‘It was somewhat absurd,’ Isis thought. ‘She might have been the one who understood Beacai the most.’ These followers merely saw Beacai as their ideal god, never truly caring about what she desired.
“Cough, cough…”
A tickle in her throat made her cough twice. Instantly, a nearby follower noticed and extended a hand towards her.
“Miss, do you have a cold? Why not join my Lord’s church? With just a small offering of blood, you can gain a body immune to all illnesses…”
“…No, thank you.”
“Oh? Don’t leave! My Lord’s blessing can cure even such minor ailments…”
No matter how eloquent the follower’s words, Isis could never agree to worship the Blood Church. Even as a mortal now, she still possessed the pride of Yggdrasil.
She would never worship anyone but herself.
Leaving the street, she continued towards Philomena’s home. Yet, her mind kept replaying memories of the rituals: the foul, grotesque, drooling demonic beasts.
Beacai couldn’t possibly like such things. The blood of these demonic beasts wouldn’t help her in the slightest.
If she wished to advance further, perhaps only the blood of a deity would suffice. These rituals, Isis suspected, would only fill her with disgust.
Beacai had been receiving these offerings for so many years. Had she truly never mentioned this to her followers?
And they, in turn, had never bothered to change the offerings to something she actually liked…
‘What Beacai likes?’
Isis paused, realization dawning. She knew what Beacai liked, and it was something these followers genuinely couldn’t provide.
What Beacai craved was love, to be enveloped by affection.
No wonder Beacai had told her that these followers were merely greedy for her blessings and power. It seemed Beacai couldn’t perceive any love from them at all.
If they didn’t even know what offerings Beacai desired, then how could they claim to love her?
Weaving through the crowd, Isis passed a jewelry store. For some reason, she recalled the gardenia necklace she had given Nona for her eighteenth birthday.
If Beacai hadn’t discarded it, the necklace should still be on her now.
It was a necklace she had given Nona, symbolizing hope and the future. Should she seize this opportunity to give Beacai a necklace as well?
That way, Beacai wouldn’t have to wear the gardenia necklace anymore, nor would she have to twistedly consider it a gift from Isis to her.
Moreover, Beacai might even come to like this year’s offerings because of it.
“Miss, may I help you with anything?”
Amidst her hesitation, a gentle query reached her ears. Looking up, Isis realized she had inexplicably wandered into the jewelry store.
“I’ll just look around myself, thank you.”
Since she was already there, she decided to browse the jewelry. Whether to buy something for Beacai could be decided later.
The necklaces in this store were exceptionally exquisite, their craftsmanship several tiers above the jewelry she had bought in Anhel Town.
Some even appeared to be imbued with divine artifact magic, making them glitter brilliantly within their display cases.
After a brief glance, her gaze settled on a transparent, tear-drop shaped pendant.
“This necklace is…”
She recalled Beacai possessing a blood-red, tear-drop shaped pendant, a holy relic associated with the Blood Church.
This transparent pendant shared a similar form, but its tear-drop was clear, adorned with delicate silver-white patterns.
If Beacai were to wear it, it would seem to purify her inherent evil, rendering her a pristine, blank slate.
However, such a thought was merely a fantasy. Purifying an evil god was never an easy feat.
Noticing her interest in the pendant, the sales assistant retrieved it from the display case, presenting its form as she spoke.
“Miss, you have excellent taste! This necklace was crafted by a renowned artisan.”
“The suspended tear-drop symbolizes gentleness and serenity, rumored to be a gift from an ancient deity to…”
High-end jewelry stores invariably invent fantastical backstories for their pieces, imbuing them with extraordinary significance to inflate their prices.
Isis had no interest in any of this; her only concern was the price.
“Beyond that, it’s also inscribed with high-level magic, capable of calming the wearer when they’re angry. If you buy it, the wearer will rarely get upset, you know.”
The sales assistant spoke voluminously of its properties. Isis waited patiently for her to finish before asking, “How much does it cost?”
“Divine Birth Festival is in two days! To celebrate the birth of the Blood Cult, we have a special promotion right now.”
“The price is incredibly good—you can take it for just twenty silver coins!”
Extending two fingers, the sales assistant smiled faintly, knowing the price was quite enticing.
Twenty silver! This was a pendant that could be bought for just twenty silver, and it even had an enchantment!
Normally, you wouldn’t find such a pendant for even one gold coin. It was only because the Divine Birth Festival was approaching that the pendant could be sold at such a price!
No one could refuse such a discount!
While the sales assistant found it incredibly cheap, in Isis’s eyes, it remained an unattainable piece of jewelry.
Moreover, the twenty silver coin price reminded her of the carriage fare to leave Prelley.
If she remembered correctly, the fare was also twenty silver coins.
It was truly strange. She was supposedly planning to escape from Beacai, the evil god, and leave Prelley, yet here she was, thinking of browsing a jewelry store to see if there was anything she could afford after two days of work.
Twenty silver coins would clearly be better spent on carriage fare.
Having come to this realization, she used the excuse of “just looking” to circle the store, then left and headed towards Philomena’s residence.
Arriving at the door of Philomena’s house, Isis raised her hand and knocked. Philomena herself came to greet her.
Cured of her severe illness, Philomena’s complexion had regained its rosy hue, and her demeanor was now calm and composed. There was no trace left of the dying patient she had been yesterday.
Upon seeing that her visitor was Isis, Philomena’s eyes widened visibly in surprise.
“Miss Isis? What brings you here? Quickly, come in and talk.”
Opening the main door, Philomena invited her into the living room. After glancing around, Isis asked, “Where’s Lily?”
She hadn’t seen the lively little girl.
“She went to the elven priest to study the doctrines of the Life Church. She won’t be back until evening.”
Answering casually, Philomena had intended to offer Isis proper hospitality. However, remembering that her last bit of tea had been brewed yesterday, she reluctantly abandoned the idea and sat with Isis on the sofa.
Isis let out a soft sound of surprise upon hearing this.
“The doctrines of the Life Church? Are there still elves teaching those?”