Mayuna had been called away by the old Pope again for some ideological guidance, while Tinasha had gone to discuss what had happened today with the holy knights. Now, only Ruben and Alicia remained in the cathedral, one man and one staff staring wide-eyed at each other.
"Hello."
"So it begins, you despicable human. You're trying to show me kindness so you can win me over and get closer to Mayuna, aren't you? I won't fall for it."
"Mayuna already lives with me."
"Damn it, what do you mean by saying that? Are you showing off? Showing off that you've already gotten Mayuna's body? I'll kill you!"
Alicia flew around wildly in anger. Ruben had no idea why this magic staff had such a problem with him. He had merely stated a fact, yet it had gotten so worked up.
"I'm going out for a walk. Tell Mayuna I'll be back soon."
Ruben had figured it out. No matter what he said, Alicia would misunderstand him. There was no way this conversation could continue. After leaving those words behind, he ignored Alicia's shouting and expertly made his way out of the cathedral.
Dragon had grabbed him and flown off before he could explore more than a small section of the streets last time. Now, dusk was approaching, and the streets beneath the lingering glow of the setting sun had their own unique charm. Ruben entered a fairly popular little shop, paid, found an empty seat, and drank the beverage provided by the establishment.
"Thank you for waiting, dear customers. I, Huba, shall now present all you bored folks with interesting tales from across the Holy Continent."
As the seats in the shop gradually filled up, a flamboyantly dressed man appeared on the raised platform at the front. His clothes glittered beneath the light of magic stones. Only after drawing enough attention did he begin to speak.
"A storyteller?"
People in this other world lived rather boring lives. With underdeveloped technology, there were hardly any forms of entertainment. Listening to stories here was still mainstream, and people were happy to spend a little money after meals to hear something interesting.
"Huba, get on with it! We can't wait any longer!"
The customers here clearly knew this man well. Once he took the stage, the calls from below grew louder and louder.
"Then let's talk about the Church. Have any of you seen that bald man who goes around preaching everywhere?"
The storyteller rummaged through his pockets and quickly found the topic he wanted. After channeling magic power into a sheet of magic paper, lines of text appeared in the air. This was, more or less, gossiping about the Church behind its back, but as long as no one fabricated stories to slander them, the Church generally could not be bothered to intervene.
"You mean Hans? What's there to say about that bald guy?"
The people below quickly caught on. It seemed that chatty bald man had done this sort of thing quite often.
"Well, we have to go back to the magical beast tide three years ago. You all know that our continent isn't peaceful. Every year, magical beasts emerge from the forest and attack humans. The Holy Empire and the neighboring Blackstone Empire bear the brunt of it. Usually, the two countries send troops to fend off the magical beasts' invasion."
The storyteller mischievously pulled out a map he had drawn himself. It showed the distribution of the four empires. Though the style was abstract, their locations were clear at a glance. On the map, the four great empires occupied the four corners of a square. The Holy Empire and Blackstone Empire were at the top, while above them lay the Forest of Magical Beasts.
"What about the ones below?"
"If Blackstone Empire was forced to sign a peace treaty with the Holy Empire because of the magical beasts, then the two below are villains constantly waiting to stab us in the back. The Griffin Empire and Tide Empire have always been at odds with the Holy Empire, and their conflicts have reached the point where they cannot be reconciled."
In response to the audience's question, Huba carefully explained the Holy Empire's two enemies.
"Will they attack us?"
"Strictly speaking, they would love to, but because they are close to the Endless Sea, they can only hold themselves back."
"Why's that?"
"Because there are magical beasts in the sea as well. The Endless Sea is broader and more dangerous than the Forest of Magical Beasts. During certain periods, they rush out of the sea and attack cities too. Some say they are acting under the orders of the sea race, but no one knows whether that's true."
The audience below broke into a chorus of boos. Ruben understood now. The humans of this world were also obsessed with war, but the existence of magical beasts forced them to focus on external enemies. Perhaps once the magical beasts went extinct, humans would start hurting each other.
"Ahem, back to that bald man. Whenever a magical beast tide arrives, countless mages step forward to defend their country. Naturally, the Church sends many priests and clergy to help heal the injured mages. Hans was one of them. Back then, he was just a minor priest. Do you know why he was promoted to cardinal?"
The storyteller was exceptionally skilled at building suspense. He could have simply told them, but he insisted on keeping them in suspense and teasing the crowd's curiosity.
"No idea."
"Because when every other member of the clergy collapsed from exhaustion, he used all his magic power to preserve the last breath of one hundred and ten severely wounded mages until the Church's reinforcements arrived. Countless people urged him to give up during that time, but that bald man only kept repeating one sentence: 'Their hearts are still beating. What right do I have to give up?'"
"In the end, more than half of his magic power source vanished, all the hair on his head fell out, and he looked as though he had aged decades. His Holiness the Pope personally cast the ninth-tier spell Angel's Redemption to save his life, then promoted him to cardinal as an exception. But he would never be able to advance any further for the rest of his life. So if you meet that bald man preaching again, please be a little more polite. Three gold coins for this message, parentheses not to be read... Huh?"
The storyteller's voice carried a trace of sorrow, and the listeners were moved into feeling a little sad as well. Then they suddenly saw him cover his mouth. When they recalled his final sentence, every listener's expression changed.
"Go to hell, Church lapdog!"
The audience members, who had just been somewhat touched, all picked up snacks and fruit at hand and hurled them at the platform. The storyteller dodged every one of them. Of course, he had deliberately added that last line to liven up the mood. After all, he was not here to make people sad.
"Then, everyone, what story would you like to hear as an apology?"
"The Mage God's story!"
The audience answered in unison. Was there any story on the entire continent more interesting than that of the Mage God?
"You really are making things difficult for me. How could a small fry like me have ever seen the Mage God's true face? There are very few stories I know about her."
Huba the storyteller looked troubled, but the audience had long grown used to this act. In an instant, quite a few gold coins were tossed onto the platform, landing in the storyteller's hands.
"Since you're all so enthusiastic, I can't very well refuse. Then let's begin. The famed Mage God, she... is a woman."
The audience held their breath, only to hear something everyone already knew. They immediately became furious. But they had already thrown everything throwable, so they began rubbing fireballs together to throw at him instead.
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't be angry, everyone. Don't you think this is very important information? Although there is no explicit rule, male mages have always been much more talented than female mages, haven't they? Now that you know this, don't all the beautiful ladies here feel a little more imposing than the men beside you? After all, she is the only Mage God in the world."
After hearing Huba's words, the audience quieted down. The women all wore proud expressions, while the men looked utterly helpless.
P.S. Please bookmark and recommend.
P.S. This is a bonus update (3/5). Coughing blood.
P.S. Thanks to Electric Shock Princess, Lord Gua Tai, AN232323, and Heheda0 for the 100 reward.
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