Chapter 4: The Holy Maiden Who Can Cover Up Everything

After leaving the Rose Knights’ temporary camp, Celis transformed back into Isabelle. The stunning saintess with jet-black hair appeared in the forest.

Her gentle, loving eyes were hidden behind indifferent black ones.

Celis was a saintess she had fabricated. Everything about her was fake, including her backstory—a lie spun on the spot to comfort Aaliyah.

She wasn’t worried they’d uncover the truth. In her domain, the only information they knew was what she allowed.

Moreover, the identity of Celis would bind them with chains of love and care, keeping wild thoughts at bay.

Casting teleportation magic on herself, one moment she was in the Crimson Forest. The next, she stood before the Oracle Hall in the Aust Empire’s capital.

At the entrance, Renia—dressed in a black-and-white maid skirt—lifted her hem and curtsied.

“Lady Vell, the goddess has issued another oracle. The nations will hold an oracle conference.”

“Understood.”

As she spoke, the oracle maidens lining the path bowed. They welcomed Isabelle into the hall.

The Oracle Hall, governed by the saintess, was where the goddess delivered oracles. Its main structure was white—grand and majestic, one of humanity’s most sacred and solemn places.

Renia had been her personal maid since childhood. She was the closest person to her in the world. When Isabelle was absent, Renia was the hall’s second-in-command.

The interior was a vast, bright hall. At its end stood a ten-meter-tall goddess statue. Before it, on the snow-white tiles, a golden magic circle glowed.

Stepping into the circle, Isabelle’s consciousness left her body. She arrived in a solemn conference chamber.

At the center was a massive round table surrounded by seven throne-like chairs. Six figures already sat there. Only the last chair remained empty.

That was Isabelle’s seat.

The oracle conference was humanity’s highest assembly. Besides Isabelle, the six included three imperial emperors, two deans of transcendent academies, and the master of the Mage Tower.

The Aust Empire’s empress was among them.

After she sat, the white-haired dean stroked his beard.

“Everyone knows the goddess’s oracle, right? In half a month, demons will exploit the seal’s instability and descend from the abyss. If no one deals with them, the human world will fall into chaos.”

“Chaos? Hmph. Isn’t that a bit dramatic? Those demons are just slipping through seal gaps. How strong can they be?”

The other dean, middle-aged and hot-tempered, snorted.

“Calculations from seal fluctuations show the demons’ magic level will be around 15. Not high, but remember—abyss demons are hard to kill.”

“Ordinary people can’t slay demons. Only items touched by divine aura can. That includes the god-blessed.”

At this, the elderly dean looked at Isabelle.

Her expression didn’t change, but inwardly she was annoyed.

Abyss demons differed from this world’s monsters. Both were bloodthirsty and cruel, but abyss demons were cunning. Their regeneration was extreme. Ordinary people couldn’t kill them at all.

Items with divine aura were essentially divine artifacts. Few existed in the human world, and even if they did, they weren’t used lightly.

The dean’s meaning was clear: the Rose Knights should handle the demons.

Sure enough, after he spoke, a rotund emperor chuckled.

“The Rose Knights can move out. Isn’t this demon descent the perfect chance for them to shine?”

Heh, fat pig.

Cursing him inwardly, Isabelle replied.

“They’ve only just become knights. They’re rookies. Average magic level is 10. Sending them against abyss demons now would mean heavy losses.”

Politely put: heavy losses. Bluntly: total annihilation.

From what she knew of the current Rose Knights, sending them to hunt abyss demons was no different from feeding the demons.

“So what if there are losses? I believe some will survive. And those survivors will be the elite of elites.”

“Besides, training one person to demigod costs countless resources. A few deaths now lighten our burden.”

Hearing the pig speak, Isabelle’s brows furrowed slightly. She didn’t respond.

If she fully controlled the Rose Knights, she would have snapped back. Unfortunately, as saintess, she only had training rights.

The Rose Knights weren’t her private property. If these people insisted on deploying them against demons, she had no way to stop it.

The pig targeted the knights precisely because of this.

The reason for the targeting…

The Rose Knights were trained by her, Isabelle. And she was from the Aust Empire. Wouldn’t the knights be loyal to Aust?

No way. Helping them now would mean arming an enemy.

Isabelle knew this was the pig’s—and certain high officials’—thinking.

Humans. Even facing a common threat, they couldn’t fully unite.

“Hmph. Stingy to the bone. If too many knights die and they can’t kill the abyssal dragon later, will you step in?”

“Training one demigod already strains an empire. That’s forty!”

The Aust empress sneered, mocking the emperor. He fired back, and soon they bickered like a market.

The oracle conference quickly turned into a bazaar.

“Enough! Demons are tough. Besides the Rose Knights, I can’t think of a better solution. Divine artifacts aren’t exactly common.”

The Mage Tower master banged the table. He stroked his long beard and smiled at Isabelle, making her want to burn it off.

She knew. At this point, she couldn’t shield the Rose Knights from the crisis. They were destined for the battlefield—a life-or-death clash with abyss demons.

She believed they had resolved themselves the moment they became Rose Knights.

But… she could still buy them time.

After a pause, Isabelle said.

“One month. Give me one month. I’ll make them capable of hunting demons. If they fail, I’ll relinquish training rights.”

“Good! Your words! One month!”

The fat emperor grinned wide and agreed eagerly. Demons would arrive in half a month, but delaying another half wasn’t hard in his eyes.

The others stayed silent. They knew it wouldn’t end so simply.

As expected, Isabelle’s lips curved. She continued slowly.

“Similarly, if I succeed, I want full control over the Rose Knights from now on.”

Silence.

Full control?

That was basically declaring them her private order.

“No problem. If you can do it.”

They agreed in the end.

After all, in one month, turning level-10 rookies into level-15 fighters capable of beating abyss demons?

It was like forcing a newborn to walk.

Ending the conference, the fat emperor couldn’t stop grinning at the thought.