In fact, Celitia hadn't been to a church for quite some time.

In her previous life, she had been an atheist with no religious faith.

The most faith-related thing she had ever done was running to temples to burn incense when she had requests.

You could say it was quite utilitarian.

But what she sought, rather than gods or Buddha, was herself.

After being reborn into this world, the situation became somewhat different.

Celitia discovered that the goddess commonly worshipped by people seemed to truly exist.

Otherwise, how could you explain magic, fighting spirit, holy arts, divine oracles with any scientific reasoning...

Even if just for show, she had to worship on time and demonstrate devotion to the goddess.

Celitia muttered to herself as she followed behind the guiding priest, arriving at a small chapel inside Cassia Cathedral.

Compared to the bustling main hall outside, the small chapel was extremely quiet, with only one woman sitting on the front pew.

She had deep red hair cut to ear length, wore a simple and plain black monk's robe, and had her hands clasped in front of her chest, praying with closed eyes.

The guide quietly withdrew from the chapel and closed the door, leaving only the four of them in the room.

Lightening her footsteps, Sophia sat down on a pew toward the back, similarly clasping her hands and closing her eyes in prayer.

Following the principle of "since I'm already here," Celitia, this not-very-devout believer of the goddess, also assumed a prayer posture and secretly apologized to the goddess.

Inside the small chapel, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

This inexplicable sense of oppression made Kassy quite uncomfortable, sitting restlessly, almost regretting the decision to come.

After a long while, when they finished their prayers, the woman in the front row finally stood up and walked toward the three of them.

The woman was tall with long legs, over 1.7 meters in height, looking down from above with overwhelming presence.

Her entire body was wrapped tightly in the black monk's robe, appearing somewhat thin at first glance.

But from her movements, you could still feel the sense of strength radiating from within.

Compared to Sercis who was called "The Whip of the Goddess," Ariel also had her own nickname.

The Lion of the Goddess.

This was also the meaning of the name "Ariel."

Walking slowly to the three of them, Ariel's gaze swept over each of them, observing with scrutiny.

Unlike ordinary people, Ariel's eyes were golden-brown, with slightly larger irises and smaller pupils, transparent like amber at the bottom—like the eyes of a feline.

Sophia looked away, still appearing quite reluctant; while Kassy lowered her head, seeming somewhat fearful.

Only Celitia in the middle examined her with an equally scrutinizing gaze.

One standing, one sitting, their gazes collided, and for an instant it seemed like sparks flew as neither yielded to the other.

Ariel narrowed her eyes, feeling secretly surprised.

Who was this silver-gray curly-haired girl?

When Sophia sent someone to arrange this meeting, she didn't seem to mention her.

That didn't look like a first-meeting gaze—it felt like she knew her.

But Ariel was certain she had never seen this girl before.

Her eyes seemed to float with misty drizzle, so unique and eye-catching that if she had seen her before, she definitely wouldn't have no impression.

Celitia felt somewhat emotional, and even a bit nostalgic.

Ariel was indeed still the same, hadn't changed much.

That sour face from start to finish, showing no good expression even to Sophia who was her sister—no wonder Sophia didn't like her.

If Ariel knew she was her old opponent, she would probably have already drawn the sword at her waist and made her head roll.

Fortunately, she couldn't recognize her.

As for Kassy beside her...

Sophia had given Kassy a magic scroll to make her appearance look no different from a human.

Her pointed ears became round, and her light blue long hair became dark blue, making her look like an ordinary human girl with some elf blood.

Her face was slightly modified to make Kassy look more haggard, probably trying to arouse Ariel's sympathy.

Very good, it seemed Ariel hadn't recognized either of them.

Ariel was strong enough in combat and her mastery of holy arts matched her status as a Saintess, but her magical accomplishments were still quite lacking.

Celitia thought secretly, actively lowering her head to avoid eye contact.

Seeing the girl show weakness, Ariel also withdrew her gaze and sat down beside Sophia.

"Sophia."

Ariel spoke, her voice slightly androgynous with a lower register, clear with a trace of shallow magnetism—very pleasant to hear.

"You actually took the initiative to arrange a meeting with me, which surprises me a bit."

Hearing Ariel's opening, Sophia involuntarily clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white.

She felt like the next moment would bring lecturing words from her mouth, giving her a good education.

As expected, she heard Ariel say:

"I heard from Mother that you indeed went to that academy to study, right? You should know that your time is precious and there are many things you still need to master. Now is not the time to indulge in pleasure—"

Before she could finish speaking, Sophia burst out: "Where I go to school and whether I enjoy myself has nothing to do with you!"

Feeling the sudden rebelliousness from the girl before her, Ariel's voice immediately stopped.

Right, they had been separated for several months and were just meeting now—she couldn't immediately make their relationship tense.

Scraping up twelve hundred percent patience from the depths of her heart, Ariel reluctantly relaxed her expression to make her face look kinder.

"Alright, if you don't want to hear it, I won't say it." Ariel said gently, "Then let's talk about something you want to hear. What did you want to see me about this time?"

If not for Celitia's matter, Sophia might have already stormed off at this point.

Sophia took a deep breath to calm herself:

"Ariel, you're a Saintess, a once-in-a-century genius of the Church. You should have research on curses, right?"

"Curses?" Ariel frowned. "Why bring this up?"

"It's for Miss Kassy here."

Sophia's gaze deliberately passed over Celitia and fell on Kassy.

"Kassy is under a very troublesome curse and is seeking help everywhere. I thought I'd ask you to see if you have a solution."

"Oh?" Ariel studied Kassy for a while. "What's her relationship to you?"

Under her serious gaze, Kassy became even more fearful, lowering her head even further.

Sophia answered quickly: "She's a maid working at my place."

"A maid?" Ariel couldn't help but be surprised.

Sophia had finally swallowed her pride to seek her help, and it turned out to be for a household maid?