Chapter 394: Infusing the Maid...
Arianna's mind was utterly blank, her thoughts frozen.
Because the action was so abrupt that she couldn't react at all.
So, what was happening?
After blinking her eyes, her stalled mind slowly began to function again, and she realized one thing: their lips were pressed together.
Of course, she had seen this kind of situation before—wasn't it just a kiss?
She had seen it both in reality and in movies.
But the problem was that, this time, two of those lips belonged to her.
In other words, for the first time in her life, she was experiencing this act—her lips had been taken.
And as for the person who had taken her lips, if she viewed him as a normal man from a woman's perspective, Arianna didn't dislike him.
However, his special identity still made her extremely nervous and somewhat flustered.
So, what was the point of doing this so suddenly?
C-could it be that he wanted her to serve him as well?
To be honest, Arianna had actually thought about this before. Since the young lady she served was now serving him, it would be natural for her, as a maid, to serve him too.
But she hadn't expected it to happen now.
Huh?
Suddenly, Arianna felt an abnormality in her body—something was being infused into her.
But the next moment, Arianna's mind nearly went blank again, as a deeper contact and entanglement followed.
After a while—
"How is it? Can you feel what I've given you?"
Renji asked the maid, whose eyes were still somewhat dazed, after they parted.
"Arianna."
"Ah?"
Arianna snapped back to reality, her face flushed so red it seemed blood might seep through, overwhelmed with embarrassment.
"Can you feel it? What I gave you?"
The person before her asked again.
So, what had he given her?
"Y-yes, I can feel it."
Arianna could sense a special power within her body—a supernatural power that ordinary people could never access.
Now, she too had been granted such power. She had been bestowed with a [Blessing] by the person before her—a divine [Blessing].
For the first time, Arianna perceived the subtle, intangible differences in the world that she had sensed on World Peace Day.
An overwhelming excitement surged within her, and Arianna found it difficult to resist the urge to wield the power lying dormant deep within her body.
"Reinhardt."
Such words spilled from her lips—an incantation to summon a sword.
Of course, this didn't mean she would summon Miss Erica's sword. With the same chant, as long as the activation succeeded, one would obtain a Reinhardt suited to themselves.
Thus, some summoned a greatsword for their Reinhardt, rather than a slender sword like Erica's.
Others summoned twin blades, such as the famous Holy Knight Saint Raffaello, who wielded dual greatswords.
So, what kind of sword would be her own?
Ah, it was also a greatsword—one nearly as tall as Arianna herself.
Moreover, this greatsword also resembled a cross.
The next moment—
"Huh?"
The greatsword vanished like a mirage?
Oh, it was because she wasn't familiar with it yet, so she couldn't fully summon it.
But the occurrence of such a phenomenon proved that she truly possessed power beyond the reach of ordinary people, which made Arianna particularly exhilarated.
"Thank you, Renji-sa—my Lord."
She hastily corrected herself.
After receiving the [Blessing], a special connection had formed between them, and Arianna naturally came to understand that the being before her was the rumored Lord.
For a moment, her mind spun; it was almost too unbelievable.
Although she had speculated before, she hadn't thought it would be such an existence—perhaps an Apocalypse Knight or a Seraphim.
She never expected it to be the highest-ranking being.
"You can just call me as usual~"
"Y-Yes~"
"However, the [Blessing] isn't permanent. If the effect wears off, remember to come to me for a replenishment."
The bestowed [Blessing] was granted through the Authority of the sixth incarnation of the God of War Verethragna, allowing him to share his power with others.
But sharing his power did not equate to the other party being able to use his Authorities.
It was more like in a game, where he applied a BUFF to the target—such as a BUFF to strengthen the body or enhance magical attacks.
Additionally, with his power flowing into her, it was as if she had acquired magical talent, enabling her to use the incantations of mages.
This [Blessing] here wasn't permanent, meaning the BUFF had a duration. Once the BUFF disappeared, it didn't mean she could no longer use magic; she could still channel his power to cast spells, merely losing the BUFF effects.
Then, the stronger her faith in him grew, the more of his power she could channel.
In a sense, this maid was the first believer he had cultivated.
"Ah? Okay."
Arianna responded shyly.
Because replenishing the [Blessing] meant they would need to engage in that kind of behavior again.
In a conference room of the Council of Sages.
"Miss Annie, can you speak now?"
Currently, only the two of them were in the conference room; everyone else had been dismissed.
To prevent Lucretia from eavesdropping, Alice had also deployed a barrier.
Thus, the old lady was quite displeased that the two had secrets to discuss.
"That monster comes from a parallel world."
Annie straightforwardly revealed its origin.
"Huh?"
Alice was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn't processed it.
No, it would be more accurate to say she had processed it, but the single sentence contained such staggering information that her brain seemed to freeze up.
"Eh? Wait, hold on—parallel worlds? This monster? Lady Aisha's cave is connected to a parallel world?"
Princess Alice's voice grew increasingly shrill as she regained her composure, but she quickly calmed down again.
This was truly disastrous. They had really messed up this time.
If there were many such monsters in the other world, and if they came flooding through... it would be catastrophic.
Moreover, there might even be stronger ones.
"So, Princess Alice, could you try communicating with that soul? We need to understand its origins!"
Annie then made this request.
It was a dangerous commission. Who knew what unexpected consequences might arise from peering into the soul of something from a parallel world?
But this was the only method to quickly understand the situation on the other side and take preventive measures.
Thus, the princess's expression grew even more solemn and serious.
"I understand. I will do everything in my power!"