"Ria, are you ready? It's almost time for the audience!"
"I'm ready, Meli! I'll be right down!" Hearing Meli urge her on, Ria quickly changed into her papal robes and hurried downstairs.
"All ready, Meli!" Ria said in a fluster.
"Honestly! You're all grown up, so why are you still so careless and flustered?" Meli gently chided her as she tidied Ria's disheveled hair.
"Isn't that because you take such good care of me, Meli?" Without a trace of papal dignity, Ria hugged Meli's arm and spoke with a hint of childish sweetness, just like the little girl she had once been.
"Let's go! We shouldn't keep our friends from another world waiting!" Meli shook her head helplessly.
"Okay!"
The two then headed toward the Holy Church, chatting and laughing.
Knights in full suits of golden armor stood on either side of the Holy Church, motionless as stakes driven into the ground, lending the scene a solemn air. A red carpet stretched down the center all the way to the end of the road.
Little Fairies floated overhead, each carrying a tiny flower basket that was impossible to make out without looking closely.
Time ticked away as everyone waited.
The Sky Carrier slowly docked at the Holy Church's dedicated aerospace port.
As the hatch opened, the members of Night Raid slowly emerged from the carrier. The moment they stepped outside, their attention was drawn to the sacred, magnificent Holy Church Headquarters standing in the distance.
At Yi Yong's urging, however, they did not linger. They took the elevator out of the aerospace port, where they were greeted by a neat line of handsome, solemn honor guards from the Holy Light Clerics, dressed in white, high-collared military uniforms with golden cross medals on their chests.
Leading them was a young man