Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath.
Clench your fists.
Resist the urge to violently beat this person.
"The term 'hundred-year-old loli'..." Nanako clenched her tiny fists and gritted her teeth, thinking to herself:
"No matter how many times I hear it, it still makes me angry!"
This infuriating two-faced disciple, she must find an opportunity to teach him a harsh lesson.
...
Half an hour later, deep in Winter Spring Valley.
Inside a magnificent and enormous palace, sacred light radiated from all directions. Walking within, one could even hear the echoing resonance throughout the vast hall.
Nanako walked ahead with her eyes closed, holding books in her arms.
Her long twin tails swayed up and down, floating as light as smoke.
[Isn't this the Sacred Veil? One of Winter Spring Valley's most mysterious places, accessible only to the Seven Stewards.]
[Why did my loli master bring me here?]
[Is this some kind of imprisonment play? That's... not appropriate... in such a sacred place...]
Nanako strongly resisted the urge to beat him, her ahoge angrily whipping through the air, but outwardly maintained her serene and dignified appearance.
Her purpose in bringing Lynn here was quite simple.
The Sacred Veil, one of Winter Spring Valley's most mysterious locations.
Only the Seven Stewards knew that beneath the Sacred Veil's great hall slumbered an ancient being.
It was the embodiment of sanctity, representing all light and purity in the world.
And its resting place had become the location with the most concentrated sacred energy in this world.
She brought Lynn here to see if he was truly as she suspected.
She turned slightly, watching Lynn from the corner of her eye.
"No signs of discomfort?"
"Not possessed by an evil spirit, nor a demon's projection?"
"Or perhaps his rank is too high, and there's no effect yet?"
She pondered while feeling very anxious.
In her heart, she truly didn't want her disciple of three years to be some kind of evil entity.
...
Soon.
They arrived at the central hall of the Sacred Veil.
Here, the sacred energy was almost tangible, with various holy light particles visible in the air, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
"Master? Why did you bring me here?"
Lynn looked around curiously and asked, "Isn't this place forbidden to ordinary disciples like me?"
[What is this long-haired loli up to?]
[Why has she been acting so strange lately? Looking so worried, is it menstrual problems?]
[Well... I guess irregular periods for a hundred-year-old loli would be pretty normal...]
Nanako: "???"
This damned disciple.
She really wanted to pin him down and beat him up!
Who has menstrual problems? Your whole family has menstrual problems!
This is infuriating!
Nanako forcefully suppressed her inner urges while secretly observing Lynn's facial expressions, and asked:
"Don't you feel anything special?"
Lynn rubbed his chin and smiled, "It feels warm and comfortable."
[Why does this place feel so familiar? It's like having fur stuffed in my mouth! I've definitely been here before!]
[Let me think, it feels like that fellow's aura, I remember meeting it for the last time a thousand years ago...]
[But something's not right, that one should have been harvested by the gods...]
Nanako was instantly shocked.
Met a thousand years ago?
That fellow? Who?
Harvested by the gods?
Nanako immediately felt she might have stumbled upon some terrifying information.
Could her disciple really have lived for over a thousand years?
She forcefully suppressed her heart's trembling and said seriously:
"Disciple, Master brought you here to seek the Sacred Sovereign's blessing for you."
"This way, even if your aptitude isn't high, you can still gain strong affinity with holy magic."
This was one of the privileges of the Seven Stewards, and also an agreement between Winter Spring Valley and that being.
As one of the Seven Stewards, requesting the Sacred Sovereign's blessing could only be done once in a lifetime, and she had considered it for a long time before making this decision.
If there really was some evil entity within her disciple, the Sacred Sovereign could help purify it.
If not.
Having the Sacred Sovereign's blessing would definitely be something others could only dream of.
This was both for Winter Spring Valley and for him.
A win-win situation.
"Sacred blessing?" Lynn asked puzzled, "Master, are you running a fever? Is it really okay to waste such a privilege on me?"
[Holy crap, is loli master serious about this?]
[But I have to say, I'm really touched, loli master really treats me well as her disciple!]
[Though my holy affinity is already maxed out, more is always better.]
[Could it be that loli master has fallen in love with me? Possible, after all, I'm so handsome...]
Nanako: "???"
How annoying! This damned disciple has so many thoughts!
Falling in love with you? Being narcissistic? She really wanted to hit him!
She gritted her teeth.
However, she was puzzled to find that her disciple showed no fear or discomfort. Had she guessed wrong?
She frowned slightly, becoming increasingly curious about her disciple's true identity.
Soon, she let out a disappointed sigh.
Anyway, as long as he wasn't possessed by an evil spirit or a demon's projection, everything would be fine...
"Stay here and wait a moment, Master will go seek the Sovereign's blessing."
Nanako stood proudly, walked to the center of the hall, and began preparing the ritual, drawing sacred magic circles.
Seeing the magic circle, Lynn's expression grew increasingly puzzled and strange.
[This sacrificial ritual... damn, it looks so familiar, could it really be that one?]
Then he watched.
Nanako crossed her hands over her chest, closed her eyes, and assumed a prayer position.
"O Sacred and Pure Sovereign..."
"Supreme Being of all worldly purity..."
"By the covenant of Winter Spring Valley..."
"I, Nanako, beseech your awakening, pray for your sacred blessing..."
In an instant.
The magic circle before Nanako suddenly lit up, and the sacrificial items she offered instantly transformed into points of light and vanished.
In the haziness, the entire hall was engulfed by a storm of sacred energy.
The next moment.
Before them, an enormous ball of light appeared, too bright to look at directly.
The sacred light was incredibly dazzling.
Within the light ball, they could vaguely see the silhouette of a tall, winged beast.
"Tiny human." A voice devoid of emotion echoed throughout the hall.
"I awaken in response to your covenant. Speak, for whom do you seek blessing?"
Kneeling there, Nanako's whole body trembled as she tried to steady herself.
This was the Sacred Sovereign.
The ancient holy spirit slumbering beneath the Sacred Veil.
This was the existence closest to divinity.
She immediately bowed her head, humble and devout: "Great Sacred Sovereign, in the name of the Seven Stewards, I request your blessing for my humble disciple, to remove all illness and evil entities from him, and grant him the most sacred blessing."
Lynn stood there with a strange expression.
However, because Nanako had her eyes closed and was trembling all over, she didn't notice Lynn's expression.
After a brief silence of several seconds.
That indifferent voice spoke.
"Covenant accepted, I accept your prayer."
Then the magnificent figure in the light screen turned around, covering Lynn with its boundless will.
"..."
"..."
A brief silence.
One could vaguely see the figure in the light screen suddenly freeze in place.
The next moment.
"What the actual f*ck!!!"
An incredibly shocked voice instantly came from the light screen, completely lacking its previous indifferent tone.