After going into the sea, I met the witch.

Ryan voiced his doubts about the "Golden Race," and Freya explained:

"The division of the Golden Race actually dates back to an even earlier era."

"Back then, the gods resided high in the sky, and the various races were divided into four levels from highest to lowest: gold, silver, bronze, and iron. It is said that even newborn babies of the gold race possessed strength comparable to a third-tier professional. At that time, humans were merely the lowest-ranking iron race."

"A newborn baby comparable to a third-tier professional?!" Ryan's pupils widened slightly: "Isn't that a bit too exaggerated?"

“It’s not an exaggeration at all.” Frey shook her head: “The number of Golden Race members is quite small. If a member is weak, they don’t deserve the title of Golden Race.”

"But times have changed. With the arrival of the Golden Age, the racial hierarchy has gradually been forgotten. After all, as long as one follows the twelve paths of the Golden Law step by step, even the Iron race has the opportunity to reach the pinnacle that only the Golden race could ever achieve in the past."

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Since Cecilia is alright, let's find a place to stay on the island first." Freyne looked at Ryan: "I'll have to trouble you this time, Mr. Ryan. I need you to go and find out some information about the 'Black Cat Fortune Telling House' that the Blood Witch mentioned."

“The way Cecilia and I look right now is really attracting a lot of attention…” A hint of trouble appeared on Freyne’s face.

After advancing to the second tier, even if the witch covers her face and hides her hair, her unique mysterious and profound aura will inevitably attract a lot of attention whenever she appears on the street.

As for Cecilia, she was even more outrageous.

With her long silver hair, pale silver eyes, cool temperament, and tall figure, she has an almost irresistible effect on most men, and her head-turning rate is definitely over 99%, if not 100%.

Ryan glanced at the two women and knew this was no small problem.

It wouldn't matter at sea, but on a populated island, the presence of two women would almost certainly expose them.

“Leave it to me,” Ryan said.

Chapter 110 The Libra Cult and the Witch Melloi

Santos is a small country built on an island.

Despite its small land area, Santos is by no means weak in terms of national strength.

"Sir, look ahead, that's the iconic building of our Saint Tos—the Tower of Libra, the main church of the state religion of Saint Tos—the Holy Church of Libra."

A boy of about twelve years old, dressed in slightly worn linen clothes, walked in front of Ryan and led the way, pointing to the tall building that stood in the center of the city, more than a hundred meters high, and introduced it with a proud look on his face.

The boy's name was "Jora". He was a homeless boy living in the outer city of "Santos City". He made a living by doing dirty and hard work and also worked part-time as a guide for "outsiders" like Ryan.

“The Tower of Libra…The Holy Church of Libra…” Ryan nodded thoughtfully.

After finding a suitable spot in a rocky cave by the beach as their temporary residence, Ryan bid farewell to the two women and traveled alone to the only city on the island—Santos City.

Santos consists of only one city, Santos City, with villages scattered around it.

After paying the entrance fee, Ryan entered the city of Saint Tos. As an outsider, the guards didn't even bother to check the wanted posters posted at the city gate and let him through directly. This made Ryan realize that on this island far from the mainland, the wanted posters issued by the mainland countries were practically useless.

To get a feel for the city as quickly as possible, Ryan hired a "little guide".

From him, Ryan gradually learned about the general situation of Saint Tos.

Santos is a country that is somewhat special.

It is not a system where royal power is supreme, but rather where divine power and royal power coexist, and the representative of divine power is the Libra Church.

This was the first church organization that Ryan learned about after arriving in this world. With the end of the God Era, most of these religious organizations that depended on the gods had disappeared, and those that remained were all extremely low-key.

Religions as "high-profile" as the Libra Church are extremely rare, which is of course related to the unique nature of the Libra Church.

The doctrine of the Libra Church is simple: "Everything follows the principle of equivalent exchange; the divine scales weigh everything."

According to the Libra Church, everything in the world has a standard of measurement. As long as one pays a sufficient price, namely gold pounds, even the most vicious pirates can enjoy all the services in the city of Santos, and can even have clergy pray and chant for them.

What seems utterly absurd and outrageous to other religious organizations is perfectly normal within Santos.

Even if something truly immeasurable happens, one can pay the price and use the "Divine Scales" for judgment before the sanctuary of the Libra Church.

"The sacred scales weigh everything" is never just empty talk.

As a result, Santos gradually became one of the supply bases for many pirates in the inland sea area, and its economy became increasingly prosperous.

This situation made Ryan secretly complain to himself – isn't this just a profit-making organization that adheres to the principle of money above all else, called a religion but in essence a group of people with intertwined interests?

Ryan didn't comment too much on the situation of "Saint Toth"; its existence was its own justification. His purpose for this trip was to first check out the "Black Cat Fortune Teller's House" in the outer city, then go to the shipyard to find a suitable small boat, and visit the famous blacksmith shop in the city.

For Freyne, who made her fortune by "stealing ships," buying a large ship was undoubtedly the "worst" option. The best way, of course, was to directly steal a large ship. However, before stealing a large ship, it was also necessary to find a suitable small ship.

Although she was a pirate, Freya considered herself a "reasonable" pirate. She didn't rob just any ship; she would at least wait until the other party showed hostility before robbing it, so that it would be legitimate.

Ryan strongly agreed with this approach.

“I heard there’s a ‘Black Cat Fortune Telling House’ in the outer city. Take me there to check it out,” Ryan said to Jorah, the little guide leading the way.

"Black Cat Fortune Telling House..." To Ryan's surprise, Jorah hesitated upon hearing these words: "Sir, I still suggest you don't go."

“A few days ago, the owner of the ‘Black Cat Fortune Telling Shop’, ‘Sister Meloye,’ was taken away by the Libra Knights. Although we don’t know the specific reason, anything related to the Libra Knights is never a small matter.”

"The Libra Knight? He's been taken away?" Ryan frowned slightly.

“Yes.” The little guide Jorah noticed Ryan’s pale face and quickly said, “The Libra Knights are a violent organization of the Libra Holy Church. They are usually only mobilized for major events. So far, I have not heard of any people who have been taken away by the Libra Knights ever returning.”

"Although Sister Méloye is taciturn and never shows her face, I often see her helping homeless children. She's a good person, sigh..."

"Sir, you'd better not go. It would be troublesome if you got involved."

The young guide, Jorah, was very sincere.

After a moment's thought, Ryan said, "Take me there."

“You… sigh…” Jorah sighed, “I’ve already explained the pros and cons to you. Since you’ve still decided to go, I will lead the way, but I can only take you to the vicinity at most…”

“That’s enough.” Ryan nodded slightly.

When persuasion failed, the young guide Jora had no choice but to lead the way.

After a while, he pointed to a small wooden house with a cat's paw print on its signboard and said, "Sir, look, that's the 'Black Cat Fortune Telling House'."

Ryan looked in the direction the boy was pointing.

The small wooden house, nestled among the surrounding houses, was inconspicuous. If someone hadn't led the way, he would have had no idea that it was a fortune-telling house.

"Thank you." Ryan gave the boy a few pennies, and the boy hurriedly left after receiving the money, afraid of getting into any trouble.

After turning his gaze away from the boy's departing figure, Ryan surveyed his surroundings and, after confirming that there were no spiritual fluctuations, concealed himself and headed towards the black cat fortune-telling house from the shadows under the eaves.

The Black Cat Fortune Telling House is one of the branches of the "Witch's Guild". Logically speaking, it shouldn't have been that easy for something to happen to it. After all, the strength of a witch is not something that ordinary professionals can compare to.

Inside the Black Cat Fortune Teller's shop, Ryan is skeptical about whether the witch named "Melloi" was truly taken away by the Libra Knight.

Therefore, he plans to go and check out the surrounding area in person, and if it doesn't work out, he'll leave.

Although losing a location for gathering intelligence is a great pity, safety is the top priority for Ryan and his two companions right now.

Soon, Ryan arrived at the back of the Black Cat Fortune Teller's House. Just as he was about to climb in through the window, he suddenly sensed something and turned to look at the shadows in the corner.

There, a small black kitten lay in the shadows of the grass, silently gazing at him.

"Meow~"

After a soft meow, the little black cat turned around and ran away into the distance.

Seeing this, Ryan's eyes flickered, and he immediately gave chase.

In the chase, through twists and turns, Ryan soon arrived at a rather dilapidated and dark alley.

In front of him, the little black cat gracefully raised its furry paw and licked itself.

A cold dagger was pressed against Ryan's neck, accompanied by a chilling voice:

"Who are you? Why do you have such strong traces of magic on you?"

-

(I moved today, so there haven't been many updates. Sorry!)

Chapter 111 Holy Object

In the dimly lit alley, the black dagger reflected a faint light, and its piercing coldness left no doubt about its sharpness.

Hearing the cold voice behind him, Ryan smiled faintly.

"You're the manager of 'Black Cat Fortune Telling Shop,' Melloi?"

"Answer my question!" The person behind him didn't answer, but said in a cold tone. As she spoke, she prepared to slightly lower her dagger to warn the guy in front of her.

However, her attempt failed.

Without her noticing, two fingers gripped the black dagger, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move it an inch, as if what was gripping the dagger wasn't her fingers, but a heavy mountain.

Realizing something was wrong, the girl decisively abandoned her dagger and retreated, but Ryan was faster than her.

With a flash, Ryan appeared beside the girl, his dark dagger pressed against the delicate skin of her neck. With just a little force, blood would flow freely.

The girl was forced to stop, and only then did Ryan see her clearly.

She wore a tight-fitting black bodysuit that accentuated her long and slender figure.

To Ryan's surprise, the girl had faint lines on her cheeks, and her hands were not normal, but covered in soft black hair.

It looks more like a cat's paw than a human hand.

Cat girl?

Sensing the burgeoning spirituality within the girl, Ryan lowered his right hand and offered the dagger to the catgirl:

"Back to you."

"Besides, I have no ill intentions. I just learned about this branch of the 'Witch's Guild' from another witch, so I came to see if I could get any information help."

The dagger in Ryan's hand disappeared, and the catgirl retreated more than ten meters away, watching Ryan cautiously and warily. After a few seconds of silence, the girl spoke again, the coldness in her voice lessening considerably: "I can smell that you have a strong magical aura, which means you have had prolonged contact with witches recently."

"Tell me, where did you get the information about the 'branch location'?"

Ryan smiled: "The Blood Witch, Serena."

"Lady Serena?!" The catgirl's pupils dilated slightly, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes: "You, no, you know Lady Serena's whereabouts?"

"Indeed, you have a very faint scent on you, the scent of Lady Serena."

"Please tell me about Lady Serena. The guild has not been able to contact her for a very long time."

The catgirl became somewhat agitated.

Ryan sighed. "The last time I saw her was in the Whirlpool Islands. As for her now... I don't know."