A Circle of the Land Archdruid, huh...
If that’s the case, then her father might be a max-level druid, but in terms of actual strength, his challenge rating would probably be eleven or twelve, maybe even lower—he couldn’t even take on Sophia...
And as for that Earth Dragon, if her father is no match at all, and he isn’t just being modest, then... fifteen? Sixteen?
It shouldn’t be that high. Even if it’s stronger than Theresa, it can’t be that much stronger.
After all, if it could be mentally polluted by the power of an Abyssal Lord it hasn’t even seen, pushed to the brink of insanity, then it’s probably not what you’d call a true powerhouse.
Thinking this through, Charles’s gaze flickered. "It seems I actually might be able to fix your tribe’s problem..."
The force of purification can purify all evil taint—so, eradicating demonic corruption from an earth elemental lord should be entirely possible, right?
He wasn’t certain; he hadn’t tried it before. But it felt like a sure thing.
As for Nidalee, she said nothing, simply closing her eyes and hugging his waist.
By revealing her tribe’s greatest military secret, she had effectively betrayed her kin, her father, even the entire Mountain People community. Now, except for Charles, she had no one left to rely on.
Sensing her agony and inner conflict, Charles gently patted her back and said in a soft voice, "It’s okay. I promise, I’ll help you and your people resolve this problem."
"But I have a condition. Nidalee, you have to become the leader of the Mountaineer tribe, understand?"
Nidalee nodded gently, then nestled deeper into his embrace, her pain easing a little. Sensing her change of mood, Charles’s lips curled into a soft smile, and he suddenly asked, "Are you almost recovered now?"
Nidalee arched a brow. "Uh, you mean..."
With a swift move, Charles rolled her beneath him again, lifted her slender leg up onto his shoulder. "Let’s go again, my darling!"
"W-Wait—" Before Nidalee could protest, he caught her lips with his own. The sweet rhythm of their bodies echoed once again through the narrow cell.
Several days later, in the chapel of the Goddess of Life.
Charles, garbed in black priest’s robes, looked solemn as he presided over the ceremony. Behind him, Hattie and five other nuns wore heavy habits, their graceful forms fully covered as they folded their hands at their chests, heads bowed in silent prayer.
Beside Charles stood Theresa, dressed in a white, opulent nun’s robe, holding a jar of chilled holy water. She stood with head bowed, face severe and reverent.
At the chapel entrance, Nidalee, Malena, and Lisa waited quietly in line. Nidalee appeared calm; Malena looked a bit nervous, and as for Lisa, her big eyes sparkled with curiosity as she peered about, taking in everything new.
Though all was a bit simple and shabby, this was all new to the little girl, so naturally Lisa wanted to look her fill.
Under the statue of the Goddess of Life, Charles reviewed the ritual steps in his mind one last time. Feeling well-prepared, he finally called out, "Nidalee."
At his call, Nidalee stepped briskly into the chapel and knelt on one knee before Charles: "I am here, Priest."
"Are you willing to take refuge with the Goddess of Life, devoting all of your remaining days and energy to her cause, and dedicating yourself to the goddess’s great work?" he asked.
"I am willing," Nidalee replied, then repeated all the vows as Charles had spoken them.
"Very good." Charles nodded, and began to recite a lengthy passage of scripture and incantation. He had crammed this ritual in just the last two days, because Malena had requested to take refuge in the Church of the Goddess of Life—if he’d kept refusing, it would seem too suspicious.
The truth was, the Church of the Goddess of Life was in dire need of believers.
So he’d self-studied, and luckily, the ceremony was not that difficult—at least much easier than studying for the Agonizing Blast eldritch invocation.
Once he had finished the incantation and scripture, Charles dipped his finger into the urn of holy water that Theresa was holding and marked a droplet on Nidalee’s forehead.
With that, the baptism was complete.
Nidalee stepped aside, and Charles called Lisa and Malena up in turn, repeating the process for each, and thus their baptisms were also performed.
The ritual was finally over.
After the baptisms, Malena and Lisa thanked Charles and left together. Watching them go, Charles couldn’t help feeling how precious this time of peace and safety truly was!
His strength was increasing rapidly, the monastery grounds were expanding, and his accumulated wealth was multiplying. If only these tranquil days could last even longer!
As those thoughts drifted through his heart, and as Malena and her daughter left, Charles put his arm around Nidalee’s shoulders, "Let’s go, darling."
"What just happened was only the surface. What awaits you now is your true baptism."
There are two kinds of baptism: the first, like just now, is the sprinkling rite—just touching the forehead with a drop of water, and it’s done.
The second is full immersion: you must strip completely and submerge your body in water—only then is the baptism complete.
At this point, Charles planned to take Nidalee to the communal bath chamber for her real baptism.
Hearing this, Nidalee’s delicate frame trembled. She looked up to see the nuns—or rather, witches—smiling at her with not-so-pure intentions, sneaking glances among themselves.
Suddenly, she was filled with a powerful sense of foreboding. But with Charles’s request, she had no right to refuse, so she steeled herself and nodded, "Yes, Master."
We will leave Charles’s so-called baptism—actually an orgy—aside for now. Meanwhile, Malena took Lisa home.
"Home," though, was really just one of the dormitories Charles had constructed for sale, now being lent for free to Malena and her daughter.
He’d built all these stone houses together in one area, so Malena and her daughter now lived among the Amazon women as neighbors.
They’d been living here for a month, and Charles had never mentioned rent or demanded payment.
On the contrary, he repeatedly had the nuns show kindness and allow them access to the monastery’s kitchen or bath—since it was all women anyway, letting them sneak in didn’t break any rules.
Charles was making a shrewd investment—he knew Lisa’s future was promising, so he treated their family sincerely, building up good feelings.
Once Lisa grew up to be a powerful Divine Soul Warlock, the genuine gratitude she would feel then would be worth far more than a petty sum of gold.
That was Charles’s plan, but Malena had no idea, and felt guilty as a result.
She’d inquired among her neighbors and found out that these sturdy stone cottages cost two thousand gold to buy.
Which was a real bargain, but even with her two-gold-per-day high salary, it would take years to afford one.
She’d hinted about this a few times, but Charles either didn’t understand or didn’t care—in the end, the matter was always dropped, so she stopped asking and quietly saved her money, ready to pay him all at once when the time came.
Since today was a day off, Malena hadn’t gone to the tailor’s shop, but had returned home to patch up some of Lisa’s clothes.
Since moving here, Malena couldn’t take in laundry work as before.
She’d lost that stream of income, and needed to buy a lot of new furniture—a significant expense.
But as the saying goes, a blessing in disguise. After moving into the monastery’s neighborhood, Lisa’s education was unexpectedly resolved. The nuns volunteered to teach her history and magical studies, easing Malena’s financial stress and allowing her to spend more of her saved wages on their diet.
Looking in the mirror on the table, Malena could see how her once sallow and dry skin was now regaining its creamy fullness and supple glow, like she’d had as a young noblewoman—delicate and beautiful.
She’d born a child, but she was barely in her twenties; her body still young, her bloodline vibrant, and lack of nourishment alone had made her look worn before.
Now, with a better diet and more nutrients—perhaps even an excess from using the nuns’ kitchen—her body was swiftly recovering its health, youth, and beauty.
But with that nutrition came something else...
Feeling the fullness at her chest, Malena frowned, shifting uncomfortably.
She looked back at her daughter, who was reading a picture book. "Lisa, have you stopped... breastfeeding lately?"
Lisa nodded, turning from her book to look at her. "Yeah, mom, I’m a big girl now. I can’t drink from you anymore."
She clenched her little fists, eyes brimming with ambition: "I’ll eat well and grow strong, just like Sister Theresa, so I can stand up to the bad guys!"
Seeing this, Malena couldn’t help but smile.
Since that fateful night, Lisa’s own changes were apparent—she wasn’t lazy and spoiled anymore, nor did she tire easily, but ran about all day or studied, to Malena’s satisfaction.
Whether it was bloodline awakening or the nuns’ influence, she didn’t know.
But whatever it was, it was all good luck.
She mused to herself, then looked down with slight frustration at her shirt’s front.
Her chest was swelling to the point where it could hold no more milk, and damp patches were already seeping through her shirt.
Ah well, she thought, I’ll wait until Lisa sleeps tonight and express some myself.
After another round of fun with the nuns and Nidalee, Charles was about to turn in. Suddenly, the shrill beep of a warning alarm woke him. He jumped up and pulled up the monastery map in his system—several red dots, representing hostile creatures, had already entered the residential quarter, separated from the monastery by only a single wall.
It seemed the system’s detection was quite aggressive—though those houses had been sold to the Amazons, the territory still counted as monastery grounds, and the Amazons living there were only marked as neutral yellow.
Now, when any hostile force set foot in that area, the system would treat it as an invasion and instantly alert the Master.
Staring at those red dots, Charles couldn’t tell—were they after the Amazon women, or actually targeting his small monastery?
If it was the former, he could ignore it. If the latter...
Looking at the direction those red dots were gathering, Charles’s eyes narrowed.
That room—it looked like...
Realizing this, his pupils shrank, and at the same moment, the other witches awoke, sitting up with their bare upper bodies exposed, looking at him in confusion.
Charles didn’t explain, but leapt out of bed: "Get up! Someone’s here to kidnap Lisa again!"
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