"Alright, alright, don’t be so down. It’s not that hopeless after all."

In the Sea of Flowers that had returned to its original state, Mela squatted down, her pink nightgown wrapping around her pale little feet. She extended a finger to lightly poke Moen, who was now emanating an air of complete despair like a dead fish.

"If you think about it carefully, all you need to do is go to Holy City, participate in that ceremony-whatever-it’s-called. The outcome doesn’t even matter; as long as you casually bathe in the Holy Light of the Goddess at the end, everything will be fine!"

"The Holy Light of the Goddess isn’t that easy to bathe in!"

Moen sat up abruptly, his voice full of indignation.

"And besides, just going to Holy City itself is already a disaster, isn’t it?"

"Is it?"

Teacher Mela tilted her small head and comforted:

"Oh, there’s nothing to worry about, really. With the inherent concealment of your divine blessing and the aura-masking properties of the alchemy core, no one in the Life Church, aside from the Pontiff himself, should be able to detect your connection to the King of Wither."

"But it’s precisely the Pontiff who’s going to meet me personally!"

At that moment, wouldn’t he squash me flat with just one finger?

"That’s no big deal."

"Huh?"

"Even though the Pontiff is only a few hundred years old—his life experience is still quite lacking compared to mine—he nonetheless demonstrates the average magnanimity expected of a pontiff. He wouldn’t take any drastic actions against you just because of that tiny trace of the Dark God’s divine blessing in your body.

Moreover, the Church itself..." Mela suddenly hesitated, as if she realized she was about to say something she shouldn’t.

"Uh?"

"Well, never mind."

Teacher Mela shifted her tone and fixed her crimson gaze on Moen with a satisfied grin:

"Anyway, you just need to remember one thing."

"That is—"

"Moen Campbell."

"You are my disciple, Mela Dormir’s disciple."

Teacher Mela declared calmly:

"To those who don’t know this, they won’t notice anything peculiar about you. To those who do know, they’ll have confidence either in you—or me.

Hence, no matter how strange an ability emerges from your body, as long as it doesn’t blatantly display the words ‘related to the Dark God’ over your head while recklessly using powers, there generally shouldn’t be a problem.

The power of the Dark God may be formidable, but it’s not something fundamentally untouchable."

At this moment, an awe-inspiring and domineering aura gradually emanated from Teacher Mela’s petite figure.

Just gazing at those tranquil crimson eyes, at that white hair swaying gently despite the absence of wind, Moen couldn’t help but feel a sublime sense of reverence stirring in his heart.

She truly deserved to be Teacher Mela.

Dominant lolicon, so admirable!

"So—"

Regaining his composure, Moen blinked in excitement and asked:

"Even if the Church finds out their Holy Sword got refined into Elizabeth, they’d overlook it for Teacher Mela’s sake, right?"

"......"

"Would they?"

"......"

"Hey! Say something! You dead lo— Ow!"

"Sigh, I really don’t know how you, my disciple, can be so cowardly."

Teacher Mela withdrew her sheer disciple-punishing fist, nonchalantly cleaned it with a handkerchief, and remarked with a face full of exasperation:

"Why can’t you act a bit more shamelessly? Take a page out of Pink Bear’s book, perhaps?

Holy Swords aren’t that rare, and considering their current state, what could the Church possibly do to you?

At worst... at worst... they might just make your life mildly inconvenient. It’s not like it’ll kill you!"

"Damn, the Church making life inconvenient for someone... That’s already terrifying enough, isn’t it?"

Moen clutched his stomach, his face pale as he spoke.

As merely an ordinary duke’s son, how could he possibly stand against the colossal entity that was the Church?

"Sigh... In that case."

Teacher Mela sighed helplessly, then turned away and fiddled with something for a moment before handing an item to Moen.

"Take this."

"This is..."

Moen looked down in astonishment.

"A letter?"

"That’s right. Since you’re heading to Holy City anyway, why not deliver this letter to that kid Hezekiah for me? I’ve explained the alchemy core integration issue and the Holy Sword matter in the letter, so don’t fret too much about them."

"Hezekiah... You mean His Holiness the Pontiff, right?"

Moen widened his eyes in disbelief. "Teacher Mela, you’re well acquainted with the Pontiff?"

"Of course. We just met not too long ago."

Teacher Mela stood with her hands on her hips and declared:

"That kid was so enthusiastic back then: offering me his seat and bringing me gifts. His enthusiasm almost made me feel a bit embarrassed."

"Hiss—"

Moen stared wide-eyed at Teacher Mela, who had her slender waist thrust forward and her pristine chin held high. He couldn’t help but gasp audibly.

Even though he had always known Teacher Mela’s strength and credentials ranked among the best in the world, he had thought she was merely an introverted lolicon who preferred sleeping and focusing on her research.

But unexpectedly, her social connections were just as impressive!

"Well, then I can rest easy."

Moen said, his face filled with gratitude:

"I wrongly blamed you, Teacher Mela. You still care about me after all."

"Of course I do. What kind of teacher doesn’t care about their own disciples?"

Teacher Mela patted Moen’s shoulder:

"Now that we’re done with the chit-chat, let’s move on to the main task."

"Huh? Main task?"

Moen’s face, filled with gratitude moments earlier, instantly froze:

"What sort of ‘main task’?"

"Oh, it’s nothing major. It’s just that since it’s been decided you’re taking this trip, certain preparations need to be made in advance.

—For instance, remember when I mentioned that the alchemy matrix slated for implantation in your body isn’t just one, but seven?"

Teacher Mela said with a cheerful smile:

"If we don’t prepare ahead, do you plan on making seven separate trips?"

"Se... Seven?"

Although Teacher Mela was smiling warmly at the moment, Moen couldn’t help but tremble involuntarily.

"Didn’t we agree I’d only proceed with the subsequent transformations once my body’s resilience reached a certain threshold?"

"Oh, well, just like last time, things have changed. Besides, it’s not like I’ll directly implant and activate all of them immediately. Given your current physical toughness, seven alchemy cores would undoubtedly drain you in an instant. I have a special method to put them into a dormant state. Once you’re fully prepared, I’ll gradually activate them one by one.

But..."

"But what?"

"At this stage, it might be a little painful for you."

"How painful?"

"Well..."

Teacher Mela pondered for a moment before offering a vivid comparison:

"It’s not too terrible, honestly. Compared to last time, it’s merely the difference between giving birth to one child versus birthing septuplets."

No, no, no! That’s a huge difference!

Giving birth to one child had already left him hovering between life and death; septuplets would...

"Come on, kid, loosen up."

Seeing Moen’s increasingly pale face, Teacher Mela approached him like a gentle elder sister, cradled his head warmly, and began dragging him towards the operating table surrounded by various blades, needles, and drills—which somehow had been prepared at an unknown time.

As she guided him, she spoke softly:

"Just think positively for a moment. When the alchemy cores fully integrate with you, the benefits go beyond merely connecting to the Clock of Eternity. At that point, they’ll become akin to your own actual organs.

It’ll be like you’ve got seven additional kidneys in your body. And that means seven whole kidneys!

Teacher Mela turned her head and looked at Moen with meaningfully narrowed eyes:

"And, there’s a saying, isn’t there? ‘To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. To own a harem, how could one not endure a few more blades?’"