The Newly Appointed Bishop

Nolent Territory, Suijin Town.

As the capital of the territory, the town was exceptionally bustling today.

The streets were swept spotless, and the church bells had been ringing non-stop since dawn.

All of this was to welcome the newly appointed diocese bishop—Lady Lalavina.

Inside the grand church, a magnificent welcome ceremony had just concluded.

Wearing a pure white robe embroidered with gold edges, holding a mithril scepter that symbolized authority, the young girl with dazzling, flowing golden hair—Lalavina—stood before the altar. With a compassionate and holy smile, she gave a slight nod to the town mayor, the last person to come and pay his respects.

"May the Holy Radiance shine upon Nolent forever."

Her voice was ethereal and solemn, as if it had a built-in reverberation effect, instantly inspiring awe in anyone who heard it.

"Thank you for your blessing, Lord Bishop! With a hero like you, who personally experienced the 'Ultimate War,' watching over us, we can all sleep much sounder at night!" The mayor's face flushed red with excitement as he backed out of the great hall.

As the heavy doors slowly closed, Lalavina was finally left alone in the massive church.

After confirming that no one else was around.

"Phew—"

The young girl, who had just been as dignified as a divine statue, instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping unceremoniously into the spacious bishop's chair.

She casually tossed that dead-heavy mithril scepter aside and rubbed her smile-stiffened cheeks with absolutely zero ladylike grace.

"I am dead tired... These country nobles sure talk a lot of nonsense."

Lalavina let out a long sigh and shamelessly propped her legs up on the steps of the holy altar.

If those believers from earlier saw this scene, their faith would probably collapse on the spot.

But Lalavina did not care.

Right now, she only wanted to celebrate finally escaping that damn royal capital—a place brimming with political struggles and dangerous missions—and arriving in the Nolent Territory, widely known as the 'Retirement Home of the Central Continent.'

"Hehehe... Just as planned!"

Lalavina pulled a small mirror from her robes and admired her face, which, though slightly tired, was still stunningly beautiful. She could not help but give herself a mental thumbs-up for her own brilliance.

Rumors outside said that the new bishop, Lalavina, was a heroic survivor who had followed the Holy Son into battle during the tragic 'Ultimate War' half a year ago.

It was said that she was brave and fearless on the battlefield. Amidst the world-destroying clash of forbidden spells, she supposedly relied on her powerful divine arts to hold up the allied forces' defense line until she finally collapsed from exhaustion.

She was the pride of the church, a walking legend.

However.

Only Lalavina herself knew just how... embarrassing the truth actually was.

Recalling that day half a year ago, Lalavina still could not help but shiver.

Back then, she was just a marginal priest slacking off in the church's logistics department.

Due to a shortage of manpower, she was forcibly dragged to the battlefield to make up the numbers, tasked with casting minor buffs and handing out water to the archers in the rear.

As a result, not long after the battle began, that terrifying 'Crimson Calamity'—the World-Ending Witch, Xilu Philthemis—unleashed an unknown fire-attribute forbidden spell.

What a terrifying sight that was!

The entire sky was dyed blood red, the earth wailed, and space itself shattered.

Even though Lalavina was hiding in the absolute furthest corner of the battlefield at the time, separated from the core battleground by several mountains, she was merely brushed by the spreading shockwave of that forbidden spell—which could really only be considered a gust of wind carrying a heatwave.

Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out from sheer terror, clean and simple.

That is right, she fainted from fear.

She did not even have time to cast a decent defensive divine art.

By the time she woke up again, the battle was already over.

The Holy Son and the Witch had perished together, and the surrounding teammates had suffered heavy casualties. Because she had fainted in a pit full of corpses, she luckily avoided the subsequent spatial turbulence and became one of the few 'intact' survivors.

When the rescue team dug her out, looking at her pale face—which appeared 'holy and weak' due to her sheer terror—and the tragic scene around her, they naturally assumed she was a hero who had fought to the bitter end.

"By the Holy Radiance! Lady Lalavina, you have worked so hard!"

Faced with everyone's admiration, the newly awakened Lalavina had a brain fart. Driven by some inexplicable impulse, she did not deny it, but instead gave a weak nod. "For... justice."

And so, the rumor was born.

Relying on this military merit, coupled with her genuinely bluff-worthy appearance and superb acting skills, her status in the church rose like a rising tide, and she was promoted all the way up.

But Lalavina was suffering on the inside!

She knew exactly how much she was really worth.

Her meager level of divine arts was fine for bullying low-level undead, but if she truly encountered any powerful monsters, she would absolutely be exposed.

In order to prevent this persona from collapsing, and more importantly, to save her own little life, she desperately worked her connections and bribed people high and low, finally securing this opportunity to be transferred out.

The Nolent Territory.

Located in a remote area, the people were dumb and easy to fool... Oh wait, she should say the local customs were honest and pure.

Most importantly, the public security here was excellent!

According to the church's 'Monster Distribution Illustrated Guide,' not even a decent tier-three magical beast could be found within five hundred miles of the Nolent Territory, let alone those terrifying demons or heretics.

"This place is simply heaven!"

Lalavina rolled over in her chair, looking at the sunlight streaming through the church's stained-glass windows, and a smug smile crept onto her lips.

"No witches, no wars, no overly competitive colleagues."

"All I need to do is wear pretty clothes, show my face every day, and sprinkle some holy water on those ignorant country bumpkins. Then I can enjoy the treatment of an earl, collect a generous salary, and coast all the way to retirement!"

"Now this is life! This is what it means to be a winner in life!"

Thinking of this, Lalavina was in a great mood.

She remembered the application submitted earlier by the village chief of Buena Village.

It said they hoped that during her inspection tour, she could visit their village to offer some guidance and, incidentally, tour some 'model medicinal herb garden.'

"Buena Village..."

Lalavina searched her mind for the name.

Oh, she remembered. It was a small village on the very edge of the Nolent Territory, close to the deep mountains and old forests.

In the past, she definitely would have been too lazy to visit such a remote backwater.

But things were different now. She had just taken office, and it was exactly the time when she needed to present an approachable image. Taking a stroll through such a small place, consoling the lonely elderly, patting children on the head, and praising that whatever resident priest—would not that easily count as a political achievement?

Besides, she heard the wild game over there was quite good, so it would serve perfectly as an all-expenses-paid field trip.

"It is decided!"

Lalavina jumped up from the chair, straightened out her slightly messy robes, and restored her holy and inviolable appearance.

"I will take a trip to Buena Village in a couple of days."

"I will also see what is so special about that so-called 'model medicinal herb garden.' Hmph, it is probably just planted with some hemostatic grass and radishes."

"As long as I do not encounter any terrifying things like witches or forbidden spells again, I will do anything."

The young bishop stood before the divine statue, devoutly made the sign of the cross, and prayed silently:

"I thank the Holy Radiance for granting me a peaceful rest of my days."

Little did she know.

In the "peaceful" little village she was about to depart for,

the very source of her darkest nightmares—the world-ending witch who had once scared her unconscious—was currently sitting in a courtyard, shelling beans.