Zani said with a wry smile, "Well… theoretically, nothing would happen."
"But if the priests of the Order of the Deep saw you, you might be labeled a fool and sent on a pilgrimage."
Abby, perched on Lucian's shoulder, suddenly piped up, "Look! Is that the Sentinel statue?"
Lucian and Rover followed his gaze, finally catching sight of their first Sentinel statue in Rinascita.
As Zani had described, the statue was surrounded by numerous candles burning around it.
Looking up at the statue, as they had learned, the Sentinel Imperator was indeed depicted as a pegasus, with a single horn on its head and wings on its back.
Curiously, its lower half wasn't a horse's tail but a fish's tail.
"A horse's body and a fish's tail?"
Lucian whispered near Rover's delicate earlobe, "Does this resemble the pegasus you saw at Margherita's Restaurant?"
Rover studied the statue. While it looked impressive, it didn't quite match the pegasus she had seen in the footage, though the footage might not have shown the full image.
Firstly, the pegasus in the footage lacked a lower body. Secondly, it had no wings on its back.
The only similarities were the horse's head and the single horn.
Rover shook her head slightly and whispered, "Only a little similar."
Before Lucian and Rover could examine it further, the ceiling above suddenly opened, and a torrent of water poured down, forming a waterfall that obscured the statue.
A gondola Echo ship easily scaled such a waterfall.
The group disembarked, now standing before the gates of the Order of the Deep. Zani pointed to a luxurious area nearby and said,
"That's the Fisalia Family's estate. We…"
As Lucian surveyed the surroundings, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Phoebe?"
Following his gaze, they saw Phoebe, clutching books and walking cautiously toward the cathedral with her head lowered.
Startled by the voice, her face flushed slightly when she saw Lucian and the others, and she hurried over.
She had received a notice from the Order of the Deep that many Echoes had gone out of control in Whisperwind Haven, so she wanted to check on the situation.
More importantly, she had a few Echo 'friends' there, and she was worried something had happened to them.
The reason she ran into Lucian and the others at the Order's gates was that, after giving her white stockings to Lucian, she felt uncomfortably chilly around her thighs and wasn't used to it.
So, she had come back to put on a new pair before heading out.
She hadn't expected to run into Lucian here.
"L-Lucian… Mr. Lucian."
Because she had given him such a personal item, Phoebe felt deeply embarrassed facing him now.
But she mentally reassured herself that giving Lucian the white stockings was for his purification, not for any other reason…
With a slight blush, Phoebe asked softly, "Mr. Lucian, has your soul been purified?"
Zani, standing nearby, looked puzzled. "Purification?"
Zani had been observing from a distance earlier and knew Lucian and his group had met Phoebe and spoken with her for a while.
More notably, she saw Phoebe personally give Lucian the stockings from her legs, only for Rover to snatch them away.
But Zani had been too far to hear their conversation.
Phoebe hesitantly explained what Lucian had said.
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, as the matter felt utterly embarrassing no matter how she looked at it!
As expected, Zani furrowed her brow in disbelief after hearing it. "Huh!?"
"Soul purification leading to pure love? And you believed that?"
Phoebe's face turned red as she covered it with her hands.
Looking back, she wasn't sure what kind of spell she'd been under to believe Lucian's nonsense.
Lucian said with a serious expression, "Miss Zani, please don't jump to conclusions!"
Zani: "?"
Lucian continued, "You haven't witnessed the soul purification process yourself, so how can you say it's not real?"
Zani's lips twitched, itching to retort.
If someone told her there was such a thing as soul purification, she'd be willing to believe it.
But if someone claimed that white stockings were the holy relic for soul purification, sorry, she'd rather believe a week had thirty days.
Speaking of time off, she felt she had to hold back, as Lucian was her client.
Her annual leave was at stake—she couldn't afford to slip up.
Zani silently repeated to herself: The client is king, respect!
With a forced smile, Zani said, "…Alright, my mistake, Mr. Lucian."
"I shouldn't judge based on my limited understanding."
"So, could you show me what this soul purification is?"
Lucian's lips curled slightly. "Of course, no problem."
"From this moment, Solaris will lose a God of Universal Love, but in his place, a God of Pure Love will rise!"
With bold confidence, Lucian held out his hand to Rover. "Rover, please give me Phoebe's holy relic."
"From now on, we'll walk the path of pure love, and no other woman will interfere with our bond."
Rover said expressionlessly, "I believe you as much as I believe a ghost!"
Lucian sighed and shook his head. "As expected, the path to pure love isn't easy."
"But you all saw it—it's not that I don't want to walk this path, it's Rover who won't let me…"
With that, Lucian suddenly darted in front of Zani, grabbing her hands.
Zani froze, caught off guard by Lucian's intense, affectionate gaze so close to her.
The shift was so abrupt that she didn't react, letting Lucian gently rub her hands.
In a tender voice, Lucian said,
"Miss Zani, the first time I saw you, your beauty captivated me…"
Before he could finish, a powerful force sent him flying.
Zani: "…"
Rover retracted her leg, grabbed Lucian by the collar, and hoisted him up. "Have you lost your mind?"
Lucian gave an awkward laugh. "You all know, the more people the God of Universal Love loves, the stronger he becomes."
"So, to maintain my strength, I have to keep loving others."
Zani, belatedly pulling her hands back, felt the lingering warmth from Lucian's touch.
A strange sensation stirred in her heart, one she'd never experienced before.
Phoebe said with concern, "This is too dangerous…"
"Miss Rover, why don't you… give him the holy relic?"
"Once Lucian becomes the God of Pure Love, you won't have to worry about him chasing other girls, right?"
Seeing Phoebe still clinging to the idea, Rover shook her head. "You're wrong. He just likes white stockings, plain and simple. There's no holy relic or soul purification."
Lucian, dangling in the air, flailed a bit, his face flushed. "How dare you slander me! These are pure holy relics—don't defile them!"
Rover, unfazed, asked, "Then tell me, do you prefer black stockings or white stockings?"
Lucian instantly calmed down, pondering for a moment before saying seriously, "White stockings are sporty, black stockings are professional."
Zani & Phoebe: "…"