I was accidentally injured by God and I just want to be an ordinary person

Seeing the old man with a large emerald inlaid on the crown nod, the old man who spoke first, the Pope of the Church of Enstarnit, tapped the ground with his staff. Although nothing like a miracle appeared, everyone could see that the old man was exuding unquestionable majesty.

"Well, let's talk about the Undead Lord. Lify, how are things going over there?"

Pope Enstanit's words made the other old man frown. The name Lifei had been abandoned when he became Pope. So even though he was Pope Hikalite and was a close friend of Pope Enstanit, using a nickname in the Sanctuary would inevitably make him dissatisfied.

"Theria, be aware of your identity."

"Hahaha, aren't you calling me by that name too?"

The old man who had previously exuded majesty suddenly lost his aura. Apart from his gorgeous clothes, he looked no different from an ordinary old man.

"This is a return gift. After all, this is the Holy Land. As the Pope of Enstarnit, if you behave like this here, wouldn't it be considered disrespectful if the One and Only God saw you?"

"Hmm... the One and Only God..."

Lify's words made Pope Enstanit pause. His voice suddenly became a little lower, and he came closer to Lify with an extremely serious expression.

"Honestly, I think the rumors about the One and Only God communicating with us were completely fabricated by the previous Pope. I've been in the Sanctuary for so long and have tried everything, but even in my dreams, I've never seen the One and Only God..."

"You know what you're saying, right? If the believers hear you, it wouldn't be surprising if you were stabbed to death."

"Hehe, Lify, don't you think so too? If you also believe that the One and Only God can hear our conversation, you should pick up the staff and hit me now instead of warning me, right?"

"you--"

Lify's eyes widened at his best friend's words, and he looked a little angry. But in fact, just as Theria said, Lify didn't believe that the One God would always monitor the world. Otherwise, many things would be impossible to explain. Although he was the Pope of the Church of Hikalite and should have a devout faith, the longer he lived and the more deeply he thought, the more incredible he felt that the One God's actions were. If he hadn't received oracles from his best friend every few years, he would even begin to doubt whether the One God really existed.

Such doubts were not only held by Lifei, the Pope of Hikalite, but also by Theria in front of him and another Pope who had not yet arrived.

Of course, the existence of these doubts does not mean that they are unqualified popes. Judging from their abilities and achievements alone, they can even be said to be some of the more outstanding popes in history. The evidence is that during the tenure of these three popes, there has never been a dispute over territorial issues in the Papal States. There are also many more believers than in previous years. The territory is peaceful and the cohesion is unprecedentedly strong. There is even a bard who described them as being only one major event away from the title of saint.

Not wanting to continue on this topic, Lify sighed.

"Forget it, let's not discuss meaningless things. We just need to take care of ourselves. Let's get back to the original topic. Regarding the Undead Lord, there's no movement from my side. Just like he said, he's just waiting to be defeated in the underground tower."

"Three months have passed, and there's still no action. Is what he said true?—that he was influenced by Saint Eve's magic, changing his will. After slumbering underground for years, he awakened and wanted to be purified. But because he couldn't find anyone to kill him, and wanted to be a stepping stone for others to level up, he deliberately hid in the underground tower waiting to be subdued... Is this a trick for children?"

"I know all this and have secretly sent people to investigate. The fact is, he did place undead in the underground tower with clear levels of hierarchy, as if to guide the people there to gradually level up. Apart from that, he didn't do anything else."

Because he really couldn't figure out the other party's true intentions, Li Fei's voice sounded like he was venting his inner anger.

Similarly, although the Undead Lord did not appear in his own territory, Tria was also very uneasy about it. On the surface, the damage to the Hikalite Church would not be a bad thing for him, but the fact was that if the Undead Lord devoured the Hikalite Church, then he would be the next to be threatened. Moreover, the church had the responsibility to fight against the common enemy of the continent, and this was not something that could be ignored.

Theresia frowned.

"So what do you think we should do? That guy is at least level 65. We've tried before, and even the combined strength of the three of us can't purify him. Even the strongest human, level 59, Lady Eve, had to sacrifice herself to seal him. It's definitely not possible with our strength alone, right?"

"Ah, yes."

They both sighed at the same time.

Of course, there are solutions here - spread the news and let stronger people come to attack, or ask for help from the nearby Holy Academy or the more distant demons and gods. However, these two solutions are only feasible in theory. Considering many practical factors, they will not work at all, or they will bring many other problems.

Firstly, spreading the news would make ordinary people uneasy. The Undead Monarch was a calamity that reached the pinnacle of legend three thousand years ago, and was every bit as dangerous as the Mark of Original Sin, or even more so. The Undead Monarch once commanded an army of undead to attack several countries simultaneously. If the news of "the existence of the Undead Monarch in the Papal States" were to spread, the consequence would likely be a large-scale exodus of the people from the Papal States to other places.

In that case, not only would the Papal States itself be severely damaged, but the people who moved to other countries would also cause many refugee problems - shortages of food, daily necessities, and housing would lead to rising crime rates and soaring prices, which would prompt neighboring countries to introduce policies to prevent the influx of refugees. Then, the refugees whose lives were threatened would clash with soldiers, and so on. These are all very normal things, and you can figure them out with just a little thought.

As for asking for help from other countries, it is even more impossible.

Firstly, asking for help would be very costly and would drain the national treasury. Secondly, to deal with the Undead Lord, even if the Undead Lord did not resist at all like he did when he first saw them, at least sixth-order sacred magic or seventh-order other magic would be needed. You must know that, except for the dragons and the gods, the ultimate magic of other races is only seventh-order, and this would require the use of legion-level magic casters to achieve this through chain chanting.

Taking a step back, if there is really a country willing to use this power to help the Papal States, not to mention the secondary disasters caused by magic, first of all, it is difficult to put so many people into the underground tower silently. Once the people know about it, they will definitely fall into the first dead end immediately, and it will be even more serious - asking other countries for help will make the people distrust their own country, which is almost a fatal blow to a religious country like the Papal States.

A series of thoughts made Theria sigh deeply.

"It would be nice if we could be a little higher level."

"Well, I really envy those who have endless lifespans."

"Don't say that. Isn't it because the Undead Lord feels he's lived too long, and Lady Eve has changed his mind, that he's asking us to destroy him?"

"...Indeed, now we can only hope that the Undead Lord's true intentions are as he claims, and that he wishes to be purified. Perhaps we should think positively."

Liffy gave a wry smile.

Theria also looked bitter about this.

"Isn't it our responsibility to assume the worst?"

"Ah, of course. I've already sent people to look for strong men and priests worth training."

"Same."

The two popes looked at each other again, and in their eyes, apart from the helplessness towards each other's tacit understanding, there was only bitterness and deep powerlessness.

*Genesis 6187 March 20th at 17:33, the Hikalite Church Hive

After arranging Lucia, Lintelina, and the others, Ella, having released herself from the Entarosfera state, returned to the hive.

"Ms. Ella!"

"Princess, welcome back."

Upon discovering Ella appearing under the hive, Lotte and Camisia immediately ran to Ella's side, along with their companions from the Branch of Disaster and the soldiers led by Sadler.

"Yeah, I'm back."

Without listening to Ella's words, Lotte kept checking Ella's body from left to right, as if to confirm whether Ella was injured, as if she was afraid of leaving any scars.

"Don't be so nervous, Lotte. I'm not in any trouble."

"Is that so... Miss Ella, I lost my composure."

After confirming that Ella was not injured, Lotte realized that she was standing in front of a stranger and immediately lowered her head in embarrassment and retreated to Camisia's side.

"Well, I'm happy that Lotte is like this."

"Ella-chan, who are those people behind you?"

Iris, who came with Camisia, took a step forward and looked at the girl in tattered clothes behind Ella.

"Eh? They're the girls I met on the road. Lucia told me they were saved from bandits by a mysterious man named Ntarosviel."

Ella replied to Iris without hesitation according to the answer she had discussed with Camisia via "message" on the way back. As for the specific process, she actually sent the girls to the fifth floor, very close to the hive, in the state of Entarosphiel. Then she let the girls walk a part of the way according to the predetermined route. Finally, she appeared at the intersection as Ella, pretending to be preparing to look for Lucia. In this way, everything was on track.

They fabricated the illusion that "Entarosphiel left on her own after rescuing the girls."

"Entarosviel? I've never heard of that name. Does Camisia know it?"

Ella's words made Iris raise an eyebrow and focus her attention on Camisia.

"I don't know. Even I've never heard of him."

Camisia shook her head with a serious expression.

Although Ella didn't ask Camisia to keep this a secret - Iris wasn't the type to tell secrets - Camisia had absolutely no intention of telling Iris. Later, Camisia reported to Ella that "a secret is a secret because the fewer people who know about it, the better," and "If Iris knew about it, she might use it as a handle to threaten the princess."

Of course, all of this was just Camisia's superficial rhetoric. In fact, the reason why Camisia didn't tell Iris the truth was very simple - it was a sense of superiority that came from "I am the only one who knows the princess's secret." It was just like some nobles going to the slums to give alms. It was not because the nobles themselves were kind-hearted, but because they wanted to see the eyes of the poor begging for them and the excitement after receiving it. That kind of unique sense of dignity will never get boring no matter how many times you experience it. For Camisia, who usually doesn't show much wisdom, which results in Ella relying on Iris, this is a feeling of secretly defeating the other party.

"Even Camisia doesn't know... But he was able to save so many girls by himself. He must be at least a quasi-hero, over level 40."

"Level 40!?"

Sadler, who had been standing next to everyone, exclaimed in surprise. The reason why he mobilized so many people to rescue Ella was because he didn't want someone like Ella who could help him defeat the undead to die. Now, a level 40 strong man appeared, which could really be called an unexpected surprise.

Sadler rubbed his hands and looked embarrassed.

"Ms. Ella, could you tell me the details of Entarosphiel?"

"I don't know about that. I just heard it from those girls."

Ella pointed to Lucia and Shizu who were hugging each other behind her. They were crying tears of emotion at their reunion.

"H-I see... Wait, are they all kidnapped hostages by bandits?"

"It seems so. Ntalosviel seems to have cleared all the bandits from the fifteenth floor. I heard from the girls that Ntalosviel had them gather the bandits together and then used teleportation magic to bring them here."

This was said in order to reveal the fact that the bandits had been emptied, so that Sadler would shift his attention from the girl to the bandits. As a lord, Sadler would definitely think of the property hidden by the bandits first. As long as it could be seized, even if he didn't keep it privately, taking it out would be something that would increase his own merits.

Of course, both the treasure pile and the stored grain are actually all lying in his own warehouse. According to the plan, he will visit Sadler with these in the form of Entalosfeil. In the identity of Entalosfeil, Sadler will definitely refuse to accept the supplies because he wants to do a favor to please Entalosfeil - all the supplies obtained from suppressing the bandits belong to the suppressors, and Sadler is very clear about this.

The reason why he needed to store food was very simple. These would be given to the girls as capital for their future lives.

"They actually wiped out all the bandits!?"

"Yes, Lord Sadler, these children are very tired. Can you let them rest in the hive for a while? They probably haven't adapted to life on the ground yet."

"Of course! Leave the remaining thieves to me. I will definitely avenge these girls!"

Excitement flashed across Sadler's face. Just as he had imagined, Sadler wanted to plunder the supplies left behind by the robbers. As for the robbers, he felt that if he left them on the fifteenth floor, they might be eaten by monsters and the undead later, so he had already moved them to the uninhabited area on the ground, and would take them with him when he visited Sadler.

「You actually used the word "revenge"... Don't make it sound like the girl here is dead! 」

After complaining in her heart, Ella smiled and nodded.

"Well, then I'll leave it to Lord Sadler."

With this sentence as the end, the team split into three groups - Ella briefly said a few words to the girls and then returned to the ground with her companions. The girls temporarily lived in Vita's House with the help of the maid dolls. As for Sadler, he led the army to attack the empty bandit village.

At this point, the matter of rescuing Lucia came to an end.

Chapter 67 Intermission

*Genesis 6187 March 30th 10:20 AM, Moarabi City Temporary Residence

It is now ten days after the robbery incident was resolved.

As expected, Sadler did not ask Entalosfel for the bandits' supplies. Not only that, Sadler also exchanged the bandits brought by Ella into gold coins according to the bounty amount and gave them to Ella. As for the future of those bandits, according to Sadler, except for the leader and several other cadres who would be publicly beheaded, everyone else would be demoted to slavery and sent to the mines. Although it sounds like a very dark future, considering what they had done in the past, it can only be said to be retribution.

This should be a better answer for those who were harmed by them.

After opening the door and walking out of the room, Ella stretched out her body. The city of Semirabi, which had officially entered spring, was unusually warm. In addition, the sunlight was shining into the house through the large window at the end of the corridor, giving people a very comfortable feeling.

"Ah~ah, I wish it could be like this every day."

Sunny weather always makes people happy, and this is also true for Ella.

"Good morning, Lady Ella."

As soon as she opened the door, a translucent ghost girl came into Ella's sight. Because she was very short, Ella recognized her identity at a glance.

"Yeah, Fina gets up early too."

"Um... Lady Aira, ghosts don't need to sleep, you know?"

"Ah—I forgot."

Scratching her head embarrassedly, Ella turned her gaze away. Fina was the youngest of all the ghosts, and making such a mistake in front of her would inevitably make her feel like she was losing her elder status.

Perhaps because she didn't notice Ella's embarrassment, Fina continued to pursue her.

"And, Lady Ella, it's almost noon already. Did you just get up?"

"Eh? No, no, there's no way I could sleep that long..."

"Is that so... I have a mission for Sister Patricia, so I'll be leaving now."

"Yeah, if you're late you'll be punished by Patricia, so Fina should hurry up."

When Fina heard Ella mention Patricia's punishment, she instantly showed a frightened expression. She hurriedly bowed to Ella and ran away along the corridor.

Ella couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

"Patricia, you're being too harsh. They're just children, yet you're punishing them by not eating. Isn't that a bit too harsh?"

"That can't be helped."

Iris, who happened to pass by, heard it and sighed softly.

"Ghosts don't feel pain, so normal punishments won't work. Besides, ghosts don't need to eat anyway. Patricia-chan is just taking advantage of Fina-chan and the others' preference for bottled food. And ultimately, this is also to help Fina-chan and the others learn how to control the magic airship as soon as possible."

Ella turned her head because of Iris's words and blinked. Iris's room was not far from her own room, so it was normal for them to meet by chance like this.

"Iris? Did you just get up too?"

"Huh? What kind of confidence does Ella-chan have to ask me this? Could it be that Ella-chan hasn't realized that she is the last person to get up in this mansion?"

Iris raised an eyebrow and looked at Ella with an expression that was both angry and amused.

Perhaps not wanting to continue this topic, Iris waved her hand.

"When do you plan to leave Semirabi, Aira-chan? I've heard that someone is investigating your identity, huh?"

"Hmm... I want to wait until Lotte and Angeline reach level 30 before leaving. The undead in the underground tower are perfect for leveling up, and it would be a shame to leave them unused. As for those people investigating their identities, it will probably take a long time to get any results."