Book 3: Chapter 22: Itâs You
It was an extremely silent night.
Even so, no place in Aeria felt lonely on this silent night because every corner of the city was filled with people.
Whether it was the streets, in the air, or in the dark alleys, people could be seen shuttling back and forth continuously.
And these so-called people werenât just any ordinary people, but the templars in white armor, or priests in white robes.
They were blades that the church had carefully honed to cut down all its enemies.
The white armors and robes were particularly conspicuous in the night so Jasmine could easily sense that she and her party had been surrounded. It was even more obvious for Lilith who possessed enhanced and night vision. The earth-shattering explosion had drawn sixty percent of the knights and priests in Aeria to this place, with a steady stream of reinforcement coming behind them.
They were truly backed into a corner.
âUm⦠Lilith, weâre friends, right?â Jasmine said tearfully. Knowing that she wouldnât be able to escape, she could only place all her hopes on the mighty Lilith who had a saint-level scroll at her disposal.
âOh, now you finally remembered that weâre friends?â Lilith crossed her arms in front of her chest.
âOf course, havenât we always been good friends?â
âTsk, but Iâm that friend who accidentally broke your most beloved statue.â
âItâs fine~ Itâs just a doll, I⦠Donât even sweat it~â
âReally? But you have this really ugly expression on your face.â
âIt must be your imagination, Iâm smiling right now. Even if it looks ugly, itâs still a smile.â
âOh, thatâs a smile huh? Well in that caseâ¦â
Jasmine looked hopeful.
A devilish smile appeared on Lilithâs face.
âWell in that case⦠You can just face the situation with a smile.â
Before Jasmine could even react, Lilith had fished out a spatial scroll and whisked herself away along with Sae.
Jasmine was stunned for a moment before finally realizing that she had been tricked.
âLilith, you b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲! I swear that from now on, youâre my archenemy!!!!â
Tears of indignation leaked out of Jasmineâs eyes. Looking at the churchâs army who were closing in on them because they had sensed some of their targets vanishing, she suddenly realized that she had been cornered.
âA warrior prefers death to humiliation! Thereâs no way Iâm going to let you the Radiant B̲i̲t̲c̲h̲âs lackeys catch me! Weâll fight it out! Get âem, boys!â
âO-â¦OHHH!!â
Jasmine and their men gave their final shouts.
â¦â¦
â¦â¦
âName.â
âAyasha Jasmine.â
âAge.â
âSixteen.â
âGender.â
âCanât you figure it out yourself?!â
The stern-looking, middle-aged knight pushed up his glasses and sized up Jasmine. âIâm sorry, I donât really see any obvious characteristics on your body that can allow me to determine your gender.â
âYou can just tell me that Iâm flat!! Besides, Iâm only sixteen this year. Theyâll definitely grow bigger!â
After thinking for a few seconds, the middle-aged knight finally filled in [Female] in the gender column.
âAddress.â
âAre you filling in a census form?!â
The middle-aged knight lifted his head up as his eyes glinted coldly.
âAs a captive, you donât have any rights to refuse my questions. So please tell me your home address.â
âTsk. Number three, West Section of Sacred Road, Northern District of the Umbra City.â
âUmbra City? That means you are a resident of the Shadow Theocracy?â
âThatâs right. I am a believer of the almighty Goddess of Dark. Donât you fools of the Radiant B̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ feel ashamed when you see me?â
âI see. The criminal, born in the Shadow Theocracy, was jealous of the Radiant Goddessâ happy and peaceful life. Burning with jealousy, she infiltrated Aeria and destroyed the goddess statue to vent her anger.â
âHold it right there! What b̲u̲l̲l̲s̲h̲i̲t̲ are you writing! Who would be jealous of you guys? And whatâs that about destroying a goddess statue? That has nothing to do with me!â
âThe criminal refused to admit her misdeeds. It is suspected that she had been well-trained in counter-interrogation. It is recommended for the interrogation to be conducted by the nationâs cruelest interrogator.â
âStop writing nonsense! Youâre in the presence of the great Shadow Saintess! Subjecting me to torture will lead to an all-out war between our nations!â
âThe criminal proclaimed herself to be the great saintess from the Shadow Theocracy. Why would a saintess be escorted by only a bunch of rank seven or eight magicians and a guardian warrior with failing kidneys? It is suspected that the criminal is severely delusional. An electroconvulsive therapy is recommended.â
âHey! Iâm the real saintess! And Aarons isnât a warrior with failing kidneys! He only looks like he has failing kidneys because he used a forbidden technique!â
âThen how did you know that this guy named Aarons doesnât have failing kidneys?â A strange smile bloomed across the middle-aged knightâs stern face. âCould it be that youâve verified it yourself already?â
âVerified?â Jasmine couldnât react until her face turned beet red a few seconds later. âO-Of⦠course not! What are you saying to a youthful sixteen years old girl?!!â
âI see. The criminal failed to prove her statement. Hence, the possibility of her being the Shadow Saintess is ruled out.â
âWhat logic is that?! Gahh, youâre driving me crazy!!â
âThe criminal has admitted that she is mentally ill on her own accord. Given her extreme speech and violent tendencies, it is very likely that she may physically injure people and even try to escape from captivity. It is recommended for the criminal to be held in the most tightly guarded Lombsley Prison in Aeria before her trial.â
Jasmineâs face paled slightly because she knew exactly what kind of place the Lombsley Prison was.
âW-â¦Wait a minute, I told you already, you guys got the wrong person! The one who destroyed the goddess statue is Lilith, not me!!ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The middle-aged knight took out a wanted poster. âQuit denying! You are undoubtedly the one who destroyed the goddess statue!â
âWhat do you mean by undoubtedly?! Thereâs mosaic all over this wanted poster!!â
The middle-aged knight lifted his rimless glasses up with a serious face. âMy ability of auto-removing mosaics tells me that you are no doubt the one on this wanted poster!â