Chapter 289 : Return to consciousness

    "That ''necklace'' as you say is one of the three sacred, most powerful relics of the entire church...and you just gave that relic away to some random guy," the bishop stated, dropping a bombshell.

    All three women simultaneously gasped in shock as they heard something that they would have never expected.

    "O-O-One of the three sacred artifacts of the church? W-Why would he give me that?" Mina asked in shock. From her point of view, she was just a regular nun, sure she was pretty close to the high priest whom she considered as a father figure, but there was no reason for him to give her one of the most powerful relics of the entirety of the church!

    The bishop took a deep breath to compose himself, then he dropped yet another bombshell, "He gifted it to you because you are supposed to become the holy daughter of the church."

    It was as if an explosion went through Mina''s head as the words the bishop spoke entered her mind. For a moment, her expression went blank, unable to comprehend the words she had just heard.

    She wasn''t the same in that state as Umra and Mara were also pretty shocked by this revelation, but they still took it better than the principal concerned.

    Seeing her lost expression, the bishop sighed once again. Along with the high priest, they had already decided to tell her after she returned from her first mission anyway, so there might be no better time than this.

    "The power of the relics is overwhelming and hard to control. For that reason, the high priest decided to give you this particular necklace in the hope that after months around it, you would familiarize yourself with its energy so that it wouldn''t take too much toll on you when you use its power," the bishop explained.

    He checked on the high priest''s condition once more before he said, "He will wake up in a few hours. In the meantime, you three should go rest. We will talk about this tomorrow."

    The three women nodded absentmindedly and left the office in the following seconds.

    "I seriously hope the relic didn''t fall into the wrong hands," the bishop muttered as he carried the high priest to one of the couches inside the office. "Well, even if that were the case, they wouldn''t be able to use its power."

    After that, he returned to his desk and continued to work, even though it was night outside.

    ***

    At the same time, in the mansion of the Drazen family matriarch, a pair of silver eyes snapped open as Alex regained consciousness.

    The first thing he noticed as he took in his surroundings with a glance was the worried, sick expression on Amelia''s face.

    "Alex!" Amelia exclaimed as she hugged him tightly upon sensing him waking up. "I was worried sick about you," she said in a trembling voice.

    Having already expected such a reaction after he awakened, Alex smiled warmly and placed his hand on her head to pat her. "Sorry to have worried you," he whispered, his hand stroking her hair gently.

    Amelia sighed in relief and rubbed the tears at the corner of her eyes. She sat back on the bed, her magnificent naked breasts swaying from right to left as she did so.

    "What happened there? You suddenly lost consciousness, and even with the help of my ability, I couldn''t detect anything wrong with your body," Amelia inquired, her previous worried expression returning as she feared that he might lose consciousness once again at a later date.

    Alex almost chuckled, thinking, ''She is too cute,'' as he looked back at Amelia.

    After a moment, he sighed and said, "I will tell you what happened another time, I promise. You don''t need to worry that something like that will happen soon though."

    Freya sensed her daughter''s frustration when she said "someone," but she didn''t ask her anything. Knowing Maya, she was certain that she couldn''t speak of that person with her, otherwise, she wouldn''t hesitate to speak about them.

    "What happened after you met that ''someone''?" Freya inquired, trying to change the subject.

    Maya smiled gratefully at her mother and resumed her tale while Freya gently stroked her hair as she listened to all her adventures.

    "Then, when we stepped inside the cave, the entrance disappeared!" Maya exclaimed. "I warned him not to enter inside that cave, but that stubborn old man didn''t listen to me, and we got stuck inside a fourth grade dungeon! Just imagine how frightened I was at that moment," she said in mock horror.

    Freya raised a brow and asked, "Why do you keep calling Sir Alexandre ''old man''?"

    "Because he is an old man," Maya scoffed. "He might look young, but he is sixty!"

    "Oh," Freya chuckled before she shook her head. "You know, for those who walk the path of power, being sixty is actually considered being young. Plus, there are people who have hundreds of years and look as young or younger than I."

    "Mmh," Maya nodded absentmindedly.

    "So, what happened after you were stuck inside that dungeon? Since you are here, I guess you conquered it," Freya asked.

    "Well, the old man practically conquered it on his own," Maya said. "He likes to joke around, but he is quite strong, you know."

    "Is that so?"

    "Yes, and he even taught me how to defend myself!" Maya said enthusiastically.

    "Really?"

    "Mmh," Maya nodded her head energetically before she sprang to her feet. "Here, I will show you what he taught me."

    Without Freya being able to add anything, Maya began to move, repeating and showing to her mother all the fighting techniques Alex had taught her. Weaving through the furniture of the office, she dodged, struck, and parried, demonstrating her skills.

    All the while, Freya observed her daughter with a light smile on her face.

    After a while, huffing for breath, Maya finally stopped her demonstration and plopped onto the couch.

    "That was incredible, sweetie!" Freya clapped her hands in admiration.

    "I know, right?" Maya grinned cheekily. "If you want, I can also teach you."

    To that proposition, Freya shook her head. "You know that I''m forbidden from training."

    "Oh," Maya''s expression sank. "I had forgotten."

    "Forget about it, sweetie," Freya smiled. "Instead, continue your story about what happened to you."