Chapter 196: The Distant Acquaintance
“Eek!”
Upon suddenly seeing Filir burst into the palace and witnessing her own socially mortifying moment, Verafia was overwhelmed with shame. Her tender hands clung to Ig’s clothes, burying her little head deep into his embrace, as if doing so could make it seem like nothing had happened.
Biting her pearly white teeth lightly, Verafia felt a touch of regret. Why had she impulsively thought to be intimate with Ig in the goddess’s palace for novelty’s sake? And now, she had been caught, of all people, by Filir, this little girl!
“But, I clearly used divine sense to envelop the shrine…”
Verafia thought with grievance. She suddenly remembered that long ago, she had given Filir a strand of her divine power, telling the girl to come find her directly if there was something urgent. That’s why she hadn’t been aware at all during her intimate moment with Ig.
How could she have forgotten about this?
Verafia bit her red lips with her pearly teeth, her little face burning red with even more shame.
Realizing that hiding in Ig’s arms was utterly useless and wouldn’t change the awkward situation, she made a decision in her heart. Her delicate, pinkish-white fingers quickly tugged at the half-undone dress Ig had removed and leaped off him in an instant. Then, her slender jade-like fingers pointed unabashedly at Ig.
“Uh, little Filir, did you see? It was this guy who barged into the goddess’s chamber and just now, bullied the goddess!”
Hearing the goddess’s attempt to shift blame, Ig was speechless, finding it quite amusing. However, as the goddess’s knight, to accommodate this young lady, he suppressed the laughter at the corner of his mouth and obediently raised his hands.
Verafia nodded her head triumphantly. With a thought, the power of life washed over her flawless delicate body and incidentally cleaned Ig’s traces. Then she briskly approached Filir, lifting her face as if nothing had happened.
“Oh right, Filir, why did you suddenly come? Is there something you need from me?”
Ig also looked up towards the little girl.
Although being interrupted in the heat of intimacy was particularly uncomfortable for him, Ig had already reached the peak of the sacred domain, and this was not insurmountable.
Moreover, in Ig’s impression, Filir, as the spiritual bird of life, was a very obedient and sensible child. Running into the goddess’s shrine so recklessly must mean she had something urgent.
“Well, actually, Filir heard that someone wanted to see Sister Veer.”
Filir quickly lifted her little face, her big green eyes looking at the approaching goddess: “Originally, they were stopped. But Filir heard that these two people knew Sister Veer’s and Brother Ig’s names, so she came to find Sister Veer.”
Verafia and Ig exchanged looks.
Knowing Ig’s name was understandable, as his reputation had spread far during his year-long expedition as the goddess’s knight. Although Verafia was the goddess of life, she had deliberately minimized the circulation of her image.
In the entire Emerald Forest, only a few acquaintances like Seraris and Ain knew she was the goddess of life.
“Oh, and these two people, like Brother Ig, are humans.”
Filir thought for a moment, then added: “One of them is a very powerful swordsman. The other is a silver-haired sister… Oh, she’s human, but she has the aura of a moon elf. How strange…”
“Could it be Mishela?”
Verafia immediately thought of that name.
She noticed an unusual expression briefly flash across Ig’s face beside her. His hand clenched into a fist, seemingly preparing to refuse, so she quickly grabbed his palm and gave Filir a cheerful smile.
“If it’s Mishela, well, she is indeed a friend of mine and Ig’s.”
Ig appeared momentarily stunned. Verafia turned her little head, her gorgeous golden eyes blinking, her snowy-white cheeks curving into a soft smile, tinkling like a silver bell to him.
“Well, Princess Mishela has traveled all the way from Peka to the Emerald Forest, such a long journey must be for something very urgent. Moreover, Mishela is a descendant of Goddess Elusia. With the moon deity not truly born yet, as the goddess of life, how can I refuse to meet her?”
Hearing the girl’s words, Ig’s face still showed some hesitation, but eventually relaxed, lowering his head, he said.
“Thank you, Veer.”
“Hmph, silly Ig, what’s there to thank?”
Verafia’s golden eyes shimmered softly as she lifted her little face cutely.
Actually, she always knew that Ig harbored guilt towards Mishela. The reason Ig was about to refuse earlier was because he was afraid she might be displeased.
Just like back on the northern ice fields, Ig was incredibly guilty deep down, worried she might be unhappy, and even pawned the moon jade Mishela had given him for a few insignificant coins.
“This guy, I’m not a petty girl, how could I get angry over something like this?”
Thinking this, Verafia glared at him haughtily, lightly leaning on his shoulder. Her slender fingers slightly intertwined with his, her eyes tinged with dawn gold softly gazing upwards, a gentle arc forming at the corner of her mouth.
She wasn’t worried about Ig developing other feelings for Mishela. He saw her as his everything, and had risked his life for her more than once… Through loss, separation, rebirth, and reunion, over the years they had experienced so much, how could Mishela shake them?
In fact, even though the silver-haired princess White Iris had almost married Ig, that was only due to Verafia’s indulgence and Ig’s self-destruction. When it came to Ig’s affections, she was the first!
The girl couldn’t help but pucker her lips into a smug curve, her youthful snowy face slightly tilted.
“Actually, I’ve been wanting to see Mishela too. She’s Filir’s daughter, a very likable girl… Well, using you, Ig, to toy with her emotions was wrong of me, perhaps I can make some amends to her.”
Ig looked at the girl somewhat surprised. He realized Verafia didn’t see Mishela as a rival nor bore any malice towards her, but instead shifted the blame onto herself.
But in an instant, Ig understood the reason, moved, interlocking their fingers tightly with the girl’s.
…
“But to meet Mishela in this attire… That won’t do!”
After conveying the goddess’s command to the palace guards, Verafia looked around her chamber. Her white jade-like feet took a couple of steps, then eyed the dress on her delicate body, pouting and exclaiming.
She was the goddess, after all. Wearing this dress was just to tease Ig a bit. How could anyone else see her like this, let alone Mishela!
With her mind made up, Verafia’s slender fingers slightly lifted, instantly summoning the powers of life to swirl around her chamber. Space shifted, constructing a grand palace gate reaching to the dome and numerous precious ornaments emerging like the spring’s first sprouts.
In the blink of an eye, Verafia’s room transformed into a resplendent palace supported by a vaulted ceiling, with exquisite stone carvings showcasing luxury and nobility. Gorgeous gems and hangings adorned the golden-jade-like walls, and the world outside the crystal tall windows was enveloped in a hazy brilliance. Multicolored flowers bloomed amidst clouds, and the emerald foliage of the world tree adorned the dreamlike world.
As if stepping into a luxury royal city beyond imagination, yet the sacred and noble aura unmistakably signaled that this was the goddess’s palace.
The dress on Verafia’s body was also transformed by her divine power into an elaborate long gown befitting the goddess’s beauty. She glanced around contentedly, nodding her little head before grabbing the hem of her dress and skipping along the gold-trimmed red silk carpet to the throne at the end of the palace.
Placing her petite body slightly upon the velvet throne adorned with exquisite jewels and crystals, Verafia proudly lifted her little face, her slender snowy neck arched slightly. She gestured for Ig to join her.
Seeing the goddess in this petite, proud phoenix-like demeanor, Ig chuckled softly, thinking this lady goddess still had quite a youthful character. Claiming not to care, yet still competitive.
Ig ruffled her little head before taking his place beside the goddess’s throne as her knight.
But the brief peace was soon interrupted by the arrival of visitors. A ripple stirred the calm waters as Verafia, seated on her throne, glimpsed the two figures approaching from afar.
One was a tall youth, not clad in armor, yet his identity as a knight was undeniable. Even in the sacred temple of life, the radiant blade at his back still shimmered with splendid brilliance, and beneath his deep blue hair, a pair of blue eyes portrayed resilience.
“Andes?”
The goddess on the throne softly murmured, her golden eyes slightly lowered. Through the world tree’s perception, Verafia had seen Andes long before, yet still displayed a trace of astonishment as he appeared before her.
Andes had once accompanied Princess Siya from the empire to Peka, spending a not-so-brief period together in Lichen, aiding Verafia and Ig in defeating Commander Rodrigo and escaping Lichen with Princess Siya’s assist.
But why did Andes leave Princess Siya to come to her temple? Could something unexpected have happened in the empire?
Verafia’s golden eyes shifted slightly as Andes saluted her, lifting his face. His deep blue eyes flecked with golden strands respectfully spoke:
“Goddess.”
Standing beside the goddess, Ig’s gaze also landed on Andes. Just as Filir had said, the aura of this knightly youth was exceedingly strong, having stepped into the sacred domain, and was no less powerful than Ig at the peak of the sacred realm.
Indeed, since their parting in Lichen, Andes had transformed from a crystal swordsman to a peak warrior of the sacred domain in merely five years—an achievement nothing short of astonishing!
Even Ig himself only reached the sacred domain through numerous coincidences and facing multiple deities.
Masking his amazement towards Andes, Ig shifted his gaze to the figure beside him.
Next to the knight was a slender girl cloaked in a mantle deep as the night, shadowing her features, like the glistening moonlight. Her silvery hair gently spilled from the cloak’s gaps, her creamy skin flawless.
Noticing Ig’s gaze, like a fluctuating mood, the silver-haired maiden tightened her pure white knuckle slightly, then lifted her cloak, letting her fine silver hair cascade down like moonlight, involuntarily stepping forward:
“Ig.”
