Diary of Guarding Monster Girls

Snowflakes drifted in the sky.

Yet, those sparkling crystals did not dispel the dense mist enveloping the Misty Mountains; the two touched distinctly, without the slightest fusion.

Herbert pulled Valentina from behind to the front of his chest, allowing her to rest more comfortably in his embrace.

"Hoo..."

This was Herbert's tenderness.

Completely without any despicable thoughts of using Valentina as a dragon meat shield or a battering ram!

None at all!

He didn't choose the safe road to the Mist Monastery, but ventured into another path, heading in a different direction.

Perhaps because Valentina was constantly emitting an aura of dragon might, for more than the first hour, Herbert encountered no danger.

To be precise, he didn't even encounter any creatures.

All the creatures lurking in the thick mist fled in terror upon sensing the aura of a Legendary Giant Dragon, scattering and retreating.

For others entering the Misty Mountains was an adventure, a life-or-death gamble to exchange life for wealth.

But for Herbert, this exploration was simply a stroll.

Just like going home.

"Hm~ hm~ ha~ uh~ ah~ ah~"

He hummed a lullaby softly, gently patting Valentina's back, while he swayed leisurely deeper into the mist.

However, he wasn't blindly trying to rush into the deepest part of the fog.

That would be pure folly.

After all this time, no one knows what kind of ghostly things might be lurking in the depths of the mist—even Nenasha is unsure.

This was indeed once Her Divine Kingdom's remnants, but She has been imprisoned for over a millennium, long losing her perception of this place.

And what remains most in the remnants of the Divine Kingdom is her dissipating divine energy.

Divine energy is the most wondrous energy in this world and the root of divine beings' power.

It is the source of all divine power and miracles.

It's like a special energy containing infinite power and mysteries, the foundation that drives divine beings.

But it's not only divine beings that possess divine energy; in this world, there are many creatures with divine energy.

When a mortal acquires divine energy and isn't destroyed by that terrifying power, successfully merging with it... then they will completely transcend the realm of mortals, ascending to another level.

Divine Beings!

They possess power far beyond mortals and can even perform miracles to a limited extent.

Divine Descendants, Divine Favorers, Wicked Beings, Sinful Spirits, acquired divine beings...

Their divine energy either comes from being directly bestowed by divine beings, obtained from the remains of ancient existences, or luckily found from items containing divine energy.

Fate is strange and free, all kinds of things can happen.

There might even be times when descendants of divine bloodlines unexpectedly get a reversion of their ancestral bloodline, obtaining divine energy of the same concentration as the first Divine Descendants at some point.

Before everything is settled, anything is possible.

And depending on the nature of various divine energies, the powers that divine holders can exert differ.

Various elemental powers, combat abilities, spell-casting abilities, law abilities...

So, guess now.

In a place full of divine energy, what kind of monsters could a millennium nurture?

The answer is—anything is possible.

Because divine beings themselves are unreasonable miracles, it's logical for strange things to appear.

Though Valentina serves as a protective muscle, he knows even Miss Hungry Dragon isn't invincible.

One can be reckless, but not too excessively.

Herbert's actual objective this time is to find a natural port elsewhere in the Misty Mountains and establish a base there.

Considering the current situation, land transport is too costly.

If Herbert's stronghold could have a port, transporting resources by sea would make many things exceptionally convenient.

Although the Misty Mountains are surrounded on three sides by sea, two edges are steep cliffs with reefs under the sea, unsuitable for ships to dock.

Only the sea near the Mist Monastery is relatively calm, very deep, and a natural frost-free port.

But surely, one can't just nonchalantly stroll onto the Monastery's doorstep—that's just asking for trouble—at least not for now.

In truth, Herbert has always harbored a very dangerous plan to assimilate the entire Monastery into the future Nenasha's Divine Spirit Church system...

If there's one readily available, can't it be... hm, right?

Very bold, but perhaps not entirely impossible?

Of course, this ambition is a long-term goal, not something that can be easily attempted in the short term.

This kind of thing, like undermining the Monastery, can't be rushed.

To avoid agitating the Archbishop and the higher-ups, Herbert can only slowly develop his connections.

The persuasion of Sister Kaplan is going decently; her attitude towards Valentina has improved much, and presumably, her attitude towards other Monster Girls will change too.

As for the other Paladins, Herbert didn't intentionally instill the notion that "Monster Girls aren't bad" in them.

That would be too deliberate, likely to cause backlash.

Instead, he chose to enhance his esteem in their minds.

For the Nun, raising affection points; for the Paladins, raising prestige points.

In the minds of those good Paladin brothers, Herbert has transformed from a "highly talented young Paladin" into a different figure.