Sometimes it's a mistake to casually make promises. How about now? Aya regrets it so much now, what is this unknown world! Did she really travel through time and space?!

"For a thousand years, the Sea Moon has been continuously dispersing the darkness of the Dawnland and resolving the nation's crisis caused by the Destruction of Shadows."

Gratefulness, along with reverence for the unknown deity who created the Sea Moon, gradually developed into a distinct sect within the Dawnland.

However, unlike other religions, besides religious rituals, the Dawnland's church also has another responsibility, or rather, obligation.

To maintain the operation of the Sea Moon.

"Operation? Why does something like that need maintenance..."

The creations of deities shouldn't be something like a massive artificial sun or powerful spells. Why does what you're saying sound like it's about precision machinery!

"The 'Sea Moon' in the sky isn't the actual Sea Moon, but the projection of the light gathered by the Sea Moon. The true Sea Moon is scattered in the depths near the coast of the Dawnland, encircling the entire country with engraved runes."

"Those runes are bestowed by the deities, and only the high-ranking members of the church have obtained the technology to maintain them through a certain method."

"So, that's the legitimate reason for using the assassination of the Chief Priest to overthrow you, right?"

Alright, I understand now. The Dawnland was constantly plagued by dark creatures in the eternal night until a certain deity created the permanent artificial light called the Sea Moon to suppress the activity of the Shadow Form. Then Miss Xuanzi turned around and assassinated the Chief Priest, who had control over the technology to maintain the operation of the Sea Moon.

Aya rubbed her chin to organize the information she had received and couldn't help but admire her own logical ability. Yes, I am worthy.

But as for the matter itself, it's a bit difficult to put into words.

How should I put it? Aya's initial reaction was, "It serves you right for getting caught. Can important figures that are crucial for national stability be treated casually?" But considering that, under normal circumstances, there must be legitimate reasons for such things.

"So, did the Chief Priest engage in despicable acts like taking advantage of the church's reputation to deceive and manipulate ignorant girls, and subject them to all sorts of training for his own satisfaction, betraying his morality?"

"..."

Aya noticed that several people were looking at her in a strange way, so she speculated, "Could it be that they were fraudulently collecting religious taxes under the name of the deities, forcing poor people who couldn't pay to sell their children, and the underground of the church is actually a breeding ground for some kind of tentacled creature..."

"Mr. Aya... You seem to be quite knowledgeable about these matters?" Xuanzi, who couldn't listen anymore, interrupted Aya's increasingly excited train of thought.

Why am I so knowledgeable, and why does everything end up developing in such strange directions!

"Well... don't mind it, it's because of the influence of certain people..." Aya said a bit guilty.

Tiran, come out and take the blame! It's all because you're always watching strange things. I could ignore it, but what if you corrupt Chirp too?!

Aya made up her mind to have a proper discussion with Tiran about educating their child when she returns.

By the way, speaking of going back...

"When I saved you just now, you still have some conditions that you haven't fulfilled, right?"

Aya stared at Xuanzi and said, "I have never heard of a place called Dawnland, whether it's East Land or West Land, the human world or the territories of the Elf/Dwarf tribes, there's no such country."

Under Aya's gaze, Xuanzi's expression also became somewhat unnatural, and finally she bowed deeply with an apologetic tone: "I'm sorry, Mr. Aya."

Well, upon hearing this opening, Aya already understood that he would definitely not get the desired result.

Sure enough, as Xuanzi said, not to mention Milanía, they hadn't even heard of the two continents.

The night sky that shrouded the country of Chenxi was like a heavenly barrier, completely separating the islands where the whole country was located from the outside world.

It was said that adventurers had tried to sail out to sea, but none had succeeded. There wasn't even a single person who had returned alive.

"So I really did travel through time and space?"

Aya mumbled, covering his face with a powerless sigh. This shouldn't have happened. Wasn't he just experiencing a high-altitude descent? Did little Angel throw him and directly smash through the dimensional wall?

"I'm truly sorry! I had to rely on you to escape at that time! Please forgive me!"

Xuanzi did feel very guilty about deceiving Aya and kept apologizing, which actually made Aya feel a little annoyed but it wasn't proper for him to react.

"Never mind, I can't just ignore a beautiful young girl in danger... So, what exactly did that old man do?"

"While most people wouldn't believe this news if it were to be made public, the Grand Priest now has complete control over the Sea of Moon."

After some consideration, Xuanzi slowly spoke.

"Complete control... So it's not just maintenance?"

"Yes, for the past month, I've been receiving reports of various attacks by the Dark Shadows in different parts of the country. And... the conclusion of the measurement agency of the capital city also shows a declining trend in the intensity of the Moon's radiance from the sea that has remained constant for a thousand years."

"The most important thing is that, coincidentally, during this period, the Grand Priest has been frequently visiting and leaving the Seaside Town." Xuanzi smiled bitterly. "Now I actually wish I wasn't from the Seaside Town, then I wouldn't have encountered so many troubles."

The Grand Priest's status was highly respected throughout the country of Chenxi, so his frequent visits to a small seaside town were quite unusual. Xuanzi, who had taken over the management of the Seaside Town from her father, had also noticed this. Although she didn't openly inquire about it, she did conduct some investigations in secret.

"Me, me, me!"

Longjing excitedly raised his hand. "I discovered the conspiracy of that old man... Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

"Xuanzi, don't interrupt when Longjing is speaking."

Sayo coldly hummed, she retracted her scabbard and when she looked at Xuanzi, her eyes softened. "Xuanzi, please continue."

"Sayo, be a little gentler with Longjing..." Seeing Longjing's pained expression, Xuanzi couldn't help but feel a little distressed.

Sayo shrugged indifferently, seemingly not paying attention at all. Her black agate-like eyes only reflected Xuanzi's figure - Aya suddenly had a feeling of seeing Miss Mimi.

...Or should I be a bit nicer to that child? After all, I can empathize with him.

"But, indeed, it was Longjing who discovered the weird behavior of the Grand Priest. If he hadn't followed the Grand Priest, we wouldn't have known that the central control of the Sea of Moon was near the Seaside Town."

After receiving the intelligence, Xuanzi personally witnessed the Grand Priest controlling the central control and reducing the brightness of the Moon from the sea. Combined with the news of the revival of the Dark Shadows, the truth was about to be revealed.

However, when it came to how to deal with it, Xuanzi hesitated. The most direct way was to report it, and the country of Chenxi naturally had the power to handle it. But the problem was, how to make people believe that it was the Grand Priest's doing? She was just a local noble of a small town, and the Grand Priest's importance to the country far exceeded hers.

Even if the upper echelon truly believes, once the desperate high priest completely destroys the moon in the sea, disaster still awaits the Morning Glory Kingdom.

"Who would have thought that old dog thief could be so cunning!" Longjing gnashed his teeth.

Although Xuanzi's mind was quite good, she was still just a girl and was somewhat panicked when suddenly faced with this situation. And in the time she hesitated, the high priest had already completed his layout.

Three days ago, Xuanzi was attacked in the mansion, and all the attackers were trained assassins belonging to the Church. The unprepared mansion guards were slaughtered throughout the night, and Xuanzi fell into the hands of the high priest, with only Soya, the most skilled, fighting his way out.

Soya also attempted the rescue, almost succeeding and even giving the high priest a slash, but in the end, he was stopped.

"We only found out later that Yanliu, that bastard, had actually teamed up with the high priest; otherwise, how could so many assassins not be detected and infiltrate the mansion?" The young man with a bow and arrow by his side spoke angrily. "Some of the guards who followed Miss Xuanzi were killed that night, and the rest pledged allegiance to Yanliu, while others half-heartedly followed their orders."

"I see, so the whole Haixi town is in their hands now, right?"

Aya took out a second piece of dried sweet potato and started chewing on it.

"Hey! How can you have the mood to eat when you hear something like this? And that's our food! Do you know how difficult it is to find food out in the wild?"

Hmm, this guy is starting to whine again... well, since I promised to treat him better, I won't tie him up again.

Aya ignored Longjing for the moment. "So, Miss Pingzhi Xuanzi, what are your thoughts for the next step?"

"Of course."

Xuanzi met Aya's gaze head-on, her determined expression not at all like that of a girl under twenty who was nearly shot to death not long ago.

"I want to take back Haixi town and expose the high priest's conspiracy... at least, the people of the Morning Glory Kingdom are innocent, and we can't let them suffer because of the decisions of one high priest."

"Yeah, she doesn't seem like the type to give up easily..." Aya muttered under his breath, standing up and stretching lazily. "Well then, good luck, young lady."

With that, he turned around and prepared to leave. Yes, in the end, this matter had nothing to do with him. He would treat it as an unfinished story and find a way to leave this strange place.

"Huh? Mr. Aya, please wait!"

Completely unexpected, Xuanzi, who had just walked proudly like a little female leopard, was stunned when Aya turned around and started running towards him with small steps, opening her arms to block his way.

"Please wait, I want to ask Mr. Aya for help!"

"Sorry, not interested, goodbye."

Aya gave a fist salute and prepared to leave.

"If there's a way to leave the Morning Glory Kingdom, only the high priest would know, right?"

"Big sister, who should I kill? You're talking."

Aya stood upright, saluted respectfully, and spoke seriously.