Can anyone understand this? After finishing dinner and preparing to silence an Abyss believer, she arrives at the church only to see her own kid being blessed by the Nine Holy Spirits, a beam of holy light descends and instantly wipes out a Legend-tier Abyss entity.

As a great demon of the Abyss, Xidis naturally knew how valuable the Abyss blessing that bearded man received was, there was at least one Throne Demon backing him, yet even so he was instantly erased by the Nine Holy Spirits, this gave Xidis a bit of PTSD, instantly dragging her back to twenty years ago, to those days when she was captured by the Hero and Saintess and “reformed.”

Back then she had eagerly descended to wreak havoc, only to be beaten into becoming a party accessory by Lott shouting things like courage and bonds while using the power of the Holy Spirits, just recalling it made her uncomfortable.

“Lady Xidis! Listen to me, I really was blessed by the Nine Holy Spirits, although it might have been thanks to Commander Filin’s holy artifact, it still proves I’m not some useless person rejected by the Nine Holy Spirits!”

‘Ha!!! It would be better if you were rejected, otherwise Yusilius might create some super Demon King for you to fight one-on-one.’

So, to take revenge on the Hero and also punish Lisea for this “betrayal,” the girl mercilessly pressed her delicate palm against his forehead and pushed him away.

“Please don’t hug me, thank you.”

After coldly saying this, Xidis walked to a bench and sat down, then snapped her fingers to create a light source, her golden eyes stared at Lisea as she wanted to criticize him, but couldn’t find the words.

After all, she hadn’t openly fallen out with him yet, she couldn’t just lose her temper because he had been blessed by the Nine Holy Spirits, she should even be encouraging and congratulating him.

But Lady Xidis was in a bad mood and couldn’t bring herself to act so hypocritically.

While still thinking of what to say, Lisea walked over and sat beside her carefully, lowering his voice and asking tentatively.

“Teacher... you’ve never believed in the Nine Holy Spirits, do you hate them?”

‘What else would it be?’

“I just don’t like a group of fickle and unreliable beings, you may have received their blessing today, but one day if you do something that displeases them, they might take it back at your most desperate moment... something like that... is absolutely unforgivable.”

Xidis grew more emotional as she spoke, her mind replaying the scene of the Hero being betrayed and killed, Alicia desperately praying to the Nine Holy Spirits yet ultimately forced to watch her husband die, her throat cut by Liyat as she bled out beneath him.

Her final words before death were not a prayer, but a cry of despair.

“Why?”

When facing the Demon King, the Nine Holy Spirits had generously bestowed their blessings, yet once the Demon King died, they abandoned the Hero, even secretly aiding Liyat to assassinate him in order to protect their faith and the Church’s power.

Such despicable beings... Xidis could not tolerate Lisea placing his faith in them...

The boy seemed to sense Xidis’ distress, his most respected teacher had practically written her hatred and resentment toward the Nine Holy Spirits across her face, which made him imagine her past, after all without painful experiences, someone like her who never showed emotions wouldn’t act like this.

Xidis never revealed her past to Lisea, so he gently placed his hand over her clenched fist to comfort her and voiced his guess.

“Teacher, you must have experienced something before, right?”

“Mm...”

Xidis tilted her head and looked at him, the boy’s expression was sincere, as if he expected her to explain her past and the reason for her hatred.

But she couldn’t reveal her true identity, after all she was the great demon who flattened the imperial capital, killed the emperor and led the Empire toward decline.

So Xidis took a deep breath and told a half-truth.

“Actually... I used to be an adventurer, my two companions were devout believers of the Nine Holy Spirits, but when they were in danger, the Holy Spirits did not save them, and I could only watch... so I... I cannot accept the Nine Holy Spirits, which is why I gave up adventuring and became a writer.”

With Lisea’s imagination, he would probably fill in the rest himself, the fewer details she gave, the more he would imagine.

As expected, when she looked at him, he had a sorrowful and pained expression, even gently pulling her into an embrace to comfort her.

“Teacher... I’m very sorry, I didn’t know about your past.”

‘Now that you do, will you stay away from the Nine Holy Spirits?’

Xidis realized that if she pretended to be pitiful, he might distance himself out of sympathy, so she continued acting, lowering her head to avoid his gaze.

“Lisea, I don’t want you to repeat their tragedy, that’s why I arranged a stable and easy job for you, so you could stay away from the dangers of adventure, away from cruel political struggles, and magic is also the field least influenced by the Nine Holy Spirits.”

‘And I even know a big shot in magic named Yusilius who could teach you all kinds of forbidden spells.’

After hearing her words, Lisea indeed became emotional as expected, tightly holding her cold, soft hand as his voice trembled.

“Lady Xidis... I understand all your good intentions, I’m really sorry! My stubbornness has ruined your plans.”

Sigh, emotional tactics really work, just making up a story and this kid is completely fooled, as long as she keeps acting pitiful, he’ll abandon the Nine Holy Spirits and obediently become a teacher at a magic academy.

On the surface, Xidis looked sad, but inwardly she could barely suppress her smile.

“Teacher... can you forgive me?”

“You’ve made so many mistakes growing up, when have I not forgiven you?”

Xidis forced out a faint smile, though to outsiders it might look like a sneer, to Lisea it was incredibly gentle and adorable, if she didn’t forbid it, he might have even called her “mom.”

Even though she wasn’t his biological mother, at this moment, Xidis was even more important to him than one.

So... to repay that love, Lisea made a decision.

“Thank you, Teacher! I’ve decided! I’m going to continue being an adventurer!”

“Yes, that’s right... wait, what did you just say?”

Xidis almost didn’t react in time.

‘Lisea, are you serious? At a time like this you still want to be an adventurer, shouldn’t you be correcting yourself and becoming a laid-back teacher while abandoning faith in the Nine Holy Spirits?’

But Lisea nodded firmly and said righteously.

“I will always remember Lady Xidis’ love! But I have one question—do you like being an adventurer?”

There was only one answer to that, and Xidis had already told him long ago.

When Lisea was young, Xidis loved telling him stories of adventure, the longing for the unknown and the life of an adventurer in his heart had been planted by her.

So she didn’t need to answer, he understood from her silence and proudly said.

“Lady Xidis misses her time as an adventurer, misses the time spent with her companions, right? Then I’ll have to be rebellious this once, I want to walk the path you couldn’t finish, see the sights you’ve seen and share more unknown stories with you!”

...Xidis opened her mouth several times but couldn’t find any words to oppose him, after all... he was right, she did like those days of adventure, as long as she wasn’t treated as a party accessory.

In the end, she couldn’t win against him and reluctantly gave in.

“You... you’re too cunning, fine, go be an adventurer, but as for the Nine Holy Spirits...”

“That’s exactly why I have to go! Commander Filin invited me in the name of the Church to participate in the divine test. I heard the Cardinal and Saint Liyat will be there, you know I’ve always been looked down on, called a useless person abandoned by the Nine Holy Spirits, this time I have to prove myself! I’m not useless!”

‘The Holy Spirit Church... Liyat???!!!’

This time it was Xidis whose pupils shook, she never expected this to involve her former teammate, this was getting absurd.

“You... are you sure you have to go?”

“I must consider whether this is the only chance in my life.”

‘Damn it! This kid can’t be persuaded at all!’

Xidis’ inner smile vanished, replaced entirely by killing intent toward Filin and the Church, if they hadn’t interfered, she would have already turned Lisea into a lazy nobody, why is the Church like this, always pushing people to improve!

“Fine, I support your dream.”

Xidis knew that emotional manipulation would no longer work, so she could only agree on the surface, but this matter now involved her former teammate and Lisea’s identity, she might need to use more resources... to stop this divine test.

Although she agreed readily on the surface, Lisea already understood that his teacher disliked, even hated, the Nine Holy Spirits’ blessings.

“In that case... if Teacher hates it, then the blessing isn’t important, but I still want recognition from the Holy Spirits and the Church, what should I do?”