Raphael Church.
Father Simo, who had already gone to bed, was woken up once again.
Nun Sally helped him dress and accompanied him to the church entrance to greet the new Lord of Green Shade Territory.
Lian stepped down from the carriage. He was wearing a beige shirt and slim-fitting trousers, his leather boots spattered with a fair amount of mud.
Blond hair, blue eyes, sharp features, a handsome face—but with a pale complexion and an unsteady gait. He looked like one of the Moria Clan at a glance.
Lian looked at Father Simo. Brown hair, brown eyes, heavy dark circles, a thin frame, a pale complexion, and an unsteady gait. At a glance, he looked like someone who overindulged in carnal pleasures.
[Succubus Breeder] [Heretic Priest] [Body Drained]
These three tags made Lian's eyes light up.
'Another talented individual found.'
Meanwhile, the beautiful Nun Sally standing beside Father Simo had the tags [Loyalty], [Succubus], and [Nun] floating above her head.
Just as Lian was sizing up Sister Sally, Father Simo was also observing the maid, Annie, at Lian's side.
The difference was, Sally gave Lian a smile full of intrigue, while Annie's face was dark, looking as if she were ready to whip out her dagger and crack Father Simo's skull open at any moment.
Annie was in a foul mood because Lian had gotten the formal suit she had designed for him dirty—and with the kind of stain that wouldn't wash out.
Although Father Simo very much did not want to receive Lian—this great fool—or the countless people this great fool had brought with him.
First, it was the family of Romayada, the city's richest man. Then, the guards brought a crowd from the Blackberry Tavern in the outer city. And now the Lord himself had shown up with so many guards, looking as if he meant to tear Raphael Church out by the roots.
But out of respect for Lord Lian's status, Father Simo managed to force a smile that was awkward yet polite.
"Lord, if you wish to pray in the church, you will need to wait another six hours."
"Father Simo, we've come to ask for Holy Water."
The portly Omari Hani wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke, panting heavily.
"Yes. I just returned from a heavily infected area, so now I require some Purification."
Lian wasn't sure if he had been infected, but it was always good to take precautions and avoid any sudden, uncontrollable developments.
"Oh, is that so? I'm terribly sorry, but three hours ago, Master Romayada's family came and took all the Holy Water. The new batch hasn't been made yet, and that will take about three days. Please, I suggest you ask at another church."
Father Simo said wearily.
He just wanted to send this group of people away as quickly as possible so he could go back to sleep.
Lian nodded slightly. "We did indeed bring too many people. Kob, divide the guards into five squads and have them go to the other churches. With just a few of us left, you can perform the Purification, can't you?"
"I'm sorry, but we truly have no Holy Water left."
Father Simo still didn't relent. Even if it was just Lian and his small group, he was unwilling to use the Purification Technique again.
The corners of Lian's mouth curved up slightly. He leaned close to Simo's ear and whispered,
"You wouldn't want the Archbishop to find out about you raising a Succubus, would you? Mr. Heretic."
Father Simo's gaze froze for a moment. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.
'Just as I judged,' he thought. 'This man before me is extremely dangerous.'
'He actually knows Sally is a Succubus!'
'He's so close right now. If I just have Sally make a move, we should be able to kill him.'
'But killing him, the three ministers, and his maid would definitely leave a trail.'
'In that case, Sally and I would still be discovered by the Archbishop.'
'Everything I've planned would be for naught.'
'And it might even provoke retaliation from the Ice Witch.'
'No, I can't kill him.'
'He must know I can't act against him. That's why he's threatening me like this, isn't it?'
Having figured this out, a grim smile appeared on Father Simo's face.
"Lord, please follow me. I will perform the Purification for you."
Lian smiled and nodded, following Father Simo into the church's healing room.
Lian was very interested in the church's Purification Technique. Although the Clergy didn't possess the Extraordinary Power of a Witch, they could, to some extent, borrow the mighty power of the God of Tiger.
The Arcane Runes on the High Wall were the masterpiece of an Archbishop. These runes ensured the High Wall couldn't be toppled by monsters, providing a degree of protection.
Furthermore, all Archbishops were outstanding Healers. The higher one's position in the church, the stronger the Healing, Purification, and defensive techniques they could use.
It was as if the God of Tiger had done it intentionally, granting Witches immense destructive power while leaving the Power of Healing and Purification to the Clergy.
However, not even the most exceptional Healer could cure a Witch's loss of control.
Lian watched Simo with anticipation, but disappointingly, Simo didn't perform any sort of dazzling Healing Technique.
He took out a silver chalice filled with Holy Water.
While sprinkling Holy Water on Lian, he mumbled an incantation,
"Great God of Tiger, please bless your faithful Believer. Protect him from illness and drive out the Plague."
"That's it?"
Lian asked curiously.
Simo nodded, his expression growing even dimmer.
It was as if reciting those four simple lines of purification had drained all his Physical Strength.
"Yes, the Purification is complete."
'Dude, you're so weak.'
Lian complained inwardly as he tried to recite the words of purification himself.
To his surprise, he discovered that he kept mispronouncing the simple words, messing them up three or four times and finding himself completely unable to recite them correctly.
"Why can't I say it?"
Lian asked.
"Because you are not a Priest. Only True Believers who have walked the path of a Priest can recite the words of purification accurately."
Simo explained. It wasn't some great secret, so it didn't matter if Lian knew. Not everyone was chosen by the God of Tiger to become one of his True Believers.
The vast majority of people in the Holy Empire could only be considered Believers, not True Believers.
"Alright."
Lian shrugged. "Father Simo, you don't look like you're in very good shape."
"Lord, if you also had to work overtime until the early hours of the morning, your condition might not be so great either."
Simo said.
"Aren't I working overtime until the morning right now?"
Lian said with a smile, despite his bloodless face.
"Which is why your condition isn't very good either."
Simo stated bluntly.
"Alright, you've successfully convinced me. As a reward, I've decided to give you the chance to make a deal."
"?"
Simo gave Lian a strange look and subconsciously covered his own rear.
The nobility was rife with extravagance, and it wasn't uncommon for them to have a taste for handsome young men.
Simo himself had received many such invitations from nobles in the past.
Lian's eyebrow twitched slightly. He felt as though his character had just been insulted.
"When you find yourself on the verge of death, you can come find me to make that deal."
Since [Succubus Breeder] was a red tag, it proved it was a disaster-class tag. Under normal circumstances, a disaster-class tag wouldn't just bring disaster to others; it would also bring disaster to the tag's holder.
Therefore, Lian was confident that Simo would definitely come looking for him.
As for the price, he hadn't decided on that yet.
'It will surely be a price that lets me win three times over with a single stroke.'