"You finally recognized me."
Propping herself up on the desk, Sigrid lunged straight at Lanqi in the desk chair, happily crashing full into his embrace.
The headmaster's chair bore the weight of two people, creaking and groaning under the strain.
"..."
Lanqi caught Sigrid in a daze, letting her wrap her arms around him.
"No, no, no, how could you possibly be Sigrid? Xigelei is clearly Xigelei, a living being of this era. When on earth did you replace her?"
Lanqi's eyes and ears told him the truth, yet he still found it completely absurd.
In his eyes, Xigelei and Sigrid were both Wolf Clan women, and their personalities or fighting styles were somewhat similar, but they were unquestionably two distinct individuals. Lanqi would never conflate them simply because they shared a few traits—that was also a matter of respecting them.
Yet never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that one day, Xigelei would personally tell him that she was Sigrid.
"In this Shadow World, the nun you met at the very beginning was me. So, how about it? Did I look pretty in a habit?"
Sigrid released Lanqi for a moment, wrapping both arms behind his neck as she looked at him and spoke.
A few days ago, she had arrived at South Vantina Port on the Southern Continent. Right after getting in touch with the Resurrection Church's most neutral dimensional branch, she was summoned into an 8th-tier Shadow World by a temporarily manifesting Void Gate. When she came to her senses, she found herself in a Polant Empire church that had only ever appeared in her dreams.
And she had turned into Xigelei, that little wolf girl from an alien era whom she dreamed about night after night.
"Though it seems there really was a previous Shadow World—like Xigelei meeting you in the Polant Empire, crossing the snowy plains with her, helping her drive off the Blood Clan earl, and then going together to Neclis Island in the Demon Realm, meeting Hyperion, and so on... I dreamed about all of it," Sigrid added.
She had crystal-clear memories of everything, barely any different from experiencing it firsthand.
If she wasn't mistaken, that was likely the previous Shadow World experienced by Lanqi, Hyperion, and Boss Cat.
"That can happen?"
Lanqi couldn't even tell whether Sigrid was playing a prank or if something so bizarre had truly occurred.
Yet this did perfectly explain how Sigrid had been able to flawlessly impersonate Xigelei halfway through, to the point that not even Lanqi noticed the switch twelve years later.
"It was probably after I got the blessed accessory from the Church of the Goddess of Fate that I started dreaming about Xigelei every day."
Sigrid glanced at her bare wrist and spoke to Lanqi.
The gemstone-inlaid bracelet from the mortal world couldn't be brought into the Shadow World.
Legend had it that there existed an amulet known as the Samsara Jade.
It could be any stone connected to the Goddess of Fate and her affiliated churches; as long as it served as a medium, the goddess could faintly intervene in the mortal realm from the conceptual side.
The Samsara Jade was a gift for the fated. If one prayed devoutly to the Goddess of Fate, she might grant you a sweet dream—perhaps a mere coincidence, or perhaps a dream of past lives.
Such things were profoundly mystical and impossible to verify, so they were mostly regarded as legends and fairy tales.
According to Sigrid's thinking:
Perhaps in a past life, she had been that little wolf girl Xigelei tens of thousands of years ago, and Lanqi was the reincarnation of the Lord of the Black Sun from tens of thousands of years ago, their prayers to the Goddess of Fate allowing them to pick up the thread of their past-life destiny.
"That's wonderful."
Listening to Sigrid's explanation, Lanqi's slightly glazed emerald eyes gradually softened, and he let out a long breath.
"What do you mean, 'that's wonderful'?" Sigrid asked in confusion.
She knew the Holy Son was very adaptable, but she hadn't expected him to find peace of mind so quickly.
"If it's you, then this isn't a parting between life and death for us. We can meet again in another time and space," Lanqi replied with relief, smiling. "I'm truly glad to see you again, Sigrid."
He no longer had to bid a sorrowful farewell to Xigelei.
For Lankeluosi and Xigelei, the conclusion of the Blood Moon Ruined World was fated to be an irreparable regret.
Yet he and Sigrid still had countless opportunities to capture memories of the future on film.
"...You know? That winter, every time we were on the verge of parting forever, the experience remained vivid in my mind. Whenever I think back on it, I still get nervous and uneasy."
Hearing this, Sigrid leaned close to Lanqi.
"We must have braved many trials together to earn this moment of peace."
She nestled comfortably against his chest, murmuring as she listened to his heartbeat.
Only after having this dream of a lifetime past did she understand how precious their bond in the present world was.
She had no desire to end up like Xigelei in the Blood Moon Ruined World, facing an outcome she was powerless to change.
Outside the French windows of the Headmaster's Office, dark clouds drifted, and the howl of wind and snow filled the silence between them.
High in the cold night sky above Purgatory City, the moonlight gleamed with a metallic, lifeless chill.
Inside, the hearth was lit, making it wonderfully warm.
Though some said that wolf clans living in regions colder than the northern mountains during winter didn't care about such cold in the slightest, to a delicate descendant of the Wolf Clan living among humans, winter was indeed a season that made one yearn for warmth.
In that cozy room, Sigrid let out a contented breath.
As the night grew colder, Xigelei—having already absorbed her share of warmth—was in very high spirits.
"Lord Bishop, is it really appropriate for you to cuddle with the Holy Son like this?"
Lanqi let Sigrid embrace him for a long time before finally speaking up.
He felt that if he didn't say anything, Sigrid would keep hugging him forever, motionless like a body pillow.
Even though Sigrid weighed nearly ten kilograms more than Tata, she was so tall and a martial arts powerhouse; that weight was only natural for her, and Lanqi certainly didn't find her heavy.
"..."
Sigrid let go of him and looked into his eyes, sensing that he seemed to be thinking about something quite punishable.
Still, she was used to it, and she didn't mind—after all, he was the Holy Son she had chosen herself.
"See, that's where you're wrong. We're actually on equal footing now," Sigrid said, letting out a rare chuckle.
"Lord Bishop, please don't tease me. You're the boss. I have zero interest in usurping your authority; I don't want to end up wanted on the Southern Continent," Lanqi shook his head repeatedly in denial.
The hierarchy between them couldn't be blurred. He was just an employee doing work for the Bishop of Domination in the Northern Continent. He never considered himself a true member of the Resurrection Church, merely someone in the personal employ of the Bishop of Domination. Even on the Southern Continent, that hardly counted as an illegal act.
"Uh, do they even issue bounties for Cardinal Bishops on the Southern Continent?"
Sigrid remembered Lanqi mentioning the notorious reputations of several Cardinal Bishops down south.
Having lived in the Northern Continent for years, she knew little about the Southern Continent's recent affairs.
"It's not that they don't; they don't dare to," Lanqi corrected her wording.
Terrorists you can put a bounty on are generally manageable.
Terrorists you can't even put a bounty on belong to an entirely different dimension.
Issuing a bounty on a Cardinal Bishop of the Resurrection Church was useless anyway. Putting aside those whose true identities remained a mystery, hardly anyone had the ability to apprehend rule-defying 8th-tier supreme powerhouses like Cardinal Bishops.
Apart from that blind-luck incident in the City of Flowers, Palieu, where divination results suggested they really had captured a Cardinal Bishop—only to release them shortly afterward—it couldn't be counted as a genuine capture.
"Is it really that severe? Then if I were to pay a visit to your home one day to meet Uncle, wouldn't the United Council of Kingdoms divine that a Cardinal Bishop had arrived in your hometown?"
Sigrid refused to get off his desk chair, resting her hands on his shoulders as she asked.
"Well..."
Lanqi found it hard to imagine what state Father Noe would be in.
If Sigrid hid her identity, it would be fine.
But if Noe asked what she did for a living, things might get rather awkward.
"What, is a Cardinal Bishop not welcome in your home?"
Seeing Lanqi's hesitation, Sigrid raised an eyebrow and adopted a slightly fierce, huffy tone.
"Welcome, of course you're welcome! We'd be honored to have the Lord Cardinal Bishop inspect our humble abode! I'm just afraid I won't be able to entertain Lady Sigrid properly and might neglect you. After all, my family background is truly poor—as long as you don't look down on it, that's all that matters," Lanqi replied respectfully, putting on the posture of a humble commoner.
Lanqi's coy, tongue-in-cheek act made Sigrid laugh in spite of herself.
"Why are you acting like a virtuous young lady from a respectable family while I'm a brute here to abduct you? Even though I don't usually enjoy throwing my weight around, seeing you so meek and obedient is honestly quite entertaining."
Sigrid reached out, tilted Lanqi's chin, and nodded approvingly as she looked him up and down.
What was even more amusing was that as a Cardinal Bishop, she could actually tease another Cardinal Bishop one day.
It was practically the glory of Cardinal Bishops everywhere.
"Alright, I won't give you a hard time. When I come visit you, I certainly won't put you in an awkward spot. I'll disguise myself as Side. Right now, I'm a third-year student at Protos Royal Magic Academy, crossing the sea to the Southern Continent to visit friends," Sigrid explained the persona she would use.
She hadn't told Lanqi yet that she had already arrived on the Southern Continent, intending to give him a huge surprise once the Shadow World ended.
"You actually bumped yourself up a grade? Don't tell me you're even carrying a student monthly pass on you?"
Lanqi was stunned. He distinctly remembered that Side's cover identity a year ago was a second-year student at Protos Royal Magic Academy.
She was as devoted to her character as ever.
"Of course! It's tied to my official identity documents. I even asked Great Sage Isis and the Church of the Goddess of Fate to write recommendation letters for me—I plan to do a half-year exchange visit at Ikerite Academy," Sigrid shared her travel plans.
She was looking forward immensely to going to school together with the Holy Son.
"You're going to attend Ikerite Academy?"
Lanqi found it utterly unimaginable.
"Mm-hmm. I've always thought being students together would be fun. Didn't you also say Hutton's royal capital, Ikerite, is a great place for dates? You can start planning how to date me in advance. Every day after classes, I can go hang out in the bustling downtown districts with you," Sigrid confirmed.
"So if I bump into your friends and family by accident, I won't scare them. I'll properly conceal my businesses in the Northern Continent, so Uncle won't find out I'm a Cardinal Bishop," she added, patting Lanqi's shoulder to reassure him.
Once there, she would definitely respect the local culture. The Resurrection Church might be a legitimate enterprise in the Northern Continent, but on the Southern Continent, keeping a low profile was best.
"Actually, it doesn't matter that much. There are so many wild rumors circulating on the Southern Continent these days. Even a spotless High Priest was almost framed as the Bishop of Storm. If you went around claiming to be the Bishop of Domination, people would probably just think you're joking," Lanqi replied, casually shaking his head.
That "Bishop of Storm" title was excessively absurd.
Just because the whereabouts of a mysterious bishop from the Northern Continent coincided with Loren's every time, that was enough to deduce Loren was a Cardinal Bishop?
Statistics and journalism were really running wild.
Now that Loren had died in battle, the United Council of Kingdoms had exonerated him, yet somehow rumors were swirling over in the Creti Empire that the God of War faction had confirmed Loren's identity as the Bishop of Storm.
"Bishop of Storm? Where did a bishop like that come from?"
Sigrid hadn't heard of this title either and asked Lanqi in confusion.
"See, what did I tell you? There's no Bishop of Storm in the Resurrection Church at all."
Lanqi breathed a sigh of relief.
With Sigrid's official high-level endorsement, if she said there wasn't, there certainly wasn't.
"Speaking of which, a few months ago, a Cardinal Bishop apparently came from the Northern Continent, traveling all the way south with mysterious motives. After arriving, they lingered around the Hutton Kingdom, and later seemed to have gone to the Creti Empire... Do you know who that bishop actually is?"
Lanqi asked Sigrid again.
This question had troubled him for a long time.
Now that he had finally met a Cardinal Bishop from the Northern Continent, he could clear up the mystery.
If there was any wild card in Brierda that made him wary, that Cardinal Bishop was undoubtedly one of them.
"..."
Sigrid looked at Lanqi with a complicated expression for a moment.
A bishop came from the Northern Continent a few months ago, went south, stayed in the Hutton Kingdom, and taunted the United Council of Kingdoms right to their faces?
Then she had a pretty good idea who that bishop was.
What in the bloody hell.
"Is this classified information?"
Lanqi couldn't read Sigrid's expression for a moment.
"No, just give me a moment to think about how to put it."
Sigrid sat on Lanqi's lap, rubbing her temples and shaking her head.
"Aren't you close to reaching Tier 7? Once this Shadow World is cleared, as long as you have the materials to engrave the class, you can reach Tier 7."
She abruptly changed the subject with an upbeat tone.
Information regarding the Shadow World was best kept from the projected beings within it; otherwise, the Shadow World might censor it or cause disruptions. This was common knowledge even to low-tier challengers.
No matter how much they trusted Caliera, they had to avoid discussing this topic in front of her as much as possible.
This moment alone was extraordinarily rare.
She had originally planned to keep playing Xigelei for a little longer, but since they were about to part ways, she saw no reason to hide it any longer. That was why she had confessed her identity to Lanqi—and it was time to give him the token she had brought for him.
"Yeah," Lanqi nodded.
On his way to the Headmaster's Office just now, he had been chatting with Talia about this very matter.
Moreover, Talia had promised to help him engrave the class, making Lanqi feel that she was becoming more and more useful.
"Then I have some good news and some bad news for you."
Sigrid leaned her cheek half an inch closer to Lanqi, lowering her voice with great solemnity.
Chapter 797