"Are you surprised to see what I did to that kid? Does it make you fear me to see how horrible of a person I can be? This is not even the end of what I have done over the years."

Rosette pointed out with a pout on her face. Her face was clear and expressionless, and yet, it conveyed what she felt clearly.

She felt the need to defend herself and explain her actions to Layla, which indicated that she had a guilty consciousness she refused to think about.

Looking at her made Layla feel sorry for the protagonist, but she knew this was Rosette's destiny.

Instead of being her naïve self and leading this world down the path of doom, it was better for the female to be demanding and show that she was not willing to take crap from anyone. It made her look tough but also lonely at the same time.

Layla did not comment on it, but she could feel Luna's interest ignited as the dragon looked at Rosette. It seemed as if Rosette was finally forgiven by the dragon…for now.

...

The day passed quickly. Once they had breakfast, Layla split up from Rosette to look around the Southern Capital, and she decided to head to the temple.

It had been some time since she had been to one, but she wanted to get her answers.

The temple nearest to her belonged to Goddess Almeric, the goddess of protection. She was a goddess who accepted all kinds of people into her order.

So, entering that place was easy for Layla.

But before she entered this place, Layla took off her armor or anything else that could make her stand out. She was here because she needed to blend in.

A veil covered her hair, face, and body, making it impossible to tell who she was. However, her clothes were of high enough quality for a priest to recognize her as a noble and quickly approach her.

"Miss, are you looking for an empty prayer room? I might be able to help you out if you give me a reason to."

The priest told Layla that most noble ladies wouldn't have understood what he meant. But Layla was smart enough to realize what the priest was offering her.

She took a gold coin and discreetly handed it to the priest to show her the way.

"I cannot thank you enough for your consideration, young man. I am quite a fragile person, and I wanted to pray in silence. Thank you for helping me out in this regard."

Most priests noticed what happened and were jealous of the priest who had managed to earn such a huge sum of money.

A single gold coin was not much for Layla, but for these priests who did not have much to their name, it was a huge sum that would last them months.

The priest who vowed to help Layla led her to the inner sanctuary, leaving Layla in an empty prayer room.

"This place is the private prayer room of us priests. I assure you that no one will disturb you here. Please, enjoy your time here."

Layla was assured twice before the priest went away and left her alone.

This place was supposed to be empty, but as soon as Layla entered, she could feel another presence kneeling in front of the altar.

'Wasn't this place supposed to be empty? Why is there another person in here? Was I being lied to by that priest?'

It was possible that the priest had made a mistake when he told Layla that she would be alone in this room, but she did not mind sharing a room with someone for now.

She was only here to get an answer and not offer any prayers.

It did not matter if she had an audience as long as her concentration was not broken.

'Lord Lucius, have you confirmed my words? Are you ready to give me an answer to my question?'

Layla asked as she felt her consciousness connect with a higher being. She could feel her consciousness connecting to another plane before her mind and body felt like different entities.

Luna's presence remained in the back of her mind, and the dragon did not look happy about her contractor sharing consciousness with someone else. But Layla soothed the dragon while paying attention to the higher being before her.

She could feel the god she was calling out to pay attention to her.

[I have…heard of a few things that happened. But I cannot give you an answer at the moment. Unlike my foolish brethren, I am more cautious about involving myself in mortal affairs.]

Lucius's voice sounded cautious, but Layla was more shocked that she got an actual answer out of him this time.

Perhaps having Luna by her side made the god more cautious about her, and he ended up telling her more than he ought to….not that it was a problem for Layla.

She just felt surprised at this fact.

'I am afraid that we do not have much time. The demonic beasts have started to show up, and it won't take long before they are spotted all over this continent. If we do not make a move soon, then this world might meet its end soon.'

Layla pointed out to the god, but Lucius looked uninterested in following the conversation.

[We shall see. For now, I cannot promise you anything, and I cannot lend you my power. Besides, even if I could lend you my power, I doubt your contractor would find it pleasant. It would be best if you find another host for me.]

The god asked before Layla felt the connection she had with him being cut off.

She approached Luna's growl, her agitated and rigid body looking at the person before her.

The other male kneeling in front of Goddess Almeric's statue stood up and decided to reach out to Layla. His hand had almost touched her shoulder before Layla had reacted and pulled herself up.