Find a Troubled Girl after leaving the Guild

Three people stepped off the medium-sized boats, led by the knight who had spoken to Blondie Douding, a knight captain by rank.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to escort you to the temporary guesthouse. If the Order Corps has official business, you can relay information through the staff within the guesthouse."

It sounded like staying in Wotam Church Country these days would be akin to house arrest.

If not for the presence of the Order Flame Corps' leader, they probably wouldn't even qualify for house arrest.

Li Ang looked around, seeing rows of Defender Knights lined up guarding all roads of the port.

Even before landing, he saw many places on the island seemingly under guard; they truly valued this festival, treating it with utmost seriousness.

There shouldn't be anything requiring vigilance here, Li Ang guessed that it might just be the religious traditions of the festival, after all, it stems from the commemoration of saints fighting demons, probably mimicking the attitude in face of demons.

Demons... Li Ang recalled his conversation with ALulu when she mentioned the church's stained glass windows.

In the past, he had few opportunities to enter Wotam Church, but he often heard various tales of goddess slaying demons.

Just like how the guild sells "The Sword King's Adventure" everywhere, Li Ang only considered the Wotam Sect's tales of the goddess slaying demons as cultural crystals derived from original mythology, similar to other regions' cultures.

But after having a real encounter with a demon a few days ago, he now had a peculiar sensation.

What's more peculiar was that he was still undergoing transformation into a demon.

Wasn't that like saying he, as a demon, had actually entered the siege circle where God's followers were standing by?

"Among us are locals of the theocracy," Elaphia said to the knight captain.

"Knight Order reservists?"

The captain glanced at ALulu, perhaps sensing her divine magic power. He didn't doubt and only said, "Then you should start fasting and chanting soon; bringing outsiders back to the theocracy during the Oathkeeping Festival is already quite inappropriate."

Xiaoniu lowered her head, feeling a bit aggrieved.

Since Li Ang had known her, he didn't quite see her as a rigid believer; while she believed in the goddess, she had her own set of principles.

So, being told off by the captain, ALulu's mood was mainly that of a child being scolded, rather than feeling she was violating the doctrine.

The principle that the ignorant are blameless should exist in the teachings of the Wotam Sect too.

"Going back to her church to spend the Oathkeeping Festival is just the same, isn't it?" Li Ang said.

The knight captain frowned, saying a lot at once, mainly about adhering to the teachings, maintaining customs, and not casually extending and using various excuses to not uphold traditions.

As for the Defender Knights, being ready at this moment was in accord with the situation of Oathkeeping Festival.

As someone defending the sky port during the Oathkeeping Festival, his stance was—one must be stationed at the specific guesthouse, all thanks to the Order Sky Knight Corps.

Wotam Church Country is one of the few places that doesn't allow the guild to set up offices nor lets the Order Sky Knight Corps maintain order.

To put it plainly, they might not even give face to the Order Sandstorm Corps itself in the Desert Sky Realm; Elaphia's status only allows everyone to land peacefully.

Had it been some other Sky Cavalry, they might've started fighting their way in from here.

But as the leader of the Order Corps, Elaphia can't do such a thing; she must appear to respect local traditions and customs across different places, following others' rules unless they stir up some real trouble.

But given her character...

Blondie Douding was already frowning tightly now, her magic power subtly fluctuating, even making her long golden hair sway without wind, clearly showing she was quite displeased.

"No worries, I'll think of a way later; let's head to the guesthouse first," Li Ang said softly to her.

The young girl's expression eased slightly, but she was puzzled as to what he intended to do.

"You'll know once we get there."

They were led into a building outside the sky port, which had decent internal conditions and even offered vegetarian cakes and tea.

It wasn't theocracy deliberately targeting them, just pure old-fashionedness.

Zoe picked up a white vegetarian cake and tasted it, shaking her head, showing no interest in something tasteless.

"These original sect small fries, mobilize all forces just for a festival," Elaphia scoffed.

The Ignis Sky Realm also widely believes in the Goddess of Kindness; as a local bigwig there, she's naturally aware of the Oathkeeping Festival, but residents of the Fire Realm are quite secular; they might even only symbolically fast and chant a few passages to show sincerity, focusing most energy on taking advantage of holidays to relax and play.

Li Ang asked ALulu, "From the sky port, can you get back to Thunder Mountain Church?"

"If I get near Thunder Peak, I can try to find the way, but I don't know how to get to Thunder Peak from here."

"During the Oathkeeping Festival now, surely no one's willing to guide us; perhaps all transportation completely halted," Li Ang pondered aloud.

"We can go straight overhead from the sky, eliminating the need to find a way."

Elaphia raised her petite finger, her magic power operating and creating pure magic metal behind her, forming suspended flying blades.

The flying blades' structure differed from those she used for combat previously; it only resembled the shape of a flying blade, without edged blades, even curling upward to form protection; the blade body was wider too.

This was evidently designed for someone to stand upon.

"Will you lead us there?" A smile appeared on Li Ang's face.

"A simple matter."

Douding slightly raised her chin.

She added, "But we must sneak out quietly, preferably not causing trouble. Should these devout talents overreact and fly into a rage, dealing with them and the fishy Sandstorm Corps won't be easy.