Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint

Pascal chuckled: "It's a secret. If you want to know, look it up yourself."

Emilia chuckled and said, "I'd like to investigate too, but I haven't had much free time lately. I've been busy exploring the ruins."

Pascal waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Ancient ruins are never easy to conquer, especially those with such high difficulty."

Emilia nodded: "Normally, that's true, but every day when we enter the ruins, we see the number of floors on the central tower of the castle getting higher and higher, and it's getting very close to the light at the top of the tower. I'm getting anxious."

Pascal was stunned, and exclaimed in shock, "What did you say?"

Emilia said, "In the few days you were gone, those two elf ladies reached the eighth floor of the tower in one go, and they are only one step away from passing the level."

After saying that, Emilia chuckled to herself.

On the surface, however, he wore an expression of helplessness and admiration.

Pascal frowned upon seeing her expression. "Emilia, don't be so quick to admire them. They are both 'elves.' If two elves were to conquer the ruins within our Ishtar Empire, that would be disastrous!"

Emilia laughed and said, "What else can we do? Stop others from conquering us?"

Of course, it cannot be stopped.

Various empires and races have agreements regarding ancient ruins, and they do not prohibit people of other races from exploring them.

Because many ruins require specific racial talents and skills to resolve their respective problems, like this ancient castle maze, where only the Elven Blessing can suppress the curse for now.

Can you forbid elves from exploring these ruins?

If it's banned, everyone will run away. Who will treat the mercenaries who went on adventures?

This situation is not unique to this site; many sites have similar characteristics.

Instead of prohibiting it, let's make an agreement and explore ways to make decisions based on individual abilities.

Emilia said calmly, "Even if they clear the level, this ruin still belongs to our Ishtar Empire according to the agreement. They can take everything they obtain during the raid, but they are prohibited from taking the key to control the ruin. I will not allow the key to the ruin to be lost, so don't worry."

Pascal opened his mouth, wanting to tell Emilia that the elf 'Celia,' who shared the same name as the Holy See's prospective saintess, was actually the prospective saintess, but he felt it would be a loss to tell her so easily.

However, it seems like I can't just not tell them either.

It doesn't matter if it's a pure elf team.

But one of those who passed the test was a human in disguise, and also a prospective saintess.

Isn't this just becoming the elves' lackey?

After hesitating for a long time, Pascal ultimately didn't say anything—Emilia had no intention of giving him the money.

Pascal was still hesitating.

He hesitated, wondering whether to expose Celia or pretend he didn't know.

According to intelligence obtained from the Southern City, the elven girl was a member of the elven royal family and made little attempt to conceal her presence within human territory.

Is the Holy Court and the Elven race secretly plotting something?

Pascal was afraid of this.

If he were to expose Celia and discover that her accompanying Elena to conquer the ruins was actually an order from the Holy Court's higher-ups, then he could forget about inheriting the empire; he might not even have any territory left.

But what if there are no instructions?

After all, they're here too.

If the Holy Court takes any action, the Royal Family should notify them.

Without the Holy Court's instructions, if Celia had gone to conquer the human ruins with the elves on her own and then handed over the conquered plaque, it would have been a small matter for an ordinary person, but a significant one for a prospective saintess.

That would be a diplomatic incident that would cause the Holy Court to lose face.

Hmm... the Holy Court losing face isn't necessarily a bad thing for the royal family.

Lowering the other party's prestige would indirectly enhance the Ishtar royal family's control over the empire, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

But Pascal was too risky to gamble.

Even if he felt the latter was more likely, he didn't dare.

After much hesitation, Pascal came up with a compromise.

"Try buying their licenses at a high price and see if they'll sell them. If they don't, it means the Holy See and the Elves have some secret dealings. If they do sell, it means it's very likely that it was Celia's personal act. Then we can call the Bishop of Southern City to testify and expose her, thus damaging the Holy See's prestige."

If he could use some means to make the Holy Court lose face and reduce its prestige, his influence in the royal family would inevitably increase.

Even the Holy Court is powerless to stop him from exposing this behavior!

Having made up his mind, Pascal looked at the sky and decided to go and take a look the next morning.

……

the next day.

As Celia emerged from her tent, breathing in the fresh air and preparing for meditation, she suddenly saw a miserly rooster appear outside.

Pascal extended his hand in greeting and said politely, "Hello, Miss Celia, I'd like to discuss something with you. Is this a convenient time?"

After confirming that Celia was a candidate for sainthood, Pascal placed her on an equal footing. In his view, he was also a candidate for emperor—although his chances of becoming Emperor Ishtar were hundreds of times lower than Celia's chances of becoming sainthood.

Celia didn't want to deal with this stingy guy who was short on cash and demanding, and said indifferently, "I'm sorry, I don't have time. If you have something to say, have your sister come and talk to us."

Emilia was generous with her money, and Celia was happy to be her friend.

As for Pascal, let's just forget about him.

It's ridiculous for a prince to haggle over a few gold coins!

"I would like to purchase the relic tokens you have for 500 gold coins."

"...But then again, we are very happy to talk with Lord Pascal. Please come in and have a seat!"

Thanks to Martial Law for the donation!

Chapter 245 Schrödinger's Saintess

Behind Celia and Elena's tent, Celia and Pascal sat on either side of a simple small table.

Pascal said he wanted to discuss the deal only with Celia, so Elena wasn't involved.

But when she heard that he was willing to buy their relic certificates for 500 gold coins, she was honestly a little tempted.

500 gold coins is not a small amount.

The ruins can be rebuilt from scratch, but 500 gold coins can be lost in the blink of an eye.

However, since Pascal said he would only negotiate with Celia, Elena had no choice but to leave, hoping that Celia could gain the upper hand in the negotiations and sell both copies at a high price.

After clearing the game once, both Celia and Elena were confident that they could quickly climb the ranks again when starting from the beginning.

There was no need to ask Ross for help.

Because Celia still remembers how to get from the first floor to the ninth floor.

As a core area, its puzzles are unlikely to change unless they are dynamic from the beginning.

If we consider the initial exploration as a complete collection adventure, then having Celia and Elena do it again would turn it into a speedrun—reaching the ninth floor within a day!

The premise is...

"Don't sell it." Ross's voice reached Celia's ears, causing her smile to slowly fade.

Although she didn't know why Ross wouldn't allow the sale, Celia chose to believe him.

Just as she was about to find the right words to refuse Pascal, Ross said, "Tell him to wait until you get the certificate for the 12th floor before selling it to him, and remember to ask him for a deposit."

Celia was stunned again, even more confused.

However, she reacted quickly. After discussing with Pascal for a while, she said with great regret, "Your offer, Mr. Pascal, is very tempting, but I'm sorry, we may not be able to sell you the voucher now."

Pascal frowned: "What do you mean by that, Miss Celia? Weren't you already planning to sell?"

"I'm sorry, there are some special reasons."

"Special reason" refers to the fact that Celia herself doesn't know the reason.

“However…” Celia changed the subject: “If Lord Pascal can wait until we reach the twelfth floor of the central tower and obtain the certificate for the twelfth floor, we would be happy to sell it to you.”

Pascal said unhappily, "Twelve levels? The core of this ruin only has twelve levels. You've all reached the twelfth level, so doesn't that mean you've cleared the ruin?"

Celia smiled and said, "Your Excellency Pascal may not know this, but obtaining the floor pass does not mean that you have explored it. On the contrary, once you have explored the floor and entered the next floor, the pass for the previous floor will disappear and be replaced by the pass for the next floor."

"For example, if I explore the sixth floor and then go to the seventh floor, I will receive the exploration certificate for the seventh floor, not the sixth floor. Therefore, bringing out the certificate for the twelfth floor does not mean that we have cleared the game."

"But Lord Pascal is different. As long as you have the certificate for the 12th floor, you can enter the 12th floor at any time and skip all the previous stages to conquer the 12th floor. This is much more cost-effective than starting from the 9th floor."

Pascal was smitten.

The benefits and reputation gained from conquering a new ancient ruin are the same as those from conquering a ruin that has remained unconquered for decades; both can instantly boost one's fame and influence.

As a prince, what he lacked most was a voice.

The desire to accuse Celia of causing the Holy Court to lose face is for the sake of having a voice, and clearing the ruins is also for the sake of having a voice.

"As my father's eighth child, I am far behind my older brothers and sisters. Apart from my poor little sister Benovia, who can be ignored, everyone else is someone I need to surpass..."

Pascal was lost in thought.

He thought of the power and management of his older brothers and sisters, and then he thought of how he could soar to the top, become the Emperor of Ishtar, ruthlessly suppress the Holy Court, and then reclaim the four great empires...

That's a bit too far ahead.

Pascal returned to the present moment and fell into deep thought.

It's no exaggeration to say that Celia was initially tempted by the 500 gold coins.

During their conversation, Pascal could tell that Celia was genuinely interested and wanted to sell.

But just as he was about to agree, he suddenly calmed down and refused the 500 gold coins.

At this point, he felt that his guess was correct.

Perhaps behind Celia lies a secret collaboration between the Holy Court and the Elven race.

Both could be investigated further; what if something is uncovered?

Before he could even retreat, Celia raised another point of contention.

She actually planned to sell it only after she had conquered the last floor.

Theoretically speaking, if you're greedy, you could sell it at the end to maximize your profits.

The ninth floor looks very close to the twelfth floor, but the price is double because it's within reach once you've successfully completed the level.

Ordinary mercenaries might not care about this title, but Pascal cares about it a lot.

Even if it costs a thousand gold coins, it's still a profitable deal.

The miserly man was about to peel off the sheet metal.

“But this makes me more uncertain. Is it a secret deal or a personal act?” Pascal thought to himself.

While he was pondering, he suddenly heard Celia speak:

"We were ready to hand over the title of Ruins Conqueror to you, Mr. Pascal. It wouldn't be fair to give us less than 1200 gold coins, would it?"

The title of "ruins conqueror"...etc.

If the ruins conqueror were no longer an elf, but him, then the accusations against Celia would no longer exist.

The revelation is based on the premise that she, as an elf, successfully completed the ruins raid and then publicly revealed it to others, showing that the magnificent human ruins were quickly cleared by two elves.

Only then can one expose and accuse.

If you purchase this speedrunning license...

This is completely different from the nine-level certificate. The 12-level certificate can be passed in a few days with a high probability, but the nine-level certificate is still four levels away, and who knows when it will be completed.

Pascal's original plan was to buy the nine-layer certificate, slowly conquer the level, and at the same time confirm that Celia's actions were a personal matter.

At that time, Celia and Elena will surely conquer the ruins quickly, catch up with them soon, and then easily surpass them, taking the title of Ruins Conqueror.

Or, after the other party is tempted and agrees, make an excuse that you're facing difficulties and can't complete the transaction... not only will you confirm the situation, but you'll also save 500 gold coins.

So how exactly did it become uncertain again?

Pascal was somewhat bewildered.

It took him a long time to make up his mind.