The boundary patrol vehicle stopped outside the Holy Court headquarters—the Huijin Divine Hall. The group got off at the station and headed for the entrance of the Huijin Divine Hall.
Two Holy Court Knights in heavy armor stood guard at the door. As the group approached, one of them stepped forward.
"Please show your passes."
Alina moved ahead and presented her pass. The knight glanced over at the heretics tied up behind them and shook his head, "The quality of heretics just keeps getting worse."
Alina laughed, "It's just a minor test for the reserve Holy Daughter. It's suitable enough."
The guard said no more and let them pass inside.
The Huijin Divine Hall was massive, but as a tutor, Alina had been here many times, so she navigated easily and soon led everyone to the square in front of the Law Enforcement Court.
There were already quite a few teams here, led by instructors like Alina, each bringing their students.
Including Hilia's group, there were five teams in total.
As they approached, a tutor from one of the teams called out, "Alina, you all finally made it! What took you so long?"
"We had to go somewhere a bit farther away. It took some time to get back."
"I see. Those heretics are hiding deeper and deeper these days."
"..."
While the instructors were talking, Rose noticed that Hilia kept stealing glances at the other teams... or rather, at the Magic Puppets standing beside them.
He'd thought she just didn't want to pay the price of making a wish, but now it seemed she truly wanted a Magic Puppet.
Rose didn't get what was so good about those things. He thought it'd be better to just go out and tame a few beasts in the wild. At least those could level up with their owner, and were far more convenient.
"Sorry for the wait, children. I am Vasily, Judgment Priest of the Law Enforcement Court. May the God bless you all."
A group came out from inside the Law Enforcement Court, led by an elderly man with a white beard. After introducing himself, he clapped his hands, "Many thanks to the tutors for escorting you here. We'll hand these heretics over to the Judgment Knight Order. Now, will the reserve Holy Daughters step forward?"
Five girls stepped out from their respective groups, Hilia among them.
Except for Hilia, none of the other girls wore the black robe issued by the Holy Court; each was dressed in a beautiful gown or dress of her own choosing.
"Children, please tell me how you managed to capture these heretics. Doris was the first to return—why don't you start?"
The girl named Doris wore a Gothic-style dress, holding her chin high like a proud little peacock, and stepped in front of Vasily.
"Good afternoon, Grandpa Vasily."
Vasily stroked his beard with a wide smile. "Good afternoon, Doris. Go ahead and report."
"All right. For this task, I followed the clues and successfully found a Sect base. I confirmed it was a base of one of the Twelve Heterodox Sects—the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association... In this operation, I captured one Mage, five ordinary heretics, and confiscated a Magic Puppet!"
Doris was full of pride as she commanded her Magic Puppet to perform a knight's salute, showing everyone the battle scars all over it.
Those scars were proof of the trial.
"A fine achievement, but you took quite a risk! You've only been enrolled a month and just stepped onto the Ascension God Stairs. Please, be careful not to get hurt. Next..."
Hilia was at the end of the line. As she listened to the other candidates' reports, she sensed that Rose was watching her too, so she muttered inwardly, "The Judgment of heretics is handled by the Judgement Court. Our school only assists the Law Enforcement Knights in capturing heretics—we don't have the authority to judge them. This operation is a trial for the reserve Holy Daughters. I... am a reserve Holy Daughter, too."
She thought that once they entered the Divine Hall, Rose wouldn't dare show himself. Who knew he'd not only stay around but brazenly observe everything, not the least bit afraid.
"This is a little different from the strange Divine Hall factions I heard about. Tell me, aside from the Holy Court, are there any other sects that worship True Gods? Like the Divine Hall of Light, or the War God Hall—do they still exist?"
"No, after the Era of Calamity ended, the Gods merged all the Divine Halls and faiths together under the Holy Court. People no longer worship individual Gods. Except for a few halls still named after a God, the rest have all been renamed as churches of the Holy Court." As a reserve Holy Daughter, Hilia knew these things very well.
Still, she was a little uneasy while explaining. She felt as if she were aiding the enemy...
But if Rose had spoken the truth earlier, and he was labeled the Evil God simply because he lost some power struggle—not because he was inherently evil—then maybe... it was fine.
Hilia didn't know whether the Holy Court's version of history was correct, or if Rose was right. Given her position, she was supposed to believe the Holy Court's scriptures.
However, what Rose said was not without value and could be considered.
After realizing Rose couldn't come out, an audacious idea had occurred to Hilia.
"Hilia, it's your turn."
Vasily's voice brought Hilia back to herself. She took two steps forward to stand before him.
She could feel the scrutinizing gazes of the other four reserve Holy Daughters, but that didn't affect her report.
"Good afternoon, Grandpa Vasily. The heretic base I eliminated was confirmed to belong to the Abyss Sect. Unfortunately, their Mage had already left by the time I arrived. I captured only five heretics and released twelve innocent civilians..."
"Abyss Sect?" Vasily's eyebrow rose. "You took an even greater risk than Doris. Fortunately, the Mage was gone, or your trial would have ended in failure."
Capturing regular heretics wasn't anything special in Holy Court operations, but since the actors here were newbies who'd only studied magic for a month, Vasily wasn't stingy with his praise. After everyone finished reporting, he affirmed and rewarded them all.
"Assessment results will be announced at the end of your annual evaluation. This trial is now concluded—good job, everyone."
Afterward, as Hilia was about to follow Alina to the Holy Court cafeteria, she saw Doris approaching her.
"Ms. Alina, good afternoon. May I have a word alone with Hilia?"
Alina glanced at Hilia, who nodded. "Ms. Alina, I'll catch up with you soon."
"All right, you two talk. The cafeteria is at the far end, left turn and you're there."
"Thank you, Ms. Alina."
Hilia followed Doris off to the side.
"Miss Doris, is there something you need?"
"Hilia, you saw, didn't you? I captured a heretic Mage, while you have no Magic Puppet and only managed to bully ordinary people. If you didn't have Holy Word, you wouldn't have subdued even those heretics so easily." Doris looked at the Magic Puppet following her, flaunting the scars on its body.
Hilia said nothing.
But in her head, Rose spoke: "Her Magic Puppet carries traces of contamination—hidden pretty well."
Doris kept going, "What I said before still counts: a reserve Holy Daughter from a remote church like you has no chance of becoming the Holy Daughter. You might as well just withdraw..."
"Miss Doris, are you afraid I'll beat you and become the Holy Daughter?" Hilia interrupted her. "Instead of worrying about me, you should care about whether your Magic Puppet is contaminated."
Doris giggled, "Relax. I've already purified my Puppet—there's no contamination. As for you, I don't think it's worth your time. But if you ever want the best Magic Puppet, just get in touch with me anytime."
Hilia tilted her head, staring at her.
The girl pouted and walked away, muttering as she went, "You can't outdo the others anyway. Might as well accept my family's sponsorship—being an Archbishop isn't out of reach."
She obviously said it for Hilia to hear. Hilia caught every word.
Hilia didn't respond, merely puffing her cheeks, a thousand thoughts swirling in her mind.
Watching her, Rose raised his eyebrows.
He'd thought this girl didn't want anything at all.
Good—it'll be easy to handle, then.