Chapter 5-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"You don't seriously think that by sacrificing your sister for the Crown Prince, he'll let you join the team, do you?"
Ye Di's casual flirtatiousness vanished. His eyes widened, clearly enraged and ashamed.
He made it sound like he was some scoundrel selling his sister for glory. Wouldn't getting involved with the Crown Prince benefit her more?
He was about to defend himself when he saw Ye Zheng gently curve her eyes, looking at him with a chiding yet tolerant gaze.
"The Crown Prince isn't that easy to deal with. Don't fall for the empty promises he gives you (a common internet slang 画饼, 'drawing a pie', means making an impossible promise)."
"With your strength, Xiao-Di, you'll definitely make it into the team next time. Why bother putting yourself through trouble with the Crown Prince?"
Hearing his sister's affectionate tone, Ye Di breathed a sigh of relief. This was more like it; Ye Zheng had always been the most tolerant of him. When he got into trouble as a child, he'd push the blame onto her, and Ye Zheng would simply quietly bear the responsibility.
He reverted to his playful grin, his voice a little whiny. "But 'next time' is three years from now! That means I'll only get to participate in one national competition while I'm in school. After graduation, my starting point will be even lower than Ryan's next door."
"Sister, please help me! This is for the honor of the Ye family too!"
Ye Zheng lowered her gaze, hiding a fleeting coldness in her eyes.
For the honor of the Ye family, she first had to trample on her own dignity. Would such honor shine upon her?
When Ye Zheng smoothed her brows again, she was the gentle, almost timid, good sister Ye Di was familiar with.
"Alright... But this weekend, I have prayer duties. As a Saintess, I can't neglect the Sei Curia's rules."
"Just let someone else fill in for you."
"The candidates for praying to the God of Hope have strict requirements: they must be of noble birth and have at least A-rank talent. Someone like that..."
Ye Di clenched his back teeth and shouted, "Then I'll go! I'll pray for you!"
Ye Zheng nodded in satisfaction. "Don't worry, this weekend I'll have a good talk with the Crown Prince for you."
"Oh, right, remember to bring knee pads. You'll have to kneel for six hours during the prayer."
The flashily dressed boy stopped his departure and spun around. "What? Kneel for six hours!"
Ye Di looked incredulous. He had never understood the work of a Saintess, only that a Saintess could never marry. Was her daily work really that anti-human?
He wanted to bargain with his sister, but the corridor was empty. Ye Zheng had already closed the door.
"Prepare the carriage to the Imperial Grand Station for me."
Ye Zheng lowered her elegant white hat brim. The gracefully tailored, flowing skirt swayed gently in the breeze, like a pure white lily.
The butler looked at the eldest miss hesitantly. The Imperial Grand Station was the transportation hub of the Holy Sei Empire, and the eldest miss was going to the lower district again.
Yesterday, when he was serving dinner, he clearly heard the master instruct Miss Ye not to go to the lower district again. It was very chaotic there, and what if something happened...
"I am the Saintess of the Sei Curia. I must fulfill my duties."
"But the master said—"
"If you don't tell him, he won't care about my whereabouts."
The lace hat brim concealed half of Ye Zheng's face. The butler could only see the corners of her lips twitching, a half-smile.
"Besides, according to the rules, the Saintess of the Sei Curia holds a higher status than an upper district judge."
The butler's heart trembled. He nodded repeatedly and ordered someone to prepare the carriage.
Only after watching the carriage carrying her drive away did the butler slightly relax.
If the master or the eldest young master had ordered him today, he would never have hesitated or delayed their decisions.
Now, it seemed he suddenly remembered that the eldest miss's status was, in fact, not lower than the master's or the young master's.
The black car, emblazoned with the Ye family crest, proceeded unhurriedly.
Pedestrians by the roadside, seeing the emblem on the car, whispered among themselves. Even among upper district residents, the hierarchy was strict and clear. The Ye family, with both a Grand Judge and a Sei Curia Saintess, was clearly among the first-tier elite of the upper district.
Inside the car, the partition rose. The Saintess nonchalantly pulled her elegant hat over her face and began to doze.
[Wake up, you're about to enter the plot.]
[Have you thought about how to modify the plot for a stunning appearance?]
"Mhm, I've thought about it."
Ye Zheng replied perfunctorily, still covered by her hat.
[...]
[Never mind, you're already a mature awakened paper character.]
[I trust you won't do anything foolish as arranged in the original work. I'm going to rest now, and even if you call me, I won't be able to respond immediately.]
Ye Zheng took off the hat from her face. "Really?"
The system always felt it heard a hint of glee in Ye Zheng's tone.
Ye Zheng's mood improved considerably. She even hummed a little song until she got out of the car.
The Imperial Grand Station was the transportation hub of the Holy Sei Empire. Its exterior was a magnificent, mysterious, and solemn ancient castle, but its interior concealed a unique design.
Three hundred years ago, this place was occupied by an S-rank Demonic Domain, [Spatial Turbulence].
Generally, Demonic Domains were spaces filled with otherworldly monsters, but [Spatial Turbulence] had no monsters, only chaotic zones and spaces. No matter how powerful an ability user was, they would be crushed by the twisted space. It wasn't until an ability user with an S-rank space-time ability took action that this S-rank Demonic Domain was barely suppressed.
After a century of research and transformation, experts from the Ability User Association successfully utilized the Demonic Domain's characteristics to turn it into a transportation hub.
The Imperial Grand Station could easily connect every district. It took only ten minutes for her to go from the upper district to the lower district.
Of course, the money required for those ten minutes was probably a lower district resident's annual expenses.
Ye Zheng walked into an intricately carved door. A group of people was already waiting for her in the special passage. The two tall figures leading them bowed to her.
"Wen De, Charley, let's go."
Ye Zheng gently waved her hand. The knights of the Sei Curia Guard swarmed behind her and boarded the train.
The interior of the train was luxurious and comfortable. The only complaint was the lack of pleasant scenery outside the windows; it was always a silent darkness. However, this couldn't be helped, as the train was not traveling on the land of the Holy Sei Empire; it was moving within the Demonic Domain.
The dark train window reflected the girl's profile. She opened her lips, seemingly giving instructions to the knight beside her.
It took less than an hour from the Imperial Grand Station to the nearest casualty zone in the lower district, but Charley was already feeling impatient.
He watched the noble and beautiful Saintess use her A-rank talent for low-level ability users, even personally cleaning their wounds. What a waste!
Recently, Demonic Domains had been appearing more frequently in the lower district, and the number of casualties, both ordinary people and ability users, was increasing. Yet, instead of focusing on fighting the Demonic Domains, the people of the lower district shamelessly demonstrated and demanded resources from the upper district.
Now, staying in the church's medical area, he could hear the noisy clamor of the lower district residents outside.
Charley wrinkled his nose. The smell in the medical area was also unbearable for him. He was a beast-transformation ability user and very sensitive to smells.
Perhaps due to the large number of people in the medical area, he was uncomfortably assailed by a strange odor.
"Charley? If you're uncomfortable, you can go inside and wait. I know your ability is powerful, but you always have some minor annoyances with your sense of smell."
An A-rank talent, [Stream], flowed in the maiden's hand. The flowing water enveloped the patient's bloody arm, and within moments, the arm was as clean and white as a lotus root, showing no trace of injury.
"Thank you, thank you, Your Excellency!"
The woman thanked her, flustered. As an E-rank ability user, she had never imagined being treated by such a noble person.
Charley watched the softly glowing Saintess, touched that she could notice his discomfort while healing others. "No, no, guarding you is my duty. Please let me stay."
Ye Zheng turned around, her eyes curving into a smile. "Wen De is here too. There won't be any danger in the church."
Charley was still conflicted. What kind of knight was Wen De? She was just a tall, sturdy maid.
But the increasingly strong scent made him sneeze several times. His face reddened in embarrassment, and he decided to go to the restroom.
Ye Zheng continued her healing work until the Sei Curia staff repeatedly urged her to rest for a while. Even the ability users waiting for treatment hoped she would rest.
Everyone saw it: the Saintess of the Sei Curia was indeed the proxy of the God of Hope. She was overdrawing her ability with high intensity, and her increasingly pale face made her look weaker than the patients.
Ability users in the lower district had always hated the hypocritical, exploitative Sei Curia. Many of them had heard of the Saintess's good reputation but dismissed it as nonsense; people from the upper district were best at putting on a show.
The adults enjoyed a safe environment free from Demonic Domain threats, yet they criticized the lower district for their undignified struggle for survival.
However, many people in this Sei Curia church were quietly discussing Ye Zheng with praise.
A young woman quietly bumped her friend's hand and teased, "I told you, the Saintess is different from the rest of the Sei Curia."
"Hmph, fine. She certainly hasn't been lazy. Compared to those high-ranking officials who merely hold positions without doing anything, at least this Saintess is worthy of the taxes she enjoys."
The young woman poked her sister's forehead. "You, just now you wanted to offer her water."
The sister's face flushed. "She's a big shot, with so many people around her. It's not our place to show attention."
The older sister thoughtfully watched the Saintess's retreating back. "Look, the one next to her seems to be a female knight. Does the Sei Curia recruit female knights?"
The younger sister turned excitedly. "Really? Both the Royal Guard and the Sei Curia Guard only have men. Can women join now?"
The older sister shook her head. "I haven't heard. Perhaps it's a special case for the Saintess. After all, the Saintess is a woman who serves the gods, and male knights might be inconvenient."
"Now that you mention it, the Saintess really does need a female knight?"
The two sisters exchanged glances, both seeing a small spark of inspiration in each other's eyes.
Ye Zheng was helped out of the medical area by Wen De.
Wen De looked at the girl leaning on her, her heart aching. "Your Excellency, excessive use of abilities is very dangerous."
"There are so many injured people in the lower district; you alone can't save them all."
Ye Zheng shook her head. "I'm far from reaching my limit. Pursuing fairness and excellence is the Ye family motto. As a noble who enjoys the offerings from the lower district, I have an obligation to bring them fairness and excellence."
"Wen De, this is fair, righteous, and what I, as a Saintess, should do."
The tall woman fell silent. She didn't quite understand what the Saintess was pursuing, but that didn't stop her from pledging her loyalty.
This was what a knight should do.
Wen De changed the subject. "I've made all the arrangements, Your Excellency. You have ten minutes for covert activities."
She looked worriedly at Ye Zheng's pale face, then finally lowered her head.
"Please be careful, Your Excellency. I will manage everything for you."
Ye Zheng smiled and nodded. Among the entire Sei Curia Guard, only Wen De was her trusted person, whom she had promoted against all objections. It was truly difficult to do her own things while escaping the Sei Curia's gaze.
However, she had to do it, not because of the upcoming manga plot, but because she was going to do it anyway.
Before leaving, Ye Zheng gave her loyal female knight one last instruction.
"Wen De, tell the Royal Knights stationed at the church to go to Sig Plaza. The Saintess left something there. Please make sure to retrieve it for me."
Wen De didn't understand why. She nodded vigorously, watching the Saintess slip out through the small door.
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