Sardinia isn't exactly backward in this era, but Melusine had splintered off from a time of smartphones and even fantastical high-tech wonders to end up here.
Just days ago, she'd been fiddling with the latest mobile phones or gaming consoles, and now, suddenly, she felt like a primitive—the boredom from that kind of drop in technology was truly torturous.
What made it worse was that everyone around her treated her as someone they had to bow and scrape to, which meant she didn't have a single person she could really call a friend.
It was utterly miserable.
She really had no idea how Eblana managed to keep going.
Oh, right—Eblana was buried under piles of official duties every day, no time to let her mind wander. That explained it.
Right now, Melusine couldn't even find anything to keep herself busy.
Closing the chat group, Melusine gave in to the laziness that came with her body and threw herself heavily onto the soft bed. In the next moment, she was asleep.
Early the next morning, Erica gathered her wits and, with Arianna assisting, borrowed the villa's kitchen to prepare a lavish breakfast.
There wasn't much skill to it—just keeping an eye on the heat.
Once everything was ready, she made her way to Melusine's door and spoke softly, "Lord Lancelot, breakfast is ready."
"..."
"...Lord Lancelot?"
Though her voice wasn't loud, a god's hearing should have been more than capable of catching it.
Still in bed? That couldn't be right. As a knight, maintaining a regular routine was essential for cultivating self-discipline.
Then again, whether this goddess was really "Lancelot" was still up for debate.
But she should at least be able to hear her, shouldn't she...?
After a moment's thought, Erica simply took the tray, used a bit of magecraft to unlock the door, and slowly pushed it open with her shoulder.
Her gaze was immediately drawn to the girl on the bed, curled up and hugging the blanket.
'Still not awake?'
Erica was surprised.
It wasn't that gods absolutely had to keep regular hours or rise early, but a god's sleep was different from ordinary sleep—more like a form of meditation.
When someone approached, a god should be able to sense it.
Even those gods who were slain in their dreams would resist dreaming or even avoid sleep altogether due to their defiance.
In other words, the other party should know she was here by now, yet still showed no intention of waking?
While this gave Erica a faint sense of being trusted... wasn't this drifting further and further from the image of "Lancelot"? Could this also be part of their "defiance"?
Feeling once again how conveniently "defiance" could explain any out-of-character behavior, Erica suppressed the urge to complain and hesitated over whether to speak up.
In the end, she decided against it.
If this Lord Lancelot happened to have a temper upon waking, that would be trouble...
Though Erica had the courage to take risks, she wasn't some reckless gambler. Who'd want to stake their life on unnecessary bets all the time?
Melusine was indeed awake—or rather, in a half-asleep, half-awake state.
She could sense someone nearby, knew they meant no harm, but couldn't quite make out who it was.
Right now, she felt like she could sleep the whole day away and had absolutely no desire to get up, so she simply surrendered to the urge and stayed in "hibernation" mode.
Back at the dining table, Erica wasn't at all surprised to find herself alone.
After all, someone like Lucretia clearly wasn't the industrious type either. So, she simply invited Arianna to sit down and join her for breakfast.
Afterward, she decided to head out and survey the situation.
"If Lord Lancelot wakes up, notify me immediately. I'm going to scout the island for any anomalies."
Knowing that a Heretic God was likely to appear within the next couple of days, Erica couldn't just idle around as if nothing was happening.
If possible, she wanted to make every possible preparation to protect the ordinary citizens.
...That's what she told herself, but once out on the streets, Erica felt like a headless fly.
Not only was she failing to locate any target, she didn't even know where to begin except by relying on her intuition.
Yet, relying solely on her instincts, Erica searched around the semi-urban area and found nothing. Even when she sought out local mages, all she got was useless information, wasting her entire morning.
"I feel like a complete fool..."
With such meager results, even if she didn't want to give up, Erica had little choice. Besides, it was already noon—time to head back and prepare lunch.
There was no way she could leave that to Arianna.
While Arianna excelled in every quality of a maid, cooking and driving were the two things she just couldn't get the hang of.
Even the desserts served to Melusine earlier had been prepared by others from their association.
Thinking of this, Erica sighed and was about to return to the villa when she felt a tremor that shook the very earth.
'What's happening!?'
An immense surge of energy emanated from the distance. A colossal figure, towering as high as a several dozen-story building, abruptly appeared at the distant port.
Its sheer size and imposing stature left no room for doubt in Erica's mind—this was a Heretic God.
A Heretic God had appeared? Just like that, out of nowhere!?
Well, maybe it wasn't entirely out of the blue. Rituals to summon Heretic Gods weren't necessarily conspicuous. If done privately, a sudden appearance like this was perfectly normal.
Should she go back for Lord Lancelot, or head straight to the Heretic God?
Erica chose the latter without hesitation. After all, such a commotion couldn't possibly escape Lord Lancelot's notice.
Her job was to minimize the Heretic God's destruction as much as possible before Lord Lancelot arrived.
So, the maiden leaped into the air. A crimson magical circle unfolded beneath her feet, instantly boosting her jump height and speed.
This was a magecraft she had learned to enhance "leaping" ability—it not only allowed her to run vertically along walls but also create footholds mid-air.
"Rain?"
While in mid-air, Erica suddenly felt raindrops falling on her.
Looking at the dark clouds spreading above the Heretic God, she immediately realized this deity was closely associated with "water."
With the aid of her magecraft, Erica swiftly reached the Heretic God, who wasn't far to begin with.
Considering local legends, the god's demeanor, and its connection to water myths, even with her own meager abilities, she quickly identified the deity.
However, upon arriving, the scene left her utterly dumbfounded.
Because there wasn't just one god here. Not far from the huge and imposing god stood another—a young-looking god wearing a white robe and a gray cloak.
Two gods appearing together?
This situation made Erica realize instantly what was happening.
This wasn't just an ordinary Heretic God manifestation—it was clearly the prelude to a godly battle.
"Wait, please!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.