holy Maiden, at least you're not in such a bad mood anymore, are you?"

"Don't you even consider why I'm in a bad mood?"

Britta lightly pressed her hands on the table, hummed, and revealed a rare hint of coquettishness in her usually instinctive and holy demeanor.

The so-called holy demeanor is like the statues commonly seen in the Vatican, with lowered eyebrows and kind eyes, seemingly smiling yet crying, looking down with pity, noble and solemn.

This kind of demeanor is also a basic skill of the saintesses. Even when they smile, it is a compassionate smile derived from this holy demeanor, which has a great sense of distance.

At this moment, she clearly resembled an ordinary angry woman.

"Your Holiness, do you remember what I told you before?"

"What?"

I want to marry you.

???

So suddenly?

Britta's eyes widened. Was Lyon really that shameless?

Just half a day ago, she was all lovey-dovey with Ophimaso, Machiru, and Iris in front of me, and even flirted with the legendary dragon Camille. Furthermore, Mushifisu explicitly said that she had tried to seduce her multiple times. Now that everyone else is gone, she says she wants to marry me?

What, you think you won't get angry if you have a good relationship with someone?

"Your Holiness... no, from now on I'll call you Rita. So, will you accept my marriage proposal?"

Lyon launched a direct attack.

He knew he couldn't hesitate when it came to someone like Britta, who was bound by her identity as a saint and a representative of the gods; he had to act when the time was right!

In particular, he learned from Britta's side quest "The Sacred Shackles" that Britta was bound by the shackles given to her by the goddess Astalia, indicating that Britta was the one among the nine saintesses who was least able to resist the constraints of her identity.

If Britta hadn't intervened, she might have suppressed these budding feelings for the rest of her life.

"Even if I agree, so what? You know perfectly well that I can't escape the control of the gods. As the god's representative, I will be bound by this divine authority until I die."

Britta's voice was subtle; she didn't immediately say she refused, nor did she mention that Lyon was seeing multiple women at the same time.

It's clear that in her mind, this matter was far less serious than the constraints imposed by the gods; of course, it's also possible that she had simply forgotten about it for the time being.

Realizing this, Lyon pressed his advantage, smiling as he reached out and grasped Britta's slender, white hand:

"You can agree as long as you want to."

Then, he gazed intently into Britta's dark, deep, obsidian-like eyes:

“Rita, if you agree, I can wait until the goddess Astalia is resurrected, so that she can remove the shackles placed on you and let you leave this position of great responsibility. If she is unwilling, I will become so strong that she will have no choice but to agree.”

[Character Britta's affection level increased by 2%, current affection level 86%]

Chapter 329 Besides, your proposal is too... too informal!

As the notification message on the panel indicated an increase in favorability, Britta gently shook off Leon's hand that was holding her.

"You make it sound so easy. You and I are just ordinary people. No matter how great our reputations are, how can we defy the might of the gods?"

"That's not necessarily true. Anyway, once I've resolved this matter, you have to marry me."

"Hmph, greedy! You already have so many women of high character and good looks who love you so much, yet you are still not satisfied."

"So, will you agree?"

Lyon did not respond to the question of having multiple relationships, but instead pressed Britta on the issues she was deliberately avoiding.

Her choice to avoid the topic suggests that she had considered accepting the proposal, but due to too many external obstacles, she had to choose this roundabout strategy to give herself time to think.

But how could Lyon possibly let her think about this at this time?

Her situation, where she is restricted by sacred constraints, clearly means that the more she thinks about it, the more likely it is to have an effect.

However, despite Lyon's repeated questioning, Britta still did not answer, her expression hesitant.

Britta couldn't answer immediately; she had too many thoughts on her mind.

These thoughts varied; some wanted her to agree, others wanted her to fiercely denounce Leon for being such a womanizer, and still others wanted her to consider it.

For a moment, she was indeed a little flustered.

Finally, the divine shackles imposed on her by the goddess Astalia began to take effect, interfering with her thoughts on one hand and suppressing the various fantasies that had just arisen in her on the other.

She instinctively wanted to resist this constraint, but was suppressed without any room for maneuver, and her mind suddenly became somewhat 'clear'.

In a daze, she spoke:

"I……"

"Alright, Rita, I can only give you a week to think about it!"

Leon noticed her unusual expression. Despite his fierce attack, she still seemed to be hindered by the divine shackles, indicating that the shackles were too strong and her favorability had not yet reached a level sufficient to break through. So he quickly slammed on the brakes.

"Consider it for a week?"

Britta was taken aback, and for some reason, she said as if possessed:

"Fine, besides, your proposal is too... too informal. I don't even know if you're joking or serious."

Lyon chuckled. "Look at that statement," he thought, "in other words, he'd agree if he'd just been a little more formal?"

Despite being in a period where the divine shackles are in effect, it still seems promising.

"Then it's settled on a one-week timeframe!"

He could have proactively extended the timeframe until the problem of the Sacred Shackles was resolved, but that would have diminished Britta's sense of urgency.

In fact, giving a deadline to anything will produce extraordinary results.

Of course, if he doesn't agree before the deadline, he can just use another excuse to extend the time.

He had a plan in mind before he even said it.

As long as she's prevented from saying the word "no," she can't make up her mind, and the thought of agreeing will keep growing.

Once he makes up his mind to refuse, it seems unlikely that Lyon will be able to help Britta break free of this sacred shackle in the short term.

Lyon knew that this sacred shackles might not be a bad thing; at the very least, it could help Britta better control the divine authority.

However, the downside is that if she is controlled too deeply, Britta's independent consciousness is interfered with too much by the goddess Astalia, and she is also prone to losing herself.

It's conceivable that her future choice to perish together with Serkashuki might stem from a desire to break free from her constraints.