"With the Sacred Tower and Tower Settlement destroyed, the next step will definitely be wiping out every last Hornsent. Only after that mission is done will that Demigod have time for romance."
"Then it's settled. We'll set out tomorrow. Everyone, rest well tonight. Unless it's an emergency, no one will disturb you."
Outside the lavishly decorated room, Moonrithyll smiled, gave the petite Ranni a slight bow, and slowly closed the door.
With a soft clap, Trina excitedly brought her fair, delicate hands together.
She pointed at the now-closed door, lowered her voice, and cried out in excitement,
"That woman was definitely hinting at something! That was absolutely what she meant! She has no respect for this goddess at all! How infuriating!"
Nolan walked unhurriedly to the bedside and gently set the tiny goddess down on the soft, comfortable bed.
The other half of the goddess's body had been placed in the neighboring room. The distance between them was not far.
Though only a single wall separated them, to certain people, that short distance seemed as impossible to cross as a chasm.
Hearing Trina's disgruntled complaints, Nolan turned around and quietly looked at the goddess standing on the bed. A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Then you should at least look a little like a goddess first. You should be glad we're in the same room, instead of having you sleep with Sellia."
After saying that, he deliberately paused, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he looked at the puffed-up goddess before him.
"Hmph, what is that supposed to mean?" The goddess stood on the bed with her hands on her hips, glaring at Nolan by the window. "Bad Nolan. That's way too much."
The narrow window was like an eye peering out at the world, looking far toward the east.
In the distance, the majestic outline of the mountains could just be seen. The enormous range lay across the earth like a black dragon, winding and twisting with imposing grandeur.
After Nolan finished teaching the Numen martial skills, he had fallen into a lively conversation with Moonrithyll.
From the required lessons for Her Highness the Princess's Lord Consort to the way of kingship, their topics wandered freely and covered nearly everything.
After that, the female knight had been quite direct. She personally accompanied everyone and escorted them all the way back to their rooms.
As for Melina, with Miquella on the left and herself on the right, if one added a tiger-headed gilded spear and a pair of maces, they could cosplay as the guardian door gods flanking Nolan, their lord.
"Haha, I didn't mean anything special. You just look too small," Nolan teased with a laugh.
"Hm!?" Trina's beautiful eyes widened at once, and embarrassment and anger welled up inside her.
Although she knew very well that Nolan was telling the truth, having him say it so bluntly was still hard to accept. It stung her pride a little.
Before Trina could retort, Nolan seemed to realize that what he had said was not quite right and explained,
"Ah, don't misunderstand. What I mean is, even though you look like a child, you're still a cute child."
At that, the anger on Trina's face eased a little, though she still pouted and muttered,
"I know that! But I've completely broken free of that cursed body now, you know!"
Seeing how seriously Trina was taking it, Nolan could only nod perfunctorily. "Mm-hmm, yes, yes. Of course I believe you."
He truly did not care about that sort of thing.
Trina glared at Nolan, still puffed up with irritation. Even so, she kept cheering herself on in her heart, secretly telling herself that she had to hurry up and grow.
She swung her little legs on the bed and muttered, "Speaking of which, that female knight is being far too nice to you. She doesn't have the slightest guard up around us. What would she do if we really were terrible villains?"
Hearing this, Nolan gave the doll on his shoulder, whose little head was tilted as if her soul had left her, a casual glance. Then he slowly walked over to the window, sat down, and looked outside.
As his fingers tapped the windowsill in a steady rhythm, he said thoughtfully,
"Didn't she send people to Tower Settlement? Once she confirms that the Sacred Tower and Tower Settlement were destroyed by my hand, any precautions she takes against me would be a joke."
"And besides, being overly guarded might even anger me. So that female knight isn't foolish. On the contrary, she's very clever."
After saying this, Nolan tilted his head slightly and looked at Ranni, who was sleeping soundly on his shoulder. A gentle smile rose at the corners of his mouth as he continued,
"Besides, she might simply be taking special care of us for Her Highness the Princess's sake. This princess is the successor personally appointed by the Queen of the Full Moon."
As he spoke, he looked back out the window, overlooking the fortress below, bustling and hurried beneath the gloomy sky.
The soldiers in the streets moved like swarms of busy ants, rushing quickly back and forth.
They gathered toward the city walls, and once they reached the ramparts, they arranged themselves into neat rows, like orderly lines on a chessboard.
"Hah. A single badge is enough to prove the princess's identity? Who would believe that?" Trina lay on the bed, carefully studying her Lord.
"It must be your power that conquered that female knight and forced her to wag her tail at you."
"What kind of outrageous thing is that to say? My pure and lovely Saintess, what happened to your sacred, spotless, universally praised pure heart?" Nolan sighed.
"But from the look of things, Moonrithyll really doesn't bear us any ill will. Next, as long as we pass through Shadow Keep, we can retrieve the Great Rune."
"You're that sure? You don't think Messmer will become our enemy?" Trina asked curiously.
"I heard Shadow Keep has taken in a large number of Numen, and Messmer is trying to find a way to heal them," Nolan said after thinking for a moment.
"The reason no word has come yet is probably because he's still torn between saving the Numen and keeping me, a Graceless One, outside the city."
"So how do you know he'll accept you, a Graceless One?" Trina asked, puzzled.
"Because the message sent back won't just say that I can heal the Numen. It will also say that the Impenetrable Thorns were burned." A faint smile appeared at the corners of Nolan's mouth.
The condition for burning the tree was being able to see the illusory flames. And as it happened, Marika had a pair of extraordinarily gifted children.
They had been born with the ability to perceive illusions, and all this time, they had borne the mission Marika had entrusted to them.
In other words, the person who had burned away the Shadow Thorns this time was very likely connected to Melina and Marika.
The mere possibility was already enough to make that lofty Demigod take notice and treat the matter with great importance.
And beyond that, the one who burned the tree had also saved his mother's people. If he still insisted on killing him after that, it would be going too far.
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