“Apples! Fresh, sweet apples! If they’re not good, you don’t pay!”
“Bananas! Soft, delicious bananas! If they’re not sweet, you don’t pay!”
Sephine led the children down the street.
Today was the first day of the Bathing in Light Festival.
Preparations had started several days ago, and now the entire setup was complete.
The trade caravan from the Elf Kingdom had also arrived today.
From their wagons, Sephine could see all kinds of items meant for the ritual.
Calling it a “ritual” was a bit of a stretch—there were no fixed rules; just go through the motions and it was fine.
Sephine rarely saw members of the Church.
Not the Church Kingdom, but the Magical Kingdom’s own church.
These church members usually stayed away from the city center, but the Bathing in Light Festival was also a holiday for believers, so today they made a rare appearance.
Sephine didn’t have a strong impression of the Church.
They were always applying for funds from the Imperial Palace, but she had investigated before and confirmed that the money was indeed used properly.
The Magical Kingdom had no orphanages or similar welfare institutions.
Instead, the Church took in orphans and raised them until they were old enough to stand on their own.
If they wished to stay, they could become devout believers or serve as little nuns helping with chores.
There was only one church building in the Royal Capital.
Sephine was fairly familiar with the bishop there.
However, ever since she became a girl, she hadn’t visited that bishop again.
The bishop was an older sister, an Elf by birth, but also a citizen of the Magical Kingdom.
The Magical Kingdom supported racial diversity—not just the Demon Race, but also the Human Race , Elf Race, Half-Elves, Mixed-Blood Demons, Pure Beastmen, Mixed-Blood Beastmen, and so on.
The Elf Kingdom simply had a higher concentration and population of Elves.
“Oh? And you are?”
Liliya set down her wine glass.
“Ah, it’s you, Bishop Liliya.”
Sephine looked around to make sure she hadn’t mistaken anyone.
“The Grand Chancellor should be working right now. Why would he be out shopping? Don’t tease me, little one.”
“It’s really me! I resigned, and besides, that person turned me into this.”
“That person?”
Liliya thought for a moment.
Did she mean the Demon King?
The Church had little contact with the Demon King—only a few meetings during the Bathing in Light Festival, and otherwise everything went through subordinates.
“I still don’t believe you.”
“I’m Seth. Now I’m called Sephine.”
“…You? Really?”
Liliya pinched Sephine’s cheek, then picked her up and swung her in the air a few times.
Sephine felt a little dizzy.
“Mommy, have some candy!”
Karin came over with a handful of candies from somewhere.
Her pockets couldn’t hold them all—some fell out as she walked.
“Karin, where did you get so many candies?”
Since Bishop Liliya kept refusing to believe her, Sephine decided not to bother explaining further.
Their relationship wasn’t close enough for deep conversation; it was more practical to focus on the children.
On the day of the Bathing in Light Festival, most residents of the Magical Kingdom wore white clothes, preferably accented with gold.
It looked more sacred and was said to please the Gods.
But Sephine suspected this was just speculation by the believers, or the personal preference of the festival’s founder.
Who could guess the thoughts of the Gods?
“The uncles and aunties gave them to me. They said I was cute, so they gave me candy.”
Normally, Sephine should teach Karin not to accept candy from strangers.
But today was a festival, so she didn’t want to spoil the fun.
“Mommy, eat!”
Karin stuffed a piece of candy into Sephine’s mouth.
It was very sweet—peach flavor.
These people really knew how to make fruit candies.
They were even better than the candies she remembered from her previous life.
Not just pure sweetness, but also the aroma of fresh fruit.
Sephine suddenly realized she hadn’t taught the two children much common sense.
Karin was relatively normal, but Fala was different—she had a knowledge base far beyond her age.
Sephine was curious where she had learned it.
Was it because she liked reading?
And who taught her to read?
No, the more she thought about it, the more her head ached.
It was too complicated.
She decided to simply treat her children as geniuses.
So she gave up digging deeper.
Liliya stared at the two children running around Sephine.
They felt strangely familiar… and also very pure, even carrying a hint of sacredness.
“Are they your children?”
“Yes, aren’t they adorable? Both little ones are very lovable.”
Sephine didn’t understand why Liliya kept talking to her even though she didn’t believe she was Seth.
There were so many interesting things at the festival that she didn’t want to waste time here.
She had only come to catch up; since the other party didn’t believe her, she would just leave.
“How curious. I’ve believed in the Divine Lord for so many years, yet these two children have purer faith than I do.”
“That’s not surprising, is it? Kids don’t know anything, so of course they’re pure… Wait, what faith? Are you mistaken?”
Liliya’s words stunned Sephine.
Those two little ones could barely recognize characters.
All they did was eat, sleep, and play.
Where would faith come from?
“Maybe I was.”
From the moment she tried to probe, Liliya could no longer sense anything.
The children’s auras returned to that of ordinary people—even… a little too ordinary.
“Mommy! I want cake! Let’s go!”
“I want cake too.”
“Okay, let’s go. Mommy brought lots of money today. I’ll buy you new clothes.”
Sephine cheerfully took one child in each hand and walked off toward the other direction.
As they left, Fala glanced back at Liliya.
Their eyes met.
Liliya’s body trembled violently. She almost lost her balance.
“Is that… a god looking at me?”
She quickly steadied herself.
Now she was certain—those two children were no ordinary beings.
Could they be the legendary “Saints” chosen by the Gods?
Liliya remembered reading it in an ancient text: the Gods, at indefinite times, would choose indefinite people to act as Their agents.
“Have the Gods… chosen this kingdom?”