I find it very sacred to pick someone up and make them a saint.

The Temple Academy is located in the heart of the Imperial City.

Constructed with pure white marble and gilded lines, the central dome is inlaid with a pale blue divine crystal, symbolizing the presence of wisdom and divine revelation.

Compared to the Papacy and the royal estates, there were many more people outside the Academy of Scholars. People strolled leisurely in the square in front of the academy because it was closer to them and not as high and mighty as it seemed.

Mien changed his appearance and went out the door dressed as an ordinary scholar.

The warm sunshine bathed the capital, a gentle breeze carried the fragrance of flowers and bread, and the wind chimes on the eaves tinkled softly. The entire city was bright, clean, prosperous, and peaceful.

Mien weaved through the bustling crowd, boarded a carriage, and headed towards the edge of the capital.

He was not afraid of his own safety. As the chief scholar, he also possessed the power of a 7th-level mage, which was enough to deal with most enemies.

Unless some faction within the empire has gone mad, no one will deliberately come to fight him.

The power in this world can be roughly divided into nine levels, as well as "transcendent" power above level nine.

As a seventh-tier mage, Mien already possessed the highest combat strength in the entire Academy.

There's nothing we can do about it. On the one hand, scholars learn everything, so how could they possibly compete with others who specialize in the most efficient way?

On the other hand, the Academy of Scholars also lacks a systematic armed force, does not conduct centralized training, and is not responsible for combat, so its combat strength naturally improves slowly.

As the carriage slowly drove away from the city center, the scenery of the capital gradually changed.

Besides the streets becoming increasingly poor and dilapidated, what's more noticeable is the growing 'quietness'.

Mien has been resurrected in this world for fifty years, and has witnessed the empire's glory and the changes that followed.

As for the people of the empire, besides being pulled away from prosperity and living in increasing poverty, what are their feelings?

It wasn't anger, it wasn't madness, but rather—sadness.

This is the atmosphere that Mien can always vaguely sense from the town's streets and alleys, and it's also the reason why the surroundings are becoming increasingly quiet.

The former glory of the Cassirer Empire is beyond doubt. Mien, who knows the history of continental civilization by heart, knows that this is a miracle that has not been seen in thousands of years.

Even now, it remains the most powerful empire, and that glory seems to continue to this day.

So, if the Cassirer Empire has no hope, where else can there be hope?

All that remains is sorrow.

As the street scenes flashed by and changed, the number of homeless people gradually increased.

Mien understood even more now what people longed for the Holy Maiden of Light.

Although the existence of the "weak" saintess could not guide them to a more hopeful path, it could at least cast a ray of light on the gloom in their hearts.

This is exactly what they desperately need.

Suddenly, before they even reached Iron Can Street, the carriage slowed down and stopped by the roadside.

The coachman scratched his head and looked at Mien apologetically: "Sir, I heard there's a plague outbreak over there."

Mien shrugged helplessly. Why didn't they say so before we left? Probably because they saw me as a young man dressed as a scholar.

It seems that college students are the most bullied in any world.

Mien didn't care. He took the opportunity to survey the surrounding environment, paid the money, and walked towards the Iron Can Street.

Even from a distance from Tin Can Street, the surrounding area was already increasingly desolate. Although the plague had never spread beyond the street, those who could move away had already done so.

Even so, many people who couldn't move away still remain in Tin Can Street.

Mien carefully sensed his surroundings, but he could not detect any energy flow.

He raised his left hand, where a clear, transparent crystal was on the ring, without the slightest ripple.

Could it really be, as Professor Phyllis said, that this is just a natural disease phenomenon?

He planned to continue walking into the street.

Just then, Mien suddenly stopped.

Before even entering Iron Can Street, just a few dozen meters away on the roadside, there was a large tattered cloth wrapped around something, all rolled up in a ball.

Mien slowly walked over and saw a girl curled up beside a dilapidated street wall and on the muddy ground.

Her jet-black hair almost blended into the tattered cloth, her hands clutching the edges of the cloth in front of her chest, her head buried in the fabric.

She tightly wrapped her thin body in rags, but some of her fair calves and bare feet were still exposed.

Their young faces, hair, and exposed bodies were all covered in mud.

With her eyes closed, she seemed to have no strength left.

Although Mien didn't raise his hand to look, he already knew that a resonance had occurred in the crystal on his left-hand ring, with light energy gathering and flowing.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Lucia had left Tin Can Street just two days ago.

She was an orphan from a young age and never knew who her parents were.

Despite being very young, they worked hard enough to earn a living.

Lucia had sold newspapers, washed dishes, and done odd jobs since she was a child. Her income was meager and unstable, but at least she managed to survive.

Lucia watched the neighbor's children carrying their bags to school, but she wasn't envious, because that wasn't her life.

In her life, she has already been fortunate enough to have a stable source of food and a warm bed through her own hard work and sweat.

The sudden arrival of the plague destroyed everything in Tin Can Street and also turned Lucia's life upside down.

She gradually lost her livelihood, and people around her moved away one after another, but Lucia didn't know where else she could move to.

They had no choice but to work even harder, several times more, to earn just enough to survive.

Without purpose or ideas, I just bury myself in dealing with the things in front of me and try to live one more day.

She didn't know how long she lived like this, but in her dazed state, an ulcer appeared next to her left eye, which scabbed over and then bled.

Lucia didn't know if she had contracted the plague; she only knew that her body was getting weaker and weaker.

Even the food they had managed to get through the hard-won negotiations was hard to eat.

After several days without food, the starving Lucia left Tin Can Street and collapsed by the roadside.

Feeling that her life was about to come to an end, Lucia had few emotions or thoughts.

This is the life of someone like me, to live like this and die like this, a predetermined fate.

In a daze, she vaguely heard footsteps approaching her, but she ignored them.

I'm too exhausted to care anymore.

"Hello," Mien said.

The first thing Mien saw was the girl's hostile eyes.

Despite her weakness, she made her stance clear.

Lucia instinctively felt that the person who came to find her at this time must not be a good person.

Especially after she opened her eyes and vaguely saw the person in front of her dressed elegantly and neatly,

He used all his remaining strength to project out all his hatred for the nobility.

Mien roughly understood the meaning in the other person's eyes, but didn't care.

Instead, he extended his right hand, and a bright energy of light surged forth, enveloping and entwining the girl's body.

"Just as I expected." Mien smiled inwardly as he felt the flow of energy.

After the holy light enveloped the homeless girl's body, it slowly began to take root.

It was as if this body possessed some kind of attraction, making one want to merge with it.

"—Light Resonance Level: 82%"

ha?

Mien was surprised. Wasn't the Vatican searching the entire country for talented girls? What was the situation with the girl in front of him?

On second thought, I realized that the "nationwide" search hadn't found this place.

Lucia witnessed a divine light she had never seen before in her life.

Suddenly they appeared before her, surrounding her.

Did she think she was dreaming?

Or has he already gone to heaven?

She couldn't help but open her eyes wide, slightly open her mouth, and her eyes trembled slightly beneath the frost.

Under the cover, she gradually regained her spirit and consciousness, and her vision became clear again.

The figure that came into view was not a grotesque nobleman with a huge stomach, but a clean-cut young man dressed in scholar's robes.

He didn't smile at me with ill intent like those other people; he just looked at me seriously.

Instinct told her that the other person was not a bad person.

Lucia instantly realized what was happening around her.

Is this... magic?!

He was saving himself.

Is he some kind of clergyman or a member of the Academy?

To save her at the behest of the legendary Goddess of Light?

In Lucia's mind, these people were from a completely different world from her, and they would never cross paths with her in her lifetime.

She couldn't help but wonder if she was really dreaming.

"Hello...you..."

In shock, the tattered cloth tightly wrapped around his body loosened slightly, revealing the worn-out thin cloth garment underneath.

Lucia's delicate and pretty face was fully revealed. Her eyes were wide open in a daze, her black hair draped over her face. She looked at Mien with a bewildered expression.