Chapter 23 - Connection

After the incident, I had originally planned to go straight back to the church. But Cyra strongly insisted that I take her to visit the nearby marketplace first. 

Looking around, it seemed no one was following us. We had successfully shaken off the crowd from the town square earlier. I had no choice but to agree to her request.

The main reason was that I hadn't eaten anything the whole day yesterday. Seeing the street food stalls made me hungry...

It was almost noon now. After wandering the street with Cyra for a while, we found a secluded restaurant and sat down. 

"Take me to that game room later if you have time..." 

While looking at the menu and ordering food, Cyra suddenly told me.

"Be careful not to lose all your money there!"

I deliberately tried to scare her. Nicola had spent a lot of time in the game room, but I hadn't seen her lose much money either. On the whole, she neither made nor lost money, just a waste of time.

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm rich now after making so much money! How can I not splurge a little?" 

Cyra confidently answered, completely disregarding my warning. She spoke while handing the order slip back to the server.

"Mind if I join you guys?"

Just as the server left, an attractive young girl briskly walked in from outside and plopped down next to us.

"Why are you..."

Caught off guard, Cyra and I were both stunned for a moment, unsure who she was.

Although it was lunch time, the restaurant still had quite a few empty seats since it was in a remote location. Was she targeting Cyra? 

After all, many people in the town square had seen Cyra's angel form. Maybe this girl was one of them.

"You're the famous Feliciana, right?"

Unexpectedly, instead of talking to Cyra, the girl turned to me and started chatting.

"You are..."

I was confused. Only people in Edemmere would think I was famous. Sensing her body, I realized... 

"You're an angel too?"

If I guessed right, she had hidden wings just like us!

"Did you come all the way from Edemmere to find us?"

Cyra quickly caught on and lowered her voice to ask.

"Is there some important news you need to tell us?"

"You got it wrong! I'm Kina, I didn't come here specifically looking for you..."

The girl smiled and clarified, then briefly explained why she was here.

"I happened to pass by Norvale while on a mission. I saw everything that happened in the square. From the conversation and subsequent investigation, you must be that rapist's victim, right?"

Saying so, she turned solemnly to Cyra for confirmation.

"Yes!" 

Taken aback, Cyra could only nod reluctantly.

"Then your name must be Cyra, right?"

But the girl didn't hurry to respond, pressing on with her questions instead.

"That's right!"

Cyra was even more confused, unsure what Kina was getting at. She cautiously asked:

"But what does it matter?"

"He didn't succeed!"

Afraid she had gotten the wrong idea, I quickly clarified. Kina looked rather serious. I was worried the angels might have some bizarre rules, like the victim must kill her assailant or marry him...

Alright, that was quite a stretch. But such plot twists did happen in novels.

"It's not a big deal. Since angels being violated by humans is quite rare, I took the chance to report the incident to Lady Elara in Edemmere through the spiritual network during lunch... "

Seeing us look anxious, Kina had no choice but to explain with a smile.

"Hearing Cyra's account of the True Church and her leaving with a blue-haired companion, Lady Elara immediately guessed both your names. She asked me to pass on a message - tell you to log into the spiritual network with 'Spiritual Convergence' right away, as she wishes to inquire about some matters personally."

"Word of this reached Edemmere so quickly?" 

Upon hearing this, Cyra could only smile wryly.

When we left Edemmere, Elara had reiterated she would open the external transmission channel at noon. But we hadn't contacted her these past few days. Unexpectedly she had gotten wind of the incident first.

"Alright, we'll contact her now!"

I, on the other hand, was relieved. I nodded in agreement. The server was just bringing dishes to our table, but that didn't prevent us from using magic.

For angels, "Spiritual Convergence" was quite simple as long as they weren't actively receiving others' messages. We could even use it while eating.

"You seem to have ordered a lot of food..." 

Kina had passed on the message but didn't want to leave just yet. She eyed the sumptuous food on the table longingly.

"Why not stay and eat with us? We happened to order too much..."

Seeing her expression, I couldn't help smiling and moved some dishes in front of her. She seemed like she hadn't eaten in a while. After coming into money, Cyra had ordered the most expensive set meals without considering whether we could finish them. What a waste!

"That would be great, thanks!"

Delighted, Kina immediately grabbed the utensils and forked a slice of steak into her mouth.

"What meat is this? I've never had it before. It's so delicious!"

"I think it's long-whiskered leopard meat..."

I glanced at the menu, not too sure myself. Seeing her satisfied look, I didn't elaborate and focused on casting "Spiritual Convergence" silently instead.

"Feliciana, is that you?" 

As expected, Elara's voice sounded in my mind. Although this wasn't the first time using this magic, the whole process still felt incredible.

Guided by the spell, the spiritual force carried by light elements was like a special sensory organ, perceiving light elements far beyond the body's limits. It felt as if I was immersed in an "elemental sea" made up of light elements. Every distant "drop" in this sea could be sensed instantly, almost without passage of time.

A huge magic circle composed purely of light elements was like an extremely noticeable beacon, guiding the spiritual force in the chaotic "sea" towards the right direction.

"It's me!"

I casually responded in my mind. But suddenly heard Cyra's voice.

"Huh, was that Feliciana just now? My first time with a group call!"

"I've arranged both your spiritual forces together, so everyone can communicate." 

Elara explained. As the conductor of this spiritual network, she could of course manage the spiritual forces connected to her. Although my eyes now saw the restaurant interior, part of my spirit had already reached her side in Edemmere along the light elements.

"Let's get to business. I've heard Kina's report about what happened to Cyra. How could an angel be taken advantage of so easily by a human?"

Managing a group "chat" expended a lot of effort for the conductor. Elara didn't beat around the bush, cutting straight to the chase.

"Also, you nearly got violated but recklessly saved the human who intended to assault you. Why?"

"Because I was drunk..."

Cyra's voice promptly followed, starting her explanation. She gave a rough recount of what had happened the past two days and the context.

"So did you really join the True Church or not?"

Hearing we had even stayed in Patington Cathedral, Elara hurriedly asked. After all, the executioners who came for us did say Cyra was a member of their church.

"No I didn't! I still remember what you said - the True Church here might be connected to the God of Light. So I rejected them..."

Cyra quickly clarified. In fact, when I first found out, I was also very surprised. Cyra's main reason for refusing the church wasn't due to anything else - it was because Elara had cautioned her before leaving.

"Really? You actually refused them?"

Elara clearly couldn't believe it. She probably intended to scold us today, but got an unexpected surprise instead.

"It's true!" 

I chimed in to corroborate. Glancing at Cyra across the table, a question suddenly occurred to me.

"Though on a whim, she insisted on going to visit the Saint Capital of the True Church. I'm not sure if that counts as getting involved..."

"The Saint Capital? What business do you have going there?"

I could feel Elara's voice pause noticeably, seemingly very surprised. 

"Mainly sightseeing, nothing else! And to take a look at the Pope who's lived for thousands of years, that's all!"

Cyra quickly clarified. In reality, I felt she kick me hard under the table, making me grit my teeth in pain. Kina, who was heartily tucking in beside us, was puzzled by my expression.