Chapter 123: Moral Decay of Jima
Compared to the enlightened and opportunistic emperor spoken of by Jenna, the old noblewoman in front of her, whose face was flushed with rage, was clearly neither enlightened nor opportunistic.
Especially when she found herself with her hands on her hips, glaring fiercely at Jima, who had demonic horns and was dressed in men’s clothing, the demoness showed no signs of guilt or panic! If it had been any other woman, she would have been restless and would have sincerely reflected on her actions.
How shameless could one be to act this way? She had clearly wanted to give her a modicum of dignity.
The old noblewoman grew increasingly angry and resolved that she must expel this demoness who had corrupted public morals by all means today.
The old noblewoman coldly demanded, “Are you a man or a woman?”
Jima retorted, “What about you?”
“Naturally, I am a woman. This place does not welcome guests who are neither man nor woman. Either ask the maid for a female outfit or leave by yourself.”
“Who do you think you are?”
“Me?” The old noblewoman raised her chin and stated her family name, “You lack discernment, and I do not blame you, but you corrupt morals, spread depraved thoughts, and harm the psychological health of minors. I absolutely cannot tolerate this.”
After saying this, she looked at Jenna, her tone softening a bit, “As for you, Holy Maiden, you may stay, but I advise you to keep your distance from this woman to avoid being tainted by evil.”
“What are you?” Jima smiled, her tone becoming more bizarre, “I, along with Jenna, killed thousands of greenskins at the Obsidian Pass (95% of them were killed by Jenna). In the critical moment when the battlefield’s situation was reversed, I contributed. What about you? Were you back in the distant rear tying trousers for table legs?”
The old noblewoman’s face turned red.
Jima continued, smiling softly:
“The reason I can attend the celebration banquet is that I have military achievements, not because an old woman who hasn’t seen her period in decades has the right to chase me away. Heroes fight through life and death on the battlefield, returning covered in blood, only to find themselves confronted by your repulsive old face, greatly damaging their psychological health. It’s truly unfortunate; you should be the one to leave.”
“You!” The old noblewoman nearly screamed.
Jima adopted a look of surprise and innocence, as if she hadn’t been the one to speak harshly earlier.
She added softly, “I can understand your husband, considering you haven’t shared forbidden fruits with him for thirty years.”
Anger shattered the last vestige of reason in the old noblewoman, her bony fingers clutching at Jima’s pretty face. Jima “panicked” and leaned back, and just as Jenna was about to intervene, Jima immediately held onto her arm tightly.
The old noblewoman’s sharp nails grazed Jima’s face but missed. She continued to claw, shouting:
“You demoness!”
At that moment, everyone at the banquet turned to look, witnessing the disgraceful sight of the old noblewoman, her hair disheveled like an old witch crawling out of a coffin, and the youthful, beautiful Jima moving away in alarm.
Jima accidentally got scratched by the nails, and at last, Jenna freed her hand from Jima’s grip, grabbing the old noblewoman’s wrists. The latter pulled hard, but her wrists remained unyielding.
Jima maintained a visage of innocent surprise, as though she hadn’t yet reacted to the earlier disturbance.
The old noblewoman, seething, yelled at the nearby servant:
“Quickly, get this demoness out of here!”
However, the usually obedient servant stood frozen in place, afraid to take action.
“Enough, enough,” just then, the queen walked over. When the old noblewoman had tried to block Jima, the queen, as the hostess of the banquet, had hurried over, but the escalation of the conflict had happened too quickly. She said, “There are no demonesses here, only esteemed guests.”
The old noblewoman shouted at Jima with indignation: “She is a demoness!”
Clearly, there was a pastor from the Sigma Church present, yet no one dared lay a hand on the demoness, as no one wanted to make the banquet undignified.
The queen quickly instructed the two strong servants behind her, “She’s having a hysterical episode; quickly take her to rest.”
The two servants rushed over, taking the old noblewoman from Jenna’s hands. The old noblewoman intended to continue her moral cleansing but, upon hearing the queen’s words, deflated like a punctured balloon. Instead, she cooperated with the queen’s exit strategy, putting on a display of hysteria to seek a more dignified exit.
“I sincerely apologize, Your Majesty,” Jima interjected, the nail marks on her pale face notably vivid, “I could have handled it better.”
The queen reassured her, “It’s alright; as the hostess of the banquet, I failed to manage the situation properly, which startled you, the guest. I have a gift as an apology that I insist you accept.”
A servant brought forth a delicate necklace, which Jima accepted without hesitation.
As the old noblewoman, now hysterical, was led decorously to a resting room by the servants, the banquet resumed its former course. The news of the old noblewoman’s hysterical episode spread throughout the banquet. Many witnessed the “incident,” and they began to whisper and share opinions.
“Could it be that the wild mage used magic? The old noblewoman was truly undignified.”
“Her behavior can only be described as pathological; it’s normal to lose composure in the presence of a wild mage.”
“I saw it! The old noblewoman was bullying Jima; at first, the wild mage was calm and polite; she didn’t even dare breathe hard, while it was the old noblewoman who wanted to drive her away. No matter what, she also has military achievements.”
Though many felt Jima was not as innocent as she seemed, the majority sided with her. From any perspective, the old noblewoman had taken the initiative to confront Jima, and emotionally speaking, anyone would instinctively sympathize with the vulnerable young girl over the aggressive old crone.
Even though everyone knew Jima was an extraordinary powerhouse.
Jima understood that in an argument, it’s not about convincing the opponent but rather winning the support of the onlookers.
In the circle of the Sigma Church, a bald pastor quietly asked:
“Great Liturgist, did you sense that demoness using extraordinary abilities?”
“No, the demon doesn’t even need to; she possesses innate supernatural charm, capable of easily influencing others, like how a venomous snake inherently injects poison into a person’s bloodstream,” said the callous Walker. “We must definitely send someone to keep an eye on her.”
If possible, Walker would prefer to deal with it himself, but alas, he was entangled in mundane matters during the banquet.
The bald pastors eagerly puffed out their chests, displaying pious and determined looks. Some volunteered:
“I hope to have a chance for atonement; I swear by Sigma that I will not be deceived by that vile demoness again.”
“Let me handle this test.”
“I have previously endured tests; I will surely complete this mission successfully.”
As they spoke, their expressions grew resolute. It was as if they envisioned the evil demoness continuously using her beauty to try to corrupt Sigma’s devoted servants, but… under Sigma’s protection, they would not waver.
Contemplating this, they wore grave expressions, as if they were about to dedicate themselves to some grand and sacred cause, the clean-shaven bald heads seemingly emanating a pious glow.
“Ha.” The callous Walker sneered, pointing at the witch hunter Arkanis, who was sitting at a table eating donuts while reading, “In the name of Sigma, Van Helsing, come here.”
“Huh?” Arkanis lifted his head, revealing his cold, aged face.
“You need to keep an eye on the wild mage, never leave her side.”
“Me?” Witch hunter Arkanis questioned, “I finally got a break from the endless hunting of demons.” Eating my favorite donuts.
“You are the most devout and least likely to fall among my followers who hate demons the most. Only you are suitable for this task.”
Arkanis was truly reluctant to part with the pork floss donut, but he thought about the role he was playing as a devoted witch hunter.
He adjusted his hat and said, “Fine, but if she does anything suspicious, I will act decisively against her.”
“Granted.”
The witch hunter Arkanis showed a cold-blooded smile, ran his tongue over his lips, licking the pork floss off, set down his half-eaten pork floss donut, closed his book, and immediately stood up, heading toward Jima.
“Make sure to learn well from Van Helsing; he has always been a cold and devoted servant of Sigma, and it’s rare that he enjoys learning.”
A battle pastor could not help but whisper, “But he is reading the ‘Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.'”
Walker instinctively glanced at the book on the table in front of the witch hunter Arkanis, the cover prominently displaying the words ‘Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.’
“Ahem, it is well known that many histories have turned into legends, and many fairy tales originate from legends, containing traces of numerous wicked things.”
Meanwhile.
Seeing witch hunter Arkanis go to supervise Jima.
The men were envious yet regretful. They were envious of the proximity to the two beauties, Jima and Jenna, but regretted that witch hunter Arkanis was a witch hunter, which felt akin to seeing an old eunuch marry a beautiful wife.
At this time, Jima was trying to portray herself as pitiful to Jenna, saying:
“Jenna, I didn’t want it to be like this. I know my words can be harsh, but what choice do I have? Should I just swallow my anger and leave with my tail between my legs? Wouldn’t that just validate her slander against me? You know I only have George as a man.”
Jenna consoled Jima in return: “It’s not your fault.”
“If I had the chance, I would like to be a good person,” Jima sighed, saying, “Look at the women gathered in front of me; even though the old noblewoman has left, they have been rejecting me with their glares. In this large banquet, I only have one friend; only your embrace, Jenna sister, feels warm.”
After saying this, she was just about to hug Jenna to feel her warm embrace.
“I reckon I can count as one.”
Witch hunter Arkanis plopped down right next to Jima, and the person beside him almost immediately stood up and moved far away. Adjusting his hat, Arkanis picked up a pastry and said emotionlessly, “Nice to meet you. The Great Liturgist told me to keep a close eye on you.”
From his series of micro-expressions, Jima judged that witch hunter Arkanis was quite dissatisfied with the banquet and annoyed at having to monitor the bunch.
It was understandable; for someone as unruly as him, a strictly governed banquet must have been stifling.
Jima picked up her wine glass and asked, “Shall we step outside to talk?”
Witch hunter Arkanis maintained a stern demeanor and replied, “Alright.”
Jenna wanted to join, but Jima pressed her down, saying, “Please, Jenna, go and chat with the ladies to break their prejudices.”
Jenna nodded.
Thus, under the increasingly envious gazes of the crowd, witch hunter Arkanis and Jima stepped out into a secluded spot in the garden.
As soon as they arrived, Arkanis pulled out a pork floss donut from his witch hunter leather coat and took a bite, saying:
“Wow, what you just did to that old woman was really something! She’s my second pick for the trash can. It’s tough winning a battle and not seeing a beautiful woman around. If it weren’t for my boss warning me not to break the guild rules, I would have acted long ago.”
“Boss? Guild rules?”
“My boss is now a butt-chin.” Arkanis devoured the donut, “The big shots in the empire are truly difficult to deal with, the rules are more numerous than their hair.”
After saying that, witch hunter Arkanis’ ears perked up, and he said, “Someone’s coming.”
He quickly swallowed his food and returned to his cold-blooded witch hunter persona.
Before long, footsteps approached; an elderly man, smiling and with deep crow’s feet, walked toward Jima, holding a pen and notebook.
Witch hunter Arkanis whispered, “He’s the first person I want to toss into the trash can.”
