Millennium Witch

Book 3: Chapter 247: The Throne and the Saintess

In the private reception room of the Old Oak Inn, where thick carpets covered the floor and a faint woody fragrance lingered in the air, Lucia stood at Yvette’s side, watching as a server led in the skinny boy named Ezra. She couldn’t help showing a look of surprise.She remembered that the last time they’d met, the boy’s face had been haggard, his brows knotted with confusion and unease about the road ahead. But now, though he still couldn’t quite hide his nervousness, his complexion was much rosier, and deep in his eyes there flickered a light that couldn’t be concealed—he seemed like a completely different person.

She subconsciously wanted to greet him, but Ezra moved faster—and in a way she never expected.

He barely dared to look at Yvette. Dropping to his knees with a sudden thud, he said in a trembling voice—one Lucia had never heard before, a mix of reverence and excitement, “Honored Divine Emissary! Ezra Yarrow, following the Goddess’s oracle, has come to await your command!”

Yes, although the villagers of Lute Village would respectfully call him a divine emissary, he knew that at best he was merely God-favored. The true divine emissary was only the one standing before him.

“Divine emissary?” Lucia was stunned. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Ezra and Yvette, completely failing to understand what any of this meant.

But she wisely kept her mouth shut and decided to ask her teacher later.

Yvette nodded, her tone as calm as ever. “Stand up, Ezra. You did well. You cleansed the filth in Lute Village. The Goddess is very pleased.”

Ezra rose at her word, then immediately bowed deeply again. “All glory be to the Goddess.”

“Lute Village has gone through the erosion of an eldritch god, and the people are gripped by fear. This is precisely the time when guidance and comfort are needed,” Yvette said, deliberately sounding solemn. “I have decided to establish a village temple of the Silver Witch Church in Lute Village, and you will be responsible for its early affairs.”

“Me? Honored Divine Emissary, I—I can handle that?” Ezra was greatly startled.

“You passed the Goddess’s test. I believe you can.” As Yvette spoke, she took out the wooden statue she had rushed to finish in the early hours before dawn.

After a series of precisely etched mana circuits, the wooden statue had long since been reborn. Its surface now glowed with a gentle white luster, and the wood itself had taken on a jade-like texture. To the touch, it was hard and cold, like a rather formidable bludgeon. Faint magical radiance flowed over its surface like water. One glance was enough to tell it was no common trinket.

“This is the holy statue the Goddess grants to Lute Village. It can gather faith and drive out and purify evil. Once the village has finished building the temple, place it inside. It’s best if you bury it underground to prevent others from coveting it. But if there are no statues or holy emblems to serve as symbols, you can also leave it in plain sight.” As Yvette spoke, she stirred up a gust of wind that carried the holy statue to Ezra’s feet.

“Praise the Goddess!” Ezra carefully received the wondrous statue, speaking with devout reverence.

Yvette nodded and continued, “The development of the Silver Witch Church has only just begun. For now, I, as the divine emissary, will serve as the temporary Throne, acting as the highest leader for the time being. Beneath that will be the ranks of Saints, Apostles, Clerics, Priests, and ordinary believers.”

“Ezra Yarrow, since you have earned the Goddess’s favor, then in the name of the Silver Throne, I hereby appoint you as the Church’s very first Apostle, with the title of Lightning Apostle.”

’

“Your duty is to guard the temple and to guide the villagers into devout faith in the Goddess. Once Lute Village has stabilized, I will grant you a new mission.”

“I obey the Throne’s decree! I will defend the temple with my life and spread the Goddess’s glory!” Ezra dropped to one knee, speaking with firm resolve.

By this point, Lucia was already completely dumbfounded.

From their conversation just now and that holy statue, she had learned who exactly the “Goddess” they spoke of was, and thus understood her teacher’s true identity.

So Teacher is the Silver Witch’s divine emissary!

No wonder she was so knowledgeable and unfathomable. Now everything made sense!

Right as she was still reeling in shock, she saw Ezra suddenly turn toward her and carefully ask, “And—Sister Lucia, your role in the Church is—?”

Lucia opened her mouth, not sure how to answer. She really was Yvette’s disciple, but she had only just found out about her teacher’s identity herself. What church status could she possibly claim?

Thinking that, she couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit disappointed. Then she heard Yvette say, “Lucia is my student and also one of those favored by the Goddess. Her talent is exceptional and her nature pure. She will serve as the Church’s Saintess, both my assistant and the inheritor of the Goddess’s will.”

“S—Saintess?!” Lucia was caught completely off guard, her eyes flying wide open.

She was just her teacher’s student—how had she suddenly turned into the Church’s Saintess? And no one had told her anything in advance—

That said, while the title sounded heavy with responsibility and left her feeling a bit at a loss and somewhat panicked, on the other hand, when she thought about how unique that identity was, she also felt a small flicker of joy and secret delight.

Ezra, on his part, didn’t notice any of Lucia’s emotional turmoil at all. He simply bowed to her respectfully and said, “So you are the Honored Saintess! Please forgive my discourtesy!”

“Mm, n-nice to meet you!” Lucia snuck a glance at her teacher and replied a little stiffly, which more or less counted as accepting this new identity. She had absolutely no idea what a Saintess was supposed to do—after all, she’d only ever been on the Disciplinary Committee.

If her teacher didn’t spell it out, she’d probably just end up applying the Disciplinary Committee’s way of doing things to the role of Saintess.

By this point, the basic matters had finally all been explained.

Afterward, Yvette took out a few gold coins from the Academy of Truth and handed them to Ezra, instructing him to hire a reliable construction team to help revive Lute Village and build a small temple. She especially emphasized that the hand-sized holy statue should be hidden beneath a large bronze statue.

Once Ezra left and the door to the reception room was shut, Lucia immediately turned to Yvette. The questions she’d been bottling up burst forth like a breached dam. “Teacher! What on earth is going on? The Silver Witch Church? The Silver Throne? The Saintess? When did you become the Silver Witch’s divine emissary? Didn’t you say you were a witch?”

Faced with this barrage of questions, Yvette remained unhurried. She strolled over to the window, gazing out at the fine, drizzling rain and the still-noisy adventurer city beyond the mist, and said calmly, “Actually, I’m not the Silver Witch’s divine emissary.”

“Huh? Then all that you just said—” Lucia’s face changed drastically. Was Teacher lying to a kid?

“The Silver Witch Church is real, the Lightning Apostle is real, and even your Saintess title is real. As for whether my Throne status is real or not—that doesn’t matter in the slightest,” Yvette said.

The room fell into a brief silence. After a moment, Lucia suddenly understood what she meant and said in shock, “So—you’re just borrowing the name of a divine emissary to establish a Church?”

“There’s no need to borrow anything. What if I actually am the Silver Witch herself?” Yvette said.

Lucia froze for a moment, not answering right away, because she remembered Yvette’s true appearance—that really did match the legendary image of the Silver Witch with her long silver hair and dark red eyes.

But appearance alone wasn’t nearly enough. Even Anya could dye her hair pink; who was to say hair and eye color couldn’t be altered somehow? Weren’t the bloodkin of the Western Continent red-eyed?

She hesitated, and as Yvette watched her tangled expression, she suddenly changed her tone and smiled. “Just kidding.

I really am the Silver Witch’s divine emissary.”

Of course, that was the actual lie. She mainly couldn’t be bothered to waste the time and effort to prove anything. Even if she managed to prove it, she’d gain nothing from it. In any case, once Lucia met her idol, the Wandering Wind Ranger, she’d understand everything right away.

She was a firm believer in energy conservation!

Lucia, however, let out a long breath and patted her chest. “Now that sounds right! Teacher, you scared me half to death—I thought—”

She didn’t finish the sentence, because for a brief instant just now, she really had almost believed it. And thinking back on it afterward, being taken in by such a childish lie was honestly a pretty embarrassing thing.