Background Setting

Although he had only been in this world for a short time, Ren Daozhen had a basic understanding of its monetary system.

The purchasing power of one Star Coin was roughly equivalent to twenty RMB in the real world. One million Star Coins was equivalent to twenty million RMB in the Celestial Empire. A single set of design drawings was worth two million!

Ren Daozhen had never seen so much money. Even on Earth, these designs wouldn’t sell for such a high price.

For a moment, in Ren Daozhen’s eyes, Aliciel was labeled a “rich woman.”

That made sense. Without money, it would be impossible to own a coffee shop in a crowded area like Silvermoon Square.

Aliciel slowly took out a star-purple card that looked like it was forged from crystal and placed it on the table.

“Take it. This is the reward you deserve. In this world, money isn’t everything, but you can’t do anything without it. From now on, for every maid outfit you design, I will buy it at full price.”

“Waaaaah—! You’re my lifesaver, Aliciel, no, Head Maid! It’s so great to have met you!”

Ren Daozhen, with tears and snot, wanted to hug Aliciel. After suffering so much since coming to this world, he had finally found a powerful backer. It was no wonder his reaction was so strong.

Aliciel sidestepped his hug, took a sip of tea, and continued.

“Do you need me to arrange a place for you to stay?”

“No, thank you. As I mentioned earlier, I was saved by a girl when I was about to starve to death. Her family happens to run an inn. They’ve helped me a lot, and I want to repay them properly.”

“I see. It’s not convenient for a man like you to stay at our maid café anyway. So, what are your plans now?”

“Plans?”

“Yes. Do you want to stay here forever and not go back to your hometown? Do you have no attachments to your original world?”

“Of course not! I’m not some orphanage kid. I have a family, and of course, I want to go home!”

At the mention of his hometown and family, Ren Daozhen’s eyes dimmed. His real body on Earth must have been declared dead by accident. His parents must be heartbroken.

He had been a shut-in at home, a degenerate. He must have disappointed his parents greatly. Now, he had left without a word. He didn’t know how much he had hurt them.

“Hey, Head Maid, do you know of any way for me to go back?”

“It’s difficult. The history books only record people from other worlds who have transmigrated here, but they don’t record how to send them back. There are very few examples to refer to.”

“However, I speculate that to cross the barrier between two worlds, you must use spatial power.”

“But without knowing the coordinates, rashly traveling through space-time could lead to getting lost in a spatial rift. At best, you’ll lose your way and never be able to return; at worst, you’ll be instantly crushed to pieces, and your soul will be annihilated.”

“So you’re saying it’s not impossible. There’s still a chance to send me back to my original world, right?”

“Mm-hmm, although space-time travel is extremely difficult, it’s not impossible.”

‘At the very least, if I can determine Earth’s coordinates, I can just fly there!’

‘Stardragons are divine beasts that can travel through the sea of stars. Although the current Ciel can’t transform into a dragon yet, she definitely will be able to in the future.’

Her sister, Alicia, had actually transformed into a Stardragon and traveled through the universe. She even casually created a moon and used it to smash a wandering star beast.

“Of course, besides these, there might be another way!”

“What?!”

“A god’s blessing!”

“A god…?”

“Yes, a god! The strongest beings in this world, the ones at the top of the pyramid.”

“Wait a minute, um… I’ve only been in this world for a short time. Can you explain the world’s setting and background in detail?”

“Certainly.”

Aliciel nodded slightly. She spread her hands, and a soft starlight gathered in her palms, condensing into a world map.

The map was clearly divided into four continents: east, south, west, and north.

“The planet we are on is called the Star of Bethlehem. The landmass is composed of four continents, also known as the Four Realms, which are, according to their orientation, the Western Fantasy Realm, the Eastern Xuan Realm, the Northern Frost Realm, and the Southern Desolate Realm.”

“The Western Fantasy Realm, where we are, is the realm of the gods. The gods gather followers to collect faith from mortals and compete for authority and laws, establishing churches and kingdoms, which have gradually formed the current situation.”

As she explained, Aliciel zoomed in on the map. On the continent of the Western Fantasy Realm, there were dozens of kingdoms, as well as natural areas like the Forest of Life, the Shadow Swamp, and the God-Ascending Peak, and even an inland sea!

Although it was located in the west, perhaps because this was a magical world, even in the Western Fantasy Realm, you could see natural landscapes like deserts and snow-capped mountains. And those areas were ruled by corresponding gods, so they were likely special geographical environments created by the power of the gods.

“The country we are in is this Theia Theocracy.”

“It’s so big!”

Ren Daozhen couldn’t help but exclaim. From the world map, the Theia Theocracy was the largest of the dozens of countries, more than three times the size of the others.

“That’s normal, because the Theia Empire was originally formed by the union of three theocracies. The god worshipped by this theocracy is a supreme god who embodies nature, holiness, and light, the three gods in one. Her name is Stico, and she is known as the Triune God of Salvation.”

“Stico? Not Skuld?”

‘That name is quite similar to the goddess of fate in Norse mythology.’

“Lady Stico’s predecessor was a light elf from the Forest of Life. During the chaotic war that engulfed dozens of countries five hundred years ago, she traveled around the countries and, with her own strength, united the three races of elves, humans, and angels, defeated the then-powerful Dark Theocracy and the Dark Church, and established the current Theia Theocracy.”

“So… so amazing…”

Just from Aliciel’s description, Ren Daozhen could feel the power of this Triune God of Salvation. Just uniting three races to fight a common enemy was already very impressive.

“Therefore, the Triune Church does not have a pope, but is managed by three cardinals, representing the three races of humans, elves, and angels. Each cardinal is given a surname: Uno, Angel, and Elfou.”

“The Theia Theocracy is an inclusive country. It welcomes not only humans, elves, and angels, but also other races, including beastmen, dwarves, dragons, vampires, and even some undead creatures.”

“So… an undocumented person like me is not welcome?”

“Well, although the Theia Theocracy is all-encompassing, it also places great importance on the law. But don’t worry, I’ll help you figure out your identity.”

“…Head Maid, you wouldn’t happen to be the young lady of some great family who’s just here to experience life, would you?”

“Don’t say that. I’ve never been any kind of young lady.”