Seduce The Villainess (GL)

(Wester lands- City of Relanter)

(Central Town Square)

The sun was hanging brightly in the sky above the city. There was not a cloud in sight and a cool breeze blew gently on the faces of the residents.

In the middle of the city was a central square.

It was a place where the citizens could gather to hear the latest news from the city lord. Usually, these announcements were about an increase in taxes.

However today was a bit different for the only sounds that filled the air were those of prayers and the sweet hymns of praise.

"May the light of Lord Varion shine down upon you."

"Praise be the name of his grace for he is full of righteousness."

"Blessing to those that live a life of piousness and worship. For those who love their neighbours shall be granted access to the gates of salvation."

Plainly dressed nuns with clear eyes and bright expressions walked through the crowd while handing out pieces of bread to the hungry.

Priests wearing magnificent white robes with golden threads stood at the far edges of the plaza while holding several books in hand.

Each preached fervently about God's message to the faithful believers that gathered around them.

Accompanying these priests were knights and volunteers from the local temple.

Standing in the middle of the town square was a frail looking girl.

Her beauty was like a sickly flower or a candle burning weakly in the middle of a tempest. Those who gazed upon her vestige dared not look for long.

Of course, another reason why they did not stare was the fearsome female knight that stood directly behind the sickly beauty.

The aura of intimidation and the low pressure surrounding her body made it difficult for the worshippers to stay for too long.

"May your injuries heal as the blessings of our Lord flows through me," Elisa whispered softly.

She stretched out her palm and gently touched the forehead of a little girl who was missing an eye.

A glow of holy light erupted from her fingertips and covered the little girl's face. When the former saintess removed her palm, the little girl's missing eye had now been fully restored.

Elisa smiled warmly at the awe-struck child and gestured for her to go towards the waiting arms of her parents.

"Thank you! Thank you!" the father shouted in joy as he held his daughter in his arms and spun her around happily.

Elisa gazed at the family and for a brief moment a strange emotion flashed across her eyes.

It was funny to think that she was using the power of her people's greatest enemy to help those who would kill her without hesitation should her identity be revealed.

"Are you okay? Do you need some rest?" Claire's warm voice cut through the haze of dark thoughts surfacing in Elisa's mind.

"No… I can still heal a few more," Elisa replied calmly.

"Just make sure not to overdo it," Claire spoke sternly before stepping back and resuming her position as a watchful guardian.

The smile on Elisa's face became a bit more genuine as she glanced at the cold face of her cute paladin.

Maybe there was one human who wouldn't kill her…

Word began to spread about the powerful healer in the town square and soon more residents came to see the excitement.

One of the knights from the local church rushed back to the temple to bring some offering baskets for donations.

He would soon have to rush back and forth as the baskets were filled up quickly from the grateful believers.

Elisa continued to close her eyes and channel the holy light through her body in order to heal the sick and the injured.

As the sun slowly sank towards the west, the former saintess slowed down her healing and instead allowed the nuns to treat those with light injuries with basic first aid skills.

Claire was the only tier two paladin present in the town square, so she assumed command of the church's knights by the merit of her seniority.

Fortunately, there were no unexpected incidents so far, but Claire was always vigilant in case of an emergency.

"Are you done for the day?" Claire asked with concern as she saw Elisa open her mouth and yawn sleepily.

"Hmm… I…I think I want to visit the governor's mansion and then we can go back to the inn," Elisa replied thoughtfully.

Claire was not suspicious of her sudden request and figured that her kind-hearted companion wanted to pay the city lord a visit to give his family blessings.

She gestured towards the nearest knight and whispered to him to send a message to the head of the local church.

"Shall the two of us set off now? We should be able to arrive in about half an hour or forty minutes," Claire spoke calmly.

"Why don't we invite the other members of the church to join us? Elisa suggested with a smile that resembled a predator whose prey was within their grasp.

She reasonably pointed out that a procession of just two people was a bit strange for an official church visit.

Claire asked around and several of the nuns and the priests in the town square agreed to join them on their journey to the governor's mansion.

Others were content to stay a little longer in the plaza and preach to the remaining believers.

The procession heading towards the governor's mansion now consisted of around thirty members of the church.

It was a large crowd…

And exactly what Elisa was hoping for.

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.

.

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(City of Relanter- Varion Church)

(Ten minutes later…)

The money that had been collected so far had been placed in a special room where a man dressed in heavy black robes stood smiling from ear to ear.

A long wooden table had been placed in the center of the room and bags upon bags of coins were on top of the table.

The head of the local church was a priest named Father Amos.

Father Amos was an elderly man who walked around holding a heavy wooden cane. Strange runes and patterns had been engraved onto its wooden surface.

His usually stern appearance had disappeared and had instead been replaced by a cheerful smile of joy.

Although the Varion Church was the main religion on the continent their influence was strongest in the capitol city.

However, outside of the capitol was a different story…

With the passage of time, fewer and fewer ordinary citizens believed or feared the foreign races enough to drive them to attend mass.

Few men or women would be able to become full fledged paladins or high priests capable of healing any wounds.

Despite the pope's best efforts without the looming threat of foreign races it was hard to get humanity united behind their banner.

And more importantly… those ordinary citizens did not donate enough!

Father Amos struggled to contain his excitement as he gazed at the bags of overflowing copper and gold coins.

When was the last time they had collected so many donations?

He honestly could not remember.

At first, he had been reluctant to agree to allow some members of his church to join the former saintess Elisa on her mission to spread the word of God.

But now… he could not be more thankful that he had decided to say yes.

Father Amos let out a hearty laugh and reached for the nearest gold coins with an undisguised expression of greed on his face.

Just as he was about to pocket one of the gold coins, he was interrupted by a heavy knocking sound at the door

Knock! Knock!

Father Amos scowled and headed for the door in a bad mood. Did he not tell his followers not to bother him?

"What is it?" Father Amos harshly spoke as he flung open the door.

There was a fresh-faced knight standing by the door. He appeared to be just a teenager and his eyes were full of respect as he looked at the priest.

"Excuse me sir… High Priestess Elisa has requested to visit the governor's mansion in order to personally bless the nobility that guard this city," the young knight spoke politely.

"Why are you bothering me about that? Isn't it just a visit to Lord Cain to give his family some blessings?" Father Amos spoke irritably.

"I'm sorry sir but I… I… just thought that it was proper protocol to inform you of any changes to the schedule," the knight hesitantly replied.

Father Amos let out a heavy sigh and stared at the young knight.

This was yet another one of those knights with a head full of nothing but justice.

Rules, regulations, doing everything by the book… it was all so horribly boring.

Those inflexible members of his church were the elderly priest's biggest worry. They never knew when to compromise or turn a blind eye.

"Yes, she has my full permission," Father Amos declared firmly.

He shut the door on the young knight's face and then returned to the piles of coins.

The footsteps of the young knight faded away into the distance and Father Amos suddenly stopped just a few feet away from the table.

Was he forgetting something?

The governor's mansion… something about the governor's mansion…

Wait… a minute… the batch of dark elves!

Father Amos froze for a moment as he thought of a certain possibility before pushing that thought to the back of his mind.

No… it would look suspicious if he denied the former saintess' request.

Furthermore, Lord Cain was a man used to secrecy and it was impossible to discover the slaves that he kept in his cellar.

In the first place why would the former saintess even go to the lower floors of the mansion.

Father Amos successfully convinced himself that nothing would go wrong and then headed towards the coins with peace in mind.

He would later come to regret his decision.