This necromancer is going to seduce the beautiful girls who are already dead.

"Huh?" Flora's eyes widened in surprise, then she tried to reach out her hand to the zombies kneeling solemnly in front of her, reciting a string of melodious prayers.

A sun seemed to emanate from her palm, its blinding golden light instantly illuminating the entire room and evaporating the dust and cobwebs. A heart-warming sensation astonished Flora. The zombies raised their heads, their faces filled with joy. Their bodies rapidly dissolved into ashes under Flora's powerful divine magic, countless golden specks rising from the ashes and disappearing into the air.

“Welcome back, Saintess Flora.” Abyss winked at Flora. “You are still the most outstanding divine mage on the continent.”

Chapter Ten: This Saintess is clearly incredibly strong, yet excessively weak.

Under Flora's holy light, not only did the zombies on the ground turn to ashes and their souls find peace, but even the dust inside the house was cleansed. The golden light continued to linger in the house even after Flora stopped casting the spell, illuminating the unlit hall. A faint hymn echoed in their ears. Only the armor and clothing the mercenaries had worn remained on the ground, along with Reiner's torn corpse—even that corpse was cleansed by the powerful force of the holy light, the bloodstains and the filth expelled by fear all disappearing.

Flora looked at her hands in surprise. She had thought that she would no longer be able to use divine magic after becoming an undead—and that was the case. No matter what kind of divine magic it was, it was very effective against undead. In dealing with naturally occurring undead and eliminating necromancers, the priests in the Holy See who could use divine magic had always considered themselves a professional team. The reason was simple: they only needed to cast a divine spell on an undead, and the undead would be harmed naturally. The higher-level undead were just more tenacious.

In game terms, divine magic will inflict unavoidable true damage on the undead.

However, this ironclad rule, which was recognized by the Vatican and everyone else, was broken in the Abyss.

Seeing the smile on Abyss's face, Flora quickly asked, "Why am I not harmed? Why is your necromancy different from that of ordinary necromancers?"

“Once you understand the principle behind how divine magic harms the undead, it’s easy to understand.” Abyss poked Flora’s palm, which had just released holy light, with his finger. “Divine magic guides the power of the gods through prayer to create magical effects. Its essence is the power of the world’s origin. Ordinary undead, on the other hand, are the dead who should not be resurrected. They are beings that violate the rules of the world. When they come into contact with the power of the origin, they will be automatically corrected by the power of the origin and thus suffer unavoidable damage.”

"Then haven't I broken the rules of the world?" Flora asked, puzzled. "I'm also an undead. My heart isn't beating, and my blood isn't flowing, but I can still move freely."

“I awakened you using the power of the world’s origin.” Abyss spread his hands. “The world’s origin does not correct its own creations, which means I took advantage of a loophole.”

"You also know divine magic?" Flora looked at Abyss in shock.

“I chatted with the spirit of a priest from the Vatican. He taught me everything he had learned, and with his knowledge, I even accidentally touched the realm of the gods and took a trip around the divine realm.” Abyss’s expression was casual, as if he had just spent a day playing in the nearby garden.

Flora was somewhat incredulous, but still asked expectantly, "Could you tell me about the nine gods? I'm very curious!" After witnessing so many impossible things happen, Flora had developed an instinctive trust in the Abyss's ability to create miracles. This short day had been even more colorful and exciting than a year of her life.

“They’re just a bunch of laborers, like the janitors in a tavern,” Abyss said. “If you’re interested, I’ll tell you all about it on the way. Now, why don’t you try some other divine magic? I saw how happy you were after you used it. Besides, I’d like to see just how powerful the legendary Saintess Flora really is.”

Despite Abyss's composed demeanor, he remained intensely interested in Flora's abilities. His necromancy was formidable, but Flora's divine magic was nearly as powerful.

It's important to understand that the Holy Light spell Flora just used was only the most basic one. An ordinary sorcerer using it would at most sting an enemy's eyes, the light source about the size of a rugby ball. But Flora's attack had completely cleaned the entire house. Abyss secretly glanced at the windows; the once dilapidated windows were now gleaming. This astonishing effect far exceeded any practical application.

Flora nodded and began reciting the melodious prayer again. It was a language with fancy pronunciation and beautiful tones, used specifically for praying to the gods. It was said to have been passed down from the first human to communicate with the gods in ancient times. It was very difficult to learn, and only priests and other high-ranking clergy of the Holy See were qualified to learn it.

Her entire body emitted a dazzling golden light, and an invisible wave suddenly emanated from her, sweeping across everything around her at an extremely fast speed.

"Oh!" Flora was startled by her own reaction. "I just wanted to use a small-scale divine spell..."

“Congratulations, the radius of your divine spell just now was at least one hundred kilometers.” Abyss clapped his hands lightly. “It was a basic level of meditation, right? Based on my experience, the residents of nearby villages and cities should stop having nightmares for a few months. The security in the city will be much better.”

"You felt it?" Flora's face turned a little red. She was also a little surprised that her blood was not flowing, so why was she blushing? "I saw that you were very angry just now, so I wanted to use a calming spell to make you feel better."

"With your concern, I won't be angry anymore. Right now, I'm as calm as the skull of a rock troll." Abyss laughed and couldn't help but reach out and touch Flora's hair.

Flora instinctively reached out to stop him, but she didn't dislike the feeling of Abyss's soft, slightly cool fingers brushing against her hair.

"I think I haven't used divine magic in a long time, and I'm having trouble controlling the scale now," Flora said apologetically. "I got a little too carried away just now."

"Go ahead and be as smug as you want in front of me." Abyss walked to Reiner's corpse, bending down to pick up a severed hand that had been cleansed by holy light from the ground, and said to Flora, "I've read your story. You were chosen as the successor to the sainthood when you were three years old, entered the Holy See for your education, took office at the age of twelve, and died at the age of seventeen—in other words, your childhood and adolescence must have had little freedom, right?"

"Huh? Is...is that so..."

“Now you are no longer the Holy Maiden of the Holy See, you are my Flora, my servant.” Abyss grabbed the severed hand, handed it a charcoal pencil, and then took out the previous letter of authorization from his pocket. The severed hand automatically signed its name on the letter of authorization. “So you are free. In front of me, you can be willful and act spoiled. You have the right and the power to fulfill your own wishes.”

"Oh...really...?"

“I have no reason to lie to you.” Abyss turned back and smiled at Flora. “But speaking of which, could your divine magic conjure up a box of inkpads? I’d like to have Reiner’s hand leave a fingerprint on the commission form so I can collect my reward from the guild.”

"No...no..." Flora was bewildered by the sudden change of topic.

Chapter Eleven: Suddenly Became Rich

“Yes, the client’s signature and fingerprint are here, so your mission reward is valid. If you two want to collect your reward right now, I can go to the back and collect the money the client deposited here—of course, after deducting the 5% service fee plus the cost of the tables and chairs you broke, totaling 18,400 Imperial Coins.” The receptionist carefully reviewed the commission form, then looked up at Abyss and Flora and said, “If you don’t need it immediately, you can come and collect it at any time. We will start charging storage fees after one month.”

“We need it now, just take it out.” Abis looked at Flora beside him. “We’ll be leaving this city soon.”

“Of course.” The receptionist nodded, then suddenly asked before putting the authorization form away, “May I ask a question? Mr. Reiner’s fingerprint is indeed his, but why is the ink used green?”

Abis, sucking on his finger, thought for a moment and replied, "Well... because Mr. Reiner is a person who really loves nature, and he loves the green of leaves."

Of course, he couldn't tell the receptionist that the inkpad was actually made from verdigris scraped off an abandoned chandelier in the room. He also didn't find any inkpad or anything like that on Reiner—which made sense, since Reiner had no plans to let anyone leave alive, so there was no need to prepare inkpad for someone to take back and exchange for a reward.

The receptionist's eyes were still a little suspicious, but having dealt with all sorts of strange mercenaries for years, he didn't say anything and quickly took out a bag of coins from behind him.

Imperial coins are white copper coins in various denominations, with the largest being one thousand. Eighteen thousand four hundred imperial coins isn't actually a large amount, and they're very convenient to carry. Of course, if the owner is careless, losing just one would be enough to make him cry for a month. This city is relatively wealthy, and there are quite a few thieves on the streets; anyone without some skill wouldn't dare to carry so much money around recklessly.

Flora stole a glance at the mercenaries drinking inside the guild. These guys were a stark contrast to their previous rudeness; they were all laughing and chatting happily, some even sleeping peacefully on the table. There were no harsh curses, and no one was seen carelessly tossing their glasses around. Abyss hadn't lied to her; the tranquility spell she had casually used earlier had finally brought peace to these mercenaries who had lived on the edge of death.

“The amount is fine, Flora, let’s go.” Abyss patted Flora on the shoulder at this moment. “What, do you want to drink some ale? I’ll take you to a nice hotel.”

“Oh, no, I find it interesting to see these mercenaries affected by the meditation spell,” Flora said as she followed Abyss outside.

Abyss glanced back at the mercenaries who were drinking obediently: "Ha, these people who make money with blood on their hands all year round are not very clean, and most of them are not mentally sound. You did a good thing. They may never forget these few months of good temper for the rest of their lives."

Flora smiled happily and tugged at Abyss's hem: "When I was still a saint, I loved seeing people like this, so peaceful and happy."

"I don't particularly like seeing people happy; I prefer people to be quiet and peaceful."

"That's the same as being dead!" Flora retorted.

“Dead people are so much better. They’re quiet, they don’t have as many desires as the living, and they don’t scheme.” Abyss rolled his eyes. “If I had to choose, dead people would be better, dead people would be better.”

"Don't talk about that! Whether you're dead or alive, it's all the same!" Flora said coquettishly, tugging at Abyss's hem twice. "Shall we set off now?"

Looking at Flora, who was now able to act coquettishly towards him, Abis seemed very pleased. He reached out and patted Flora's head again: "No, let's find a hotel, rest for the night, and then tomorrow morning, I'll take you to buy some clothes. Let's leave here in new clothes."

"Hmm? I already have new clothes. Don't you like this outfit?" Flora asked curiously, lifting the hem of her skirt. "I actually quite like white dresses."

“Of course not. It’s hard to find a girl with a more perfect figure than you on this continent. You look good in anything.” Abyss shook his head. “However, I just bought this outfit on a whim. It’s a typical style for ordinary girls. It looks out of place on you in this adventure outfit. I’m planning to buy you a mage’s robe. You know a little magic, right? You’ll look quite professional in it. Mage’s robes also have hoods, which will make it easier for you to hide your face.”

Flora thought about it and realized that it made sense. Not only was the style of the mage's robe very suitable for women, but the hood on it could also be worn to cover most of the face when needed—many mages had a habit of covering their faces so that only their mouths were visible.

“And there’s one more important thing,” Abyss said. “I’m hungry. Don’t forget I was a human before I was a necromancer.”

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't feeling hungry right now, so I forgot you needed to eat too!" Flora apologized hastily.

Abis waved his hand to signal Flora not to take it to heart, and then led Flora to find an inn.

With money in hand, things became much easier, and Abyss and Flora lavishly checked into one of the city's more upscale hotels. As a spirit, Flora didn't need to sleep. Although Abyss wanted to book two rooms so Flora could also lie down and rest, Flora made it clear that she didn't want to be alone or lying down anymore. She had been lying alone in her coffin for forty years and really didn't want to experience that loneliness again.

So, after finishing his meal, Abyss lay in bed, while Flora sat in a chair in the room, flipping through the local history and culture brochures provided by the hotel to learn about the changes in the world, and thus spent the night.

The next day, as dawn broke, Abyss, who was in a light sleep in bed, opened his eyes.

Flora immediately noticed Abyss's movements and asked softly, "Abyss, are we leaving?"

"Okay, get ready, we're about to leave." Abis nodded. "The clothing store should be about to open soon, let's get there early, I don't want to get too close to other customers."

“Okay, I’ll go downstairs to the counter to get my deposit back!” Flora nodded immediately and stood up from her chair.

"Thank you for your hard work." Abis nodded, then went to wash his face.

Flora left the room, and before she even reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard a commotion coming from downstairs.

"Sir Paladin...we cannot disclose our guests' information so casually..."

"All I need to answer is this: has a man ever walked into your store with a very pretty blonde girl who seemed a bit dazed and shy, and afraid of the light?"

"No, that's not true... but as for the blonde girl, one did check in yesterday..."

Chapter Twelve: The Ridiculous Will of God

Flora immediately realized what had happened upon hearing the conversation. She stopped and, before the people downstairs could see her, stood on the stairs and listened quietly to their conversation.

"Oh? What kind of blonde?" The paladin's voice was deep and resonant, as if he were wearing a helmet.

"Hmm... I don't remember her very well, but she was a very pretty blonde girl who looked quite energetic." The shop owner's voice carried a hint of embarrassment. "She was brought here by a man... but I was quite sleepy at the time, so I don't remember what he looked like..."

"No need for recollections, take us up," the paladin commanded.

"Isn't that inappropriate?" the shopkeeper immediately refused. "Our inn is a high-class hotel. If we disturb our guests, our reputation will spread, and our business will suffer in the future."

“Very well, so you must be looking forward to seeing your whole family tied to the stake a week from now.” The paladin’s voice began to turn dangerous. “Use your pig brain to think, you idiot. Don’t forget what the Papacy is. The Papacy is not a servant to idiots like you. We are God’s representatives! I can’t tell you who we’ve found. You just need to know that those two are enemies of God. If you don’t cooperate, you are disrespecting God’s will. We have never liked people who disrespect God to live in this world.”

The shopkeeper paused for a moment, then said, "Sir Knight, I'm sorry, I was very rude. I'll take you to find them right away."

"That's more like it. If you dare to spout nonsense to us again, I'll tear your dog mouth apart with my own hands."

Upon hearing this, Flora immediately ran upstairs. She was very light and ran without making any noise, so she didn't attract the attention of the people downstairs.

She rushed into the house and immediately saw Abyss wiping his face with a wet towel. She quickly said, "Abyss! The Vatican is secretly looking for us! They're coming up!"

Abyss raised his head: "What's wrong? What's there to be afraid of? I didn't sense that even half of the people who came here know divine magic."

"Huh? Aren't you afraid?" Flora was taken aback.

"Wait a minute, some soup got on my face last night, I need to wipe it off." Abyss didn't care at all that the paladins, who were going upstairs and whose armor was clattering, were patiently wiping their chins, using the hotel's glass windows as mirrors.

boom!

The door was kicked open, and a group of fully armed paladins rushed in, followed by the shopkeeper who looked resentful.

"Papal Knights of the Holy See, ordered to search! Come over here immediately for inspection!" the leading paladin shouted. He was wearing full armor with exquisite patterns, carrying a slender two-handed sword on his back. His body was engulfed in raging flames of battle aura, showing that he had a high level of skill in battle aura and was also a high-ranking paladin in the Holy See.

"Go home," Abyss said indifferently, without even glancing at him. A barely perceptible magical fluctuation quietly spread out.

All the paladins shuddered in unison. The leading paladin suddenly turned around and shouted, "We've checked. The person we're looking for isn't here. Let's go!"

"Yes!" The other paladins, ignoring the sleeping guests inside the inn, answered loudly in unison, then turned and left without hesitation, disappearing from the inn in the blink of an eye, their footsteps gone.

"Boss, don't leave yet. Give us our deposit back. We're heading out." Abyss finally wiped his face clean and said to the somewhat bewildered boss who was still standing at the door.

The boss's expression was complicated. On one hand, he was surprised that the Abyss had driven away the paladins with just one sentence, and on the other hand, he felt a sense of relief that the Abyss had directly driven away the paladins.

“Your deposit is ten Imperial Coins, and I’ll return it to you now.” The shopkeeper nodded, stepped forward, and placed a ten-Imperial-Coin coin on the table. “Thank you for helping me get rid of the paladin. Although I don’t know who you are, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Why are paladins so tyrannical these days?” Flora suddenly asked. “I remember that paladins used to call themselves guardians of good people and wouldn’t use torture to punish believers.”

"That was so long ago." The shopkeeper listened to the sounds downstairs and, making sure the paladin was gone, said somewhat indignantly, "I was just a child when that paladin never harmed anyone. The pope at that time was Hendrik III, who allocated the papacy's funds to education, opening schools in major cities of the Western Empire to educate children for free, and even spending money to help artisans and small merchants who went bankrupt due to unforeseen circumstances. Everyone loved him. Where could you find a paladin like that back then?"