"Dong—Dong—"
The solemn and majestic church bells resounded throughout Rinnascita. They began chiming at 7 AM, ringing seven times every hour until noon, when the sun reached its zenith. At that time, the Saintess would receive her sacred coronation from the Presiding Seat of the church in Avinoleum.
When the first set of seven chimes rang, the Saintess needed to begin preparing for the procession—before heading to Avinoleum, the Saintess, along with her escort, would parade through Rinnascita along a specific route, bringing blessings to the people, and arriving at Avinoleum at noon, surrounded by the populace.
Fleurdelys woke up when the first chime rang.
Turning her head to look at Amaterasu, who was still sleeping peacefully on the pillow beside her, a unique sense of satisfaction arose in Fleurdelys's heart.
She gently patted Amaterasu's back with her delicate hand, occasionally playing with its drooping little wings, full of interest.
Riel slowly awoke under her playful prodding—waking up to see a beautiful woman lying on the pillow beside him was undoubtedly a wonderful thing.
So wonderful that Riel couldn't help but snuggle closer into her embrace, wanting to lie in bed a little longer.
But Fleurdelys grabbed him by the dragon's spine with her large hand and lifted him up:
"Amaterasu, today is my Saintess Coronation Ceremony, you know~ There are strict regulations on time, so you can't oversleep and hold me back."
"Aw… (Oh…)"
Riel responded groggily, still half-asleep—all thoughts of the black tide and Threnodian were thrown to the back of his mind—a beautiful morning, bathed in sunlight, with a beauty by his side—he just wanted to sleep.
Seeing that Amaterasu couldn't be woken, Fleurdelys's door was timely knocked by the maids of the Saintess's bedchamber, respectfully asking if the Saintess had woken up? And if she needed them to assist her in changing?
Fleurdelys knew she couldn't afford to delay—time always seemed to pass quickly when she was with this little one, and in a blink, the bells had already chimed three times.
So Fleurdelys casually tucked Amaterasu into her chest, leaving only its dragon head exposed, then responded to the maids outside the bedroom, and with her hands free, she began to dress and adorn herself deftly.
Fortunately, Riel was still small, even Fleurdelys could hold him.
Riel, on the other hand, was having a great time; the soft, warm embrace made him feel incredibly secure. His limbs, wings, and even his small wings instinctively curled up in that soft bundle, falling into a deep, hibernating-like sleep... When Riel woke up again, he was already in Laguna City. Enthusiastic cheers mixed with solemn bell chimes roused him.
However, he was no longer in Fleurdelys's arms, but riding on the back of Gehinnom, the large white female dragon. Fleurdelys was also astride Gehinnom's back, seated right behind Amaterasu.
Riel shook his still-fuzzy head—where have they taken me? Is this still the same country?
This was clearly not the same country.
After a long sleep, Riel still found the idea of transmigration surreal, but he had also accepted it a little more.
The lively atmosphere of joyous laughter infected him, and Riel couldn't help but look up and around:
First, of course, was the girl (behind him), Fleurdelys—she sat majestically and gracefully astride Gehinnom, waving to the cheering crowds from afar, sending the Sentinel's blessings.
Today, Fleurdelys's smile was even brighter, and her attire more magnificent. The Saintess's robe was embroidered with the divine image of Ember-Lado, and countless precious, unidentifiable crystals were perfectly embedded in the robe, shimmering under the sunlight, highlighting the Saintess's divinity without appearing vulgar.
Furthermore, faint traces of golden and silver embroidery could be seen on the robe, also gleaming under the sun, adding an extra touch of nobility.
A precious sword—likely a Sword of Human Rights—hung at her waist. Her posture was tall and straight, awe-inspiring, instantly inspiring a sense of reverence and trust in anyone who saw her—making people unhesitatingly believe that the Saintess before them was absolutely the most righteous heroine in the world!
Riel's attention lingered on Fleurdelys for a very, very long time before he reluctantly looked around.
Around Gehinnom, whom he and Fleurdelys were currently riding, there were also thirty-six Pterosaur Echoes of different colors, guarding Fleurdelys in the center. Most of these Pterosaur Echoes were a size smaller than Gehinnom, about two meters long and tall, while Gehinnom's body size was over three meters.
Interspersed among them were 108 smaller pterosaurs, almost a meter in size. Some held flower baskets in their mouths, others held wreaths, and some emitted crisp calls, forming a harmony with the hundreds of Clerics who maintained order and chanted scriptures in unison.
It's worth noting that Riel discovered—all the Pterosaur Echoes or Clerics guarding Fleurdelys were female?! All the seihai were female?
At least Riel didn't see the pterosaurs'… could they have been castrated?
The voices of those small pterosaurs, to Riel, all sounded like the sweet, childish singing of seven- or eight-year-old girls.
It seemed the Saintess was indeed sacred and inviolable.
Riel was inexplicably satisfied.
Expanding his gaze further, Riel found that Laguna City at this time was far less prosperous than what he had seen in the game before his transmigration—after all, Laguna was not yet the political and economic center of Rinnascita at this point, looking more like a relatively wealthy small fishing town.
Looking out at the cheering people of Rinnascita… Hmm?
Riel rubbed his eyes, incredulously watching one short man after another, standing outside the protective cordon of Clerics and pterosaurs, letting out explosive screams at Fleurdelys, then clutching their hearts and collapsing to the ground… No???
This…?
My Fufu's charm is indeed too great.
Riel could only convince himself this way.
But the more he looked, the more something felt off—why did it seem that the women of Rinnascita generally had high Appearance, with almost none below 60 points (Riel's rating standard),
while the men were short and ugly…? He barely saw any men above the passing line.
Why were those men all timidly following behind the women, sometimes awkwardly fiddling with their fingers, playing with their hair, or kicking their toes…?
Why was it that in what looked like a married couple, the woman was holding the man high up so he could see the procession through the crowd?
Why was there a beautiful young woman in her twenties, mingling in the crowd, secretly pinching the butt of a bald, one-and-a-half-meter-tall old uncle with a pockmarked face and stubble???! From her shaking shoulders, Riel seemed to hear her making strange "hehehe" laughter???
(Riel: Ah! My eyes!)
Why… In short, it was very strange.
However, Riel thought about it carefully—
Fleurdelys, the recognized Saintess of Rinnascita at this time, was female. The game plot revealed that the Resonator truly chosen by the Sentinel was also a female from the Fesale Family. Later, Cantarella, the head of the Fissale Family, the largest family in Rinnascita with hundreds of years of heritage, was also female… So, was it possible that Rinnascita was actually a matriarchal society?
Games are games, and reality is reality. If he truly transmigrated, he couldn't just draw conclusions based on what he saw in the game.
So Riel quickly believed the conclusion he reached through observation—it turns out Rinnascita is a matriarchal society!
Riel clicked his tongue in wonder upon discovering this. He had read many novels about female supremacy, like transmigrating into a Handsome Man pursued by various mature women and beautiful girls, which sounded exciting.
Eh—Riel suddenly noticed something!
He was currently a black dragon, and a pure black one at that—what if, just what if, if he could transform into human form, he wouldn't be a "Negro," would he?
That absolutely would not do!
At most, having some "Negro" racial talents would be somewhat acceptable… Bah! Does our dignified black dragon need Negro racial talents?!
Riel firmly believed that in the future, he would definitely be tall, handsome, mighty, and of normal skin color, capable of charming countless young maidens!
…