Chapter 1250
Human or Dog?
Haina could only forcefully change the subject, saying with some anxiety, “If we don’t leave, we’ll probably be discovered!”
Holy Spring City had many powerful individuals. Haina knew this well.
After all, Holy Spring City not only mimicked the Church’s annular structure but was also, in terms of international standing, a “small cult nation” or a “desert cult nation.”
It contained the essence of more than half of the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi, as well as many Horus and Taichu people—Holy Spring City was closer to them than the distant Church.
The land area of the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi alone far exceeded the combined total of Avalon, Star Antinomy, and the Iris Flower… Moreover, this was the place with the densest dragon population in the world, not to mention Elves, Dwarves, Lizardmen, Snake People, Winged Ones, Giants, Goblins, Trolls… and even ancient monsters resided within.
This was also why the Cake Maker had spoken disrespectfully to the Pope. He was genuinely proud of Holy Spring City and did not believe their Lord was inferior to Elves in any way.
—Their inheritances were equally ancient, with Holy Spring City even having an edge; the Church had the “Canon of the Nine Pillar Gods,” and they too possessed an equally ancient classic, “The Holy Spring”; both were places where multiple races coexisted. Furthermore, compared to the Church, where races were relatively monolithic, Holy Spring City had many more, even allowing sworn enemies like Elves and Dwarves, Humans and Giants, or Snake People and Winged Ones to live together steadily.
What was so remarkable about being a Sixth Tier? The Pope was Sixth Tier, and their Lord was also Sixth Tier. The Pope had Fifth Tier Cardinals, while their Lord’s ministers and officials were all Fifth Tier, perhaps even more numerous!
The Church possessed ancient technology, but did they not also have equally ancient forbidden spells?
Even their Lord lived alone in the Fourth Ring, much like the Eternal Pope lived alone at the top of the Kingdom of Giant Trees—possessing absolute authority and the faith of the people, yet rarely appearing before them.
This granted the residents immense freedom—at least, it was far better compared to the Lords of other cities.
As an old Anxi saying went: the best Lord is the one far enough away from you.
The Cake Maker also genuinely believed the Church was nothing special. This might not be narrow-mindedness, but rather a touch of stubbornness. They had not witnessed how the ancient Elves ruled the world; merely seeing the Elves turn swords into plowshares and choose a path of peace and equality ignited the fire of ambition in their hearts—just as he had usurped his teacher’s position to become the Lord’s Chief Emissary.
The position of Chief Emissary was the highest-level manager of the “Ritual” authority and operations. Two Chief Emissaries combined would have been considered heads of the Nine Offices in the Taichu era. However, starting from the last few Lords, the Chief Emissary position began to have two appointed… This was also to dilute their power, forcing them into internal conflict to maintain balance.
From this perspective, the Elves had merely obtained the remains of the ancient and powerful apostles, “Giant Trees,” as their residence. If they lost the Giant Trees and still had to support and protect the desertifying Sin Thorns… Hmph, perhaps the Elves were living worse lives than them now!
—Old geezer, time to drop some gold coins!
It was precisely because Haina had learned about the ancient power of Holy Spring City through emergency tutoring that she was so anxious now.
She did not want to cause trouble for Eivass due to her own actions or disrupt her friends’ plans… just as she had brought the Cake Maker into the shelter back then.
“…So what if we’re discovered?”
Seeing Haina subconsciously become timid again, Lily smiled helplessly.
As expected, her young master was the exception. The process from obtaining power to becoming strong was too smooth. Although there were moments of confusion and self-abandonment, after refining her heart by splitting herself, she quickly found herself again.
But Haina was only twenty-two years old this year—her social experience consisted of a mere internship of less than four months, after which she became a revered arbiter, supported by the kingdom.
Or, from another perspective, Eivass was the true monster.
He was not even twenty yet and already so mature!
And Haina, at this moment, was behaving exactly as a young person in their early twenties should…
Lily, who was roughly the same age as Sherlock, sighed and patiently advised:
“—Haina, are you satisfied with this revenge?”
The maid clasped her hands in front of her, looking dignified and elegant. Except for the shadows writhing like claws at her feet, she almost resembled a noble young lady—although, purely by bloodline, Lily was indeed a noble young lady.
“…To be honest, not very satisfied.”
Haina was a bit dejected.
She had originally thought revenge would be exhilarating, just like in the books. But now she felt that her hatred was so hollow.
She couldn’t win an argument, and the effortless killing felt like a desperate outburst—she might as well have assassinated him directly, which would have at least avoided being lectured.
Haina’s upbringing and education were hindering her at this moment. Perhaps if she had just lashed out at the other party, she would feel much better now.
“It’s because you’re seeking justification for your actions, Miss Dane.”
Lily said calmly, “Because what you truly hate is your past self, who was cowardly and foolish. You came here to kill your past self. There’s nothing wrong with that; it’s also a purification of yourself.”
Hearing this, Haina suddenly froze.
She looked up at Lily, and for a moment, she felt as if she were back in a university lecture hall. Those words, which easily saw through others’ minds, reminded her of someone.
It had been a year ago, yet it felt so distant now—Professor Moriarty, much like Lily, had stood before her, calmly pointing out her problems while managing the student council.
Everything was as it was in the past, and she was still the same past self.
But this paradoxically made Haina feel at ease.
“You lack the awareness of a strong individual, Miss Dane.”
Lily’s voice overlapped with Haina’s memory of Professor Moriarty:
[You lack the humility of a student, Miss Dane.]
“You grew stronger too quickly, thus losing your correct perception of yourself.”
[Your grades were always excellent, which caused you to lose your correct perception of others.]
Lily’s slow intonation, the atmosphere that seemed to merge with the shadows, made Haina feel as if she were seeing Professor Moriarty from the past again.
“…Yes.”
She instinctively replied in a low voice.
Lily said softly, “You worry that you will cause trouble for the young master by causing destruction. But in reality, it is precisely because you caused this destruction that you will be fine.
“You are a strong individual. And what a strong individual must do is not only be humble but also display their power. Blindly yielding is not the right approach; it makes people lose their perception of you. A strong individual should showcase their might and allow others to adjust their perception of them. Otherwise, they are not strong individuals, merely strong dogs. If you have no intention of being a dog, then don’t act like one and expect people to treat you as a human.”
[You are indeed intelligent and beautiful. You are popular, and people are willing to play with you. But you don’t understand what others want. You are too close to them, and your heart is too soft. This means that those close to you can easily sway your will and usurp your power. I know this has no significance in school… but with your excellence, you will surely become a great figure. If you don’t want your power to be stolen, it’s best to stay away from them.]
“You… you are just a maid, why do you understand so much?”
Haina asked, somewhat astonished and somewhat frustrated.
Lily replied calmly, “Because I willingly became the young master’s dog only after I understood everything.”
(End of this chapter)
